Even though he can play a multiplicity of instruments, Dave Petty often chooses to simplify his eclecticism when in concert. He prefers to relate with his listeners rather than simply ‘wow’ them with versatility.Dave has been playing acoustic and electric concerts for years in small and large venues seating from twenty to a thousand up and down the eastern seaboard. Born in New York City, he particularly enjoys performing in urban centers and college towns.In Other's words:•"I love your music! Keep it going, keep on howlin at the moon" - Barney•"'Original Song' had a strong influence on me. What a wonderfully generous thing of you to do - give your hard-forged art to the world, and it is a richer place for it. I surprised myself that I still remembered all the words. My wife says"He's so Jack Johnson" - I pointed out that you came first, and that nearly all your songs have a point. - AndyIn Dave's words:"I've been spending years on years beside and in front of people who will listen and value the songs and words of angels and friends. Got a thing about creative impulse… thinking that we small-talk till the noise sounds like whispers…. Can’t hear but really, really want to. Your voice is singular… mine too. Conversations are a deeper romance with friends, yearning for true love, enduring community.Everything I write these days is about two worlds, seemingly superimposed, dominated by the supra-sensory, the real beyond the two-dimensional-shadow-wall: I gotta play it, say it, sing it.Composing, producing, performing for forever-till-I-die (I will know far better after!). I just want you to have what I can give: the sounds, the words, the dreams. We, immersed in pain as normal, I recommend the supra-normal: everyday, anyday…. all the time… even now.No single album says it all for me. There are others of mine which will soon be posted. Keep an eye out... hope you enjoy!"•Notes on the songs:1. There Is Not Flame: It’s all about Love. The rest is noise. There is not flame there is not fireWhen love is not the first thing on my mindThere is no sound there is no choirWhen love is not the first thing that you findChorus:Here I somehow see the loveAnd you can know the ancient songThis is what all the saints believeAnd you can sing alongShuttered windows closing blindsThis privacy that covers shameThe incense of our groping mindsBurns to hear the holy name… CHORUSSolitaire cannot eraseOur hunger for the sweet embraceSolitaire cannot decreaseOur hunger for the sweet release… CHORUSLead vocal: Dave / Background: Mary, Lee, PeterGuitars: Dave & Lee / Mandolin: IanBass: Scott / Congas: Stuart2. What Goes Round: Some call it kharma. Some call it consequences. I call it spiritual gravity.What is this dream I’m dreamingOf a mansion by the seaIf I’m lyin’ smack dab in the middleOf this lonesome povertyTell me who scrapes this bottomWhen I’m down here lookin’ upWhy are all these tears hereIn this paper cup?CHORUS:And I can’t afford these prices(It’s more than I can spend)What goes round goes roundBut comes around againNow I am not a man to weepWhen the stocks are lookin’ downBut I can’t believe that what was up so highHas tumbled to the groundAnd I don’t believe in karmaBut the consequence is clearIf you dance the dance the fiddlerIs the only one who’s near… CHORUSI’ve learned that cash is just some paperThat I use to pay the billsThe things I own are only hereTo keep away the chillAnd my so-called friends only come aroundWhen the rest of me is rightBut the things that really matterAre simply out of sight… CHORUSVocal, Guitars, Bass, Harmonicas: DaveSpoons: Stuart3. Twenty Three: Inspired by Psalm 23 and our human condition.Though I walk through the darknessThough violence surrounds me like a gloveThough stolen kisses are bought and sold On my own personal TVThough my so-called friends expectMy moral compromiseI’ll fear no evil for you are here with meCHORUS:You care for me. You watch for me.Your goodness and mercy all… all of my life.Though innocent be deniedThough the honest speak with gunsThough the zombies claim the right to ruleThough the blind lead the blindAnd claim the sight to seeI’ll fear no evil for you are hear with me… CHORUSThough reason give way to controlThough the destitute be on saleThough service be just a matter of rewardThough love and truth like weather change by degreeI’ll fear no evil for you are here with me… CHORUSVocals & Guitars: Dave4. Original Song: It’s hard not to be derivative. We all have our influences. It’s just that something came from somewhere and in this case, Someone.1) I never heard an original song (X3) Till you came into my lifeCHORUS:No one ever sang a song the way you doYou can touch a cold cold heart (and melt right through)And you fill my mind with mysteryStrike a match in the darkness…I can seeThat I never heard an original song Till you came into my life2) I never felt