Saturday, April 1, 2017

SongFest interview with Davin McCoy



Davin McCoy’s music is soul and heartbreak and hope. I was thrilled to sit with him in the air conditioned Word Wagon here at the fourth annual Safety Harbor SongFest. I hope you’ll take the time to get to know him through his music. It’s worth it! 

We had a nice visit. Here's what came of it. 

Me: How did you get here—to Florida and SongFest?

McCoy: I was playing 30-A in Seaside a few years ago, and my good friend Gareth Asher wanted to come with me and hang out. He introduced me to Todd and Kiaralinda and after that it seemed like I ran into them at lots of different festivals.  One year we talked about me coming down and being a part of it.

Me: You mentioned your music has changed since then.

McCoy: Yeah. My daughter is two and a half and when she was born, we were playing nonstop. I had a record out but  I was going crazy. She was born and I was gone. Everything came to an abrupt halt but I was just as miserable. Not playing as I had been before.

Me: Your music stopped?

McCoy: Music was where I exercised my demons. I was sick without it. I ended up going away for three months – meditation, therapy – got rid of the demons and took two years off. Now, this, this is me coming back. I’m at a different place. I’m centered and happy, but the music is harder to write.

Me: How do you fill the rest of your time? Do you try to force the writing?

McCoy: I have been working with young guys to help get them through early childhood trauma. It is something I want to do. But it doesn’t mean I’m not involved with my music. I still have to record.

Me: tell me more about helping victims of trauma.

McCoy: I studied psychology in college. When I needed to find help, it reminded me of that and I started getting involved. It’s the only thing I’ve ever done that could possibly compete with writing and playing music. I work with 15 to 25-year-old men. It is really cool counseling them. It’s a weird – life -- how it unfolds.

Me: Now that you’re in a better place, how will that affect your songwriting?

McCoy: I feel a lot more freedom. I don’t feel shackled anymore. It’s not going to kill me if I don’t’ get my emotion into song. It’s more like I don’t have to write it -  I get to. I get to explore things I might not usually write about – I can explore my perspective.

I can’t wait to buy Davin’s CD, Whisky Sexy. You can connect with his music on Spotify or Pandora.
You can also visit his website davinmccoy.com.

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