David LaMotte

David LaMotte is considered one of the treasures of North Carolina, and whenever he plays the Six String Cafe in my neighborhood, you’d think Bob Dylan was in town. He has to play two shows to accommodate all the people who want to see him.

Any of his previous CDs will illustrate why. His latest, Spin, adds full-band fire to tracks I’ve only heard live in a solo acoustic setting. This studio effort gives LaMotte a chance to pour more magic into these songs, adding strings and piano, pedal steel, and all the warmth and passion he can draw from his spirit as he sings.

Like a glass of wine, LaMotte’s voice warms from the inside. It resonates deep in the listener. It’s a friendly voice that can be incredibly romantic in one song and stirred to quiet anger in the next.

One of the characteristics of his work is his penchant for social commentary and peacemaking. The title track, for example, focuses on the media’s tendency to blur the focus on the truth:

Our side appears to be up for the moment
They taste defeat we decide they deserve
We shoot the horizon, we catch our own bullets
We find it is only the hatred we serve...

Give me the update, tell me again
Show me the difference between us and them.
Give it a number between one and ten.
Give me the headline, give me the spin.

Far from being an in-your-face protester, LaMotte sings in quiet revelations. “Water” is a beautiful example, beginning with our futile efforts to control the shoreline, telling us the water will always win. As the song progresses, he moves the lyrics inward, until he’s looking right into the grieving heart:

You went down beside the river
Just about a year ago
Gave the ashes to the current
Watched them swirl into the flow
You still hold it all inside you
You can’t stop once you begin
Close your eyes and feel it rising
The water’s gonna win...

LaMotte does test the waters of religion with “Peter (What I Said),” exploring the meaning behind Jesus’ words to Peter when the soldiers came to take him away. Even with this subject matter, LaMotte avoids self-righteous proclamations, trying instead to explain, almost pleadingly, the reasons behind Jesus’ decision to accept his fate.

When LaMotte moves away from social topics, he writes the kind of love songs that avoid every cliche and flow with romantic imagination. “Chances” is one such song, marveling at the events in time and nature that brought him together with the one he loves. If a guy wrote something like that for me, I’d marry him on the spot.

While LaMotte’s CDs are gems, they are no substitute for seeing him live. Something in me changes for the better each time I sit quietly and listen to him sing. Getting lost in that voice, imagination, sense of humor, and appreciation for everything beautiful in the world is really not a bad way to spend an evening.


- Jennifer Layton, indie-music.com

David LaMotte is considered one of the treasures of North Carolina, and whenever he plays the Six String Cafe in my neighborhood, you’d think Bob Dylan was in town. He has to play two shows to accommodate all the people who want to see him.

Any of his previous CDs will illustrate why. His latest, Spin, adds full-band fire to tracks I’ve only heard live in a solo acoustic setting. This studio effort gives LaMotte a chance to pour more magic into these songs, adding strings and piano, pedal steel, and all the warmth and passion he can draw from his spirit as he sings.

Like a glass of wine, LaMotte’s voice warms from the inside. It resonates deep in the listener. It’s a friendly voice that can be incredibly romantic in one song and stirred to quiet anger in the next.

One of the characteristics of his work is his penchant for social commentary and peacemaking. The title track, for example, focuses on the media’s tendency to blur the focus on the truth:

Our side appears to be up for the moment
They taste defeat we decide they deserve
We shoot the horizon, we catch our own bullets
We find it is only the hatred we serve...

Give me the update, tell me again
Show me the difference between us and them.
Give it a number between one and ten.
Give me the headline, give me the spin.

Far from being an in-your-face protester, LaMotte sings in quiet revelations. “Water” is a beautiful example, beginning with our futile efforts to control the shoreline, telling us the water will always win. As the song progresses, he moves the lyrics inward, until he’s looking right into the grieving heart:

You went down beside the river
Just about a year ago
Gave the ashes to the current
Watched them swirl into the flow
You still hold it all inside you
You can’t stop once you begin
Close your eyes and feel it rising
The water’s gonna win...

