Dean Davidson
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Member
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Personal information
Also known as: Dizzy
Born on: 15.10.1960
Official website
EARLY MUSICAL SUCCESS
Dean and his neighborhood friends in the mid 70's in Philadelphia's "Mayfair" section divided their free time between the local Ginos fast food chain and bouncing up and down Frankford Avenue with the music of Aerosmith (Dream On), Lynyrd Skynyrd (Free Bird) and Led Zepplin -- their constant companions. Their own "dreaming on" always focused on creating songs that would take them beyond the Philadelphia back-yard scenes and propel them onward into the wider world of music. Their daily farewells were typically, "Someday, Boy, someday." After all, the fact that Sylvester Stalone, who had earlier attended their own Lincoln H.S. and startled the world with his award winning movie, "Rocky", held out hope for living out their dreams.
Dean' s father, a hard-working, blue collar factory worker, did not encouraged and stifled Dean's dreams to make a career in music. His mother, Christine, early-on, recognized and supported his dedication to his music. While working the election polls at the high school, she persuaded two local artists, Doug Walters (lead vocalist and guitarist) and Larry Hesson (keyboard and vocalist) to give Dean an audition as a drummer with their young bar band, "Kapture". Upon hearing Dean play two songs, "Burn" from Deep Purple and "Perpetual Change" by Yes, they invited Dean to join their band despite his young age of fourteen. The band brought in bass guitar player Jack Pescatore and the band started to rehearse on a regular schedule of four times a week in Deans basement, where they would pound out a song over and over until they owned it. Dean's uncle, Joe Maio, assumed the role of band manager and chaperoned Dean for their gigs in local bars and night clubs. These smoke filled rooms were where Dean cut his teeth in the music world of entertainment and from which he returned home at 3:00 a.m. to catch a few hours of sleep before showing up for school at 7:30 a.m. Sometimes Dean would come home from a gig at 5:00 a.m. , grab something to eat and go right to school. Dean stated, I remember the kids in class would ask me why I smelled like stale beer and cigarettes, and I'd say I was playing at the pub all night. Now tell me, how cool was that for a fourteen year old. Dean admits that on many school days he was pre-occupied with learning new songs for the up-coming weekends.
While many classmates had different goals from 1974 to 1977, Dean says, "At the time I was just having fun, and did not fully realize I was getting my road legs that prepared me for the real, world-wide musical gigs in my future." After high school, a short-lived marriage at age 18 produced a daughter, Nicole.
ON TO NATIONAL RECOGNITION
As a drummer in 1981, Dean joined the original heavy metal band "World War III" and introduced the Philadelphia area to something new in music. Excellent reviews led to an independent record deal until the music ran its course and Dean moved on to gigs as a lead singer and self-taught guitar player. When he moved to California in 1984, staying with his friend, Rich Geerston, Dean wrote many songs for his old childhood band created in the eighth grade, which later became the platinum rock group, "Britny Fox" on Columbia / Sony Records.
Officially launching "Britny Fox" in 1985, Dean set up camp in Summerdale, NJ near the very popular night club, "The Galaxy". He recruited two of the original members from the rock band, "Cinderella" -- Tony "Stix" Destra and Michael Kelly Smith.
The three friends survived start-up time by joining a friend's company and painting in the daylight hours, rehearsing and playing nightly, and planning how to introduce "Britny Fox" to the world. They usually ate at the Taco Bell or Lupe's Diner across the street from the Galaxy after band rehearsal. This is where they would hash out there ideas, and have most of there band meetings. Finally, "Britny Fox" became the headliner act to go on every Saturday night at midnight in this sole, original music, night club in the tri-state area.
It did not take long to build up a large following and for the door man of the Galaxy, Brian Kushner soon became the bands manager. Brian Kushner invited many record companies from New York to the club to hear Britny Fox live. After a showcase night with RCA Records on February 7th 1986, drummer, Tony "Styx" Destra died in a car crash a half mile from his home at the age of 32.
With a replacement drummer, Adam Ferraioli, the band opened the show for "Cinderella" and showcased for Columbia Records' A&R rep, John Mrvos at the Wildwood, NJ Convention Center. This landed Britny Fox a record contract with Columbia Records which released two MTV hits, "Long Way to Love" and "Girls School" which sold 50,000 units per week, pushing the band to 800,000 copies and a Gold Album Award. Britny Fox on tour played at 10,000 + seat venues every night for two years, and released a second album, "Boys n Heat" featuring the hit, "Dream On" as an MTV video directed by Michael Bay. Following these releases, the band toured Europe playing with Alice Cooper and on to Japan opening for Jon Bon Jovi. Guns & Roses Alex Rose, said "Britny Fox's remake of "Hair of the Dog", was the best version he'd ever heard", and singer/songwriter, Ryan Adams stated, Britny Fox was a great rock band.
