Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Desmelik reminds me of the reasons I got into bed with Americana on the first date. An unpretentious approach to songwriting and performance, gritty and generic without being predictable, his songs show an excellent range." - www.americana-uk.com
"Dave Desmelik's brand of Americana is the kind that makes you neither cry in your beer nor suck it down at a grim pace. His is the kind that makes you stop drinking for just a moment to acknowledge it with an emotional nod, a shiver of recognition that touches your own experience."
- Focus Newspaper
"His confident voice is reminiscent of a campfire storyteller who knows that each word carries weight."
"Sounding like a young Jay Farrar, Dave filled the room with flourishes of harmonica, warm vocals, and sharp lyrics that corralled attention away from the cold pints."
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"He's more than got the skills to soar high above the area's bloated flock of folkies." - Mountain Xpress
"Writing his strongest and most muscular songs yet, Desmelik comes out swinging, crafting a gem of a disc (When Your Eyes Are Closed) wherein country and rock meet in a glorious head on collision."
"Desmelik's understated delivery might have a bit of "aw shucks" coursing through its musical grooves, but there is a mordant rawness lying just below the surface that cannot be denied."
- Rapid River
"When Your Eyes Are Closed is one of the best Asheville/WNC CDs of the year."
- WNCW radio
"His no-frills and pleasantly melancholy style brings an incredible warmth to meditations on love, frustration, escape and release."
- High Country News
"When Your Eyes Are Closed" is Desmelik's fourth solo album and is filled with his wry yet sincere take on the world." - Watauga Mountain Times
"There is a passion in the heart of Desmelik's live shows, as well as his songs. There's the feeling that he is the genuine article." - Asheville Citizen-Times, Take-5
"Desmelik doesn't write a song to hear a couple of chords slide together, although the combinations adamantly succeed, he tells a story. His perspective is that of a country boy who's not exactly country, a traveler who sees the world from his front porch, yet relates it with quiet authority."
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"His methodical songwriting style, unassuming arrangements, and quietly persuasive lyrics are strangely captivating and become more powerful with every listen."
- Flag Live
"With this album, Desmelik assembles an impressive collection of NPR-ready songs that are both traditional-sounding and contemporary. When Your Eyes Are Closed is respectful of its simple heritage, while remaining slightly unconventional and adventurous."
- Performer Magazine
Discography
When Your Eyes Are Closed--2005
When Your Eyes Are Closed" at #21 on the Freeform American Roots chart for January 2006.
::"When Your Eyes Are Closed" was at #19 on the Roots Music Report (Folk Airplay) generated the week of January 17th, and January 24th, 2006.
:: Dave's CD "When Your Eyes Are Closed" is at #6 on the Euro Americana chart for the month of January and #14 for the month of February 2006.
:: "When Your Eyes Are Closed" was also voted by the listeners of WNCW as #100 for the top new releases of 2005 and #13 in the category of favorite new release by a regional artist.
Afterthoughts--2002
Have Another--2001
Move On--1999
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Dave Desmelik has established himself as an accomplished and rising singer/songwriter whose music might be best described as Americana. Drawing upon influences from country to bluegrass to blues to rock n' roll, Desmelik writes and performs a unique blend of songs.
Growing up in Alpharetta, GA, music affected Dave early. He started playing bass guitar in his high school jazz band, as well as cello in his high school orchestra, while also learning the guitar. Playing guitar, writing music, and singing songs became a part of Dave's life, but it was not until he moved to Flagstaff, AZ that his songwriting would really take hold.
During his time in AZ, Dave played and wrote songs with such acts as The John Treitor Band, Big Jim and the Twins, and Onus B. Johnson.. Onus B. Johnson has released two albums, "Johnson Family Jewels" (1998), and "Box of Moonlight" (2000) on which Dave's songwriting is a key ingredient. Also, Onus B. Johnson was chosen by a panel of industry professionals as a band finalist at the 2001 Telluride Bluegrass Festival enabling the band to perform on the main stage. The community of Flagstaff voted OBJ as "favorite band" in the local weekly entertainment paper, FlagLive, for the years of 2001-2004. Dave has released four independent albums, "Move On" (1998), "Have Another" (2001), "Afterthoughts" (2003) and "When Your Eyes Are Closed" (2005). Dave won the 2002 FAME (Flagstaff Awards for Music Excellence) award for best singer/songwriter and was the winner at the 2004 Asheville Make a Wish Foundation songwriter shootout. In May of 2005, Shut Eye Records from Atlanta, GA released a compilation CD titled "The United State of Americana, Vol. 2" on which Dave was a featured artist. Dave's song "Tear It Down" was the second track on this CD, and has recieved numerous spins on various Americana radio stations across the United States, Canada, and Europe, including Twangcast, WNCW, CountryBear.com, KFAN, WGCS, MMKY, WRIU, Rootstime, and the Jeans Generation. This CD reached ..70 on the Americana charts. In September of 2005, Dave was also chosen to be included on WNCW's popular compilation CD series, "Crowd Around The Mic, Vol. 9." This is a series of CDs on which national and regional musicians perform live in WNCW's Studio B. Dave's CD "When Your Eyes Are Closed" was voted by the listeners of WNCW as ..100 for the top new releases of 2005 and ..13 in the category of favorite new release by a regional artist. This CD reached ..12 on the Freeform American Roots chart for the month of December 2005 as published by 3rd Coast Music magazine. This CD also reached ..6 on the Euro Americana chart for the month of January, 2006. "When Your Eyes Are Closed" was at ..19 on the Roots Music Report (Folk Airplay) generated the week of January 17th, 2006.
From the historic Orpheum Theatre in Flagstaff, AZ, to The Toad in Cambridge, MA, to The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC, as well as many other great music venues, Dave has opened for and shared the stage with such acts as Tony Furtado, Jack Johnson, Robbie Fulks, The Believers, Cary Hudson, The Larry Keel Experience, The Benders, Peita Brown and Bo Ramsey, The Reel Time Travelers, The Laura Blackley Band, Jabe, and Patterson Hood to name a few.
Currently, Dave has returned to his southeastern roots, and is living in Asheville, NC. Dave has been performing regionally as a solo artist and with his band "the HillBilly Cadavers". Gary Wiley and Richard Foulk are "the HillBilly Cadavers". Gary is an exceptional musician who has played bass guitar with the Sons of Ralph, Ras Alan, and Martina McBride just to name a few. Richard is a seasoned drummer who has played with Ghost Mountain, Sons of Ralph, and various other bands around the region. At the present time, Dave Desmelik and the Hillbilly Cadavers continue to write songs and play music that is consistent and identifiable to all of their fans.
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