Mike BakerWith virtually pitch-perfect musicianship and an ever-growing online following, Brock Davisson has grown from small-town musician to what one could legitimately consider a guitar hero in certain internet circles. “Brockstar”, as some have dubbed him (and he sometimes half-jokingly refers to himself), enjoys the ability to showcase his passion via social media, stating: “I personally love doing this more than sitting in a bar and playing. My music and videos get passed around all over the world, in places that wouldn’t know who I was if I was just staying in a bar band.”
And passed around his work has been – his Facebook video “Did You Miss the Blues?” has accumulated around 3.2 million views and his dozens upon dozens of other videos regularly reach tens of thousands of views and hundreds of reactions. He has been featured in several online competitions and promotions including the Randy Bachman Vintage Guitar Magazine competition, which he won in 2016. He is also a three-time winner of the Annual C.A. House Guitar Competition in Parkersburg, WV. Brock’s crowning achievement, though, is the release of his first full-length album in 2015, “Outtakes From the Soul.”
“My main and biggest accomplishment,” Brock says, “Is getting my 2015 CD done and out there. It even hit #15 for a week on the blues billboard chart. Doing that with only 300 CD’s out there, no touring, no music videos, no signed record deal, etc. – That’s not easy to do. None of it would have happened though if it wasn’t for Andy and Courtney Holbrook from Skylight Media. They did a short documentary on me in 2014 and that lead to people wanting me to do an album and that lead to a funding campaign and releasing the album, etc. So any accomplishments that happen here on after is because of them because they really pushed me over the edge to where I am now. I was doing crappy videos and some people here and there knew who I was, but things got bigger and bigger since 2014 when they did the documentary on me!”
I’m a sucker for guitar instrumental more than anything because it is what speaks to me, so musicians like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are big influences.
A guitarist’s guitarist, Brock’s glassy tone and smooth blues chops alone are enough to match many of the all-time greats, Clapton and Vaughan included, but one would be sorely mistaken to reduce him to a typical bluesman. Brock’s style is varied, and although he has a great affinity for the blues, his style encompasses a wide array of genres.
“I started out with Nirvana of course,” Brock states, “And then I got into bands like Metallica and Megadeth, but then I found myself branching off into blues like BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, etc. Today, I’m pretty wide open. I’m a sucker for guitar instrumental more than anything because it is what speaks to me, so musicians like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are big influences. I don’t have many newer influences except like Nick Johnston and maybe a few others. But again, I’m wide open on genres. I like a bit of everything. Also, you know movies and life and people become influences as well as memories – so you write about them or think about them when playing, etc.”
(As an interviewer’s aside, anybody who likes Satriani is a-okay with me.)
One thing that sets Brock aside from most guitarists, is his unique style of fretwork. Unable to use the guitar neck in the same way as most musicians due to physical limitations, Brock developed his own way of attacking the instrument.
I never really thought of it differently until later when I noticed more people play the normal way.
“When we first got the guitar and amp I would see my brother play the guitar in the “normal” position and I couldn’t do it because of limited mobility in my wrists and joints, so I just did what I thought was normal for me and put it [the fretting hand] over the top and it worked well for me. I never really thought of it differently until later when I noticed more people play the normal way. Also, no I didn’t copy Jeff Healey, as I didn’t even know who he was until years later.” Brock states.
(Jeff Healey, for the uninitiated, was a guitarist well known for playing in the overhand style and was quite popular both in his native Canada and among blues fans. He passed away in 2008.)
Currently, Brock is working toward what will be his 2nd studio album, which he hopes will show a more diverse side to his repertoire.
“I want it to go a different direction.” He says, “Sure, there will still be blues playing on it, but also other styles. This time I’m going for diversity, showcasing that I’m more than just blues. I want to show some jazz, some instrumental shred, and some other stuff. I personally don’t like being lumped into one genre or category.”
He is currently waging a IndieGoGo campaign to cover production costs associated with the album. You can provide support for the album here. Brock’s 2015 album, “Outtakes from the Soul” can be downloaded on iTunes, Amazon, google music, and most places digital albums are sold. Vinyl copies of the album can be purchased here.
Photography by Skylight Media