David Nail
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Bio
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Growing up in a small southeastern Missouri town, David Nail might’ve chosen to follow any of the dreams that drifted by like the riverboats on the mighty Mississippi: but in the end, it was music that called his name. “I was definitely more into sports growing up,” says the Midwest native, “I think I was expected to play in college, but as I grew older I became more interested in music. After my senior year, I had a few small college offers to play baseball. My coach came to me and said ‘David, you need to decide where you’re going to school,’ and out of the blue I just said, ‘Do you know anybody in Nashville?’”
For singer-songwriter Nail, it was a history-making moment -- small town boy decides to chase a big city dream -- and a theme that has informed his music ever since. On his first album from MCA Nashville, he neatly bridges the divide, laying claim to his hometown roots while keeping a firm grip on the future, and all the deeply emotional territory in between.
“I feel like regardless of where you grew up, city, small town, east coast, west coast or whatever, there’s something in this music that you can relate to,” he says. “They might not all be exactly the same, but everyone has those moments; the first time you left home, falling in love, losing love. That’s what moves me, what I can dig into.”
Nail, son of a former high school band director, cut his musical teeth on a record collection that included Stevie Wonder, Elton John and the Beatles. “Elton John was one of the main reasons I started singing, and is still a tremendous influence,” he says. “I think he and the Beatles are probably two of the greatest melody makers of all time.” Then he moved on to country: “I ‘discovered’ country music in the early 90’s along with everyone else my age,” he says, “but I guess I kind of got more obsessive than everybody else. I found myself looking back as far as the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, exposing myself to some of the biggest stars of that era. It was then that I fell in love with Glen Campbell, who is still one of my all-time favorites.”
Drawn to Music City after high school, Nail took that first step on his long and winding road, following the music. “I had been to Nashville as a small child but I had no memories of what it was like and obviously had no idea what the music business was like,” he says. “I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.” Overwhelmed, he ended up moving back to Missouri in less than a year.
Returning to Nashville two years later, Nail became frustrated once again in early 2005 with the lack of movement with his music career. David spent the next two summers helping an old college buddy coach the Twitty City Knights, a select group of some of Nashville’s best baseball talent. “I did it just to get away from the reality of what my career had become at that time, and it was being around those kids that recharged my batteries. It reminded me how free and easy life is at 17 and 18 years old and how truly blessed I’d been, both growing up, and now, being able to chase my dream. I will forever look back on that time and those kids for getting me back on track.” Shortly thereafter, mutual friend Brian Wright, who’d recently become V.P., A&R, for both the MCA and Mercury Nashville labels, introduced Nail to Frank Liddell, who 10 years earlier had produced one of Nail’s all-time favorite records, Chris Knight’s self-titled Decca debut.
Through the ups and downs of a life in the music business, Nail was persistent – and his dream became a realization with I’m About To Come Alive, a collection of songs that captures the highs and lows and the hometown flavor of his own experiences. “I wanted to take something from the people who’ve inspired me,” he says, “but also put myself in there, and just make something I could be proud of. It’s definitely a moody record, there’s definitely going to be some heartbreak in there, definitely going to be some dark times. But there’s music you listen to when you’re feeling good, and music you listen to when you’re down and out, and I think this is a record that satisfies both needs.”
From the second he started recording, Nail was determined to bridge the gap between traditional country and the soulful styling’s of a Lionel Ritchie and Ray Charles. “I’ve got to have a piano player with a lot of fire, a little more recklessness!” he says. Liddell (Miranda Lambert) offered up legendary player Chuck Leavell, who brought his inspired piano into the mix with Nail’s smooth, yet soulful vocals to create magic on tracks like “Mississippi.” “It’s a very reflective ballad about a guy from a small town who’s in the city,” Nail says. “Very moody and Ray Charles-esque. Chuck went in there and started playing the intro and suddenly I felt as if I was back in those early days of recording. His playing sent me to another level of singing.”
“Turning Home” had that same soulful emotion and drew Nail’s attention as a demo. “When I first heard it, it was a lot of what I was feeling at the time. I just kept listening to it over and over. I felt like I had always been searching for a song I could really sing, put some emotion, pain and hurt into, and then here was this song,” he said. The result is a perfect match between singer and song, with that same church-meets-honky-tonk piano on the side, and vocals reminiscent of another one of Nail’s big influences, Vince Gill.
