An Unofficial Dave Davies Solo Tour FAQ

Updated: 14-APR-2007

Q: What about European dates?

A: Dave has performed in Europe several times, beginning in September and October, 2001. His most recent performance was in Potsdam, Germany, at the Stadtwerk Festival in June, 2004.

Q: When he has toured, I haven't seen (m)any of Dave's shows listed on the TicketMaster Web site. What gives?

A: Many of his shows are not at venues that customarily use TicketMaster. For such shows, in order to get tickets, you will usually have to contact the ticket office for that venue.

Additionally, when looking for information on his tours, you may wish to search the site for the word "Kink Kronikles" (or "Chronicles", for those places that don't quite "get it"), an alternate name that was used by some venues for his past tours. Further complicating the search is that in the past one nationwide ticket agency has had his tour listed as "Dave Davies Kink Kronikles", "Kink Kronikles", "Dave Davies and the Kronikles", and even "The Kinks" (which Dave has never actually used for his solo tours), simultaneously.

For the record, Meta Media (Dave's organization) officially prefers to refer to cast of musicians backing Dave as "the Dave Davies Band."

Q: Has he released any solo albums?

A: Yes! His first studio album since the mid-1980s, Bug, was released May 7, 2002. In addition, he has released thirteen other discs since 1997.

Fractured Mindz is a release of nine all-new tracks recorded in 2006 and 2007. This album covers a variety of styles, including rock, blues and electronica.

This disc was released on January 30, 2007 and is available through Dave's web site, which has considerable information on this album, including sound clips and reviews.

Kinked is a collection of material from Dave's earlier, hard-to-get discs, plus an all-new track, "God in My Brain", which is the first track he released since his stroke.

This disc was released on February 22, 2006 and is available through Dave's web site as well as better record stores.

Rainy Day in June is a recording of Dave's performance at the 2004 Stadtwerke Festival in Potsdam, Germany. A unique feature of this show was that Dave's son Simon played the drums, with only one night's practice with the group.

This disc was released on December 15, 2004 and is available through Dave's web site.

Transformation was released August 6, 2003 through Dave's web site. It is a high-quality recording of the May 23, 2003 benefit performance at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California for Soroptimist of the Verdugos.

Highlights of this release include a revamped "Transformation/Life After Life" which showcases Dave's and Jonathan Lea's guitar talents in place of the keyboards on the Bug! version, and the first formal release of a live version of "Father Christmas."

Transformation was released in the UK by AngelAir records in September, 2005.

Bugged... Live!, the second release in Meta Media's Official Bootleg series was released October 22, 2002. It is available only through Dave's web site. It contains tracks recorded during the Late Summer 2002 tour of the West Coast. Four of the tracks are live versions of material from Bug!

Bug!, was officially released to stores in the US on May 7, 2002, although it already was available at Dave's shows for much of the Spring 2002 tour. This is an all-new studio album of Dave's original material.

The twelve tracks on BUG! show that not only does Dave still have his edge, he has paid attention to what has been going on in music during the past decade. This ambitious album isn't the same music you heard twenty years ago!

Fragile is an eleven-track CD featuring songs, mostly demos, recorded in a variety of styles over a 20-year period. This second disc in Dave's Meta Media Demo Series was only available through Dave's website. It was released in early 2001.

Rock Bottom: Dave Davies Live at the Bottom Line, was released in the US on June 27, 2000. This live performance CD, which was released on the Koch label, includes songs selected from four live performances at the Bottom Line in New York City in 1997.

It was released in the UK and Europe by Sanctuary in October, 2001.

'Solo Live': Live at Marian College, the first release in the Meta Media Official Bootleg Series of new recordings, was released June 17, 2000. This is a recording of a special performance at Marian College in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on October 6, 1999. During this show, he mixed songs with stories of his growing up and being part of The Kinks. This is the only time that he has tried this format. This CD was available only through Dave's web site.

Fortis Green, the first release in the Meta Media Demo Series of new recordings, was shipped during the first week of November, 1999. Bill Crowley's comments on this disc are available on Dave's official web site.

This eight song collection of demos is only available through Dave's official web site.

The anthology released in the UK and Europe, Dave Davies Anthology (1964-1998) - Unfinished Business was released by Castle on November 9, 1998. Castle sold out the first pressing has completely sold out, and issued a second pressing shortly thereafter.

