David Morreale
From The Dirt
© 2005 David Morreale (783707056500)
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NEW RELEASE, 2005. "...a slice of life meditation, an uplifting parable for our times, it is 4:41 of near-perfection. [It] hits the mark with the force of a jacked-up linebacker on speed." Jeremy Searle, americana uk, 7/21/05
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DAVID MORREALE
A Bio
"Writing songs is honest work, like digging ditches, or laying bricks. It's just not as hard,"
So says performing singer/songwriter David Morreale. Fans have described David as "the James Dean of the folk scene" and while his music is too broadly based to encompass only one style or genre, a beautifully-played acoustic guitar and soaring baritone are at the center of his sound.
When David hits the microphone, the intimacy and personal connection that he establishes with the audience is as apparent as his sense of humour and love for the stories he tells between songs. He is as likely to launch into a story as he is to sing one of the songs from his new CD, "From The Dirt."
David left home at 16 and hit the road for ten years of hitchhiking and busking on European streets and in the London Underground. Homelessness, hard luck and constant movement were ever-present for David. Through this, his songs have a worldview that is uplifting, inspiring, hard-bitten and hard earned.
He traveled from his home in England, through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, ("ah, Greece!") Holland and Austria. He made a living as a bartender, construction (and destruction) worker, waiter, chef, housepainter, guitar teacher, musician, writer, artist, cabinet-maker, record store clerk, street mime, and lumberjack. Really.
Says David, "I learned a lot about life and how hard it can be, not eating real well, singing ten and twelve hours a day, making it as best I could. Finding myself in a London diner one morning at the age of 17, with only enough money for breakfast or a guitar string stretched my head pretty good."
On his new CD, "From The Dirt," David has recorded a collection of songs in which he and his cast of characters experience poverty, redemption, joy, and what it means to watch ones dreams go up in smoke and try to fill the empty space they've left behind. The songs tell these stories with a warm sense of joy and love for the characters that is palpable. His lyrics explore common themes in uncommon ways: falling in and out of love (with, and without a net), crime and punishment, faith, love, hope, birth, death, joy, and felony.
David has played in some of the country's most prestigious venues including Nashville's Bluebird Cafe, The Point in Philadelphia, and Arlene Grocery, NYC among many others. *
David's played a festival or three and in 2002 took second place honours at The Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival songwriting contest. He was also a Recognized Finalist in The Plowshares Songwriting contest in 2004. Also in 2005, David won a Maryland State Arts Council grant in Composition.
David has shared stages with Brooks Williams, Tom Prasada-Rao, Eliot Bronson, Cliff Eberhardt and others, though none more famous than these guys.
"Everywhere I've been I've discovered and re-discovered that people are the same wherever I go. Strange. Beautiful. Worried. Happy. And I'm so lucky that many of them listen. I want you to listen too so that we can hear together the thing that connects us. Music is just a voice in the wild, leading us to where coffee is still a dime, children are happy, "where they hung the jerk that invented work," and no one has to dig ditches anymore."
- David Morreale, 2005
* David has also played untold numbers of pubs, clubs, bars, alleyways, streets, sidewalks, closets, basements, colleges, rallies, NASCAR tracks, backseats, doorways, dog-grooming rooms, pit beef BBQ ale houses, pie shops, and other places of ill-repute and bad reputation.
reviews
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Awesome!
author: Woodrow LandfairI love this album.
A true bard for modern times.
author: Andrea Barlow, ShepherdstownI got to revisit old times with this CD.It makes me want to drive down a country lane in the summer in an old convertable,getting lost in a long,captivating story by someone who's been around the block a good bit,and young enough to remember the details. I love the groove....thanks!
"[The title track of "From The Dirt" is] a slice of life meditation, an upliftin
author: Jeremy SearleThe good, the okay and the exceptional in one handy country rock package. Three songs into this album I was mentally penning something along the lines of “pleasant but unexceptional country/folk rock”. But then came the title track and we weren’t in Kansas any more Toto, oh no we weren’t. Opening with a talking blues rap overlaid on a sweet guitar figure, it segues into a delicate but soaring chorus and includes in its cast of characters Harry, “who spoke only in sentences of seven words or less” and defines heaven as where “we’d all get cash prizes for not running with the herd”. It’s a slice of life meditation, an uplifting parable for our times, it’s 4.41 of near-perfection. While the remainder of the album doesn’t reach that peak again, it does move up a couple of gears and some excellent songs result. “Different By Now” comes down the folk road from Dublin, trailing the tag line “We become slowly. And are what we become wholly”, which resonant phrase defines the song perfectly. “Missing Baltimore” has a groove and a half and brings an everyman sensibility to what could have been just another tale of homesickness, and the album closer, “Be My Last”, is a sensual and seductive love song graced by some gorgeous fiddle and pedal steel from one David Johnson. So, what do we have? A curate’s egg, basically, but when it hits the mark it hits it with the force of a jacked-up linebacker on speed. A bit more quality control next time out and David Morreale could deliver a classic. As it is, “From the Dirt” is definitely worth an investment. www.davidmorreale.com
perfect for a road trip....
author: bDavid Morreale is a brilliant songwriter. The collection of songs on "From The Dirt" is David's best work yet. His comforting lyrics are simply complimented by wonderful instrumentation. This is a perfect CD to pop in the player on a long cross-country road trip after falling in love with a beautiful woman in a beautiful city then leaving them behind for a guitar and a stage.... well, this CD is perfect to listen to at anytime really.
Fits like my old leather jacket
author: Chris ListonThis CD fit like my fave leather, but with a breath of fresh spring air. Old songs with a new weave and some fresh from the shed, all presented by a very talented group of musicians. David's lyrics as always are heartfelt and intelligent. The quality is phenomenal, from the cover and liner to that sound. The mandolin and fiddle compliment David's skillful guitar work perfectly. This release was long awaited, and it was worth the wait! Thanks for sharing your songs with us David, and a special thanks for the "miles". Chris and Vicki