About

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Where jagged Teton peaks and the vast open spaces of Jackson Hole meet rich Southern culture, Aaron Davis is hitting his stride and wearing many hats.

Award-winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, journalist, photographer, guitar instructor, audio engineer, poet and fly fisherman, Davis is versed in the creative threads of Americana. According to 605 Magazine Davis is, “something new and fresh that can’t or shouldn’t be compared with anyone or anything else.”

If music and writing are the vehicles, the mountains and rivers surrounding Jackson Hole are the fuel. Sense of place has everything to do with it. The Bowling Green, Kentucky native settled in Wyoming in 2001, planting a second set of roots. Longing for The South while being enlightened by The West has been a recurring theme in his writing.

“A day in the life is easy to take for granted, and living in a small tight-knit mountain town keeps me inspired on a daily basis,” Davis explains. “Rivers and open spaces have become necessities for me, and that’s often translated through my work. Its important to connect with community, but also to disconnect and find that balance.”

The Musician-Songwriter

A self-taught musician, Aaron’s music career has an eclectic and experimental history as frontman and songwriter for several different bands. Current projects include Screen Door Porch, Boondocks and solo work. A prying interest adventurous song craft and sound textures has led to a skillful development on a number of instruments. His primary toolbox includes acoustic, electric and slide guitar, lead and harmony vocals, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, and a homemade Samsonite suitcase kick drum, with a dabbling interest in piano, bass guitar and pedal steel.

His lyrical approach hovers in a unique space between literal and broad-stroke. Davis often provides enough detail to inspire the listener’s imagination while enabling them to develop their own interpretation based on their personal experience.

“When you hear a Johnny Cash or John Prine song, you know exactly what they are singing about. Its stark and honest, and I appreciate the immediate reward,” Davis says. “Songwriters like Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams often present powerful lyrics within a framework that also raises some question marks. That’s poetic and mysterious to me—not hitting listeners over the head with the obvious while drawing them in with literal phrases. I relate to both of these styles.”

Screen Door Porch—Davis’s soulful Americana/folk-blues/alt-country project with songstress Seadar Rose—made tremendous strides in the last two years. The duo has spent much of this time on the road, including a five-month stint in Austin to record their debut studio album at Ramble Creek Studio. Co-produced by Britton Beisenherz (Monohans, Milton Mapes) and SDP, the self-titled album earned dozens of rave reviews from across the U.S. and Europe, and was recognized in several Best-Of 2010 lists: Wyoming Public Radio’s Best of Wyoming, Tupelo Honey’s Top 20 Americana Releases, Twangville’s Top 100 Releases and American Roots UK Editor’s Top 25 Albums. The album was also incorporated into Pandora Internet Radio, and reached #16 on the Roots Music Folk Radio Chart alongside Bob Dylan.

Screen Door Porch will tour as a quartet this summer, appearing with Michael Franti and Spearhead, Langhorne Slim, Anders Osborne, Honey Island Swamp Band and others at several Rocky Mountain festivals—Magic City Blues Fest, Sawtooth Music Festival, No Woodstock Fest, Music on Main and others. Find concert dates and more about the band at ScreenDoorPorch.com.

Davis’s 2008 solo album, Rear View Mirror, defines a turning point in his career. The self-produced, self-engineered CD of original material also reached #16 on the Roots Music Folk Radio Chart next to Old Crow Medicine Show. The lead track “1937,” about life during the New Deal in Jackson Hole, earned runner-up honors at the Dreams Acres Music Festival Songwriter Contest. While Davis played many of the instruments on the release, contributions from talent like bassist Bill Plummer (The Rolling Stones, Tom Waits) and mandolinist Ben Winship (Loose Ties, Brother Mule) molded a vibe that caught the attention of Americana lovers. Songs were also paired with Jack Johnson and Brett Dennen tunes for the television series Road Trip Nation.

A deeper look into his discography includes a live release with alt-country-blues band Boondocks, Live at the Silver Dollar (2007), soul-funk-jazz sextet Global Review’s Transcend (2006), and an out-of-print EP, Livin’ (2002). For bootlegs of his college and post-college bands—Grilled Cheese and Furthermore—you’ll have to dig much deeper! All of his releases are available from his self-managed store, CDBaby.com, iTunes and most major retailers.

Aiding in the perpetual, organic growth of his fanbase, Davis and his various projects have been fortunate to share concert bills with Willie Nelson, Wilco, Brian Wilson, Yonder Mountain String Band, Jim Avett, James McMurtry, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, Kaki King, Malcolm Holcombe, Reckless Kelly, Henry Butler, Mickey & The Motorcars, Jalan Crossland, Benyaro and Anne & Pete Sibley, as well as appearances at South by Southwest Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Americana Music Festival and Conference, and Jackson Hole Music Festival.

In the spirit of supporting the need for more listening-focused venues, he founded Songwriter’s Alley in 2008. The regional singer-songwriter series generally hosts three up-and-coming songwriters per concert and takes place within uncommon, often art-fused spaces.

For more information about guitar lessons, send him an email.

The Writer

As a weekly music columnist for Planet Jackson Hole Weekly since 2005, Davis has been fortunate to interview and photograph some of the greatest artists of our time—Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Bela Fleck, Maceo Parker, Del McCoury, Michael Franti, John Perry Barlow, Mickey Hart, Warren Haynes, Robert Cray, John Prine, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Guy, Grace Potter, and scores of colorful local bands. In addition to his column, Davis has contributed cover stories, news pieces, travel narratives, photo essays, and reviews of CDs, concerts and movies to the alternative weekly. Free issues of Planet Jackson Hole Weekly, including Aaron’s weekly column, can be downloaded at JHWeekly.com.

His pieces have also appeared in Jackson Hole Review, The Oregonian, The Business Journal, Jambase.com, Libertarian Party News, The Statesman Journal, and Cascade Policy Institute.

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