LaMotte does test the waters of religion with “Peter (What I Said),” exploring the meaning behind Jesus’ words to Peter when the soldiers came to take him away. Even with this subject matter, LaMotte avoids self-righteous proclamations, trying instead to explain, almost pleadingly, the reasons behind Jesus’ decision to accept his fate.

When LaMotte moves away from social topics, he writes the kind of love songs that avoid every cliche and flow with romantic imagination. “Chances” is one such song, marveling at the events in time and nature that brought him together with the one he loves. If a guy wrote something like that for me, I’d marry him on the spot.

While LaMotte’s CDs are gems, they are no substitute for seeing him live. Something in me changes for the better each time I sit quietly and listen to him sing. Getting lost in that voice, imagination, sense of humor, and appreciation for everything beautiful in the world is really not a bad way to spend an evening.


- Jennifer Layton, indie-music.com

by Greg Tutweiler

Greg: How did you get your start in music?

David: I started playing guitar when I was fourteen, and was a closet musician through my teens. I wrote a couple of songs, but most of my friends didn't know I played at all. In college I got an apartment with a few guys, one of whom was sort of a compulsive host. He liked to throw parties and invite a couple hundred people to our tiny apartment. They were lots of fun, of course, but a little claustrophobic at times for an introvert like myself. Happily, the great luxury of the apartment was that we all had private rooms. TIny, but private. So at one of those parties I found myself in my room playing my guitar to escape the madding crowd when the three people that I had actually invited showed up. Someone pointed them to my room, and of course they couldn't hear over the party, so they knocked and walked in, and there I was - busted playing my guitar. They politely asked me to play them a song, and I reluctantly did, staring at the top of my guitar, fingerpicking and singing. When I looked up I found that all three of them were teary. My first thought was that I must have been painfully out of tune, but it gradually dawned on me that they were moved. That emboldened me to start playing some open mics around town. I recruited friends to come out, and when the clubs saw that people were coming out to see me they started letting me play some Wednesday nights. Of course, as soon as I had a gig at one venue I went across town and told another that I was playing the first and they ought to book me too. I guess that was the beginning of the whole ride.

Greg: Tell me a bit about your musical journey -- how you got from then to now. How much do you tour and what type of venues do you perform in?

David: I'm the fourth of four kids in my family. The others were all born in a clump, then a big gap, then oops, there I was. In my family I'm referred to as 'group two.' My siblings are between six and ten years older than me, and I grew up listening to their music, so my early influences were half a generation off. My sisters were listening to Don McLean and Neil Young, Carole King, early Dan Fogelberg, etc. My brother had southern rock stuff like the Allman Brothers and records like Gary Wright's Dreamweaver. When he wasn't home I used to put it on the turntable and put those big clunky headphones on and listen to the trippy sound effects slide through my head. Pretty impressive to an eight year old.

As I got older I discovered a bunch of other great music, and my tastes remain pretty diverse. You can find everything from Ravi Shankar to Earth Wind and Fire to Gipsy Kings to Chick Corea in my living room, and I've listened to each of those recently. I do listen to a lot of songwriter stuff, but if I tallied up all the hours I've spent listening to various artists I imagine Steely Dan would win. That would surprise a lot of people, I think, but it's true.

In terms of the music I play, certainly David Wilcox has been an influence, as he has on most of the songwriters in this area of North Carolina. Bruce Cockburn, certainly. Willy Porter and Peter Mulvey are really amazingly funky guitar players, and I aspire to add a little of that to what I do. Evan Brubaker rubbed off on me a bit when we were working on my record "Corners," which he produced. Michael Hedges' guitar innovation shows up in little bite-size pieces here and there. I think few people from my generation of songwriters are without strong influence from James Taylor and Paul Simon. Annie Gallup really inspires me. The bottom line, though, is that I listen to a ton of music, and I think we're all influenced by everything we listen to. Lately the highest rotation CDs in Dan the Tan Van have been Christine Kane, Steve Forbert and Kelly Joe Phelps, and of course the latest Steely Dan. There's so much good music out there.

