Dave Simpson

The sober guy hosting the open mic at Karma every Wednesday night is that way by design, not by chance. He walked out of rehab on his 21st birthday and, at 22, he knows how he wants the world to look when he's 80: through the still, clear lens of sobriety, unclouded by regret.

The influence of sober second chance is clear on Dave Simpson's new CD, So, Sober, which hushes its way through simple, powerful tunes that lay out his story with lyrical jabs that lead to a knockout. Three of the songs were actually written in rehab, and another tune was penned at an Edmonton open mike night where the songwriter took the stage, post-rehab, for the first time in over three years.

"There was a time when I tried to write songs with all the metaphors, tried to make them beautifully written, like things you would see quoted in magazines. I realized that that's just not the style that I write - I'm pretty blunt when I write", the songwriter says.

True to Simpson's vision, some songs sneak along solo on vapour wisps of guitar and vocals, others swell with organ, strings, and percussion straining for space. All are graced by uncluttered, direct lyrics that reveal the craft of a man with nothing to hide.

"The way I reasoned that to myself is that if I don't try to paint anything a certain way or cover it up with certain words, there's more chance that a listener would be able to connect with it and relate it to their own life. My favorite songs are the ones that for whatever reason I'm able to relate to and put towards things that are going on with me."

Ironically, Simpson's first-ever time onstage was at the same open-mike night he now hosts, four years later. Time in college and rehab helped clarify his path, but it was not until he was watching a performance in Austin, Texas, that the singer realized he had to get back onstage to continue forward with the songs he'd begun writing at 18.

"I've always really loved music - it's always been a huge part of my life. But seeing the Austin festival, I realized I would kick myself in the ass if I was 80 and hadn't given this a go."

- Mary-Lynn Wardle - Fast Forward Weekly Magazine

Hosting the open mic night at Karma for the past six months has proven a couple of things to Dave Simpson. First, is the first-hand knowledge there are a lot of talented people in this city, and secondly, there are far too many people wasting the skills and artistry they have.

"It can be frustrating when you see someone that's got a lot of talent and they're not necessarily pushing it or anything," says Simpson, a Crowsnest Pass native who relocated here six years ago. "And maybe it's just not what they want or whatever, but when it's someone with a lot of talent, I go 'Wow - you could really do something with this, why aren't you?'"

It took a trip down to Austin two years ago and a show by songwriter Ray Lamontagne to get Simpson to ask himself that same question and convince him music is what he "could be doing, and should be doing."

It's hard to argue listening to his debut, So, Sober, which he'll release tonight with a show at the Liberty Lounge. The sublimely modest and impassioned disc, which sounds like a vaguely country mashup of Joseph Arthur, David Gray and Damien Rice, has the capability - should it find the right ears - of making Simpson's dreams of songwriting as a full-time gig a reality.

"It's not necessarily a goal where I want to be on radio and I want to do all of that stuff," he says. "But if I can sustain myself comfortably through, doing this - which is the biggest passion in my life - that would be success to me. That's where I want to be.

"The best compliment that I got," he continues, "was a friend who said, 'watching you do this now, you can totally tell it's what you're supposed to be doing.'''

If you miss Simpson doing what he should be doing tonight, you can find him every Wednesday night or opening for John Wort Hannam next Saturday at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre.

-Mike Bell

- The Calgary Sun

His official name is David Lea George Simpson Jr.
“When I was little and the other kids would ask what my name was, I would tell them the whole thing. Suckers.”
And so now, 21 years later, when people ask for his name he replies, “Dave Simpson. It’s just Dave Simpson.”
These days he’s trying to make a name for himself through the Calgary music scene.
He was born on June 25, 1983 in Calgary and moved to Coleman, in 1985 with his family, of course.
“My dad plays guitar so there was always a guitar sitting around… I never took lessons or anything like that--just what my dad taught me, my dad kinda taught me all the major chords and I took it from there and kinda figured it out from there.”
Nonetheless, he is a self-described “momma’s boy.”
He says there was always music playing at home.
“When I was growing up there was always music playing… like Van Morrison and Otis Redding and old Rod Stewart and when I was really young, James Taylor.”
The influence of these artists accounts for the mellow and subdued quality of Simpson’s recently self-released album, “So, Sober.”
His voice sounds like it’s positioned somewhere between Joe Cocker and Tracy Chapman.
Simpson describes his album’s theme as “the struggle with sobriety and coming to grips with living that way… Most of the songs that are on there were written while I was recovering [from drug abuse] or shortly thereafter. A lot of them were just songs that I needed to write just to work things out in my own head.”
Simpson plans to tour in support of the album but is unsure of his next Pass performance.
He’s played at the Grand Union and the Elks Hall and remembers one of his shows as having a very quiet crowd.
“I thought my fly was down,” he recollects.
For more information about Simpson, his album and his upcoming tour, you can visit www.davesimpsonmusic.com/ .

-Peter Huisman
- Crowsnest Pass Promoter

"Simpson wooed the audience with his melodic and airy voice" - The Hillhurst-Sunnyside Voice

"Dave Simpson represents, to me, most of what's cool about his generation of singer-songwriters : aside from a great voice, solid guitar chops, and an engaging stage presence, he actually writes songs that are about something." - Tim Williams - Canadian Acoustic Act of the Year, Real Blues Magazine

"Dave Simpson is quite simply the most honest singer I've heard in some years. The words he sings come from a place that once was dark and cold and has guided them into the warm light. His voice is engaging and his delivery is his own. In words taken from Rudyard Kipling, Dave Simpson has met with Triumph and Disaster and has truly treated those two imposters just the same." - 2004 East Coast Music Awards Best Male Artist Nominee