Every so often an artist releases an album and its timing is nothing less than perfect. One such album is “Available Light” and the artist is David Corley. His journey from Lafyette, Indiana throughout the wide open plains, the small towns and big cities of the United States have left their mark on his lyrics, his voice and his art. He sings songs that are well-deep, with a voice that tells us the small and universal stories that we all strive to tell and hear. It’s the gift and luck of true artist that they make these stories seem so easy but they are deceptively so.
Equally, every so often an artist releases an album which resonates in a real way with the music fans of Kilkenny. Through Rollercoaster Records, word of this new artist and his elegant and delicate debut album filtered out and it fast became a big seller. Facebook messages, emails and phone calls set in train a series of gigs and a lifelong ambition to visit Ireland slowly became a reality. We hoped for his sake that it would work and that his visit to Kilkenny would become part of the city’s rich musical history.
He did not disappoint. His Cleere’s show will live long in the memory and a return visit with his crack team of musicians is already planned.
Following a sellout show in Waterford to kick off his Irish tour (aided and abetted by another friend of Kilkenny John Murry), David travelled to fulfill an early morning slot on KCLR, bringing a lively crowd to a respectful silence as they heard his songs for the first time in Kilkenny.
Immediately afterwards he came in to the Studio 2 (again at an ungodly hour of the morning but not before some fine strong Irish tea!) and he sat down with Joey Wright on mandolin to play some songs, aided on vocals by Kari Auerbach and his album producer Chris Brown (who also gave an insight into the recording of the album).
After we had recorded the songs I discovered a technical issue with one song that could only be addressed by a re-recording. Ever the gracious person that he is, David came back and (understanding my need to represent his music in Studio 2 as faithfully as possible) re-recorded it.
We wait with bated breath for the next recorded installment in David’s career. The door to Studio 2 is always open!
And here’s the ‘Director’s Cut’ where David gives an insight into his songwriting. He bares his soul as to the difficulty he was having with one of his songs. It’s the mark of the man that he did this for us. (It also features a cameo vocal from Kari Auerbach). Shortly after this second session, David and Kari headed off with a firm promise to return…
