Dave Cloud

David Bliss Cloud (August 3, 1956 – February 18, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, storyteller and occasional actor. Cloud was known foremost for his amusing earthy concert performances and garage rock recordings with his band The Gospel of Power.

Biography Cloud came of age listening to rock and roll of the 1960s and early 1970s, and learned to play guitar as a teenager. He first performed publicly in local Nashville record stores in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s, Cloud formed The Psychotic Night Auditors, a punk rock band so loud and obnoxious that they "cleared the room" at Springwater, prompting the club owner to ban the group "for life." and "phantom kung fu" C.O.B.S. disbanded in 1995.

Musical style The Nashville Scene described Cloud's music as a "perverse cross between Neil Diamond and Tom Waits," that "translates a love of 60s and 70s rock and soul through the lens of punk and experimentation."

The Gospel of Power The Gospel of Power is the "loose congregation" of Nashville's veteran underground rock musicians that recorded and/or performed with Dave Cloud from 1996 to 2015. Over the years the roster fluctuated and included Brian Boling, Paul Booker, Matt Button (Lone Official), Tony Crow (Lambchop, Silver Jews), Dave Friedman, Ben Martin (Lone Official, Clem Snide), Laurel Parton (Trauma Team), Steve Poulton, and Matt Swanson (Clockhammer, My Dad Is Dead, Lambchop). On their second European tour (spring 2008), they were the headline act for Bergenfest's "Indie Bonanza" finale. The band's concert at London's 12 Bar Club was rated "Critics' Choice" in Time Out.

Recognition and awards In 2004, Dave Cloud & The Gospel of Power were nominated for a Nashville Scene Music Award in the Rock/Experimental category.