The Interview...

 

33:  So how long have you been performing?

DC:  Seven years.

 

33:  Why acoustic music?

DC:  I don't know why I love acoustic music so much.  I remember when I was young listening to Neil Young so I got a Neil Young songbook and a guitar.

 

33:  So are you musically trained?

DC:  Not formally, I don't know music theory or anything like that.  My mother used to teach piano up until five years ago.  She taught me a little bit, but I rely mostly on my ear.

 

33:  I've heard it's hard to get gigs in Hampton Roads unless you do covers.  Is that true?

DC:  It's hard to get work in Hampton Roads unless you do covers.  It's almost impossible if you want to get paid.  The venues want people to come to their business have a good time, spend money, and they figure people want to hear something they know.  If you want to get work you need to know a good size chunk of covers.

 

33:  So do you have any creative outlet to try out your own music?

DC:  I'll throw in one of my song every now and again.  I have a couple of Irish themed songs I've written, and if I'm at an Irish pub I'll play one and people don't usually know any better, but they seem to like them.  I like writing my own music, it's challenging.

 

33:  How is the community of musicians here on the Peninsula?

DC:  Everyone I've met has been pretty cool.  There's a few competitive people, but for the most part they aren't.  I mean how many gigs can you do in a night?  One.  How many venues are there?  Hundreds.  There's not really a point to be competitive.

 

33:  What kind of places do you like performing at?

DC:  I like small, cozy places, like here (Weekend Pub).  I know all the people that work at the places I perform so I'll give shout outs to them while I'm on.  I also like to incorporate the crowd.  I don't even have a set list.  People will write down something on a sheet of paper or shout something out, and if I know it I'll play it.  I'm just trying to make sure everyone has a good time.  It's in my best interest to keep people coming back to these places because if they go out of business, I won't have a place to perform.

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Dave Crumpler sat on an old wooden stool and tuned his guitar, getting ready for his performance at the head of the dimly lit Weekend Pub.  It's a fairly small bar, but it was a Friday night and the room was packed.  As soon as the show began, Crumpler's love for acoustic guitar was conveyed through each song he performed.  Eyes shut, body swaying; it was clear that he loved what he was doing, and so did everyone else. 

Shouts, cheers, and whistles rang seconds into the onset of each song as Crumpler performed acoustic versions of Third Eye Blind, Modern English, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, U2, and the Crash Test Dummies.  People were passing pieces of paper with their request written on it, other shouted out the name of songs they wanted to hear, and if Super Dave knew it, he played it (which was often the case).  The crowd was clapping, whistling, and singing along with each song Crumpler sang.  It was clear that everyone there was having a good time.

When most people think of an artist, most of the time they don't put a "cover" in front of the term.  Sometimes they are not even considered to be true musicians because they don't write their own music.  Almost as soon as the set begins it's obvious that Crumpler thoroughly enjoys the music and performing it for people willing to listen, those people listening enjoy themselves immensely, and you can see that a Dave Crumpler performance couldn't prove the false idea of a cover artist more wrong. 

 

By Author: Dorian Wright

Dorian Wright has lived in Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Japan, and finally Virginia, where he's resided for nine years.  He recently graduated from Christopher Newport University with a major in English, concentration in journalism, and a minor in Spanish.  Dorian recently started freelancing writing articles about local theater, restaurants, and most recently local music.  Some of his favorite musicians are Jamiroquai, Jurassic 5, Sade, the Clipse, Led Zepplin, Gustav Von Holst, and the Budos Band.

 

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