an original song (X3)Till you came into my life… CHORUS3) I never saw an original light (X3)Till you came into my life… CHORUSLead Vocal: Dave / Background: MaryGuitars: Dave / Dobro: Steve / Clarinet: BillBass: Scott / Drums: Stuart5. Metaphor: Not the chicken and the egg. Heaven first. All the rest followed.Like a mystery where the dangerCan only be solved in the endLike the best part of loversWhen they shine like the sun(As if it never would end)When you reach for the shimmering sunlightJust to touch the radiant skyWhen you yearn for the wings of the dreamingAnd the glory flying by(Earth looks so small)Something here is more than I knewAnd I know it is not meThere’s a crack in the earth and its currentIs moving beyond the seaLet me sit down and catch my breathAnd take this whole thing inLet me lie down and take a rest From this energy rushing inAnd it moves me through the distancesTo the place that always wasThis must be what they call heavenAnd I wonder what it doesHeaven lasts foreverEarth can only give a metaphorHeaven last foreverEarth can only give a metaphorSomething ‘bout this planetary lifeMakes you look for something moreHeaven lasts foreverEarth can only give a metaphorLike a magic trick with a special touchThat is more than slight of handLike my deepest wish coming trueLike some visit to a promised land…Lead & Background Vocals: DaveGuitars: Dave / Violin: Faith / Synth: LeeBass: Scott / Drums & Wind chimes: Stuart6. There’s Still Time: Something of a variation on “this too will pass.”1) Though you’re looking for the riverTo see the safety on the other shoreAnd there are several roads to walk onAnd mountains left to climbAnd even if the blue sky in your windowGets all clouded up in misty grayCHORUS:Never mind. It ain’t over. There’s still time.2) And even if your sweetheart broke your heartLike the crack of ice in the frozen winter chillAnd you feel lonely as an eagleIn the midnight skyAnd it don’t seem right somehowAnd thought the tears you cryAre never never comin’ back again… CHORUS3) And this cotton candy jingle melts on the tip of your tongueAnd you can sense the melody is overEven though it’s only just begunAnd you are clutching at the momentsJust to stop the ceaseless climb… CHORUS4) And I am just like you I feel itWhen the world shakes beneath my feetAnd I just like you I know itWhen the weather starts to take controlAnd I am just like you I’m humanAnd I bleed when I’m wounded in my soul… CHORUSLead Vocal & Background: DaveGuitars: DaveBass: Scott / Drums: Stuart7. Desperate Places: Inspired by my grandfather (or was it my uncle?) who got the cabin cruiser run aground. Everyone came to the rescue. Though it felt and looked like Humpty Dumpty: “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put humpty together again.”1) Water shallow hit the bottomBoats all groundedMotion all adrift And shifting alwaysFearful anxious eyes and gazesHeads and legs and raising voices cryingCHORUS:We are in desperate placesAnd we cannot stand here waitingThere is no progressOur boats are standing still2) I am not safe I am almost drowningI stir the air and my emotionsThe SOS…But no one answersNo one hears me in this commotion… CHORUS3) Do not pass these moments byDo not forsake our nervous laughterNever think that all is wellWhen all the whileOur boatsAre standing still… CHORUS4) I am in a strange conditionAnd you are shouting out the answersBut you are in the same positionAnd we are only turning up the volume… CHORUSLead Vocal: Dave / Background: Mary, Lee & DaveGuitar: Dave / Keyboard: Lee / Harp: DaveBass: Scott / Drums: Stuart8. Guess I’ll Cash It In: Sin is always a gamble. And the casino is rigged.The stakes are always highMore than I can affordMy chips are kinda low,I got the blues for my rewardGuess I’ll cash it in before it’s goneThe floor is burning hotAs the money shuffles inThe spinnin’ wheel the blackjackThe poker and the ginGuess I’ll cash it in before it’s goneThey say doors swing both waysBut I always end up inI wish I was outsideBut it’s just he nature of this sinI walked in here to winBut I always seem to looseI know this game is riggedBut you see I tend to miss the cluesGuess I’ll cash it in before it’s goneGot a hole in my pocketMy feet are full of leadMy mind is made of concreteAnd my bankbook’s in the redThere’s a trick called self-resistanceBut my money’s all been spentI’ve cashed in my whole paycheckAnd the money for the rentAnd there’s nothing to cash in When it’s all goneLead Vocal: Dave / Background: Mary & DaveGuitars & Harmonica: DaveBass: Scott / Drums: Stuart9. Shadow Boxing: made it up spontaneously in the studio1) Shadow boxing, walls around me listeningNaked, lonely, can you find me echoing?CHORUS:Only you have ears to hear meOnly you will never let me go2) Silence screaming, can you turn the music down?Secrets whispering, can you stop the guilty sound?