Nail wrote five of the eleven I’m About To Come Alive tracks, including “Missouri.” “I was in the middle of a two-year bout with depression,” said Nail. “It’s without a doubt the most honest and personal song I’ve written. I’d been in a relationship for a year or so and could sense something was wrong with me. It was more or less me crying out, pleading for her to leave me because I didn’t have the courage to do it myself.” Along side Scooter Carusoe “Anything But Mine” Nail also wrote “Clouds,” which, he explains, is about one of his most recent misses at romance. “The best songs I’ve ever written just kind of come to me. You don’t have a choice in the matter, they just more or less pour out. Both ‘Missouri’ and ‘Clouds’ were like that.”
With all that emotion going into his songs, he admits he’s a guy who’s always looking for the happy ending. “This is a confession – I’m a man of many extremes, whether working or playing,” he says. “I’m a songwriter, so I’m a sensitive guy. I long for the storybook life.” And it’s produced a lot of good material. “I think the really great singers and writers are able to dig a little deeper and find that other level of emotion,” Nail says. “And I think that’s what makes them better than the rest. I always pride myself on trying to find that place with every song.”
And it’s that moment of raw emotional connection that Nail hopes to pass on to listeners. “I’m more or less just trying to join the fray of good music,” he says. “People ask me all the time how I’d describe my music and I say ‘Well, I hope it’s good.’ Hopefully people will just enjoy it for being good music and take from it whatever it makes them feel.”
Hard knocks and heartache, good times and bad, small towns and big cities – it’s all in his music. “They’re all aspects of life,” he says. “I’m still growing as both a person and artist, and will hopefully continue getting better in regards to both.”
Latest Blog
[view more]- 11/23/2009
Blogs are a funny thing
Blogs are a funny thing, and the inspiration behind them is even funnier, however today’s is one that I know has been brewing for quite some time now…........
This past weekend was one of the most rewarding of my life. My passion for Payton Wright and her family is no real secret to those who’ve been with me from the beginning. But this weekend it took on a whole new meaning. There’s no doubt in my mind I was born to be a singer/writer/entertainer, but I never knew the duties that being those would bring along as well. I made a commitment to Payton’s father Patrick over two years ago, and for the first time in two years, I finally felt as if I had contributed to the cause. ....
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Patrick and Holly Wright have become family, as well as their two beautiful girls Savannah and Sidney! I stayed with them in their home this past Friday, and it was truly a touching experience. I could tell the girls were nervous in a very sweet, genuinely adolescent way. Holly is one of the strongest women I’ve ever met, and Patrick, well Patrick and I are almost just alike. ....
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After the night was winding down, I began to lose control of the emotions I held in for most of the day/night. I sat with Patrick and Big Mike (one of Patrick’s best friends) for about 30 minutes and cried and cried. Payton has had such a tremendous effect of me both personally and professionally. She has reminded me just what true courage means, and that strength isn’t how much you can bench press, but how a 4 year old can fight off the most powerful cancer for a year, just so her and her family can have a little more time together. ....
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I personally haven’t had the unfortunate task of watching someone so close to me struggle with something so tragic as cancer. What Patrick and Holly are doing and have done deserves so much more attention than it’s gotten, and is currently getting. To see 50 plus volunteers offering up any and everything to whatever brings the most money and attention to the cause was truly inspirational. ....
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I cannot guarantee that you won’t grow sick of my preaching in the future, for I know I can be long winded at times, but I assure you it will continue to grow and grow from this day forward.....
- 4/30/2009
Road Trips, Cincy Reds, Amber Williams, Ward's Phone, Top 10
Road Trips, Cincy Reds, Amber Williams, Ward's Phone, Top 10
Top Ten Must Haves for summer 09
#1 - Diesel Jeans
#2 - G Star Shirts
#3 - 70’s style cream/white loafers
#4 - Organic Tea Tree Shampoos and Conditioners
#5 – Kiehl’s All-Purpose Face Moisturizer
#6 – Red Diamond Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
#7 – Free WI-FI
#8 – Sweet Potatoes
#9 – Sperry Boat Shoes
#10 – Abercrombie Flat Front Shorts
Bonus Tracks – Blake Shelton – Startin’ Fires, The Magic Bullet, Hanes Basic White T-Shirts, U2 – No Line On The Horizon, Randy Rogers Band Trucker Hat, New Era Fitted St. Louis Cardinal Road Cap
In 39 days there will be a Mrs. David Nail and that’s both really exciting, and slightly weird.