As far as how my career has developed, it's been a pretty steady slope, and that's worked for me. I think that's the natural shape of an indie career. We don't have massive media exposure, instead we interact with folks one at a time. The downside of that is obvious - there aren't as many people hearing your music. The benefit, though, is that people who have a personal connection to you are incredibly loyal. There may not be millions of folks who know your songs, but the thousands who do are more likely to show up when you're in town, and buy your CDs. And that's still true five years later. That contrasts to most pop stars, whose biggest fans one year may not remember which hit song they sang by the next year. Of course the beautiful t - Singer Magazine

by Greg Tutweiler

Greg: How did you get your start in music?

David: I started playing guitar when I was fourteen, and was a closet musician through my teens. I wrote a couple of songs, but most of my friends didn't know I played at all. In college I got an apartment with a few guys, one of whom was sort of a compulsive host. He liked to throw parties and invite a couple hundred people to our tiny apartment. They were lots of fun, of course, but a little claustrophobic at times for an introvert like myself. Happily, the great luxury of the apartment was that we all had private rooms. TIny, but private. So at one of those parties I found myself in my room playing my guitar to escape the madding crowd when the three people that I had actually invited showed up. Someone pointed them to my room, and of course they couldn't hear over the party, so they knocked and walked in, and there I was - busted playing my guitar. They politely asked me to play them a song, and I reluctantly did, staring at the top of my guitar, fingerpicking and singing. When I looked up I found that all three of them were teary. My first thought was that I must have been painfully out of tune, but it gradually dawned on me that they were moved. That emboldened me to start playing some open mics around town. I recruited friends to come out, and when the clubs saw that people were coming out to see me they started letting me play some Wednesday nights. Of course, as soon as I had a gig at one venue I went across town and told another that I was playing the first and they ought to book me too. I guess that was the beginning of the whole ride.

Greg: Tell me a bit about your musical journey -- how you got from then to now. How much do you tour and what type of venues do you perform in?

David: I'm the fourth of four kids in my family. The others were all born in a clump, then a big gap, then oops, there I was. In my family I'm referred to as 'group two.' My siblings are between six and ten years older than me, and I grew up listening to their music, so my early influences were half a generation off. My sisters were listening to Don McLean and Neil Young, Carole King, early Dan Fogelberg, etc. My brother had southern rock stuff like the Allman Brothers and records like Gary Wright's Dreamweaver. When he wasn't home I used to put it on the turntable and put those big clunky headphones on and listen to the trippy sound effects slide through my head. Pretty impressive to an eight year old.

As I got older I discovered a bunch of other great music, and my tastes remain pretty diverse. You can find everything from Ravi Shankar to Earth Wind and Fire to Gipsy Kings to Chick Corea in my living room, and I've listened to each of those recently. I do listen to a lot of songwriter stuff, but if I tallied up all the hours I've spent listening to various artists I imagine Steely Dan would win. That would surprise a lot of people, I think, but it's true.

In terms of the music I play, certainly David Wilcox has been an influence, as he has on most of the songwriters in this area of North Carolina. Bruce Cockburn, certainly. Willy Porter and Peter Mulvey are really amazingly funky guitar players, and I aspire to add a little of that to what I do. Evan Brubaker rubbed off on me a bit when we were working on my record "Corners," which he produced. Michael Hedges' guitar innovation shows up in little bite-size pieces here and there. I think few people from my generation of songwriters are without strong influence from James Taylor and Paul Simon. Annie Gallup really inspires me. The bottom line, though, is that I listen to a ton of music, and I think we're all influenced by everything we listen to. Lately the highest rotation CDs in Dan the Tan Van have been Christine Kane, Steve Forbert and Kelly Joe Phelps, and of course the latest Steely Dan. There's so much good music out there.

As far as how my career has developed, it's been a pretty steady slope, and that's worked for me. I think that's the natural shape of an indie career. We don't have massive media exposure, instead we interact with folks one at a time. The downside of that is obvious - there aren't as many people hearing your music. The benefit, though, is that people who have a personal connection to you are incredibly loyal. There may not be millions of folks who know your songs, but the thousands who do are more likely to show up when you're in town, and buy your CDs. And that's still true five years later. That contrasts to most pop stars, whose biggest fans one year may not remember which hit song they sang by the next year. Of course the beautiful t - Singer Magazine

by J.P. Kennedy

"They are happy kids," David LaMotte said. "This is not a sad story. I was visiting the school and they didn’t know what to make of me. They were delighted that I was there, and they ran up to me to show me their arithmetic problems."

