Hello friends, fans, family, and then some,

So the unfortunate norm with me of late involves a lot of silence on this blog and as an artist in general.

So to give you an update as far as where I’ve been making noise, here’s some news and general info on the life of Dave:

• I moved to East Nashville and found a job as a server at Chuy’s near music row in the city. I am doing my best to fit into my new adult shoes, and understand how to live well when you no longer answer to anyone but yourself and the big man upstairs.
• Playing lead guitar and singing BGV’s for The Joy Of Painting has been my most active musical endeavor of late. We just finished tracking a record at The Brown Owl in Nashville, and it was one of the most pleasant and exciting studio experiences of my life. I had the pleasure of fooling around with their instrumental toys, which included a baritone guitar and a Gibson electric lap slide. We tracked live to 2 inch tape. Pretty much the coolest thing I ever did involving microphones…
• I have recently begun a new band with two wonderful friends and talents, and we are currently working out the kinks in our menu before we take our tasty audible treats from the kitchen to the public. This involves a harder, more upbeat, power trio sort of sound. More news on that soon…
• I just bought a beautiful bass guitar, and am working towards becoming an active bass player. If you need a bassist or know anyone who does in the Nashville area, don’t hesitate to call.
• I will be aiming towards getting more solo gigs going very soon, in which I will play many of the old favorites and continue to bring new songs to the table.
• I’m getting my hands dirty in free-form poetry again, and I hope to get a bit of that up on the web soon.

I must confess that graduating, moving to a new city, and getting settled into a new routine have thrown my creative life out of whack. But as I begin to get my feet back under me, things are really looking up from here on out.

So before you know it, I’ll be posting all sorts of wonderful tidbits and news and shows and so on. So stay tuned, and stay classy.

And if you like dub-step, and think dancing teddy bears would go well with it, then check this out.

With love and hope for all of you,

-Dave.

Okay, so it’s been awhile, I know. But here’s why:

• I spent 22 days in Kerrville, Texas this summer playing music, listening to music, meeting songwriters, promoting myself and the new album, and investing in the music industry. The folk world is a beautiful one, and there will be more about Kerrville soon.
• I also spent 6 days in Detroit on a mission trip serving the community and looking true poverty in the face for the first time. My mind was stretched, my heart was torn, and thus my musical self was also affected. More on that later as well.
• Now that I’ve graduated I’m getting ready to move to Nashville! This means there’s a lot of stuff to pull together: house hunting, job hunting, bill paying, life living, etc…
• My laptop recently passed into the netherworld, so this whole internet thing has been a real challenge of late. Soon enough we’ll be back in the saddle and have a consistent stream of content flowing.

And that’s the gist. It has been a whirlwind of a summer. I can’t wait to pass through into the next season and share it all with you.

More news and updates will be on the way when the time is right. 

Much love until then. :-)

-Dave.

…Dave’s First Album.

And I am officially released on this wonderful day of our Lord; May 6, 2011!!

My name is “Your Voice; A Violin. Your Tongue: A Tambourine.” But let’s face it, that’s a mouthful. You can call me VVTT.

If you’d like to buy a physical copy of me, come to the release party tonight in Murfreesboro (or any show after that):

• 5:30pm - 9pm
• Bonhoeffer’s - 610 Dill Lane, M’boro, TN
• Awesome songwriters will be opening the night in writers round fashion.
• CD’s are $10

If you’re more of a digital download type, you can snag me on bandcamp for the charming price of pay-what-you-want. I’ll tell you though, I worked really hard to knock your socks off in physical fashion. My sleeves have this fancy texture, and my CD art is really pretty too. I’m so pretty, I might just make you blush…or maybe it’s the other way around…

So that’s about all I have to say about myself. Just in case, let’s recap: I’m a record. I’m available - at shows and on bandcamp. I’m pretty killer in person - meaning you’re not just going to want a photo. And I’m interested in you. Yes, you.

Any questions? Email Dave, he’s been gracious enough to volunteer to become my manager for the time being.

davidarmstrongmusic@gmail.com is a great means for reaching him.

