David Berkeley

David Berkeley (born David Berkeley Friedland, September 22, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter.

He has released eight studio albums, one live album and has published two books, The places he lived in are a strong inspiration for his songwriting, as are the people in his family (his parents, his wife and his two children).

Biography David Berkeley was born David Berkeley Friedland in September, 1976. His parents gave him the middle name Berkeley—which he later picked as his stage name—after having been graduate students at the University of California-Berkeley in the early 1970s before they moved to New Jersey. having attended a musical school. Because of this he had his first experience of singing on stage at the age of three or four. Also when he was four, the woman taking care of him was an Avon saleswoman; she would bring him with her while going door to door, and he would sing to her potential customers. In an interview he credits receiving cookies and applause for singing "that song about the Titanic sinking" (likely "The Titanic") as an early experience of positive feedback.

He graduated from Harvard with degrees in literature and philosophy.

While living in Santa Fe, David Berkeley managed a local band. This, in his own words, got him "excited about the music business". It was only after this band broke up that he decided to record his own music.

He decided to become a full-time musician while he was teaching in Brooklyn, as having a double career was taking its toll on his voice and his private life. It sold over 10,000 copies.

This album includes "Fire Sign", written for an episode (Wannabe) of the second season of CBS-TV's Without a Trace and produced by Will Robertson. this appears not to be true.

Live from Fez In 2005, David Berkeley released Live from Fez, the testimony of a live event held on February 22 of the same year, one of the last concerts held at the popular Lower Manhattan club. Along with the CD is a DVD including four songs recorded in the same occasion. This live release displays not only David Berkeley's heartfelt musical style, but also his sense of humor in the intermissions between songs.

David Berkeley claims that this is the only live album ever released to be recorded at the now-closed New York club however, in 2004, Bree Sharp had released an album also recorded at the club, entitled Live at Fez.

Strange Light 2006 saw David Berkeley working at the Engine Studios in Chicago to record his third studio album, Strange Light, that would not be released until 2009. This delay allowed his fans and some reviewers to compare it – tongue-in-cheek – with Guns N' Roses's Chinese Democracy. When released, the album was enriched by the production of Brian Deck (Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine, Josh Ritter). Its style has been judged affirming and intriguing even though downtrodden and melancholic.

Some Kind of Cure In late 2009, David Berkeley announced on his website and through his mailing list that he was working on a new album called Some Kind of Cure, mostly written while living in Corsica where, in his own words, he had the chance to listen to whatever surrounded him and take in the silence around.

As has been done more or less successfully in the past by other bands or artists (among which Marillion, Public Enemy and Jill Sobule ), David Berkeley asked for his fans' contribution for the production of the record; the experiment was successful.

The album was released on January 25, 2011, and is accompanied by a book written by Berkeley himself and entitled 140 Goats & a Guitar, telling the stories behind the inspiration for each song in the album.

In this album Berkeley is accompanied among others by Peter Bradley Adams of Eastmountainsouth on piano, Kim Taylor of Over the Rhine on background vocals and by long-term collaborator Jordan Katz of Common Rotation on horns and banjo; it was produced by long-term collaborator Will Robertson, who had also produced the song "Fire Sign" included in After the Wrecking Ships and has also worked with Shawn Mullins, Clay Cook, Pat Sansone and Peter Ostroushko. Robertson also played bass and keyboards on the album. alongside the church bells of Tralonca and a Corsican choir. Besides twelve original songs, Some Kind of Cure includes David Berkeley's version of "Shenandoah". and accompanied once again by Jordan Katz and Bill Titus.

It has also been released, for the first time in Berkeley's discography, on vinyl.

Other recordings

David Berkeley also recorded a song ("Love's the Only Thing That Shuts Me Up") for Ciao My Shining Star, a tribute album to Mark Mulcahy (the former vocalist of Miracle Legion) that features contributions from Mark Mulcahy's favourite musicians. Besides David, other artists featured are Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. The album was released on September 29, 2009, and David Berkeley's contribution has been widely appreciated. He also took part in the benefit live concert that followed that album, held in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

During his stay in Corsica, David Berkeley took part to the recording of a cover version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" with local artists which is reported to have been a dancefloor favourite of renowned DJs such as Tiësto and Sean Tyas. Further versions of the same track have been created by Will Holland, in a bigroom progressive style, and by Freigeist. The Steve Brian version was included in Enhanced's Best of 2010 iTunes compilation after listeners voted it as one of the best 25 releases of the year by that label.

David Berkeley gave his voice for a second progressive house track called "Vueltas" created by the same Steve Brian who had worked on the dance version of "Fire Sign" and is rumored to be collaborating with other dance artists in creating new music to which he'd add his vocals.

