Jed Davis – Thanks for Asking!

Jed Davis – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: We all get a little support from those around us. And we also can be impressed by our fellow performers. Who do you admire in your community, and why?

My two closest friends on the scene are Buggy Jive and Mario Sevayega, both of whom I have known since the ’90s.  One of the many things I admire about them is their ability to come up with fascinating dinner conversation even though we’ve been hanging out for like thirty years.

RRX: A band is a business. A business of love, but you got to work for it. Let’s pretend, instead of a band, you all owned a business. What would it be, and why would it be good?

I have owned a business – Eschatone Records.  We put out the very first Hand Habits record, in 2014, and lots of other stuff.  So it IS good, and that’s why!

RRX: Cover art is cool. It shows listeners what the artist thinks the album is all about. Because music can be felt visually. If you had to give the public a visual image that you think they would see and just “get” your groove right away, what would it be?

I released an album a long time ago that had a photo on the cover of me being chased through Washington Park by a bunch of angry people brandishing sticks.  I think that pretty well sums up my whole thing.

RRX: Artists, musicians, we immortalize. We set it in stone. Is there anyone who has passed that you feel you have immortalized in your work? If so, can you tell us a little about them?”

When Joey Ramone died, I wrote a song about him called “The Bowery Electric” and the other Ramones got back together to record it.  They let me sing on it for some reason (probably because… they had no singer).  We performed it live once – at CBGB in 2002.  Joey was the greatest and he obviously didn’t need me to ‘immortalize’ him, but I’m honored to have been a small part of that story.

RRX: Stereotypes are a bitch. I mean, aside from the really bad ones, you have cultural stereotypes about everything, including music.  Would do you think is the stereotype for the music you play, and how far are you away from it?

I’m okay with people thinking about my music however they like.  You don’t even have to listen to it.  Just say whatever you want about it; make something up, it’s totally fine.

RRX: Our style comes from the extension of our influences. It’s like an evolution. We’re influenced, and it inspires us to influence. What can you say about your influences, and what you feel you’ve done with their influence as a musician or band? Have you extended their work?

I appreciate lots of musical things and I am sometimes moved to borrow a general vibe from something in hopes of making my listener feel the way I felt when I heard that original thing.  Any life experience can factor in this way, not limited to hearing a piece of music.  I think (or would like to think) that if you parsed a half dozen randomly-selected tracks from my catalog, it would be tough to jump to, like, “this guy obviously listened to a lot of KISS” or whatever… for me, inspiration/influence works more like: when I hear some song – or have any experience, really – that makes me feel something powerful or cathartic, I want to figure out a way to share that feeling.

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