(Little Dog Records) Although the nearly 29 year-old Moot Davis was born and raised in New Jersey, his old-time hillbilly-honky tonk style sounds like it owes far more to his parents' West Virginia roots. Moot discovered artists such as Hank Williams and Johnny Cash while he was in high school, and they would go on to influence his own songwriting and singing style. When he finished school, he worked odd jobs while supporting himself as an actor. He appeared in plays across the U.S. and in Europe, and as he found success as an actor, he moved to New York City to further his career. One night on a dare, he performed at an open mike night, and soon after he made the decision to shift his career from acting to music. The next thing he knew, he received a call from local NJ radio station WRVR and appeared on their weekly live hillbilly show "Heartlands Hayride." Fred Boenig, creator of the "Hayride" show eventually helped Moot record his first demo. In 2001, Moot headed to Nashville where he worked on honing his uncompromising brand of honky tonk while sending out copies of his demos. One of those demos wound up at Little Dog Records, and the label was so impressed with Moot, the year after he showed up in Nashville, he was on a plane to California to work with none other than multi-platinum, Grammy Award winning producer, Pete Anderson.

The fruits of their collaboration are showcased with Moot's newly released self titled debut, Moot Davis. All the songs on the disc were written by Moot, and in addition to his vocals, he also provides acoustic guitar. Along with being at the production helm, Pete Anderson also contributes electric & acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and percussion. Joining Moot and Pete are: Skip Edwards (piano, steel guitar), Gary Morse (banjo, dobro, pedal steel, lap steel guitar), Joe Buck (upright bass, electric bass), Jonathan Clark (background vocals), Gabe Witcher (fiddle), Don Heffington (drums) and Lee Thornburg (trumpet).

The disc opens with a lively hillbilly two-stepper about being on the run, "Thick Of It Now." Moot provides mid-tempo shuffles with tales of ramblers, "Highway Kind" and losers, "Whiskey Town." He covers classic honky tonk turf with "One Of A Kind" and the barroom weeper, "Halls Of Smoke & Wine" highlighted with some terrific honky tonk piano. He offers up two kiss off songs, the clever two-stepper, "Thanks For Breakin' My Heart" and the hillbilly-honky tonker of trying to shake off a love-gone-wrong, "Stay Gone." The outstanding "Nothin' " starts out as a slow, swaying shuffle before kicking into honky tonk/swing high gear. Moot mixes bluegrass into the standout hillbilly toe tapper, "Jug Of Wine," while he delivers an outstanding haunting, high-lonesome performance on "Last Train Home."

With this strong debut, Moot Davis proves he's vocally a cut above, and while his overall sound steps out of a bygone era, he also possesses good instincts and a strong writing ability that makes his subject matter seem timeless rather than either dated (revivalist or retro) or overly contemporary (with themes that are a mismatch to his musical style). Moot Davis introduces us to one of country music's most talented and promising newcomers, one who shows he's more than capable of carrying on the torch of tradition for years to come.     

Standout Tracks:  "Jug Of Wine," "Thanks For Breakin' My Heart," "Last Train Home," "Nothin', " "One Of A Kind"

www.mootdavis.com

www.littledogrecords.com

AnnMarie Harrington TakeCountryBack January 2004