“The story of my first record is a complex one. There was, in fact, a first, that I bought personally, but then there was the collection I was already exposed to through my older brother. And it’s that collection that gets props for being so strong that it could keep my first record in its proper context.”
“The first record I ever bought was Kiss Destroyer. I loved Kiss. I was like 10 or 11. It was a great thing to have on LP (which is all there was then) because of the art–it was like having a freaking painting. That first purchase lead to a buying spree of all things Kiss–records for sure, but that right down to the Tiger Beat or Hit Parader that had one, meager, tiny black and white picture of Gene Simmons puking blood.
I would like to say that I, like many young ’70s suburbanites, was merely overcome by that perfect blend of theater and rock–taken in by the hype. But somehow, I actually loved the music as well. Listening to it now it’s sort of hard to image how you ever liked it. I mean the words are really dumb–guys singing about their love guns and such–there was a lot of bombast. But the tunes could rock and had some great pop hooks. Anyway, I loved it all at 11.
But the Beatle records were always just everywhere. Started as a wee tot and never stopped. I wasn’t trying to listen to them, they were just happening around me. Then, when my middle brother and father, who were then taking guitar lessons together, left a class book of chord charts sitting around in my father’s study, I started putting my fingers where the little dots said to go.
Then all those Beatles songs just came pouring out. And once I knew all of those songs, I just sort of play any song after that. I feel almost foolish—another musician talking about what a great influence the Beatles were—but it is what it is. All I did was play and sing them, which is pretty much all I do now. They were like the bedrock.
There were other things sprinkled in there as well—stuff I didn’t seek out but just got their way in—the Bee Gees, Elton (who I had originally confused with John Denver), Supertramp, etc. All of that shit was formative. If I have any sense of melody, harmony or structure now, it’s because of that stuff. And it cushioned the blow of Kiss.”
—Scott Klass
The Davenports’ full-length release, Don’t Be Mad at Me arrives in stores on July 13, 2018—on vinyl.
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PHOTO: PHILIP PRICE