… CHORUSHold my hand and walk with me, talk with me…3) Quiet streams here, we will sit and talk awhile.You are shining. Can you hear the angels smile?… CHORUSLead Vocal: DaveGuitars & Guitar Synth: DaveBass: Scott / Drums: Stuart10. Mountain: Like track#13 only there’s nothing like mountains, valleys and rivers.You’re always on the MountainYou’re always in the valleyYou’re always on the riverI need you to remind meWhen it’s like I never knew youYou say all is forgivenI wake up in the morningAnd you are here beside meI know… more than I ever knewAnd I laugh more than I ever lovedAnd I love more than I ever sawAnd I see more than I ever was… before(Constantly beside me)You’re always on the MountainYou’re always in the valleyYou’re always on the riverI need you to remind meLead Vocal: Dave / Background: Mary & DaveGuitar, Bass & Harp: Dave / Violin: FaithDrums: Stuart11. Pin The Tail: The world is cruel. God is not.1) Pin the tail on the donkeyPut the spotlight on the foolPut the robe on the jesterDunk the clown into the poolCHORUS A: We mock the hand that feedsThe joy that makes us cryPin the tail on the donkey And watch him die2) Pound the hammer on the anvilForge the plow into a spearPlunge the dagger in the madnessFeed the anger with out fear… CHORUS ACHORUS B:But you are all I need to know And never to be cruelThis is this and that is allAnd love your only rule3) Bend the tree before the whirlwindBow the knee below it allPride of man before his makerDust to death the great and small… CHORUS A&BLead Vocal: Dave / Background: Mary & DaveGuitar & Harmonica: Dave / Horn Section & Solo: BillBass: Scott / Drums: Stuart12. Still Small Voice: A cloudy windy autumn morning on Nantucket, it’s as if I had a front row seat to the Majestic.evidence displayed in tumbled treesmoving mobilesclouds and grasscosmic contact land and seaand all who dwell thereinand all who dwell thereinsprayed caps white water flamesdust flies pollen wingsborn aloftand seagulls passpushed by invisibilityI stood on the helm of swaying branchesstruck by the need to enter ingreater than I am…He isjoy floods the inner cavitiesthe empty placedfilled to fountainsas mammoth smoke is shoved asideblue sky sings in clouds I cannot singand yet a crown upon my headWind Lord, Storm King,Mover,Changer,Cosmic Lovernow speaks the whirlwindstill… small… voiceVocal: DaveGuitars, Flute, Flute Percussion & Bass / Wind Chimes: Stuart13. Every: Everywhere means “where can I go?” You are most wonderfully inescapable! (Ps139)1) When I rise or when I lay downWhen I go out, when I stay downWhen I cryor singor bleedor laughor prayWhen I listen or I walk outWhen I’m confident or still doubtWhen I fail a hundred times a dayCHORUS:Every note you listenEvery sight you seeEvery joy you love to share with meEvery tear you store upEvery cost you pay upEvery night you stay up and comfort me2) When I eat or talk or leave townWhen I win or lose or stay foundWhen I standor sit or crawlor run awayWhen I forget you or rememberWhen inspired or confusedWhen I’m twisted upAnd cannot find the way… CHORUSEvery thought you noticeEvery hope you promiseThat everywhere I go you’ll always be.Vocals, Guitar and Harmonica: DaveALBUM CREDITS:All music and lyrics written by:Dave Petty © 1995Musicians:Dave Petty: Guitars, lead vocal, background vocals, bass guitar, harp, harmonicas & fluteMary O’Hare: Background VocalsLee Kizer: Keyboards, guitar, background vocalScott Spray: Bass guitarStuart Stahr: Drums, congas, spoons, wind chimesBill Harris: Clarinet, sax, horn arrangementFaith Fraoli: ViolinPeter Lanfer: Background vocalIan Cron: MandolinSteve McCardell: DobroChristy Petty: “Oink! Oink!” (at age 3)Produced by Stuart Stahr and Dave PettyE. Producers: Lewis & Joanie Madeira, Tom Petty, Jr., Susan WattsRecorded at: SounTec Studios, August 1994Recording Engineer: Peter HodgsonMixed at: Carriage House Studios, September 1994Mixdown Engineer: Phil CastellanoMastered at: Trutone Inc., September 1994Mastering Engineer: David RadinCover and disc art: Karen TurnerPhotography: Bob SchellhammerArt direction, layout and text: Dave PettyGraphic layout: Miesha Bartosh, Trutone Inc.Special Thanks to: all the “intercessors”, the FOCUS Staff & students who encouraged me to play especially David & Beth, Bryce & Mel, Laura, Peter & Hilary, the longstanding fellow musicians: Ted, Lisa, Kenny, Andy, John Larae, Sasha, Robert, Lee, Melissa & Pierce, to David “Mr. Electric” Watchorn, Lisa (just because), Greg Hammett (my most constant endorser), all who financially contributed to make this project happen, Stuart’s wife Claire, “CD”, Elvis, Dorothy, Brad, Brooke, my faithful & loving father, Christy (thanks for the hugs), Carol (my best friend, Jesus Christ (without whom none of this would have be possible), Also Thanks to Keith, Melissa & Amy at Sountec, Johnny & Dave at Carriage House, Anne-Marie at Trutone.