The Madison songwriter and multi-instrumentalist discusses his recent solo album and his band Therapy Drones.
Across most of the music Educational Davis has made in his bands and solo projects, it’s easy to get the sense that the Madison-based artist is messing with you, deliberately blurring the line between absurdity and sincerity. In the oddball post-punk/new-wave bands The No And Maybe Game and Baristacide, he often paired deliberately nonsensical lyrics with vocal melodies that clearly aimed for emotional resonance. Things get a lot more focused and perhaps slightly less goofy on Sing Bleow Bleow, a solo album Davis released earlier this year. Built largely around synths and drum machines, songs like “Conversation” and “Let Me” capture some his best vocal performances yet, putting his romantic baritone to good use. There’s still plenty of room for mischief, especially on “Local Music Scene Promo Song,” which takes a dark and sardonic view of Madison’s creative economy. Davis has also been playing bass and sharing lead vocal duties in Therapy Drones, which will celebrate the release of a new self-titled album with a Friday, October 5 show at The Wisco.
Educational Davis sat down recently to talk about songwriting, his travels around the world, and some of the strange antics he’s engaged in over the years.
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