There is a certain zone that a singer moves into after performing for many years. Let's call it gravitas, a weight that is immediately arresting upon the first line of the song. Think of the first time you heard Johnny Cash or Norah Jones. It's a display of rich life experience through a tone and phrasing that is manifestly ripe and personal. Dave Murphy has it. At his very core, Dave Murphy is a storyteller. The music conveys the same message as the words. It’s a unified expression from a man who has drilled down deeply in life experiences as a cancer survivor, jack of many trades, world traveler and veteran of the relationship wars.

Every musician has a musical DNA and Dave's was constructed early with the power of a hook and a simply expressed sentiment. When talking about some of his earliest musical experiences he'll mention listening to his Dad's 60's record collection and recalling pivotal moments like hearing the Stones “Ruby Tuesday” for the first time or being mesmerized by the tight vocal harmonies and Rickenbacker guitar sound of the Byrds after hearing Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” In later years he found his grail, the inspirational mother lode with Neil Young. You don't hear Young blatantly, but you hear the inspiring templates: songs about uncertain lovers, about growing older, facing loss and grasping at dreams. Songwriting with profound concision, spare, blunt but filled with little surprises.

In the early ‘80’s, Dave discovered WHN, virtually the only country radio station in New York City. His ears perked-up listening to DJs like Jesse Scott mix the classics like, George Jones, Merle Haggard and Don Williams along with the next generation of “new traditionalists” stars like Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle. Dave still recounts with delight initially hearing Earle's "Guitar Town" on that station.

A turbulent marriage, divorce and copious amounts of intoxicants created the inner turmoil that moved Dave to write. In the mid and late 80's he frequented the open-mics and showcases in Greenwich Village at places like Sun Mountain (now The Baggot Inn) and the now-defunct Speakeasy, where many legendary singer/songwriters got their start.

As he made connections and started to impress the bookers, opportunities developed. He opened for artists such as Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Ray Wylie Hubbard and even author/punk rocker, Jim Carroll. In 1998 Dave released his first album, a self-produced effort titled "Under the Lights." The collection garnered a prestigious “Top 12 DIY” pick in the December 1999 issue of Performing Songwriter Magazine.

Dave subsequently released four more albums, all on his own Phoenix Night label. He has received awards and rave reviews, performed at hundreds of venues across the country from the renowned Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas to the intimate Tin Angel in Philadelphia. He’s shared the stage with some of the world’s great Americana artists including Suzanne Vega, Slaid Cleaves, Alejandro Escovedo and Steve Forbert.

In-fact, Forbert makes a guest appearance on “Chasing Ghosts,” Dave’s third album. In addition Columbia recording artist Nicole Atkins provides stellar backing vocals throughout the record. Songs on that album broadened his audience with airplay on many of the major Americana and Triple-A radio stations across the country. His music has been featured on New York City's WFUV, where he appeared on John Platt's show.

The "Yellow Moon" album is loaded with moments from a particular intimate relationship. All the invigorating and demoralizing parts are there and the voice has a resignation, swelling and painful, through different turns, but always with a subtext of hope. Dave Murphy's records leave us with a fellow traveler on life's twisting highway. He's a friend whose stories are always welcome because they are carried on such arresting music and they are real.

Peter Hay
Brooklyn, April 2011