US Airways made huge ground with me this morning. We slept about 4 hours in Cincinnati last night due to a surprise show on the field after the Reds game, and a 6:45am flight to West Palm Beach. We had an hour layover in Charlotte, and I simply went up to the counter to try and find an empty row to stretch out in to catch up on some sleep. Let’s just say I’m flying over the east coast of Florida from First Class thanks to the fine gentlemen from US Airways.
Oceans leave me speechless. I thoroughly hope to have a small place near one someday in my lifetime.
So things are picking up career wise the closer we get to the wedding. I can’t say how lucky I am to have found someone like Catherine. To steal a line from my favorite Halfway to Hazard song, “You might have just gone crazy, trying to love a music man.” How ironic I just quoted those guys, cause I’m almost certain they’re on the bill tonight in West Palm.
How about a little randomness?
Ward dropped his phone in a Tin Roof toilet Thursday night, and yes, the worst possible scenario you’re imagining right now was his very story.
The coffee in First Class is very much below average.
Florida has me overly excited. The seafood I’m about to partake in at Legal’s Seafood tonight has me beyond such.
It’s a shame Kanye West is such a mess; cause the kid is so obviously talented.
I’m going to spend the weekend before my wedding in my favorite city, with 90 percent of my favorite people, and playing a club I’ve waited 5 years to play.
As tired as I am right now, I absolutely have to go to the beach today, even if it’s simply for an hour or so.
The NFL Draft is this afternoon, and this is the first year since I can remember that I won’t be watching.
I want to go fishing today.
There aren’t enough hours in the day for all that I want to do most days.
The water looks breathtaking from the sky this morning. The weather couldn’t be anymore beautiful.
They say money can’t buy happiness, but if you could live where I’m looking at, I think you’d have a hard time finding ways to get upset.
I wish I’d seen Ray Charles live before he passed.
I’ll be in Austin and San Antonio, Texas next week
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Red Light Road Tours is something I’ve wanted to do for years, and hopefully we’ll be coming to your city sooner rather than later. If you haven’t heard about it, read the blog titled Red Light Road Tours. It’s very much the genius of the fine people at UMG.
I’m not going to blog about our journeys thus far just because I want the videos we shoot to be a surprise.
Jesus Walks!!!
Oh, how did I forget? Some guy from my earlier flight managed to spill his coke all over my leg! I was even surprised by how calm I managed to stay! I guess that was the price I paid for being moved to First Class for this flight.
When I saw the ocean for the first time, I was a 21-year-old naïve kid from small town Missouri, and an old friend said he felt like a father watching his 7 or 8-year-old son. My quote as I stood there with my mouth open wide, “Dude, you could get in a boat and go to Cuba.”
Airplanes baffled me.
I’m going to do something Tuesday morning that will be the coolest thing I’ve done so far, and I will only say it involves a radio station, and probably the most famous radio personality of all-time.
I’m almost on the verge of disowning both of my favorite NFL Teams, the St Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans. I simply don’t know what they’re thinking again with their NFL Draft Picks.
DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears in the 4th RD will be the steal so far. It’s either the Chicago Commodores or the Vanderbilt Bears now, I don’t know, you choose!!!
I miss Catherine this afternoon.
I’m thinking we’re going to go see The Soloist tonight starring Jaime Foxx!
Nikki Taylor is on my flight home from Florida with her newborn. She’s my height, with several, and I mean several tattoos.
I think if you brought a child on board today, you must have gotten a free round trip ticket to anywhere Southwest flies, cause there are about 15 running down the aisle like madmen!!!
I’m sitting by Amber Williams for the second flight this month, once to Vegas for the ACM’s and now home from Ft. Lauderdale! Amber’s from Missouri as well, and happens to be one of the finest publicists in the country as far as I’m concerned…
K, found out today (Monday afternoon) that there will be a few new Red Light/Road Trips the next few weeks. Keep glued to my Twitter to stay updated on where I’m heading next. Till next time, RED LIGHT!!! - 3/4/2009
Flying, Dallas, JC Penny, Red Light, UCLA Baseball
Flying, Dallas, JC Penny, Red Light, UCLA Baseball
Well my first flight of 2009 is the worst of my life. The only thing keeping me even remotely calm is the podcast from Kairos Brentwood on my ipod. I was excited to be going to Dallas, but I wasn’t this dang excited. To say this ride is bumpy would be to say I don’t have self-diagnosed A.D.D.