In 1990, personal business differences with some of the group led Dean to leave the band. He started a new band, "Blackeyed Susan" and landed a major deal with Mercury Records. Dean worked with Producer Randy Cantor, the writer of the single, "None of it Matters" with a video directed by Jeff Stein and a very young, Josie Bissett before "Melrose Place" the band caught the attention of many radio stations and fans. A second single on the album, "Ride With Me", caught the ear of actor, Mickey Rourke and landed a spot in his movie, "Harley Davidson and the Marlborough Man". Dean's band toured the United States almost endlessly for over a year.
Until the end of 1992, Dean was back on the road with " Blackeyed Susan" with all new band members. Jeff Cease, former guitarist of "The Black Crowes", joined him and moved to South Jersey and toured a short run of 60 dates.
PERSONAL LOSSES
The early 1990's saw a big change in music. Mercury Records and many other major labels closed their doors and dropped dozens of music acts because of the invasion of the Seattle Grunge Movement. This brought the dramatic end of the glam, metal, MTV generation. Dean continued to adapt to changing tastes and by the end of 1992, was recording bands and solo artists from his recording studio in Marlton, NJ.
Dean began to write more of his own songs that clearly tell a story that enable listeners to relate to their own lives.
In 2005, Dean recorded the acoustic rock album, "Drive My Karma" , co-produced by Phil Nicolo. He brought into this venture, his good friend, Kenny Aronoff on drums and Rob Hyman of "The Hooters" on keys and vocals. The album was generating much interest from different labels and was set to be released when in June, 2008, Dean's fiance, Laurie Merritt, became ill and died after a very short bout with Leukemia.
Dean, totally distraught and exhausted, shelved the album and its production.
NEW BEGINNINGS
Shortly thereafter, The unpredictable singer songwriter Dean Davidson, a consummate musician, resumed his work and has been writing songs for his new album and New Band "Dean Davidson & The Bedlam Hearts" Coming 2012. Plans are being made to record the full length album In 2012 with Producer / Engineer Phil Nicolo. Dean Is currently In preproduction and writing songs for the debut release and working on a new recording contract. Two music videos "Rock and Soul" and "Southside Of Heaven" and a music EPK documentary on the band are slated to hit YouTube, Facebook, Twitter sometime In April 2012.
http://www.deandavidson.com/
Born on: 15.10.1960
Official website
EARLY MUSICAL SUCCESS
Dean and his neighborhood friends in the mid 70's in Philadelphia's "Mayfair" section divided their free time between the local Ginos fast food chain and bouncing up and down Frankford Avenue with the music of Aerosmith (Dream On), Lynyrd Skynyrd (Free Bird) and Led Zepplin -- their constant companions. Their own "dreaming on" always focused on creating songs that would take them beyond the Philadelphia back-yard scenes and propel them onward into the wider world of music. Their daily farewells were typically, "Someday, Boy, someday." After all, the fact that Sylvester Stalone, who had earlier attended their own Lincoln H.S. and startled the world with his award winning movie, "Rocky", held out hope for living out their dreams.
Dean' s father, a hard-working, blue collar factory worker, did not encouraged and stifled Dean's dreams to make a career in music. His mother, Christine, early-on, recognized and supported his dedication to his music. While working the election polls at the high school, she persuaded two local artists, Doug Walters (lead vocalist and guitarist) and Larry Hesson (keyboard and vocalist) to give Dean an audition as a drummer with their young bar band, "Kapture". Upon hearing Dean play two songs, "Burn" from Deep Purple and "Perpetual Change" by Yes, they invited Dean to join their band despite his young age of fourteen. The band brought in bass guitar player Jack Pescatore and the band started to rehearse on a regular schedule of four times a week in Deans basement, where they would pound out a song over and over until they owned it. Dean's uncle, Joe Maio, assumed the role of band manager and chaperoned Dean for their gigs in local bars and night clubs. These smoke filled rooms were where Dean cut his teeth in the music world of entertainment and from which he returned home at 3:00 a.m. to catch a few hours of sleep before showing up for school at 7:30 a.m. Sometimes Dean would come home from a gig at 5:00 a.m. , grab something to eat and go right to school. Dean stated, I remember the kids in class would ask me why I smelled like stale beer and cigarettes, and I'd say I was playing at the pub all night. Now tell me, how cool was that for a fourteen year old. Dean admits that on many school days he was pre-occupied with learning new songs for the up-coming weekends.
While many classmates had different goals from 1974 to 1977, Dean says, "At the time I was just having fun, and did not fully realize I was getting my road legs that prepared me for the real, world-wide musical gigs in my future." After high school, a short-lived marriage at age 18 produced a daughter, Nicole.
