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From Roostime.be July 2009
David Massey is a singer-song writer who lives in Washington D.C. with many years of experience playing in bands, but performs since 2004 also as a solo artist. That is when the debut record, "Blissful State of Blue" was released. This album got such positive reviews from Rootstime, that you can still find the entire article on the homepage of David Massey.
"So Many Roads" is this musician's second album with 13 songs written by himself. The record showcases all the good things written about him over the last five years with music styles like bluegrass, country, folk and rock. Massey's website names Jason Mraza, Johnny Cash, Howie Day and Dave Matthews and traditional Irish folksongs as his greatest influences. As a storyteller I prefer to compare him with artists like Steve Forbert, John Prine and Chip Taylor.
The first great song on this album is "Come what May" with the mandolin, accordion and dobro as the main instruments. Guitarist Jason Byrd is heard on every song on the album and also handles the backing vocals. Bass player and producer Jim Robeson also plays a major role on this record and performs live with David Massey as well. The song "Heathens" (World on loan) is a duet with Jason Byrd. This song has an amazing violin part played by Pat White and Casey O'Neal plays the pedal steel guitar.
The folksy song "You Can Come Back Home" is a beautiful song, and probably one of the best vocals of David Massey on this album with background vocals of the sisters Susan and Emily Hsu. This song, like "January Wind", reminds me of Chip Taylor, but this could be just me. Also the almost entirely acoustically performed and emotional song "Susie Came Home" doesn't disappoint as does the musical ode to "Julie". The last song "Lay your burden down" is dedicated to Buddy and Julie Miller; maybe he hopes that one day they will try to make a cover version of this song.
In his daily life, David Massey defends the rights of his clients as an attorney. When the evening falls he is a musician with a convincing plea filled with songs that tell a heart gripping story that forces people to think about its message.
We are convinced that there will be "So many roads" for a musical talent like David Massey.
From Rootsville.be July 2009
“David Massey manages, with his storytelling, to blow away celebrities such as John Prine, James Mc Murtry, Todd Snider and others that have preceded him".....always nice if, with a simple push on "Press", you can send your review of Massey's beautiful debut album "Blissful State Of Blue", dating back to October 2004, to the rest of the world. In the mean time almost five years have passed and the singer - songwriter from Washington DC has finally come to the conclusion that “rust corrodes” and that there are still "So Many Roads" to be discovered in the musical landscape. The Rootsville men and lady (welcome Yolanda) are eager to accompany David Massey on his discovery journey with pearls such as ""What You See" - with Zan McLeod on guitars & mandolin - , "Heathens" (duet with Jason Byrd), "Come What May" - Shamus Mc Robe/accordion, Casey O' Neal/dobro, that bring us to well known territory: country with a bluegrass filter. With "Dying Prayer", with Zan McLeod on slide & Celeste Crenshaw - backing vocals, we are heading into the blues swamps, "High Definition Day" - with Tommy Crawford on sax & Bill Starks on piano, "January Wind" and the title track "So Many Roads" are dressed on a nice rock coat, and with "Susie Came Home" with Fred Lieder on cello - and "Julie," these songs could grow into becoming true Radio 1 hits.
"Lay your Burden Down", dedicated to Buddy & Julie Miller, with Casey O' Neal on pedal steel, and the Dylan - like songs "January Wind" and "You Can Come Back Home" are my personal favorites, although Massey seems to have borrowed the last song from somebody else … who knows from whom? "So Many Roads" .... by foot, on your bike, or lying on a lazy chair with David Massey .... it is and stays a unique experience. Mandatory Purchase!
From November 2004 "Comes With A Smile"
You like your country with a bluegrass filter? You like banjo pickin’ in the background, a singer with a likeably gentle voice, songs that tell stories and keep you interested until the last bar? Welcome to David Massey territory. Massey has been compared to the likes of Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Steve Forbert and Todd Snider, but he really has a strong enough identity to stand up for himself. ‘Blissful State of Blue’ is a charming album, recorded with a basic band comprising Zan McLeod (guitars, bass), Robbie Magruder (drums) and Jason Byrd (backing vocals). But onto the simple musical framework that informs most of the songs on this debut CD, Massey grafts accordion, the aforementioned banjo, piano etc., to produce interesting soundscapes. Each song has a complete identity. Take The Drunken Letter, based on a note from a twenty-six-year-old fighter pilot, George Rarey, stationed in England in 1944. In it, Rarey describes his joy at becoming a father. Three months later he is dead. Massey’s adaptation of the story is sensitive and erudite, with Fred Lieder’s keening cello adding pathos. Massey’s not afraid to rock out, though, with Angeline guaranteed to get you whistling the chorus in next to no time. In many ways, Massey reminds me of a countrified Al Stewart - his voice has that high, gossamer quality that has been Stewart’s trademark for years. Added to that, his obvious storytelling ability, and you have a great combination.