I can’t wait for you to hear me!!!

-VVTT

Photo Shoot!

A certain Kyle McCormick shot these photographs of me out in a random field here in the Boro. We had a lot of fun, but we went out there around 6 or 7am in the middle of winter, thus, we were pretty cold.

However, the backgrounds and lighting are just gorgeous, and it was a real pleasure to work with Kyle.

If you see him anytime soon, be sure to say “Oh hi, Kyle! Wannaholmyhanman?” - He may or may not get it.

It is finished.

After one long breath of relief, I am proud to sit down at the computer and type those words.

It’s 4:25am, and this is a beautiful end to a long day. I got home from Nashville around 2:45am with the master copies of Your Voice; A Violin. Your Tongue; A Tambourine. clutched in my hands.

About 15 minutes ago, I sent the pre-release download to my kickstarter backers.

About 5 minutes ago, I started uploading the master files to Oasis to get the discs printed.

About 1 minute ago, I thought it would be a good idea to put the new album artwork on the site and tell you all the wonderful news.

About 10 minutes from now, I will close my eyes and pretend that sleeping is an option.

About 15 minutes from now, I will get back up and write a paper for my songwriting class.

About 86 or so hours from now, my release party for the CD will end, and I’ll be one step closer to the next show, the next time I put a copy of the record in a strangers hands, and hopefully the next person that needs to hear these songs.

And less than 24 hours after that, I will have a degree in Recording Industry behind me and the rest of my life ahead of me to act like I know what I’m doing with it.

I know one thing I’m gonna do for sure: make music. And as much of it as I can.

Thank you all for your love and support as I endeavor to do so. It is an honor to share the journey with all of you.

Be sure to download the record on bandcamp this Friday!(www.davidarmstrongmusic.bandcamp.com)

-Dave.

Howdy folks,

We are just one week and a day away from my album release. …Wow…

This means lots of exciting things for me. I’ve been looking at different options for bumper stickers and merchandise in general, and I’ve been finalizing album artwork for printing and discussing the last little details of mastering with our mastering engineer and handling all the payments for those things and more and then some and so on.

It is a real honor to have an opportunity like this at the age of 21. So I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who donated to my kickstarter to make this happen for me.

And I also wanted to share some exciting news about the future:

I’m already halfway (well, maybe 1/3 + 10% or so) done with my second record!

Just this past Saturday we finished tracking strings for it. All that’s left now will be vocals, background vocals, piano, and auxiliary instruments (glockenspiel being one of them!), and then we’re done with tracking!

And then of course there’s mixing, mastering, production/duplication, hype, and release.

I might be getting a little a head of myself on the hype part, but I just had to say something because I’m so excited about it!!

All that being said, congratulations to all of you on whatever you may need it for, and I’ll see you soon at the release party next week.

-Dave.

Hey there big ol’ world,

I’m proud to say that the release party for my debut LP will be scheduled for Friday, May 6, at Bonhoeffer’s in Murfreesboro.

The event will begin around 5pm, and there’s rumors spreading of a first-come-first-serve potluck dinner…

Around 5:30, there will be a couple songwriter rounds involving some fine folks from ODP. And around 6:30 I’ll get on up on the stage and sing some songs from the record.

If you would honor me with your presence, I would be grateful the whole day through.

Physical copies will be available at the merch table. 10 bucks a pop. There is a $5 “Hey Dave, I’m broke” discount that you might be entitled to.

The digital release will be out that morning on bandcamp, and will be available at the “pay what you want” rate - meaning you could, in theory, pay zero dollars.

I like to appeal to all tax brackets… :-)

I can guarantee you that the physical version is way sweet, though. My sister designed the artwork, and it’s looking pretty sassy as of today. (We’re printing the sleeves next week, btw!)

So, that’s about it. The event page on facebook would be a good place to go for more news and updates about the release.

See you there,

Dave.

Salutations, my friends!

I am writing to let you know that we are - put your thumb about a quarter of an inch from your pointer finger - this close to having the record out and in your ears!

