Inspired #317 - Davis John Patton
Photo credit: Austin Goode
Iowa-born singer, songwriter and producer Davis John Patton takes a moment to talk to us about his meditative indie folk single ‘Rosewood’ and the inspirations behind his music
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
So many to consider… recently, a few stand out:
1. Penny and Sparrow. The beauty conveyed in their songs is really impressive in my opinion. Lyrics that make you think, alongside arrangements that complement the words, often with great simplicity.
2. Phoebe Bridgers. I think Phoebe Bridgers has incredible creativity and makes some beautiful music. The stories she tells and the questions she asks lyrically always captivate me, and the arrangements she produces are creative in such unique ways.
3. Alaskan Tapes. An instrumental artist might be an obscure answer, but I learn a lot from instrumental music when it comes to how to complement an arrangement without using words or vocal energy. Listening to Alaskan Tapes has given me great inspiration for layering energy in my songs without overcomplicating things.
Is there a certain film that inspires you and why?
I’m not sure if this is super mainstream, but 1917 still stands out to me a few years after watching it in theaters. The ingenuity that was needed to make that movie happen as it did was so impressive. It sticks out in my mind and inspires me simply because of how captivating a piece of art it was! There was a weight to it, not only because of it’s content, but because of the artistic way it was accomplished. That’s inspiring!
What city do you find the most inspiring and why?
I’ve been to some beautiful cities, but I think the most inspiring places to me are just really ordinary ones. Coffee shops with conversations filling the room, wind carrying leaves across a sidewalk, or the way the sunset lights the trees in the evening. These experiences inspire me more than the fleeting mountaintop moments. I experience these types of moments most often in the town I currently live in: Ames, Iowa. Super normal city, but I love it.
Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
The first people that come to mind are this sketch comedy crew called Please Don’t Destroy (Ben Marshall, Martin Herlihy, and John Higgins). Bear with me on this one… My wife and I stumbled on their Twitter video sketches back when COVID first hit, and we’d pull up their Twitter profiles at least once a week, rewatching sketches and finding new ones. These dudes felt so normal and relatable, making videos in their apartment. But they were also so successfully hilarious. (To make them even more relatable, we unexpectedly walked by the three of them in a restaurant parking lot here in Iowa a few months back! Unfortunately, I was truly starstruck and didn’t speak up.) Nowadays, they just started writing for SNL and are taking off even more. Though a different creative skillset, they inspire me with the way they used the everyday means of iPhone videos in their apartment to make waves. As a musician producing music in my normal apartment here in Ames, Iowa, I find their success really inspiring.
What were your inspirations when writing your single 'Rosewood’?
The primary inspiration behind 'Rosewood' was the experience of my parents selling my childhood home, which was on Rosewood Drive. The song talks about the bittersweet emotions in transitions like that. Sorrow over what is being left behind, but also anticipation for what is now to come.
Arrangement-wise, I think I owe a lot to years of listening to Novo Amor. I actually had a Spotify playlist made for 'Rosewood' inspiration, and over half of the songs are Novo Amor. He is able to craft really powerful songs around falsetto vocal energy, sometimes without dense instrumentation, and that is really what I was aiming to do in the song.
How would you like to inspire people?
I’d like to inspire people to ponder about themselves, the world, and their role in it. The songs I’m currently releasing are all written around this theme of existentialism. I think existentialism kind of has a bad reputation, seemingly associated with some sort of angst or worry. But I think if we’re being honest, we all desire answers to the core questions of our existence… ‘Who am I? What’s my purpose?’ However someone answers these questions leads to how they go about their life: their relationships, their career, their desires. So all of that to say: I hope the songs I’m writing around existentialism inspire people to think deeply on these things in a way that helps them live out their role, their answer to “who am I?”, to the best of their ability.
Interview by Karla Harris
’Rosewood’ is taken from Davis John Patton’s upcoming EP Songs From Davis which will be out November 19th. It follows the EP’s lead single, ‘Eason’.