Dave Nachmanoff

Biography

Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Dave Nachmanoff saw Al Stewart live for the first time at Royal Albert Hall in London in 1985 and in 2006 came back and performed with him. At the age of ten he played with Libba Cotton (“Freight Train”). He’s led songwriting workshops for many groups, from German school children to the Silcocks, a family with 44 adopted boys. In addition, he’s a heckofa songwriter in styles ranging from folk to pop who’s sold over 15,000 recordings. Dave’s the father of two and writes custom songs for weddings and other special occasions. As a side player (guitar, piano, bass, accordion and more) he’s worked with Stewart on a regular basis as well as many others at hundreds of venues as far ranging as The Bottom Line, Glastonbury Festival, and the Edmonton Folk Festival. Oh, and he’s got a doctorate in Philosophy. That he earned in his spare time.

Dave grew up in the 60’s and 70’s surrounded by the active folk scene of northern Virginia and Washington DC and inspired by Pete Seeger, country rock, early revival folk like the Kingston Trio and later on, 80’s new wave. Toss in a bit of Celtic folk-rock a la Fairport Convention and it’s clear how he got his rich melodic sound.

He produced and played on Al Stewart’s newest, Uncorked. It’s an exciting live recording of Stewart’s songs, their guitars and voices so full and in sync you’ll swear it’s a whole band. In “News from Spain” Al Jokes that Dave had to duplicate Rick Wakeman’s piano solo and indeed he does, with a Spanish flair that ends in a flurry of notes. In “Carol,” he offers a rhythmic compliment to Al’s strumming, including a breath taking set of arpeggios that brings the crowd to their feet. “A bonus on every song is the fine guitar playing of Nachmanoff, who blends with Stewart’s guitar very well and adds considerable musical interest to the proceedings …” Mike O’Cull, RivetingRiffs.com.

His latest CD, Step Up, released in 2011 – his first solo release in five years – was produced by Ronan Chris Murphy (King Crimson, Steve Morse), and features musicians Bob Malone (currently playing keyboards for John Fogerty), Ian Sheridan (former bassist for Jason Mraz) and Victor Bisetti (former drummer for Los Lobos), and vocalists Al Stewart, Rosemary Butler, John Wicks, and Liz Bligan. He’s got nine albums in all, including his first, Candy Shower, released in 1997. Get his CDs at www.davenach.com or from many outlets including CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes and many more.

With a personable style that’s adaptable to a variety of stages, he looks larger than life although he’s a vertically challenged five foot two (and no, he doesn’t have blue eyes). He’s that neighbor who always has a friendly wave but doesn’t keep you from dinner. You’ll probably forget about that meal anyway when he starts to tell his stories and sing his well-crafted tunes in a voice like an older Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20) but a guitar style that’s more Mark Knopfler or Richard Thompson. And just as versatile too.

He’s shared the stage with Cheryl Wheeler, Steve Forbert, The Pogues, America, Alison Krauss and many others.

If you’re looking for a unique gift or a way to celebrate your wedding or other important event, ask Dave about writing you a custom song. It’ll be much more appreciated than another blender and it’ll be remembered for years.

Just Plain Folks honored him with the 2001 Songwriter of the Year award. For five consecutive years he was the Susan Lucci of the South Florida Folk Festival, earning a place as a finalist before winning Best Overall in 2002. SingOut! has praised his “… heartfelt, inspired songwriting … with a delivery both biting and assured.” He’s busy but he’s always got time for a fun gig and a good story. If you’re an artist who needs a side player, he’s your guy. Heck, he could be your entire band. Whether you’re a concert junkie, participating in one of his songwriting classes or listening to your custom song, you’ll walk away from your Dave Nachmanoff experience wondering why he hasn’t yet learned to play anything with his feet. Why not? He’s done everything else.

“Step Up” write-up

“Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte, by way of Al Stewart

On the face of it, one might not think that a 19th century general (and occasional emperor) would have much advice to offer to a 21st century singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. And there you would be wrong. Because after nearly two decades of making records, and a not inconsiderable amount of boots-on-the-ground reconnaissance in front of audiences all around the world, Dave Nachmanoff decided to make some changes, not only to what he recorded, but the very way he decided to approach the recording process. The result is Step Up.

Not to stretch the military campaign theme too far, Nachmanoff’s first order of business was to find a general — known in the record industry as producers — and he gained a capable ally in Ronan Chris Murphy. On the face of it, Murphy seems an unlikely fit; after all, he cut his teeth in the Washington DC punk scene and has worked with the likes of King Crimson and former Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse, all areas fairly removed from Nachmanoff’s wheelhouse. But after some pre-production discussion about the shape and sound of the new album, the two realized they were on the same page, musically speaking . . . if perhaps coming at it from different directions. With a limited budget and a sensibility that both musician and producer wanted to capture the energy that Dave brings to the stage live, Murphy advised his new collaborator that, “It’s gonna have some bumps and bruises, but that’s okay.”

Bumps and bruises might be overstating it; Step Up simply sounds more like an album that hasn’t been so overdubbed, overworked, and overpolished that all its edges have been sanded away. It aims for the sweet spot that embraces all of the elements in the so-called “AAA” sound: an Adult Album Alternative. That’s part of what makes a simple description elusive, as it reimagines and recombines elements from all of Nachmanoff’s influences, from Fountains of Wayne to Jellyfish to Al Stewart to the Records. Speaking of the latter two, both the Records’ lead vocalist, John Wicks, and longtime Nachmanoff cohort Stewart appear on the new album.

“John was friends with some of my friends on Facebook,” says Dave, “so I reached out to him. I was totally blown away by his vocals.” Wicks appears on three of the album’s tracks, bringing that shimmering pop sensibility he so energetically displayed on the Records’ “Starry Eyes” at the dawn of the New Wave era.

Al Stewart turns in a co-lead vocal on the album’s second track, “Sheila Won’t Be Coming Home,” a song that he co-wrote with Nachmanoff and which has become a regular part of Stewart’s recent tour set.

As much as Dave has been looking forward, he wasn’t afraid to reach back into his past for a few songs, such as “Descartes In Amsterdam” and “Not What I Expected,” originally recorded earlier in his career. Both studio technology and Nachmanoff’s vocal and instrumental prowess have taken multiple steps forward in the intervening years, and the reworked “covers” fit in seamlessly with the album’s more recently-written repertoire.

In fact, there’s only one track on the whole album that Dave didn’t write (or co-write), and that’s his take on Counting Crows’ “Rain King.” While Nachmanoff’s version is slightly less insistently propulsive, it retains the original’s edge, and producer Murphy, in Dave’s words, “came up with a great groove.”

That might, after all, be a pretty decent way to describe Step Up: a great groove. Or, as Dave puts it, “There are CDs and there are records. This is my first real record.”

With Step Up as a calling card, Nachmanoff may well find audiences stepping up themselves to do a little reconnaissance of their own.