The final mixes are currently with our handsomely dashing Mastering Engineer, Glen Edwards, and should be coming back to me all packaged up and ready to print in the next week or so.

After that, it’s on to the next level of goodness: The Release Party. More news on that very soon!

I thought I might put up a little sneak peek of what my sister has been working on to share her glorious handiwork, which hopefully, you noticed above. This is the most recent draft of the album cover. There are still a few things to tweak, but you should be seeing something similar to this if you elect to purchase a physical copy.

Speaking of sneak peek’s, if you haven’t been to the bandcamp this week, there’s a new track from the record available for listening. It’s the first tune I wrote for the record back in February 2009, and it’s titled “Heartache.” Thus far, friends who have listened have described it as “epic,” “a work of art,” and “Ryan Adams meets Radiohead meets Queen.” I suppose you can go and hear for yourself whether or not those things are true by listening here.

More sneak peeks will be arriving weekly as the release gets closer, so stay tuned.

I’m so excited! I’m so excited! I’M SO EXCITED!!!

You’re all awesome. Even more awesome than this.

So stay that way.

-Dave.

Hey folks, a quick update about the album release:

It seems like this album is really starting to come together nicely. My sister and I have been working hard on the artwork, and we’re having a ton of fun doing it. She’s a fantastic designer, and I’m very happy to have her on board with the project. I imagine things are really going to feel great in the final package thanks to her.

John Gulyas and I are in the last stages of mixing (give or take a few songs) and have been making a few tweaks trying to find the right place for everything before we send the mixes out to mastering.

And after it comes back mastered, off it goes to the printing company (Oasis) adorned with carefully crafted artwork.

The Kickstarter funds will come through on April 5th, and after that it won’t be long (a month or less with our fingers crossed) before the album is in your hands and ears.

And then it’s about time for me to graduate and play some shows.

But there’s more in the works than that, so keep visiting. The site will soon get a bit of a makeover and we’ll be kicking things up to the next level with the album release.

Until then, have a look at this and think about the wonders of Will Ferrell. :-)

Cheers!

Hey there folks,

Just wanted to let you in on a few things that have been or will be happening.

• The Kickstarter has 17 days left, and we are just $10 shy of $800 at the time of this post. If you haven’t helped out yet, please join us as we endeavor to make this record the best that it can be. If you have been so generous as to fund the project, share it with your friends and spread the word. Tell them why you believe so strongly in me that you would pa(y)ve the way for my first record. :-)
• Next week I have a show in Murfreesboro, TN @ Bonhoeffer’s on 610 Dill Lane. Thursday the 24th, to be exact. Should be starting up around 8:30pm. If you’ve never been to Bhoff’s, you’ve got to check it out. They have free music, free coffee, and even free cookies every Thursday night, and it’s glorious. We’ll be recording audio/video for the show, so check out the YouTube channel later for some video content.
• I am still mixing the record, and it’s been quite the journey. I just finished Track 5 last night, though there may be a few minor tweaks to make before it goes out for mastering. I’m in the beginning stages of working on Track 10 now, and it’s a doozy. But I’ll keep at it ‘til it’s done. Pretty soon another track will be up for your pre-release listening pleasure. :-)
• Spring Break just passed me by, which was a bit of a milestone for me, as it marked the last time I would ever go on holiday as a college student. I spent some of it in Chicago (my first time in the city) visiting art museum’s, record stores, and listening to wonderful artists like Heather Styka & Christopher Bell in hole-in-the-wall coffee shops that serve a mean Nutella Mocha.
• I just purchased my favorite band’s newest release yesterday, and it has been rolling with me everywhere in my car, teaching and encouraging me, and putting a big smile on my face. The band’s name is Noah & The Whale, and the album is called “Last Night On Earth.” It’s about a series of characters and what they might do if it was literally the last night on earth. I’d strongly recommend checking them out along with their entire discography @ www.noahandthewhale.com.

And that’s the long and short of it, folks. I hope you are well today. You deserve it. :-)

-Dave.

P.S. - Oh, and if you know about the double rainbow, I think you should check this out…