ON TO NATIONAL RECOGNITION
As a drummer in 1981, Dean joined the original heavy metal band "World War III" and introduced the Philadelphia area to something new in music. Excellent reviews led to an independent record deal until the music ran its course and Dean moved on to gigs as a lead singer and self-taught guitar player. When he moved to California in 1984, staying with his friend, Rich Geerston, Dean wrote many songs for his old childhood band created in the eighth grade, which later became the platinum rock group, "Britny Fox" on Columbia / Sony Records.
Officially launching "Britny Fox" in 1985, Dean set up camp in Summerdale, NJ near the very popular night club, "The Galaxy". He recruited two of the original members from the rock band, "Cinderella" -- Tony "Stix" Destra and Michael Kelly Smith.
The three friends survived start-up time by joining a friend's company and painting in the daylight hours, rehearsing and playing nightly, and planning how to introduce "Britny Fox" to the world. They usually ate at the Taco Bell or Lupe's Diner across the street from the Galaxy after band rehearsal. This is where they would hash out there ideas, and have most of there band meetings. Finally, "Britny Fox" became the headliner act to go on every Saturday night at midnight in this sole, original music, night club in the tri-state area.
It did not take long to build up a large following and for the door man of the Galaxy, Brian Kushner soon became the bands manager. Brian Kushner invited many record companies from New York to the club to hear Britny Fox live. After a showcase night with RCA Records on February 7th 1986, drummer, Tony "Styx" Destra died in a car crash a half mile from his home at the age of 32.
With a replacement drummer, Adam Ferraioli, the band opened the show for "Cinderella" and showcased for Columbia Records' A&R rep, John Mrvos at the Wildwood, NJ Convention Center. This landed Britny Fox a record contract with Columbia Records which released two MTV hits, "Long Way to Love" and "Girls School" which sold 50,000 units per week, pushing the band to 800,000 copies and a Gold Album Award. Britny Fox on tour played at 10,000 + seat venues every night for two years, and released a second album, "Boys n Heat" featuring the hit, "Dream On" as an MTV video directed by Michael Bay. Following these releases, the band toured Europe playing with Alice Cooper and on to Japan opening for Jon Bon Jovi. Guns & Roses Alex Rose, said "Britny Fox's remake of "Hair of the Dog", was the best version he'd ever heard", and singer/songwriter, Ryan Adams stated, Britny Fox was a great rock band.
In 1990, personal business differences with some of the group led Dean to leave the band. He started a new band, "Blackeyed Susan" and landed a major deal with Mercury Records. Dean worked with Producer Randy Cantor, the writer of the single, "None of it Matters" with a video directed by Jeff Stein and a very young, Josie Bissett before "Melrose Place" the band caught the attention of many radio stations and fans. A second single on the album, "Ride With Me", caught the ear of actor, Mickey Rourke and landed a spot in his movie, "Harley Davidson and the Marlborough Man". Dean's band toured the United States almost endlessly for over a year.
Until the end of 1992, Dean was back on the road with " Blackeyed Susan" with all new band members. Jeff Cease, former guitarist of "The Black Crowes", joined him and moved to South Jersey and toured a short run of 60 dates.
PERSONAL LOSSES
The early 1990's saw a big change in music. Mercury Records and many other major labels closed their doors and dropped dozens of music acts because of the invasion of the Seattle Grunge Movement. This brought the dramatic end of the glam, metal, MTV generation. Dean continued to adapt to changing tastes and by the end of 1992, was recording bands and solo artists from his recording studio in Marlton, NJ.
Dean began to write more of his own songs that clearly tell a story that enable listeners to relate to their own lives.
In 2005, Dean recorded the acoustic rock album, "Drive My Karma" , co-produced by Phil Nicolo. He brought into this venture, his good friend, Kenny Aronoff on drums and Rob Hyman of "The Hooters" on keys and vocals. The album was generating much interest from different labels and was set to be released when in June, 2008, Dean's fiance, Laurie Merritt, became ill and died after a very short bout with Leukemia.
Dean, totally distraught and exhausted, shelved the album and its production.
NEW BEGINNINGS
Shortly thereafter, The unpredictable singer songwriter Dean Davidson, a consummate musician, resumed his work and has been writing songs for his new album and New Band "Dean Davidson & The Bedlam Hearts" Coming 2012. Plans are being made to record the full length album In 2012 with Producer / Engineer Phil Nicolo. Dean Is currently In preproduction and writing songs for the debut release and working on a new recording contract. Two music videos "Rock and Soul" and "Southside Of Heaven" and a music EPK documentary on the band are slated to hit YouTube, Facebook, Twitter sometime In April 2012.
http://www.deandavidson.com/