Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Tate.
Hi Dave, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My mom was a pianist and music teacher when I was young. She told me stories of practicing at the University when she was pregnant with me and told me that’s how I got my connection with music. My guitar was a portable piece of stability and connection to feelings that were bigger than I could verbalize at the time. I started in Choir as a kid and remembered feeling really free in my voice. When my voice changed, it took a force of will to try and regain that freedom. That search eventually led me to studying classical voice at Utah State University. I’ve been deeply interested in many kinds of music over the years. Being in punk rock bands and in operas and everything in between has given me a wide palette to inform my own style of music. My original music now focuses on my own introspective style of Folk, Americana and Indie rock.
For the past four or five years, I have made my living performing solo shows, but for a few years before that, I was mostly focused on my band with my wife Victoria, Many Miles. When living in Salt Lake City, I met Swedish singer-songwriter Victoria Lagerström, who came to the US from Stockholm to write and record with me. We fell in love and, three weeks after her arrival were married among the red rock cliffs of my native home Zion National Park. She never used her return ticket to Sweden. We now often perform as a duo or with a full band under the name Many Miles. It’s a mix of Pop, Rock, Soul and Folk that keeps us both on our toes.
I have now toured across the Western United States and in Europe on numerous occasions and my work was recently featured in a global on-flight commercial on all American Airlines international flights. Living in Austin, Portland, Salt Lake, Tucson, my longtime home base of Zion National Park, and now San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast has helped me to refine my craft and connected me with many great friends and musicians along the way. I have an avid love for the natural world and exploring the vast horizons of the American West is what I love to do when I’m not recording, performing or spending time with my family. I’m a multi-instrumentalist and I mostly record and produce my albums in my own studio, Red Earth Recording Studios. I have recorded 14 studio albums of original material, 9 of which are currently available.
My latest album ‘The Adventure’ dives headfirst into the uncertainty of life, the dark and the light, and the balance of walking between them. The Adventure represents a journey of learning to trust in one’s own strength in the face of circumstances. While most of my solo music leans towards a mellow singer-songwriter vibe, much of ‘The Adventure’ departs into Alternative and Acoustic Rock territory.
My great love is bringing music into the world through performing and albums and the special connection between people that can be a conduit for.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
In 2008 I began to have serious back, neck and hand issues. I couldn’t play guitar for a few years for more than a few minutes. That was really tough. It started a long journey of partial recovery. A large part of my life now centers around maintaining my body so I can perform at the level I want to. I am now able to perform 130-170 shows a year so that’s a huge win for my bodily ability, but it’s doing it without the pain and strain that is now other challenge of music for me. If I’m disciplined with things like daily yoga everything is much more enjoyable!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in intimate acoustic folk music. My voice and songwriting are my most unique elements. My music has been compared to elements of Paul Simon and Jeff Buckley’s music, both of whom are my favorite artists. I’m most proud of my perseverance, discipline, and work ethic the parts that make up the practice of music. The more I live and perform, the more I understand that it’s an inward-looking practice whether I am alone or in front of many people. The thing that I love the most is sitting alone with a guitar in a beautiful spot in the mountains or by the ocean and writing something that feels like it belongs to me and to that place. Sharing that with a receptive audience can be a transformational experience for me.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Session work, production and mixing has also been a big part of my life, though I mostly focus on my own work these days. I am always open to collaborating with artists I respect.
My website, social links and calendar are all here:
https://linktr.ee/davetatemusic
Contact Info:
- Website: www.davetatemusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davetatemusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davetatemusician
- Twitter: twitter.com/davetatesinger
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxL050N01NWgbILSz_aoZw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/davetatemusic
Image Credits
Paul Duane (black and white headshotphotos) Eric Reed (color photos)
