Dave McCormick

Dave McCormick was born and raised in Sod West Virginia, a small town south of the Capital City of Charleston where he would later hone his craft in the smokey dives downtown. Daves' whole family sang and a few played guitar, but he began his musical journey playing drums at age 10 and spent the next 7 years playing in the Duval High School Band. He started playing guitar at age 12 and was soon singing and writing songs. "My father gave me his guitar, a Ventura acoustic, and soon after I bought a Memphis Strat copy with a rebel flag pickguard. I thought that was so cool." says Dave. For more than 2 decades, no one in the area has bent more strings than Dave. His whiskey baritone voice makes you feel at home like warm apple pie. His searing, soulful guitar playing has moved more people than Mayflower. With a mix of Rock, Blues, Country and Jazz, he has been able to put his own stamp on Southern style rock. "I was influenced by everything from Merle Haggard to Jimi Hendrix. SRV's version of Little Wing is my favorite piece of music ever written, period." he addsDave often gets compared to Stevie Ray when he plays the blues, but then he'll turn around and start chicken pickin on some Dwight Yoakum tune and you wonder if its even the same guitar, much less the same guy. Local Guitar guru Bill Holstein comments, " Dave's personality comes out in his playing and songwriting, thats what makes him special. He's the real deal!" But you can't really know all about Dave and his music until you've seen one of his legendary acoustic solo gigs. He will amaze you! The easy, offhand confidence of his guitar playing combined with the passion of his voice make him the perfect vehicle for the extremely wide variety of songs he writes. "How do I write all those different kinds of songs? Well, find yourself in a different mood, pick up a different guitar, sit down in a different place and play some different chords!" he laughed.Dave's songwriting is becoming legendary as well. He has been known locally for a long while as a songwriter of unusual depth. But recently he moved into a more national spotlight as Co-winner of The Mountain Stage Newsong Festival Contest. He also tied for Best Song with a tune entitled "Where Are You Moses?", co-written by Dave and his friend Tracy Rush. When asked about the event, he responded "I feel very blessed and honored to have been a part of that whole experience. I met so many great people."With a new disc scheduled for release in early 2007, Dave McCormick is further cementing himself in the company of the greats of southern rock. Dave says he's going to move to Nashville soon, and I'm sure he won't be back. Be sure to catch him (while you still can!!) tearing it up in a watering hole somewhere near you!