More recently in 2018 David Berkeley has had one of his songs "The Faded Red and Blue" remixed while teaming up with Steve Brianwhich. This song while deeply political relates to the "faded red and blue flag of the USA missing a star or two" and focuses on the immigration issues (political issues) which the USA faces at the current time.

Literary career

140 Goats and a Guitar David Berkeley published a book called 140 Goats & a Guitar through his own Straw Man label. It was released in January 2011 as a companion book to his fourth studio album Some Kind of Cure and tells the inspiration behind each song in the album through short stories based on real-life events.

Inspiration In an interview, David Berkeley mentioned as his influences Paul Simon for the lyrics, Nick Drake for the mood, and then Neil Young, The Band, Elliott Smith and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. He admits to have at least once chosen the topic of a song because a friend pressured him into it.

David Berkeley has a penchant for using geography-related references as song titles. Among them "Leaving Idaho" from The Confluence; "Jefferson", "Times Square", "Chicago" and "Bushwick" from After the Wrecking Ships; "Willis Avenue Bridge", "Sweet Auburn" and "Milwaukee Road" from Strange Light, "George Square" from Some Kind of Cure. He also toured the United States and supported such artists as Ben Folds, Rhett Miller and Ed Harcourt.

In 2006, he participated in the Jeep Compass Summer Music Tour.

In early 2007, David Berkeley toured the United Kingdom for the first time, alongside Ben Parker. He returned to the UK at the end of the same year with Common Rotation.

After having spent most of 2008 in Corsica with his family keeping his musical profile low, in 2009 after the release of Strange Light David Berkeley toured with Katie Melua accompanied by Jordan Katz of Common Rotation. With Katz, he also toured once more the United Kingdom.

In 2010 he was a finalist in the Mountain Stage Newsong Contest after having been one of the two winners of the "Early Bird" stage alongside Rebecca Jordan. The contest was eventually won by Amber Rubarth.

Following the release of Some Kind of Cure, David Berkeley is touring the United States in what he called Some Kind of Tour. It is not a long tour but a series of small tours with breaks that allow him to return to California to spend time with his family. It also features readings from his new book. He mentioned this experience as the proudest moment of his career so far. Between songs he uses to tell short anecdotes usually extremely funny, witty and erudite. ) featuring himself, Micah Dalton and Samantha Murphy. Their intention was to gather as many musicians from Atlanta as possible once a month, on a Wednesday, in a café in the Old Fourth Ward area to cover whole classic albums. On their debut the three artists, accompanied by other local musicians, covered the whole Bob Dylan album Blood on the Tracks. The second album covered has been Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. Other albums played were At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. His tenor voice has been defined by some reviewer so hypnotizing that he "could easily spin tales of cleaning his bathroom, cleaning his catbox, or participating in any number of equally mundane or horrifying events", and this paired with honest, warm lyrics. Also appreciated were the orchestral arrangements backing up his music. his songs are considered rich in texture and poetic, and his voice confident and reassured. and was chosen as the best album of 2004 by established Rolling Stone critic Rob O'Connor. The New York Times critic Jon Pareles showed his high appreciation for this album. The Pittsburgh Pulp defined David Berkeley one of the best examples in the resurgence of folk rock, praising the American taste of his songs along with his melodic and melancholy voice. The already mentioned Rob O'Connor, on Harp Magazine, noticed a superficial resemblance to the quieter side of Eddie Vedder paired with wanderlust and bravado, in the finest troubadour tradition. In the same year he was also officially recognized by ASCAP as one of the most important emerging songwriters in the United States.

To highlight David Berkeley's perception by the general public, it is interesting to notice that once he has been hired (and flown cross-country) to help a fan serenading his ex-girlfriend. although some reviewers took exception at David Berkeley's on-stage habit, reflected in this album, to intersperse his setlist of quiet, warm songs with light-hearted banter.

Strange Light was also welcomed warmly by the critics adding to the list of artists David Berkeley has been compared to such influential names as James Taylor, Damien Rice, David Gray, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, Elliott Smith and Five for Fighting. This is the album, in some critics' opinion, that could give Berkeley "the big break". The originality and complexity of his arrangements have been positively highlighted.

Some Kind of Cure has been praised for its originality, even compared to Berkeley's previous albums, and from the range of influences the various songs seem to have been inspired to. His gift of describing reality under other people's point of views is considered exceptional, allowing his songs to paint reality from different perspectives. This record suggested comparisons with Steve Reynolds, Josh Ritter, Eastmountainsouth, Rosie Thomas, Ray LaMontagne, Joseph Arthur, Dan Fogelberg and John Denver.

Discography

Studio albums 2002 – The Confluence 2004 – After the Wrecking Ships 2005 – Live from Fez 2009 – Strange Light 2011 – Some Kind of Cure 2013 – Fire in My Head 2015 – Cardboard Boat 2020 – Oh Quiet World

Collaborations