From October 2004 “Rootstime" (Belgium):
David Massey's songs are a mix of traditional country, some rock and folk added in, with even a hint of bluegrass. While I never had heard of David Massey before, as it is his debut album, I expect a lot from this new singer- songwriter (do they grow on trees over there?). While there unfortunately is very little information on this man’s website (fix that quickly, David) what is on the album is worth listening to. Accompanied by some of Washington DC's finest musicians such as: Mike Auldridge on dobro, Stephen Wade on the banjo, Zan McLeod on the guitars, mandolin and percussion and as well as the producer of this disc, Bill Starks on a Hammond B3 organ, with beautiful backup vocals by Emily & Susan Hsu and bluegrass singer Sally Love, David Massey manages, with his storytelling, to blow away celebrities such as John Prine, James McMurtry, Todd Snider and others that have preceded him. The compact disc doesn't have sparkling upbeat songs on it: for example there is a story about the death of an old man (Just an Old Dog), The Drunken Letter, about a letter an American soldier wrote after finding out about the birth of his son, the supplication to Jesus and Mohammed to protect our children (Angeline), and perhaps the prettiest number on this masterpiece, The Loneliness I've Known. I also noticed, but this is probably very personal, that track 5, Pretty Summer Day, reminds me of the Italian troubadour Angelo Branduardi. In other words, David Massey will do well with this disc and is a strong candidate to end up at the top of my yearly list. In conclusion I can also report that the CD is in a pretty digi-pack and for those that do not believe me, feel free to take a look at www.cdbaby.com/cd/dmassey. You can hear samples of the album, but more importantly you can buy the album because David is giving half of the proceeds to two organizations. Great album!
From September 2004 "Americana UK":
David Massey starts ‘Blissful State of Blue’ with the nostalgic lament of ‘Labor Day’, a song that looks wistfully at the passing of time, and he doesn’t really vary the mood too much for the rest of the album. Thankfully Massey’s song writing does not depress the listener, just puts them in a more reflective state of mind. In fact no other album has probably possessed a more apt title than this one. Music to soundtrack those rapidly approaching winter nights.
From Winter 2004 University of Virginia Alumni News:
His manner wry, his intonation warm, singer/guitarist David Massey (Law ’84) has a way with lyrics. “I’ll give up streaming video/To get back my old rope swing tire.” The song is “Labor Day,” just one of the 13 gems off Massey’s debut album, Blissful State of Blue. The sentiment is evocative, nostalgic. So, too, is the sound, recalling classic seventies radio fare by James Taylor, Jim Croce, and Loggins & Messina. Massey recently put out the CD on his own label, Poetic Debris, and the disc has gotten a push from some unexpected places, like radio stations in Belgium and Switzerland that have a yen for American roots music.
Not bad for a lawyer. While Massey picked up the guitar in college and, inspired by alternative-country legends like Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle, began writing songs, he actually earns his bread and butter as a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. But there’s nothing pinstriped about his music.
Instead, think comfortably faded denim. Dobro, fiddle and mandolin augment Massey’s six-string on original tunes, literate and generally wistful, that range from a prayer about Mideast conflict to musings about Pickett’s Charge in the Civil War. Of course, Massey also tries his hand at the staple folk themes of yearning, loneliness and love lost – and from the calypso lilt of “Since You Took My Ring” to the epic banjo-driven ballad “Marilee McGrath,” he turns in performances consistently fresh and authentically charming.
From May 2005 CtrAltCountry
Do you like roots music singer-songwriters such as Steve Forbert, John Prine, Al Stewart and Todd Snider? If so, then we can be almost sure that you will also enjoy David Massey. His “Blissful State Of Blue” is really brilliant. He recorded the album with a small army of top musicians from Washington D.C.: Dudley Connell and Mike Auldridge (from The Seldom Scene), Robbie Magruder (was drummer for many years with Mary-Chapin Carpenter), banjo virtuoso Stephen Wade, multi-instrumentalist Zan McLeod (known for his work for amongst others Paul Winter, Jim Lauderdale, David Wilcox and Mike Cross), accordionist Bill McComiskey, “Bill Kirchen and Too Much Fun" drummer Jack O'Dell, Jim Robeson (The Cathy Ponton King Band), Bill Starks (The Cathy Ponton King Band, Ruthie and the Wranglers), bluegrass singer Sally Love, and Emily and Susan Hsu from indie pop/jam band Exit Clov.
