David Olney – Don’t Try To Fight It:
A Sucker-Punch Masterpiece Of Imagery And Words
From Seasoned Singer-Songwriter With
New Cross-Border Collaborations
Out March 31st Red Parlor Records
“This above all: to thine ownself be true.
And it must follow, as the night the day;
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
—Polonius in Hamlet
David Olney doesn’t change his appearance; he changes reality’s appearance. He changes the room and the way we feel inside the room. He changes hearts, minds, and moods like the rest of us change bedsheets, only without the hassle of ill-fitted corners. His songs are marvels of surprise and delight.
With Olney, we arrive expecting the unexpected and still wind up sucker-punched.
On his release, Don’t Try To Fight It, (Red Parlor Records) we find David Olney carving these small works of art as the listener becomes enchanted by the cinematic depiction of colors, the weather, the room, the concerned clown and a whistling watchman.
Don’t Try To Fight It was produced and recorded at The Big Muddy Recording Studio located in Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada, by Brock Zeman. The young Canadian musician impressed the seasoned statesman so much he was given full production credit as earned Olney’s trust, and thus a friendship blossomed. The story of David Olney and Brock Zeman couldn’t be more organic and exciting to hear: “David is an eccentric, a gentleman and a true artist who has devoted the better part of his life to his artistic vision,” the up-and-coming producer states. “I applaud his passion for creativity and his need to evolve and reshape his craft.”
The result with Don’t Try To Fight It, is an extraordinary new collection of words, melody, rhythm, unreliable narrators, violent bluster, wistful introspection, freaks, liars, crooks, weirdos, and lovers.
“I like the ones where you take something in, and it’s suddenly more than you had assumed,” he says. “It’s like the plumber starts singing opera: You didn’t see it coming. There are very few encounters with art where a punch hasn’t been telegraphed.”
“If They Ever Let Me Out” is rocking swing-out tune with horns echoing the frustrations out of a pacing inmate that just wants to make a new life outside of his cell. The prisoner promises he will behave and be a good citizen, but as he ponders more, he laments, “you can’t get away with nothin’ anymore…”
The song “Big Top” is a classic Olney storytelling song, as he explains, “In my mind, I see a flat Oklahoma landscape with a circus tent in the distance. The sky is a sick green, and a storm is surely coming. In the foreground is a very concern clown.”
The ballad of “Ferris Wheel” is sweet and lilting. The listener is along for the ride as it depicts the innocence of first love as the slow-paced ride rotates. Olney and his primary co-writer John Hadley are master storytellers, taking us to the top.
The push and pull vocal/lyrical action behind title song, “Don’t Try To Fight It” is another genius move by David Olney while sitting down with Kieran Kane to help finish up the song. The phone rings, Olney stops and says “I hear a ringing, somebody get it…” the train passes by the house during the session, and it becomes a part of the song, “I hear a train, I want to ride it…” Olney can truly interact with his surroundings, grab it and make it bigger than life.
David Olney continues to develop as a true artist and Renaissance man: he is a Shakespearean actor, a writer of sonnets and the on-air host of “Free Fall” on Nashville’s radio station WXNA. His weekly video social media video posts called “You Never Know”; are engaging with David talking about everything from culture to touring to playing songs always mixing it up with some Olney humor.
One of the songs chosen for the album was a previously unrecorded tune written in Olney’s youth called, “Yesterday’s News,” that tells of the never ending quest for “fame and fortune” as part of every storyteller’s journey. It’s the thrill and the underbelly fire of inspiration that keeps him going.
“I was writing about how thrilling it was to be in Nashville, trying to get songs out there,” says Olney, whose songs have gotten out there on his 26 acclaimed albums, and in versions by Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury, and Linda Ronstadt. “That feeling is still there for me: The feeling that something… some really good thing… is looming.”
What The Press Says:
“… Gripping and thought-provoking, proves Olney to be a stone-cold storyteller with an intriguing philosophical bent.” – Acoustic Guitar Magazine
“In the tradition of Johnny Cash and Tom Waits, Olney has become a pioneer of the Americana music scene” – San Francisco Chronicle
“Olney rocks with blistering intensity … but he also mesmerizes.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
David Olney – Don’t Try To Fight It – March 31, 2017
Red Parlor Records / Distributed by Virtual Label Group and Red Distribution / Sony Music Entertainment
Publicity: Jill Kettles – Miss Jill PR – T- 404-213-8542 and E) jill@missjillpr.com
For a downloadable photo – photo credit: John Partipilo – David Olney PR Photo
For more info on David Olney: www.davidonley.com
SPRING TOUR DATES:
April 1, 2017 – Nashville, TN – The 5 Spot – Album Release Event + Pop-Up Art Crawl
April 7-8, 2017 – Boonville, MO – Big Muddy Folk Festival at Thespian Hall
April 9, 2017 – Nacogdoches, TX – Pinetop Mystics Present
April 22, 2017 – Espanola, ONT, CANADA – Royal Canadian Legion Branch 39
April 23, 2017 – Perth, ONT, CANADA – The Listening Room Series at The Perth Room
April 26, 2017 – Picton, ONT, CANADA – The Acoustic Grill
April 28, 2017 – Sarnia, ONT, CANADA – Paddy Flaherty’s
April 29, 2017 – Woodstock, ONT, CANADA – House Concert
April 30, 2017 – Wakefield, Quebec, CANADA – Black Sheep Inn
May 7, 2017 – Silver Spring, MD – Adventist Community Services of Greater Wash Benefit
May 17, 2017 – Nashville, TN – Ear To The Ground Music Blog Anniversary Show at The 5 Spot
May 24, 2017 – Knoxville, TN – Sweet P’s “Songwriters In The Soul House” Series
May 28, 2017 – Nashville, TN – Dragon Park Concert Series
June 27, 2017 – Nashville, TN – The Bluebird Café
July 21, 2017 – Bondsville, MA – Gary Pierce Concert Series
July 22, 2017 – Wardsboro, VT – Wardsboro Town Hall
July 23, 2017 – New York, NY – Kathryn’s Space Concert Series
Aug. 12, 2017 – Waynesboro, NC – Balsam Mountain Inn
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