LaMotte was married this year, and for his honeymoon he and his wife, Deanna, spent time taking Spanish immersion classes in Antigua, Guatemala.

While there, he visited a school outside of town and learned of some needs they have. For example, the school of 216 students draws water from a well, but has no plumbing to the bathrooms, posing a health risk to the students.

"The decisive moment for me was when the principal told me about the pump project," LaMotte, a Black Mountain musician, said. "As long as you try, you can’t make your hairs stand up on your arms, but when she told me about the pump, all the hairs on my arms stood up. I figured I could make a significant impact at that school. There was a realization how far American money can go, and how we are all connected."

The principal went on to tell LaMotte about the idea of building a small kitchen onto the school, as the staff currently prepares a simple lunch for the entire student body on a portable gas burner in what LaMotte described as "basically a closet."

When LaMotte and his wife returned from his honeymoon, he had picked up little of the Spanish language, a few souvenirs, and a new non-profit organization to aid Guatemalan schools.

"My first thought was to write a check, but my second thought was that the most valuable thing I was bringing to this situation wasn't my money, it was my connectedness." LaMotte decided to spend that same money on logistics in order to be able to raise money at home for these projects, and hopefully others. The first three concerts he performed back in the United States after the honeymoon raised the money for those two projects.

LaMotte has made his living for the last 13 years as a performing songwriter and storyteller, performing in 45 states and 10 countries on the way.

"Every year I get to talk to thousands of people, and they listen to my stories," LaMotte said. "I think together we could do some meaningful work. In my last few shows, people have contributed generously. It’s an exciting revelation."

LaMotte has started a small organization, called PEG, which stands for Proyecto para las Escuelas Guatemaltecas (Guatemalan School Project). LaMotte and a board of four members, including Tom Patteson and Paul Scouten, both Black Mountain residents, are in the process of applying for non-profit status.

"It's just a small thing," LaMotte says. "We can't fix all the problems of poverty, but we can have a positive impact on a few people, and it's tremendously exciting to see how far this money can go toward making some tangible changes. Education is a big piece of breaking the cycle of poverty, and politically, people need to be literate in order to be well informed. There's so much that hinges on the schools."

The Guatemalan government pays public school teachers' salaries, but it's up to the communities to pay for everything else, from the light bill to the buildings themselves. In a country with a 64 percent poverty rate, it's often impossible for the community to deal with what North Americans consider very basic necessities.

LaMotte wants to use the PEG organization to focus on specific projects, so people know exactly where their money is going. LaMotte also states that every penny donated goes directly to the projects, with nothing removed for administrative costs or travel. At the start of September, LaMotte went back to Guatemala to take the first batch of funds and scout further projects.

The next project on the docket is building a classroom for a preschool in the town of Santiago Atitlan, where the current rented preschool room only holds 11 4-year-olds, while 30 more village children can't get in.

"I think it’s hard to over-estimate the need for our international interaction," LaMotte said. "The truth is, we’re not a popular country abroad. It is important to reach out and have a positive impact on the world. More than opposing things that are wrong, I’m interested in building things that are right."

Donations to PEG can be sent to P.O. Box 551, Montreat, NC 28757. - Black Mountain News

by J.P. Kennedy

"They are happy kids," David LaMotte said. "This is not a sad story. I was visiting the school and they didn’t know what to make of me. They were delighted that I was there, and they ran up to me to show me their arithmetic problems."

LaMotte was married this year, and for his honeymoon he and his wife, Deanna, spent time taking Spanish immersion classes in Antigua, Guatemala.

While there, he visited a school outside of town and learned of some needs they have. For example, the school of 216 students draws water from a well, but has no plumbing to the bathrooms, posing a health risk to the students.

"The decisive moment for me was when the principal told me about the pump project," LaMotte, a Black Mountain musician, said. "As long as you try, you can’t make your hairs stand up on your arms, but when she told me about the pump, all the hairs on my arms stood up. I figured I could make a significant impact at that school. There was a realization how far American money can go, and how we are all connected."

