Dave Smallen thinks it’s getting better; I agree

Formerly of the band Street To Nowhere (who knocked my socks off that one time I saw them live at the downtown club with the Elvis pinball machine), Dave Smallen is now pursuing a solo career and releasing his songs one by one for a small fee. Each comes complete with distinctive artwork, and are really good.

By way of example, I will confess to having listened to this song a dozen times this morning alone – super solid pop skeleton (sha la laaaaa) with a hint of a sharp edge through Dave’s raw vocals. On this tune, I am reminded strongly of Bright Eyes meets Wilco. It makes the sky sparkle, this song.

I Think It’s Getting Better – Dave Smallen

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He has a new song out now called “With The Sky All Blue” that he wrote for a Crayola commercial and they rejected it for being “too dark.” True (and awesome) story.

New from Dave Smallen (Street To Nowhere) :: “America”

Dave Smallen used to front the now-defunct Oakland, CA band Street To Nowhere. He’s delightfully whip-smart, as evidenced by the writing in his blog, and also generous – releasing a free solo tune via his website. He says, “I wrote ‘America’ in October 2006 after getting home from my first national tour. I consider it a personal song, not a political song, but I want to release it now while people are very concerned about our country, which I think is actually a beautiful thing.”

America – Dave Smallen

[photo by Matthew Ginnard]