The first pressing contained a 1970s-era live version of "You're Looking Fine" as its final track, as opposed to the live version of "Gallon of Gas Blues/You're Looking Fine" recorded at The Bottom Line in New York City, in 1997 shown on the track list. Subsequent pressings contain the correct (1997) track.

The anthology released in North America, Unfinished Business/Dave Davies Kronikles, 1963-1998, was released January 12, 1999. It is very different from the European release.

Purusha and the Spiritual Planet, was released as a joint effort with Dave's son Russell in mid-October, 1998 under the band name Crystal Radio. This is Dave's entry into the area of ambient trance dance music-- a marked departure from the rootsy rock-n-roll for which he is so well known. Don't look for this album in the record stores, though-- it is available through his Web site, and has been available at his live shows. Samples of various songs are available on his site.

Dave offered an eleven-song CD titled Unfinished Business at his solo shows in late 1997 and early 1998. We had heard that this was supposed to be released by Velvel to record stores in mid-1998, but this was apparently not to be. "I'll Get Over" and "When The Wind Blows", two demo tracks on this CD, are not included on the anthologies.

Q: How would you characterize his shows?

A: An undiluted rock and roll concert, performed with precision and punctuated by moments of pure glee. They're the most fun I've had with my clothes on.

Q: What material does he play?

A: On his tours he played a cross-section of the material he's performed over the years, both his own solo work and Kinks material. A list of the songs is available here.

Q: Does he read from his book, like Ray has?

A: Not really. This is a straight-ahead rock-n-roll concert.

Q: Are there any other differences between Dave's tour and Storyteller?

A: There are several, in fact:

Dave's show is more of a straight-ahead rock show, while Ray's is more like a musical rock-n-roll history lecture from a well-loved professor.

Dave plays entire songs. Unless, of course, he forgets the words, as happens from time to time.

Dave interacts somewhat more freely with the audience during the show. At each of the shows we attended, he made eye contact with everyone in the first two or three rows at least once during the show. At the Grand Rapids, Michigan show in 1997, he bent over and asked Leslie's name, then dedicated "Strangers" to her!

Dave tends to play smaller, more intimate venues, with far less advance notice.

Dave's set list and patter vary from show to show- it's never really the same show twice.

Don't get us wrong, we enjoyed both shows, but they are rather different in approach.

Q: Have any former Kinks appeared at his shows?

A: Pete Quaife attended a show during 1998 at The Bottom Line in New York City, watching the show, then joining Dave on stage for "You Really Got Me." Pete also attended the June 23, 1999 show at the Sit-N-Bull Pub in Maynard, Massachusetts as an audience member. No other Kinks have been seen at his shows.

Q: Did the Smithereens back him on his tours?

A: No. On his tours, he is backed by a very competent band (with loads of personality) that he has assembled from musicians based out of LA. This merry band varies from tour to tour, but has featured Dave Jenkins on bass, Jim LaSpesa (often introduced as "Jim Davis" by Dave) on drums and backing vocals, Dave Nolte on keyboards, rhythm guitar and harmonica, Jonathan Lea on guitar and keyboards, Brian Myers on guitar and Derrick Anderson on bass. Andrew Sandoval (rhythm guitar and harmonica) has not toured with Dave since the first few tours, but the summer 2000 tour featured the return of Kristian Hoffman on keyboards.

Typically, three or four of these musicians back him at a time. Jim LaSpesa has held the position behind the drum kit for every tour to date, with the exception of the June, 2004 date at the Stadtwerk Festival in Potsdam, Germany, where his son Simon sat behind the drum kit.

In Kinks Preservation Society Digest #2462, Dave Jenkins explained that Dennis Diken, Jim Babjek and Mike Mesaros of the Smithereens were originally approached to be Dave's back up band on his first tour. For whatever reason, that did not come about, and Dave lined up a band comprised of some of the other LA musicians mentioned above. A misunderstanding when booking Dave's early shows caused the Smithereens to be billed as a separate act on Dave's first tour.

Q: Is there an opening act?

A: That depends on the venue- there is no opening act touring with him. Any opening acts have tended to be local performers booked by the venue, with widely varying styles and degrees of talent. We've attended shows with two or three opening acts, and shows with none.