The principal went on to tell LaMotte about the idea of building a small kitchen onto the school, as the staff currently prepares a simple lunch for the entire student body on a portable gas burner in what LaMotte described as "basically a closet."

When LaMotte and his wife returned from his honeymoon, he had picked up little of the Spanish language, a few souvenirs, and a new non-profit organization to aid Guatemalan schools.

"My first thought was to write a check, but my second thought was that the most valuable thing I was bringing to this situation wasn't my money, it was my connectedness." LaMotte decided to spend that same money on logistics in order to be able to raise money at home for these projects, and hopefully others. The first three concerts he performed back in the United States after the honeymoon raised the money for those two projects.

LaMotte has made his living for the last 13 years as a performing songwriter and storyteller, performing in 45 states and 10 countries on the way.

"Every year I get to talk to thousands of people, and they listen to my stories," LaMotte said. "I think together we could do some meaningful work. In my last few shows, people have contributed generously. It’s an exciting revelation."

LaMotte has started a small organization, called PEG, which stands for Proyecto para las Escuelas Guatemaltecas (Guatemalan School Project). LaMotte and a board of four members, including Tom Patteson and Paul Scouten, both Black Mountain residents, are in the process of applying for non-profit status.

"It's just a small thing," LaMotte says. "We can't fix all the problems of poverty, but we can have a positive impact on a few people, and it's tremendously exciting to see how far this money can go toward making some tangible changes. Education is a big piece of breaking the cycle of poverty, and politically, people need to be literate in order to be well informed. There's so much that hinges on the schools."

The Guatemalan government pays public school teachers' salaries, but it's up to the communities to pay for everything else, from the light bill to the buildings themselves. In a country with a 64 percent poverty rate, it's often impossible for the community to deal with what North Americans consider very basic necessities.

LaMotte wants to use the PEG organization to focus on specific projects, so people know exactly where their money is going. LaMotte also states that every penny donated goes directly to the projects, with nothing removed for administrative costs or travel. At the start of September, LaMotte went back to Guatemala to take the first batch of funds and scout further projects.

The next project on the docket is building a classroom for a preschool in the town of Santiago Atitlan, where the current rented preschool room only holds 11 4-year-olds, while 30 more village children can't get in.

"I think it’s hard to over-estimate the need for our international interaction," LaMotte said. "The truth is, we’re not a popular country abroad. It is important to reach out and have a positive impact on the world. More than opposing things that are wrong, I’m interested in building things that are right."

Donations to PEG can be sent to P.O. Box 551, Montreat, NC 28757. - Black Mountain News

by Frank Rabey

A few years back, local musician David LaMotte would often come home to answering-machine messages from friend (and then-frequent touring partner [sic]) Shawn Mullins. The Atlanta singer/songwriter would intentionally mispronounce LaMotte's last name, as if the Black Mountain-based folk musician were the son on the old TV sitcom Sanford and Son.

"Lamont!" Mullins would yell, in character as Redd Foxx. "Get in here, ya big dummy!"

All joking aside, in professional music circles, you need people to get your name right – and then remember it. If radio personnel recognize you, maybe, just maybe, they'll spin your CD; if your name doesn't ring a bell, good luck getting a return phone call from the jaded label exec.

LaMotte, a shrewd navigator in carving out a decade-plus-long career as a performer, has focused much attention on ways to build lasting leverage for his name. So, earlier this year, he sent in several songs for consideration to the USA Songwriting Competition, which announced its winners on Dec. 5 – though by then, says LaMotte, he'd just about forgotten about having entered.

The title song to his S.S. Bathtub – the tale of kid who imagines his tub is a boat out on the high seas – took first place in the contest's children's category. His "grownups" song "Lens Cap," which uses photography as a metaphor for love and loss, was tapped as a runner-up in the folk category.

Rob Reinhart, producer of the popular public-radio program "Acoustic Café," rates the USA Songwriting Competition, which he helped judge again this year, as among the biggest of its kind.

"You figure if they get about 30,000-plus entries a year at $30 a crack, that's a million dollars in entry fees that they've got going," Reinhart notes.

Then there are the high-dollar sponsorships – Borders Books, Guild Guitars, D'Addario Strings and many others.

