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Friday YouTube Series #1: “Granny” by Dave Matthews Band

Performed by David Baron

Mixed by Scott Effman

Happy Holidays everybody!

Much love,
David

Nothing To Fear – David Baron Live at Cafe du Nord (San Francisco CD Release Party, 12/6/08)

2 for 2!  My San Francisco CD Release Party was another SOLD OUT night on the west coast!  Thanks so much to everybody for making it such a special night.  It was wonderful to come back to my hometown of San Francisco to share my new music with so many friends, including many great musicians and artists in the Bay Area who came out to show their support.

This time around the band featured James Deprato on guitar and Jerry Becker on organ, both of whom tour with Pat Monahan of Train.  The crowd was especially amped up tonight, singing along and dancing their asses off all the way to the back row.  So cool that after only 2 shows so many people already know the words to the songs off the EP…the choruses to “Love Is Just A Lie” and “Nothing To Fear” were particular fan favorites tonight, where the singing along from the crowd nearly drowned out own my voice.

I was blown away when I saw 5 girls in the front row had made T-shirts from the some of the dirtier lyrics of my songs.  Nothing like reading “Nothing To Fear…But his giant piano” and “I was Just Getting Off” sprawled across the front of girls’ shirts while you’re rockin out 😉 .  Keep a lookout for the T-shirt Girls at upcoming Bay Area shows–I love you guys!

Props to Brad Wolfe, Eoin Harrington and Mike Gibbons, 3 excellent artists local to the Bay Area who brought the fire that night.  Eoin and I had a blast performing guest spots in each other’s sets…we dueted on Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” with my saxophonist and Elton John’s “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” with Eoin’s band.

Huge thanks to Laura for flying 637 miles to see the show (it said so right on her T-shirt), my folks from Florida (dude, family’s so cool), and hundreds of others who made my first hometown show as a solo artist an incredible night to remember.

It’s been a big year guys…and I can’t wait for what’s in store in ’09!

Peace,
David

Setlist and pics below:

1. Love Is Just A Lie

2. Standing Still ->

3. Don’t Stop Believin’

4. When The Stars Go Blue

5. Kids

6. New York State of Mind (w/ Eoin Harrington)

7. Shadows On The Inside

8. Nothing To Fear

9. I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues (w/ Eoin’s band)

Photos by Chris Lambert

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/davidbaron
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Baron/17844526299
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=292543683&s=143441

Don’t Stop Believin’ – David Baron Live at The Viper Room (LA CD Release Party, 11/22/08)

What’s up guys!  My LA CD Release Party was an unreal SOLD OUT night at the Viper Room! The band kicked ass, the Bryan Brothers sat in with us to play Tiny Dancer, and the performance was rock-solid.  All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better show to kick-start my solo career!

Hats off to the Bryan Brothers for not only playing their hearts out, but for being all-around just the nicest guys in the world.  I got to hang with Bob & Mike all weekend, and we had so much fun playing together that the three of us are going on tour as a trio to play at tennis tournaments across the U.S.!  Keep a look out for upcoming tour dates in ’09 with both the Bryan Brothers and my full band, including CD Release Parties on the east coast.

A huge thank you to people like Stacy who drove 300 miles to see the show, my brother and the rest of my family for coming out from Florida, and to everybody who came out in support to make the Viper Room the most rockin’ place to be in LA on November 22, 2008.  Will see you all tomorrow at my San Francisco CD Release Party, then on TV at Sundance in January and on the road in ’09!

Peace,
David

Setlist and pics below:

1. Love Is Just A Lie

2. Standing Still ->

3. Don’t Stop Believin’

4. Tiny Dancer (w/ the Bryan Brothers)

5. Kids

6. New York State of Mind

7. Shadows On The Inside

8. Nothing To Fear

Photos by Cynthia Lum – http://www.cynthialum.com

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/davidbaron
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Baron/17844526299
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=292543683&s=143441

Here’s “Starting Now” live at my brother Adam’s wedding. I wrote this for Adam and his wife Alex, and sang this during my Best Man’s speech.

Lyrics:

Starting Now

I’ll give you anything you want
I’ll give you anything you need
And I will try and do my best
When baby you won’t

You’re everything I’ve always waited for
You’re everything I’ve always asked for and more
And I wouldn’t change a thing
About you at all

If you call me up for any little thing you want love
I will be right there
Just call me up for any little thing that scares you
And I will sort it out
I’m everything I ever wanna be
Starting now

I’ll give you all the love that I got inside
I’ll give you all the love for all of my life
And I wont ask for a thing
Just let me love you the most

If you call me up for any little thing you want love
I will be right there
Just call me up for any little thing you’re scared of
And I will sort it out
I’m everything I ever wanna be
If you spend your life standing next to me
Starting now

Words and music by David Baron

Download “Starting Now” at: www.myspace.com/davidbaron

Buy the “David Baron” EP: www.davidbaronmusic.com

Let me qualify this post by saying that I’m a huge tennis fan.

