David writes Southern-tinged folk-pop-rock with roots and a conscience. He has performed solo and with various combinations of musicians for nearly ten years in Georgia and the Southeast. He is currently promoting and touring in support of his latest album, Once Out Loud.
David began work on Once Out Loud in the fall of 2003 with producer and drummer Josh Brackett (Rubyhorse, Atticus Fault, Abra Moore). He enlisted the help of Drew Lawson (bass; Vigilantes of Love), Matt Gramling (guitar; Red Letter Blonde), Jess Hopkins (guitar; Red Letter Blonde), Joey Huffman (keys; Matchbox Twenty, The Georgia Satellites, Shawn Mullins), and his wife Courtney (vocals). This new project released April 15th, 2004, and includes eleven original songs of new material recorded over roughly nine months in The House of Roy in Marietta, Georgia.
david owen--bio
David began performing in Athens, Georgia in the fall of 1995 with roommate and guitarist Pete Fuller. He soon decided to explore fuller arrangements for his songs, and his search to find the right complements to his music culminated in the formation of a band in the spring of 1997. The newly formed SALT soon found shows in Athens and around the state, moving from a small show at DT’s to the opening slot for the Vigilantes of Love at the 40Watt club in a few months. SALT recorded a five-song EP in early November 1999.
The music of SALT has been described as song-oriented, acoustic-based rock, with influences as diverse as folk, blues, country, jazz, and funk. They combined lyric-driven, emotional writing with a close attention to musicianship, and the result was a sound that moved from feel-good pop to straight-ahead rock to dark and honest explorations of the soul, sometimes within the same song.
After SALT’s amicable split in September of 2000, David again decided to experiment with various arrangements and instrumental combinations in his solo efforts. He released a 10-song collection, between here and there, in January 2001 of recordings from the previous summer. This album features four studio tracks with sparse instrumental and vocal accompaniments and six live tracks from a show with Kevin Mann. After the album’s release, David continued to perform primarily in coffeehouses, bookstores, and other intimate settings in places like Athens, Macon, Canton, Nashville, Hilton Head, and Augusta. He appeared in 2002 and 2003 on the Community Stage in Augusta’s Arts in the Heart festival and backed by guitar, drums, bass, and vocals in May 2003 in Canton’s Silk City Music Festival.
In the fall of 2003, David began work on a new album with producer and drummer Josh Brackett (Rubyhorse, Atticus Fault, Abra Moore). He enlisted the help of Drew Lawson (bass; Vigilantes of Love), Matt Gramling (guitar; Red Letter Blonde), Jess Hopkins (guitar; Red Letter Blonde), Joey Huffman (keys; Matchbox Twenty, The Georgia Satellites, Shawn Mullins), and his wife Courtney (vocals). This new project, Once Out Loud, released April 15th, 2004, and includes eleven original songs of new material recorded over roughly nine months in The House of Roy in Marietta, Georgia.
Though Owen’s previous album, between here and there, was characterized by sparse acoustic arrangements, intimate vocals, and a very live feel (many of the tracks were recorded live), his latest work shows expansion and growth at every turn. Each song on Once Out Loud was still built on and around the acoustic guitar, but this time he uses more than his voice to fill the room. Backed by some of Atlanta’s most talented young musicians on many of the songs, Owen has worked with up-and-coming producer Joshua Brackett to create a project that is simply bigger, in every way, than anything he has done before; guitars, drums, organs, and vocals all swirl and move together to form a sound that is more radio-ready without losing the charm and humanity of live performance. David is currently touring and promoting the album.