A good album is like a favorite pair of shoes—worn and familiar. In the five years since he first appeared on the Northeast Ohio music scene, David Ullman has soothed many souls with his moody mix of aggressive folk-rock and intimate, introspective “sad-bastard” ballads. Ullman’s emotionally intelligent and unabashedly candid debut, DOG DAYS was deemed “exquisitely beautiful” by SCENE music editor Jeff Niesel and praised by COOL CLEVELAND'S Peter Chakerian as “deep, dark and intensely rich.”
The scruffy singer-songwriter’s latest release, UNPLUGGED @ UNCORKED, continues the conversation started on his full-length release in a live setting. In addition to fan-favorites like "Mulletman," signature songs "Deja Vu" and "Secondhand," Ullman's first concert recording also features a Jewel cover and the Swell Season's "Falling Slowly."
Ullman is a true romantic who wears his “secondhand heart” on his sleeve while managing not to seem cloying or cliché. “I grew up fast, got married young… divorced soon-after,” the 30-year-old Clevelander said recently. “I had a lot to process after moving back from North Carolina, where I had been living with my then wife and two dogs. After demoing a few songs while I was crashing in my parents’ basement, I cashed in my life insurance for a Martin LXK2, bought some recording gear, and started writing and recording DOG DAYS.”
Building a fan base one passionate, furrow-browed performance at a time, Ullman began playing clubs, coffeehouses and bars in and around Kent, Ohio while finishing college and working nights in a factory. He’s since left both factory and college life behind, taking his tattered green Doc Martins and his bloody, battered acoustic guitar on the road from Duluth and Chicago to Philadelphia and New York City.
While still frequenting Cleveland-area folk-clubs and cafes, Ullman also alternates between opening for acts local and national at clubs, theaters and colleges and headlining venues like Akron's Musica.
Regardless of the setting, Ullman’s most valuable asset is his ability to relate to his audience. Anyone who has ever attempted a relationship can relate to the extreme highs, the obliterating lows and the hazy in betweens that he hits in his songs. Slightly gravelly vocals that crescendo from the barest whisper to a barely-controlled roar, lend his earnest and raw confessions a grace and sincerity that is seldom seen in music today.
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