David Newbould

...Americana with a keen rock edge possessing lots of guitar and other finely spun textures see Newbould and Friends underline just how a good live band can sound...

Now this is what I call a project. For not only do we have a live CD but also a DVD recording of the show as Newbould celebrates seven years in Austin with such esteemed friends as Redd Volkaert, Cindy Cashdollar, Danny Levin, Steve Zirkel, Will Taylor and Wendy Colonna who join band regulars Dave Madden, Jeff Botta, Darwin Smith, Naj Conklin and Darwin Smith and Megan Melara.

Newbould’s fond farewell to Texas is as a star-spangled affair as those on stage reach double figures, and what better way for the former New York resident, reluctantly relocating to Nashville to further his career as a touring artist, to end a treasured relationship. With such fine songs as ‘Something To Lose’, an image-strewn ‘See You On The Other Side’ and a song that appears for the first time in either form the stripped down ‘Come What May’. Plus he has a heap more choice tracks to add to them.

Newbould is a good rather than spectacular vocalist who knows how to get the best of those around him and for them (and there sure is plenty) to help make sound that bit better. The rattling ‘Nobody Love Me Like You Do’ featuring the dazzling Dobro of Cashdollar, electric lead guitar of Volkaert and remainder of the band all get to show off their great prowess.

‘It Can Always Be Worse’ (another previously unreleased cut) containing haunting harmony vocals coupled with eerie fiddle, piano, lead guitar and old-timey banjo early in the mix breaths a splendid world-weariness. The hypnotic nature of the song and fabulous interplay of the musicians and vocalists is something to behold. Newbould with pleading vocals likewise spins the travel ode in splendid fashion to complete the picture. If you think those already noted are good then think again because his combination with fellow lead vocalists Melara, Colonna (shades of Bonnie Raitt? She left me transfixed the first time I watched the DVD) and Beth Garner on ‘Dakota’ defines praise since the ultimate performance is achieved on the heart-wrenching ballad.

While a couple of songs lack the direction of others this twin release is one set to be revisited more than most, not least due to the band and I shall be following up on a few of them!

-Maurice Hope - Americana UK

The ambitiousness of this live CD/DVD offering says as much about David Newbould's well-developed repertoire as it reflects his confident facility with performance. There's nothing tentative or green here; the NYC transplant is fully in command of his talents and direction with songs like "It Can Always Be Worse" and "Come What May." The DVD emphasizes Newbould's natural stage presence with golden promise and two bonus tracks.

-Margaret Moser - Austin Chronicle

Then there was that WILD Thursday night (oh, wait! That was right after seeing Aria!) when I ran back and forth between the Amsterdam Cafe and Momo’s because I first had to catch some o fJackie Bristow’s set, then hightail it outta there to fall in love over and over again with Molly Venter who for the first time in MY memory was playing with a full band (Bryan Austin on drums, Steve Zirkle on bass and keys, and the dashing Dave Madden on melodica?) — then back to the Amsterdam to catch a set from Noelle Hampton and Andre Moran (with Teal Collins and later though I missed it Josh Zee as well), and back to Momo’s for the David Newbould extravaganzabonanza whytheheckareyouleavingusforNashville celebration party where he both blew everyone awy on stage and handed out (for a small donation) hand-made copies of his brand-new CD.

David, who has after all given Austin seven pretty wonderful years (hosting the open mike at the Hideout, for example), nonetheless has been coming into his own as a kickass performer. On this memorable occasion (with Cindy Cashdollar, Warren Hood, the unable to perform Redd Voelkart, Wendy Colonna, and Lord knows who all else — I DID miss a couple or three songs — plus the lovely new mom Megan Melara on vocals along with GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY! And, yes, David closed his smashing set with a tribute to his opening act — which is just the type of dude he is! And why Flanfire hopes to get to know this guy better on his occasional visits in the near and distant future. Good GRIEF! He is moving to Nashvegas! to become a BIG STAR! Heck, he already IS a big star!

-Duggan Flannigan - Flanfire

If Dan Wilson and Pete Yorn had a folkier kid brother, he’d be David Newbould. Wielding a voice as wearily distinctive as Shawn Mullins, Newbould sings every word with a dusty radiance. Though his adeptness with hazy sketches predominates, Newbould blazes brightest when blurring alternate hues of exhaustion and exuberance—a talent especially evident on “Empty Arms” (whose stretched-out phrases evoke Wilson’s trademark vocal elasticity), the graceful “Family Man” and rollicking stomper “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do,” fueled by Cindy Cashdollar’s dobro adrenaline rush. When he sings “I’d rather be a man with a broken dream / than one who never had one” under the title track’s simmering desert sheen, he’s not kidding.

—G. Grande
- Performing Songwriter Magazine

It's A Cracker!! 100% Guaranteed!! Big Red Sun was recorded while David Newbould was a itinerant resident of Austin. Newbould sings with an exhilaration, avoiding the overwrought, instead falling squarely into warmth and passionate. Combined with a strong ear for melody and a directness in his storytelling Newbould nails this collection of introspective folk and traditional country. Newbould recruited Cindy Cashdollar, Redd Volkaert, Jon Dee Graham and others to help him on his first full length after releasing a series of EPs. Big Red Sun has a glowing emotional center that makes it a perfect way to brighten a gloomy day.

- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music
- Miles Of Music

Artist’s Music Crosses Genre Lines
To make things easy, you could call David Newbould’s music Americana. But in reality, his tunes reach across genre lines, everything from country and folk to rock and pop.

The Canadian-born artist grew up with a love for the guitar, becoming a fan of metal and ’70s rock. Then he got into Neil Young, the artist that Newbould said first changed his outlook on music.

“That’s when I realized the importance of the song and playing guitar in the parameter of the song,” he said.

Newbould moved from Toronto to New York in the mid-’90s, where he would spend about seven years honing his craft and developing a fan base. Then in 2002, he left the Big Apple for Austin.

“I’ve enjoyed living here a lot and music wise, it’s had its ups and downs,” he said.

Newbould said his ideas of what Austin was musically were off. He said he learned the city has an insulated music culture, one where artists can have fame and success and never leave the city.

Newbould compared that insulation to the Canadian music scene, which was a reason he left. So, he’s worked to build a regional fan base with hopes of moving on to a national scene.

Newbould has made an effort to perform in West Texas, the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico, which, along with just living in Texas, has had an impact on his music.

“That terrain really does something to music; it’s bizarre,” he said. “It’s such a visual and the way it feels makes such an impression you can’t help but have this Southern, Texan tilt to your music after a while.”

Newbould is currently touring on his latest release, “Big Red Sun.” The album features many of Austin’s music legends, including Redd Volkaert and Cindy Cashdollar.

Newbould will perform today at Butler’s Martini Lounge. His current tour features him and his bass player.

“(At live shows) you really weed out the people who are there to listen to music and find something they like as opposed to the people who are kind of there to hang out at the bar,” he said.

“Really, mostly it’s about me singing my songs to people that want to hear them.”


-Aaron Phillips - Amarillo Globe-News

Folk Man: You’ve heard his songs on ‘Dawson’s Creek’; now hear him in Lubbock...

The time he spent carving out his identity, this singer songwriter created a nice following of loyal fans.

Born and raised in Canada, David Newbould, whose accent has no trace back to our Northern neighbor, describes his music revolution coming later in life.

“After I decided I wasn’t going to be a guitar hero like I wanted, to be like Neil Young. I realized I needed to start writing songs,” he said.

“Once I found it, I knew this was for me, and now my craft is constantly evolving.”

Newbould said he found his identity and passion for music when he was playing the drums at age 11.

“By the time I turned 15, it was all I cared about,” he said.

Leaving his home country to pursue his dream in America, Newbould found a place, New York City.

He had created a loyal fan following performing as a solo artist as well as with a band, and then he relocated to the Lone Star State’s music capitol, Austin.

When asked how he describes his music, Newbould said it was difficult to answer.

“For many years I have been trying to figure it out, and how to describe my music,” he said. “It is almost asking people to describe themselves. It is difficult. But I like to think of my music being folk, which I describe as writing about people and the world around you.”

When Newbould talks about his writing, he said the first five or six years he put a lot of work into it.

“After applying myself and where I was blocking off three to five hours a day to write, it made it comfortable for me,” he said. “You try so hard to sound like your heros, but eventually you come out with your own sound.”

His own sound has appeared on five network TV shows and DVDs to date, including “Dawson’s Creek,” Paramount’s “Joan of Arcadia,” Fox’s “Party of Five,” CBS “Threshold” and “Lifetime’s “Monarch Cove.”

Newbould said he feels a level of success for his music to be a part of a network show.

“It is not what I was striving for,” he said, modestly. “I am more satisfied to perform a good show and people like it. That is what I do it for.”

Newbould said his steady climb to stardom was by making the best music he can and by reaching as many people.

“It really is what you make of it.”
- Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Although Big Red Sun will be compared to albums by any number of people--from Ryan Adams to Pete Yorn to the Wallflowers--I think Newbould’s influences are closer to 70’s artists like the late Dan Fogelberg, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, and Kenny Loggins. Songs like “Something To Lose” and “Love in Your Heart” have the lullaby quality that Loggins used to excel at, while “Empty Arms” has the freewheeling feel of Browne at his happiest. And just to prove that he can hoedown with the best of them, Newbould kicks his heels on the rollicking “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do”. But it’s the title song that’s the centerpiece of the album: a stark, dry-as-the-Mojave mediation on life that crystallizes everything that the album stands for, from the artwork on down. Newbould is another one of those guys who has managed to place his songs in various TV shows, in hopes of getting much-needed exposure. In a perfect world, he would not need to go to such crass extremes to get his music heard; it would be enough that songs as perfect as “Family Man” and the achingly beautiful “Keeping it In” could get lots of airplay on a good radio station. But it’s not the 70’s anymore, and one must do what one can to get heard. And no matter how he does it, David Newbould deserves to be heard and Big Red Sun deserves everyone’s undivided attention.

-Gina Morris
- EvolutionOfMedia.com

"BIG RED SUN" BY DAVID NEWBOULD VOTED ONE OF THE BEST RELEASES OF 2008 BY PERFORMING SONGWRITER MAGAZINE:

David Newbould, "Big Red Sun":

Newbould’s casual voice and rock ’n’ roll songs embody a summer road trip, complete with an open highway and feet on the dash."

-M. Wakefield, Independent Music Editor - Performing Songwriter Magazine