January 29, 1998

Dave Hall is a true product of America's melting wok. His roots are Lebanese, Italian and Norwegian on his mom's side, Irish and English on his dad's. His New England Yankee pedigree (from dad) goes back to colonial days, and here in the 90's he's proudly and contentedly gay. But the only thing you really need to know about Dave Halll is that he's an artist of the first water, penning sharp, classy, intelligent tunes and singing and performing them with grace and grit. 

Even a cursory listen to Hall's album, Playin' the Man, reveals his rare gift for wedding perspicuous lyrics to great arrangements. In the buoyantly rocking "Do You Remember?", he captures the plight of every yearning adolescent who's had to keep his wings tucked in, "Six feet under a small,dead town/With nothin' to do but hunker down."  "Zoe and Chloe" tells the sad story of a quiet, backwoods Lesbian couple, killed by "redneck crackers with the world on their side"; the title cut, a cheerfully naughty song about the conventions and confusions of homoerotic sex roles, features drily spoken vocals and a cozy, inviting mesh of guitars and drums. And how can you resist a lyric like "I like the way you roll your eyes/They look like big old apple pies/Maybe I can have a slice/After the revolution"? 

For his gig at Painted World, Hall will be appearing solo, sans the tight band and ebullient backup singers on the album. Not to worry: the songs, he says, "are pretty convincing, even without the band." Several, like "Zoe and Chloe," are well served as unaccompanied acoustic ballads; some "loud strumming" and Hall's expressive vocals will more than compensate for the full ensemble. 

Albuquerque NM, July 8, 1997

Vocalist/guitarist Dave Hall is the quiet kid you went to high school with. The one who spent lunch hours hunkered over a dog-eared note-book, furiously scribbling words on its pages. The one who carried a cased guitar with him, yet never took it out-at least not in public. And, although, they would never have owned up back then, he was every cheerleader's (and football player's) dream. 

So what happened to "that guy?" 

Chances are pretty good that Dave Hall holds the answer. Poet, guitarist, singer, prophet-all words that can be used to aptly describe this New York singer/songwriter. But his music, a unique amalgam of Brazilian and Afro-European rhythms and melody, good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll, pop, soul and folk, doesn't lend itself so easily to the restrictive realm of adjectives and metaphor. By weaving his voice into the fabric of his brightly colored music, Hall haunts you into listening to his songs-alternately jovial and thickly dark, always multilayered. 

Faith is what Hall is about. His lyrics-running the gamut of human experience-are striking, his arrangements unique. His perspective comes from deep within himself, but, surprisingly, he's willing to share it sans innuendo and riddles. It's up to you. 

April 1997

Reviews

February 17, 1997

TRIPLE AAA

New York City folk-rocker DAVE HALL doesn't make a big deal out of his sexual orientation on his debut Playin' The Man, but he doesn't go out of his way to ignore it either. 

Equipped with poetic lyrics, a fine voice,an acoustic guitar, and a tight band, Hall shines as a songwriter on those cuts featuring homosexual scenarios, but sex is usually not the real issue. "Zoe & Chloe" is a powerful, tragic ballad of a lesbian couple murdered by "some redneck crackers," and Hall not only wishes the two women were still alive, but that they would have turned the tables as he sings, "They thought they weren't botherin' anyone/ They should have had a gun." 

The rollicking "Do You Remember?" reflects a longing for, and fear of, adolescent angst and exploration in a small town, complete with back-seat hanky-panky, bong hits, and ensuing faulty memories. 

Now "Playin' The Man" is about sex, playful, physical, and slightly kinky sex, but nobody else has to know. Also spin "Imagine This," "Setting Sun" and "Colors Don't Run." 

February 8, 1997

SINGLES

Rock Tracks

DAVE HALL Do You Remember? (4:23) 

PRODUCER: Dave Hall 

WRITER: D. Hall 

PUBLISHER: Giuseppe Music 

Giuseppe Joe 00862 (CD cut) 

New York singer/songwriter displays the potential to enjoy a national breakout with this lively, rock-fused strummer. Hall brings an intelligent and empathetic lyrical perspective to his material, without sacrificing the need for a concise, pop-friendly melody. Excellent for mainstream rock radio.