Wes Davis: Striking out on his own
If you frequent places like Babe’s Lounge in Ocean City, you might have heard Wes Davis and his band playing classic-rock covers more than once. The band is composed of veteran Ocean City musicians who got to know each other through their gigs, real homegrown local talent. What you might not know, however, is that as Wes puts it, songwriting was “my first love.” On his new CD,Fire at the Water’s Edge, Davis has poured out his soul in a series of original songs that touch on love, family and spirituality. When I asked him how I felt about the often deeply personal subject matter, Davis responded philosophically: “I’ve always been kind of an open book, so I’m not uncomfortable sharing personal things in my lyrics. I tend to think they’re things we can all relate to if we’re honest.”
Davis says that living where he does — near the water, on the Maryland/Delaware border — has had an impact on his songwriting process. “It’s always been kind of a mystical/spiritual thing for me,” he mused, noting that the title of his album is Fire at the Water’s Edge. “Usually when I’m at the beach I’m working, doing gigs, but I try to stop and appreciate the surroundings and be grateful to be able to work in this area.” And this spring/summer season you will get plenty of chances to see Davis at work. His schedule includes gigs at the Blue Ox on March 17th and 23rd, a couple of dates at BJ’s On The Water, and tons more. According to the schedule on his website, wesdavisonline.com, Wes is a pretty busy guy. He is also excited about a new running gig hosting an Open Mic night at Castaways every Monday this summer.
It’s always good to see local talent getting recognized, especially when they have as much fun with it as Davis does. Discussing the life of a beach-town musician, he mentions the mystical beauty of the ocean, the importance of being grateful for it all… and then comments that “having the girls in their bikinis there jamming on the music doesn’t suck either.”