With his soft, pleasant voice Massey sings thirteen intriguing tales, against a background of the sounds of the banjo, accordion and dobro, acoustic guitars and mandolins, the occasional sound of the fiddle or cello and now and again a saxophone, piano or Hammond B3. The result is really top roots music, switching between pop, Americana and bluegrass. In our view, “Blissful State Of Blue” is an album to treasure!
(Listening tips: high volume for the dobro of Mike Auldridge on “Nowhere Close To Home” and the summery track “Blissful State Of Blue”.)
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FROM THE WASHINGTON LEGAL TIMES
Week of August 2, 2004
By day, he is one of the suited masses that work at various law firms in the city. By night, he is an expressive and creative songwriter. Dave Massey, a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, released his first CD, “Blissful State of Blue,” in June. The music is a mix of folk, rock, and country styles. Massey says he has no secret ambition to be a rock ’n’ roll star, but enjoys music and songwriting as a pastime. “If I could combine law and the band and justify recording, that would be ideal,” he says. But for now, he’s keeping his day job.
Massey started playing the guitar in college. On this new CD, which Massey released on his own label, Poetic Debris, he plays the guitar and sings. He also wrote or co-wrote all 13 songs on it. For two years, Massey worked part time at the firm. His reasons for his curtailed schedule were twofold: “One, my wife was in telecom and at the time it looked like she had a lot of options and that we wouldn’t have to work as hard. Two, I wanted to spend more time with my son, who’s now 13, and see what it was like to not do law 24/7. . . . The firm was very flexible in letting me go part time.”
Massey says he got into songwriting to amuse himself, but grew to enjoy it. “I just happened to pick up my guitar and start writing songs,” he explains. “It came in a burst of energy.” He adds, “Songwriting is what I really like. I love the challenge of writing something meaningful.” “I grew up on rock and folk rock, and I started listening to Americana music in the late 1980s, artists like Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle,” he says. “Americana is folk rock with different flavors like old-time bluegrass and country. The songs are real. They’re about real people.”
Now back at the firm full time, the 45-year-old Massey says his interest in performing Americana music was piqued when he took on the National Council of Traditional Arts (NCTA) as a pro bono client in 2002. The NCTA is a nonprofit organization that preserves traditional arts in America. He says he became friendly with many of the council’s musicians who introduced him to other local Americana artists. He started playing with them for fun and kept on doing it until he decided to do his own recording. Friends from the NCTA helped Massey get in touch with local record producer Zan McLeod. Local musicians on the CD include Steven Wade, who performed “Banjo Dancing,” a longrunning show at the Arena Stage; Robbie Magruder, who was Mary Chapin Carpenter’s drummer for many years; Dudley Connell, a lead singer for the Seldom Scene; Jim Robeson, who played in the North Star Band, a popular group along the East Coast, and now plays in The Cathy Ponton King Band; Mike Auldridge, a well-known dobro player; and Emily and Susan Hsu, members of indie pop rock quintet Exit Clov.
Massey held a CD premier party on June 27 at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Va. Half the proceeds from the show were split between the NCTA and Stars for Stripes, a group that entertains American troops overseas. “It was really fun, and I liked raising money for charity by doing something I enjoy,” Massey says. Approximately 100 people came to the show, and Jammin’ Java has asked Massey to return.
Many of the songs on the album are in the first person, but Massey says his songs aren’t about him. “I write in first-person because it’s easier to get into the character of the song,” he says. “People have said that I’m not as country as I sound, because I get into the characters when I sing.” In “The Drunken Letter,” Massey explores the persona of George Rarey, a World War II fighter pilot stationed in England who was killed by German anti-aircraft fire. Three months before his death, Rarey received a letter from his wife telling him he was a new father. The letter he wrote back to her was printed in The Washington Post and served as Massey’s inspiration. “A dad his son would never see/a fading memory/Just a drunken letter pressed inside a book/That’s all that’s left for me,” Massey wrote.
Massey also got inspiration from the Civil War. “Pretty Summer Day” is about the famed Pickett’s Charge up Cemetery Ridge during the battle of Gettysburg. In the song, Massey contrasts the beautiful summer morning with the gore and horror of the battle. “Damn Yanks won’t agree to let us be, so we’ll send them all to hell/Then walk back to old Virginia before we say farewell.”
Guest appearances by musicians playing instruments like the cello, the banjo, the fiddle, and the organ keep each piece lively and unique, appropriately fitting the lyrics. Massey says that his family has been supportive: “They worry when the lyrics aren’t upbeat, but I have to remind them I’m writing in character.” He also says his colleagues at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan “think I’ve lost my mind, but they went to the CD release party and were impressed.”
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