I am a musician who used to do the music scene thing full time in my 20’s, but now works full time in public education and political organizing while moonlighting in music as much as time allows.  This website is mostly focused on music, rather than on stuff I do as a teacher for Durham Public Schools and as an activist member of the Durham Association of Educators.

Musically, I’m most known for having released a bunch of records in the ’90s as half of a duo called the Folk Implosion that I co-founded with Lou Barlow in 1993. Folk Implosion songs have been featured on various film soundtracks, (Kids, Adaptation,) soundtrack albums, (American Beauty, A Life Less Ordinary) and TV shows, (The People vs. OJ Simpson, NFL on Fox, 20/20, The Today Show, Pepsi, Where’s My Jet.)  The works we recorded for the film Kids are being compiled and released by Domino Records in September of 2023.  Joyful Noise has been reissuing our first album, Take a Look Inside, on analog formats this year as well.  We are nearing completion of a full length “comeback” album that will come out on Joyful Noise Recordings sometime in 2024.

I have also released numerous solo projects since 1993, albeit with a long dry spell between 1997’s Blue Mountains and 2013’s Spare Parts.  Most of my solo releases have appeared through the Shrimper label, but I also release things on my own label, Inundation Records.  My next solo project is an album called Love In the Time of Capital.  I recorded it with members of the Indie Pop band Lake at Unknown Recording Studio in Anacortes, WA.  The single “Change” from this album was released on streaming services on October 11th.  The album was released digitally October 27th, via Inundation Records. Vinyl is is available for pre-order on Bandcamp, and it will be available to brick and mortar stores with distribution via Joyful Services and Secretly Canadian in January.

You can find most of my solo material on my Bandcamp site, under the nickname jdsoundbite, which I use online to offset the ubiquity of my given name. You can check out details about ongoing works-in-progress on the Upcoming Projects page of this website.  You can also offer financial support and hear monthly playlists of works-in-progress by becoming a subscriber at my Bandcamp website.  $5 a month gets you all the digital goods, and $10 a month gets you a long list physical goods like records, t shirts, posters etc.

The Shows and Events page of the site is now active again, after a long pandemic-induced period of inactivity.  I play scattered & sporadic weekend shows during the school year when I am mostly busy with teaching and organizing, and go out for longer kicks on Spring and Summer break.  Contact me on my Instagram page – jdsoundbite – if you are interested in having me play a spot you are involved with or connected to.  Instagram is where I am most active online – though I have recently been tweeting quotes from books I like on the platform formerly known as Twitter.

I was born in Brattleboro, VT, grew up in Cambridge MA, and spent most of my life there until I moved to Durham NC in August of 2013.  I have practiced Vipassana or Insight meditation since 1986, as adopted by westerners from Thai and Burmese traditions, as well as in a few different schools of Zen that came to this country from Vietnam and Korea.  I identify as a 21st century socialist and want capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, heteronormative gender roles, and the rule of the corporate duopoly to die a swift death – but realize those are multigenerational projects that require patience.

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If you want to send me a message, the best way to reach me is through my Facebook page.  I also accept friend requests on my personal page from people if they have enough mutual friends for me to be able to tell they know me apart from the million other JD’s out there.  That’s where people respond the most to news I put out there of what I’m up to musically.

Metta,

John H. Davis