Pardon me while I put my computer up and continue praying!!!
It’s flights like this one that cause me to reflect back on the Hudson River U.S Air landing. I was at the Green Hills YMCA when I noticed several people gathering in front of the TV’s about 40 or 50 feet in front of me. I automatically knew something serious had to have happened, so I quickly ended my run and walked up to see what was going on. I watched most of the television coverage for the next few hours at home, feeling somewhat uneasy knowing I would soon begin flying again. If I ever run across that pilot during any of my future travels, I will give him the biggest hug.
Kings of Leon – Closer
This song is a ballad I suppose, and yet it makes me wish there were 5 miles of open road ahead in which to run.
My teeth hurt a bit today. I’m not sure what that’s about, but they’re definitely more sensitive than normal.
There are about 50 junior high aged girls on my flight headed to Dallas for a cheerleading competition. I leaned over to the lady beside me and said, “This would be pretty nice if I was 15 years younger.” I’m not sure she thought it was funny, but I was simply making conversation.
Ipod isn’t in spellcheck, and neither is spellcheck, which is even more odd to me.
I’m sad to be missing church Sunday. I really enjoy our Pastor in Nashville. I don’t always know what he’s talking about, but he talks in such a calm and passionate way, that I always feel good hearing it.
I’m hungry, and something tells me EJ will have eaten by the time I land.
Blogs are the single fastest way to kill time while flying. Movies are second, and listening to music is a distant third.
Blog is also absent from spellcheck.
When I look across the sky from my exit row window seat, I can’t help but wish there was a way to walk on top of the clouds.
“But before I make my way into the crowd, could I share one last kiss while we’re still in the clouds”
Clouds – David Nail
I wrote that line during one of my genius moments.
I’m about to play some shows in March, and though they’re all acoustic shows as of now, I’m going to have my keyboard player Eric Kinney out with me, and that has me overjoyed.
I listen to “Notion” by Kings of Leon and think of little Ryan Fisher, and thoughts such as these could bring a smile to the devils face.
It looks as if the flight is smoothing out, and it seems as though I’m not the only one who’s been “holding it”.
So I guess Monday we’ll see who wins The Bachelor. I’ve never seen the show until this year, and I suppose this years an exception only because now I’m more or less married. My bet is on Melissa, only because I have some pretty strong sources who tell me this, and also in the preview, it shows him proposing to a brunette, and Molly ain’t no brunette!!!
Some lady is yelling at me that I have to postpone this for a bit, so I’ll check in later….
So it’s Sunday night and I’m flying home from Dallas via Houston. While in Houston I noticed at least four or five college baseball teams. UCLA were at the gate across from me and stood out the most by far. They were all dressed in baby blue Adidas jumpsuits with matching white shoes. I have to say they looked pretty sharp. My curiosity got the best of me, and so I looked up whom they played in Houston, and found there was a tournament at Minute Maid Park where the Astros play. Rice University went unbeaten the article said, so I’m assuming they’re loaded again.
Dallas wore me out. I’m not used to staying out so late these days. Whoever decided 2pm game times were a good idea evidently didn’t realize how long it made the days. I got to see my buddy Marty Turco both days. Marty has a new baby boy who I’d not seen yet, so it was great to see him finally have another man in the house.
Last night EJ and I met up with our good friend Brooke Fendrick (former head of marketing for the Dallas Stars) at the hotel after. Brooke got married this past year, and moved back to Waco, so her being back in Dallas for the night was a pleasant added surprise.
Well I excited to be almost home. I’m going to sleep hard and long tonight. Red Light seems to be doing great. I’m still not paying attention to its existence, other than to talk about finding or recording the song.
Dallas is flashy, and I may have interest in some of the finer luxury’s this world has to offer, but whenever I’m there, I realize I’m still very much a small town kid from southeast Missouri. The other day some guys from the label played a joke on me regarding a possible endorsement with JC Penny, and they were assuming I’d be a bit uneasy do it’s “lack” of premeire clothing. Little did they know that JC Penny is my mother’s favorite store, so I was excited in a way due to the fact that I’d then most likely be able to hook her up.
K, I’m sensing this lady is about to tell me to put my computer up, so I’m not going to give her the chance. Peace out.
Please keep requesting Red Light wherever it is you live!!! Oh and it’s on itunes as well… You guys are awesome!!!