LaMotte's combined award, he figures, will come to about $800 in cash and $1,500 worth of "toys."

And the money's nice, sure, he concedes. But that's not why he entered the competition.

"It's just so affirming when people that you don't know – who have never seen you [perform] and whose perceptions are not colored by any personal or political leanings – hear a song and decide that it's worthy," LaMotte muses.

But beyond personal gratification, he adds, a contest win is a stamp of legitimacy that a musician can point to when dealing with radio-station programmers, club owners, label representatives and their ilk.

"It's a nice card to have in my hand," says LaMotte. "But it's not a hand [all by itself]."

And though he's pleased his kids' music was recognized – LaMotte is now collaborating on a children's book with local illustrator Carrie Patterson – it's the folk-music award he's proudest of.

More than most acoustic performers today, Lamotte embodies what folk music used to mean.

His songwriting, like that of close friend and frequent collaborator Chris Rosser, is decidedly out of step with the postmodern, cynicism-is-life school, embracing instead such un-hip concepts as hope and kindness, friendship and faith. In concert, Lamotte radiates calm; it's not uncommon to hear audiences discussing how his shows bring peace.

And, all spiffy songwriting awards aside, his fans never mispronounce his name.


  - Mountain Xpress

by Frank Rabey

A few years back, local musician David LaMotte would often come home to answering-machine messages from friend (and then-frequent touring partner [sic]) Shawn Mullins. The Atlanta singer/songwriter would intentionally mispronounce LaMotte's last name, as if the Black Mountain-based folk musician were the son on the old TV sitcom Sanford and Son.

"Lamont!" Mullins would yell, in character as Redd Foxx. "Get in here, ya big dummy!"

All joking aside, in professional music circles, you need people to get your name right – and then remember it. If radio personnel recognize you, maybe, just maybe, they'll spin your CD; if your name doesn't ring a bell, good luck getting a return phone call from the jaded label exec.

LaMotte, a shrewd navigator in carving out a decade-plus-long career as a performer, has focused much attention on ways to build lasting leverage for his name. So, earlier this year, he sent in several songs for consideration to the USA Songwriting Competition, which announced its winners on Dec. 5 – though by then, says LaMotte, he'd just about forgotten about having entered.

The title song to his S.S. Bathtub – the tale of kid who imagines his tub is a boat out on the high seas – took first place in the contest's children's category. His "grownups" song "Lens Cap," which uses photography as a metaphor for love and loss, was tapped as a runner-up in the folk category.

Rob Reinhart, producer of the popular public-radio program "Acoustic Café," rates the USA Songwriting Competition, which he helped judge again this year, as among the biggest of its kind.

"You figure if they get about 30,000-plus entries a year at $30 a crack, that's a million dollars in entry fees that they've got going," Reinhart notes.

Then there are the high-dollar sponsorships – Borders Books, Guild Guitars, D'Addario Strings and many others.

LaMotte's combined award, he figures, will come to about $800 in cash and $1,500 worth of "toys."

And the money's nice, sure, he concedes. But that's not why he entered the competition.

"It's just so affirming when people that you don't know – who have never seen you [perform] and whose perceptions are not colored by any personal or political leanings – hear a song and decide that it's worthy," LaMotte muses.

But beyond personal gratification, he adds, a contest win is a stamp of legitimacy that a musician can point to when dealing with radio-station programmers, club owners, label representatives and their ilk.

"It's a nice card to have in my hand," says LaMotte. "But it's not a hand [all by itself]."

And though he's pleased his kids' music was recognized – LaMotte is now collaborating on a children's book with local illustrator Carrie Patterson – it's the folk-music award he's proudest of.

More than most acoustic performers today, Lamotte embodies what folk music used to mean.

His songwriting, like that of close friend and frequent collaborator Chris Rosser, is decidedly out of step with the postmodern, cynicism-is-life school, embracing instead such un-hip concepts as hope and kindness, friendship and faith. In concert, Lamotte radiates calm; it's not uncommon to hear audiences discussing how his shows bring peace.

And, all spiffy songwriting awards aside, his fans never mispronounce his name.


  - Mountain Xpress