Chip Davis is a legend for many of us in the instrumental and “do-it-yourself” music and merchandise business. Again I am a lucky guy. I’m fortunate to say that Chip Davis and his family are friends of mine. I’ve had numerous opportunities to work with Chip in his awesome studio with his very talented musicians and staff.

Once again the theme of relationships brought us together. From working in the live music promotional business I met and became good friends in the mid 1990’s with Dwight Montjar who was and still is in charge of sales for American Gramaphone. With some impressive numbers from my “Music in Nature Sounds” stint, I felt I was ready for a “real” record deal. After numerous failed attempts at amny labels, I approached with a “great idea”. Half jokingly I said, “how about I just get signed to your label?” Dwight replied, “you know, we should just get you and Chip together, talk and see what happens”.

So, after many calls I was in the car headed to Omaha, Nebraska. The most interesting part of our meeting was that we didn’t talk at all about my music, conditions of any deal, or if he was really interested in me as an artist at all. Chip is a vibe guy and has many interests. We talked about BBQ, micro-beers, kids, Omaha steaks, the music biz, his new movie, and finally about how excited his his studio staff would be to record my Bosendorfer piano.

I ended up signing a deal with Chip/American Gramaphone and put out a CD titled “Chasing Grace”. I called my good friend and amazing producer Michael Whalen and asked him to join me on this Omaha adventure as the producer. Creating the CD was another incredible experience. And with this new group of relationships I got called to sub for Chip’s legendary keyboardist, Jackson Berkey, for a few TV performances including the “TODAY” show.I went on to produce an additional 4 CDs for American Gramaphone and stay in touch with the members of Manhiem Steamroller and the Davis family. “Wedding White” sample:

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