I wonder what it would be like.

I think my next couple of artists posts are going to be about local singer/songwriters with a lot of soul. I was listening to David Ryan Harris earlier today, and I think you guys need to know about him.

I've worked for a couple of music related things (labels, media relations companies, booking agencies) and I've had to promote some artists that I wasn't exactly crazy about. I'm glad to say that David Ryan Harris is not one of those artists.

Last summer as an intern at Metro Talent Group, I had the pleasure of being introduced to his music. If you're a fan of John Mayer's, you may have seen David open for John during a few shows last summer. Or, you may have seen David playing guitar as a member of John's band. However, David has been a part of the Atlanta music scene for several years now.

In the late 80s, David formed the rock group Follow For Now. While dubbed "The Next Living Colour," they had a wide array of influences, ranging from Stevie Wonder to Bad Brains. But the band didn't last very long, and broke up in 1991 after releasing only one album.

In 1995 David produced and played guitar on Dionne Ferris' debut record Wild Seed-Wild Flower. After acting as musical director for her live band, he decided to embark on a solo career of his own. He signed to Brendan O'Brien's 57 Imprint at Columbia Records and released his first solo cd in 1997 entitled David Ryan Harris. The album was so diverse and mixed so many different genres, that it was hard to classify. Even though it was hailed by critics, it didn't sell well.

Instead of recording a following up record, David started the band Brand New Immortals with bassist Johnny Colt (ex Black Crows) and drummer Kenny Cresswell. After their 6 song EP, Piston, Protein, and Afro-Sheen, started to receive a lot of attention, they group signed to Elektra and released their debut record, Trafic Show, in 2001. While the album was good, it didn't do well commercial, and in 2002, David announced that the band had broken up.

David continues to record as a solo artist. He put out an album last year called Soulstice, but I'm going to give you some tracks from his 2002 EP, Atlanta. Atlanta consists of seven songs that David recorded in his apartment between February and April of 2002. He engineered, arranged, produced, played and sang on every track. David writes great songs, and his voice is just so passionate and soulful. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to tell right away what's so special about him.

(from Atlanta)

David Ryan Harris- Strong Enough
David Ryan Harris- Would Be
David Ryan Harris- Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) *Hendrix Cover*