Q: What's this I hear about a live Webcast of a Dave solo show??

A: Two shows at the Sit-N-Bull Pub in Maynard, MA were recorded and are available through Dave's Web site at: http://www.davedavies.com/ . The first show, from June 4, 1998, is available in stereo in RealAudio. Two songs from the second show, taped February 6, 1999, are available in streaming video form, as is an interview taped earlier that day. The necessary browser plug-ins are available at sites linked from Dave's site.

Thanks go to Chris Locke (Webmaster of Dave's Web site at the time) for putting the Webcasts together, and working out the numerous technical details.

Q: When has he toured solo in the past?

A: He has toured several times. For details, click here.

Q: Does he take requests during the show?

A: Generally no, but a few times when a fan called out the name of a song he likes, he would try an impromptu version of it. A fan brought a copy of the lyrics to "Sleepwalker" to help him out and he gave it an honest effort. Another time someone yelled out "In You I Believe," and he was so excited that someone wanted to hear this song, he launched into it despite his statement that no one in the band knew it. This is an indication of how much Dave enjoys these shows and how relaxed and free-flowing they are.

Q: Does he sign autographs after the show?

A: Yes, sometimes, but don't pester him during the show, like a few fans have tried. While he's on stage, it's the music that matters. At most of the shows that we have attended, he has come out after the final encore and signed autographs, if only for five or ten minutes. Often the amount of time he has to do this is determined by the venue. At the Big Kahuna show in Wilmington, for example, the security guys hustled Dave away as fast as they could, so fans only managed to get a few autographs and photos.

Q: Dave gestures a lot with his middle finger during the show- is he really "flipping off" the audience?

A: No. He's trying to point at someone or something without losing his grip on the guitar pick. Besides, he's always pointing downward, instead of upward as in the traditional insult gesture.

Q: Are there any recordings of these shows available?

A: Why, yes! The Webcast is available through Dave's Web site (see above), and the Meta Media Official Bootleg Series - 'Solo Live': Live at Marian College, released in June, 2000. This disc covers Dave's performance at Marian College in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on October 6, 1999. During this show, he mixed songs with stories of his growing up and being part of The Kinks. The disc is available only through his official web site. Details and on-line ordering are available on Dave's site at http://www.davedavies.com/new.htm.

The second live album was the eagerly-anticipated Rock Bottom: Dave Davies Live at the Bottom Line, which Koch released ten days after 'Solo Live': Live at Marian College was released. It contains portions of several live performances recorded at the Bottom Line in New York City in 1997. In addition, both the US release of his anthology and the second-pressing of the UK release include a live version of "Gallon of Gas Blues/You're Looking Fine" recorded at the same shows at The Bottom Line.

More recently, Bugged... Live! was released on Dave's web site, followed later in 2003 by Transformation.

Q: I didn't think that his solo stuff from the 1960s was really all that good. Why should I bother going?

A: By all means, go to the show! There's a big difference in his performing style now, as opposed to thirty years ago. He no longer sounds like a British teenager trying to be a blues man. The years have improved his voice and his showmanship.

Q: Does all of this solo touring by Dave and Ray mean the end of the Kinks?

A: Unless you're Ray or Dave, your guess is as good as mine. They still owe one of the labels an album, though. In a recent interview, Dave expressed interest in getting together with the band again (presumably a recent line-up, see below) to record another album.

Q: So, what about the reunion of the original Kinks line-up that has been rumored for the last few years?

A: So far, we've heard nothing official. Ray has talked about this more and more, and the rumor surfaced again in mid-September, 1999, but we haven't heard anything from anybody else (such as a record label). A couple of radio stations repeated the rumor in early 1999 (based on what they read on the Internet), but over three years later, we've yet to hear anything that convinces us that it's more than a rumor. This wasn't the first time in recent years that there have been rumors of new Kinks activity being imminent.

Dave has publically stated that he's not interested in a reunion of the original line-up.

Q: What is an RDF? Whose site is this, anyway?

A: For a bit on the truly lovely people who have brought you this site (and a photo, too!), click here.

Q: Am I already an RDF? How can I tell?

A: Yes, you may already be an RDF. The telltale signs are easily identified, and are listed here.

A RDF Kollective Production

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