So when Mike and Bob Bryan, the #1-ranked Men’s Doubles tennis team in the world, greeted me at the Sherwood Country Club in Los Angeles, CA by giving me hugs and carrying my bags, it was more than a little surreal.

For the two days I spent with the eponymous founders of the Bryan Brothers All-Star Tennis Smash—the first annual charity gala and tennis exhibition in support of the Bryan Brothers Foundation to raise money for at-risk kids in Ventura County—the guys made me feel like I was family.  After Mike and Bob drove me to and from the press conference when I arrived on Friday, they invited me to their home studio to jam with them before the weekend’s festivities would begin that night.

As it turns out, the twins are huge musicians. Their studio had some 20 guitars (including a Fender Strat specially designed for them by Adidas), half-dozen keyboards, flat-screen TVs, drums, and vocal mics amplified by a Bose sound system.  Their neighbors came in to see us jam for 3 hours on tunes by Elton John, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, U2 and more.  We started out with Mike on drums, Bob on bass, and me on piano, but by the end we were switching instruments from song to song: Mike going to keys while I played drums, Bob playing organ while I played guitar, and so on.  All the while, the walls of their studio were peppered with framed magazine covers and press photos of them receiving championship trophies at the U.S. Open, French Open, Davis Cup, Wimbledon…suffice to say, the tennis fan in me was definitely geeking out.

As interested as I was in what it was like to party with Andy Roddick and win the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, the guys seemed to be just as interested in what blues licks would sound good during a piano solo on the Counting Crows’ “Hangin’ Around”, or how to finger the bass line to Dave Matthews’ “Crash Into Me”.  Their love for music was sincere and palpable, and when they said they were as honored to have me as I was to be there, it was clear that you couldn’t wish for a nicer duo of tennis phenoms.

The next day, I got to watch a host of tennis stars and celebrity amateurs like Jon Lovitz (?!) play exhibition matches.  Who knew the comedian best remembered as the crotchety brother of Billy Crystal in City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly’s Gold had a serve that Lindsay Davenport couldn’t even return?

That night, the crowd gathered in the ballroom for the gala dinner, which was followed by a live auction where Justin Gimelstob inexplicably bid on every item.  Finally at around 10:30, the musical performances began.  Mike Bryan introduced me personally, and what a thrill it was to play “Love Is Just A Lie”, “Kids”, and “Nothing To Fear” on a stage directly in front of Maria Sharapova and Andre Agassi’s table.  After I finished, I invited up the Bryan Brothers to join me for a rendition of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” with Mike on drums, Bob on bass and organ, and me on piano and vocals.  Everyone rushed to the front of the stage to catch a glimpse of the tennis stars rocking out, and I must say, they did a killer job.  Despite a hurt shoulder aggravated from a long day of tennis, Mike came through on his drum fills while Bob kept the bass groove solid and steady.

After Evan and Jaron and Brandi Carlile’s sets, the Bryan Brothers invited me back on the stage with them to perform “Johnny B. Goode” and Dave Matthews’ “#41”.  To close out the night, Evan and Jaron joined Mike, Bob, and myself for an impromptu rendition of “Brown Eyed Girl”, where Evan, Jaron, and I traded lead vocals while Bob and Mike played piano and guitar.

When the show was complete, Bob and Mike took me aside and said, “You know, we would trade our tennis skills to be rock stars in a heart beat.”  Hard to believe, but when the night was over, the philanthropist tennis stars had managed to be both.

Lyrics:

Love Is Just A Lie

I was leaning on the corner of the bar
There was beer spilling on my shoes
When I saw her standing there and thought I got nothing to lose
I started walking when I see a sketchy dude
Walking to her with the same idea
So I turn around and order up another beer

Now I’m watching their exchange
And thinking how they’re all the same
The girl looks anxious as he tries in vain to change her mind

Love is just a lie
Something the girls tell each other so that they sleep better at night
Even the worst get a taste if you play your cards right
Cause love is just a lie

You were crying on the corner of my bed when your lover had just run off
You were getting over him and I was just getting off
I leaned over and I whispered in your ear
You know it would feel so good
Your heart was broken so I had my way with damaged goods

You were on your way to something real and nothing came
And when you found out what you couldn’t get
You settled for me instead

Love is just a lie
Something the girls tell each other so that they sleep better at night
Even the worst get a taste if you play your cards right
Love is just a lie
I’m in a pack of wolves looking for another deer caught in the headlights
Am I a notch on your belt or your shining knight?
Cause love is just a lie
Love is just a lie

Words and music by David Baron

From the EP “David Baron”

Buy the CD: www.davidbaronmusic.com

Download “Love Is Just A Lie” at: www.myspace.com/davidbaron

From the album Gold by Ryan Adams, one of my favorites.

You might have heard the version by Tim McGraw, or maybe you heard Blake Lewis sing it on American Idol. Either way, it’s one of those simple tunes that just feels timeless upon first listen.

With it’s gorgeous melody and beautiful lyrical imagery, there’s no wonder why the song’s been covered so many times, and probably will be for many years to come.