Everyone has a story. You can look into people’s eyes and get a glimpse of where they have been, where they are, and where they even might be going. Singer songwriter Ryan Davidson catalogs those human tales on his new self-released, full-length album, A Wick Burning High out digitally on April 7.

Effortlessly blending genres like folk with alternative, a bit of Irish, with just the right amount of punk.  The album includes the organic barroom chant of “Whiskey With My Friends,” which Ryan calls, “an anthem to remember the good times with the ones you love.” At the same time, his vivid lyricism takes the spotlight over a delicate acoustic strum on the first single “St. Louis” and “Kay” serves as a tribute to a triumphant friend battling a life-threatening illness with her head held high, while “Silver Dagger” serves as Ryan’s take on a classic performed by everyone from Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton to Joan Baez and Gillian Welch. “It’s an old folk song so many artists have twisted over the years,” he says. “I wanted to do my own version but rewrite the story.”

A WICK BURNING HIGH is filled with songs and stories that will pull at your heart strings and not leave your head.  But it all stems from Ryan’s personal story, at 13-years-old, the Chico, California native was riding his bike when a semi-truck suddenly cut him off, ran him over twice, dragged him, and then stopped on top of him—as he recalls. Bedridden for nearly year and facing what would eventually be 15 surgeries to provide him with a half-artificial right leg, he picked up music. “I was a super active kid, but after that accident, I couldn’t really do much” he sighs. “We had these instruments in the house, and I told my mom I wanted to learn how to play guitar.”

He practically became fused to the instrument and, at 14, joined his first band. A few years later, through a girl at the physical rehab facility he frequented, he landed in local punk favorites Bean Fight on the bass. That transformed intoHit By a Semi, who Ryan played with for over the course of a decade.

Ultimately, Ryan’s stories are meant to inspire on A Wick Burning High. “I’m a light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel sort of guy,” he leaves off. “My accident took a lot from me, but in return I was given an amazing gift - music. I wouldn’t trade anything for this journey. If I could convey that appreciation and love of life, that would be incredible.”

The prolific Ryan Davidson has refined the poetry of his songwriting, creating his own working class aesthetic where beauty and darkness often trade punches—emotional, Intelligent, minimalist, and unapologetic.

See him live in tour with Swingin’ Utters Darius Koski:

 4/8   Santa Cruz, CA  -  Catalyst Atrium 

 4/9   San Francisco, CA  -  Thee Parkside

4/10  Long Beach, CA  -  Alex's Bar  (w/ Johnny Two Bags)

4/11  Pomona, CA  -  Characters (w/ Joey Cape)

4/12  Santa Barbara, CA  -  Velvet Jones

4/13  Fullerton, CA  -  Slidebar

4/14  Chico, CA  -  Duffy's

4/15  Eugene, OR  -  Old Nicks

4/16  Bend, OR  -  Astro Lounge

4/17  Seattle, WA  -  The Funhouse (aka El Corazon Lounge)

4/18  Portland, OR  -  Analog Café

http://www,ryandavidsonmusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/rdavidsonmusic

http://www.ryandavidson.bandcamp.com