Tag: Bob Davoli

LISTEN: Bob Davoli, “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”

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Artist: Bob Davoli
Hometown: Lincoln, Massachusetts
Song: “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”
Album: Hello Out There
Release Date: April 8, 2022
Label: Gutbrain Records

In Their Words: “John narrated his poignant vignettes with a plain-spoken and plaintive voice — and his imagery was so compelling that you could clearly see his characters in your mind’s eye. He had an innate knack for finding just the right words to sculpt his stories and illuminate the essence of the emotions he seeks to convey. He wrote from his gut and aimed for your heart because that’s where most people live! His writing epitomizes the power and beauty of simplicity.

“‘Speed of the Sound of Loneliness’ exemplifies how keen was John Prine’s imagination. Using imagery, he cleverly juxtaposed a phenomenon, the speed of sound, with an emotion, angst. He was going through a relationship breakup, and he happened to see on the cover of TIME Magazine the person who broke the speed of sound on the ground with a stretched face (exaggeration, of course, by TIME Magazine) resulting from the force of gravity; stretched is how Prine’s heart felt!” — Bob Davoli

Bob Davoli · Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness

Photo Credit: Lynn DeLisi

BGS 5+5: Bob Davoli

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Bob Davoli
Hometown: Lincoln, Massachusetts
Latest Album: Wistfully Yours
Nickname: Bob Davoli Band

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

When I first heard Dylan’s first album in 1962. However, I never wrote my first song until I was nearly sixty. I guess life got in the way!

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I live by the sea for six months; its rhythms and beauty influence my writing and music. The other six I live in the woods, on a pond, which influences my writing and music as well.

What other art forms influence your music?

Film, plays and painting have influenced my writing. For example, I use the lines “alone and lonely as Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks; “Rear Window Waltz” is from Hitchcock’s film, Rear Window; from John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy, I use the phrase “just like Ratso in Midnight Cowboy”; and I reference twenty-five Eugene O’Neill plays in my song “Ode to Eugene O’Neill.”

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Playing at a community center with my great bandmates, and the audience loving the set.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

Write from my heart, follow my muse to the truth and be forever curious!

Photo credit: Lynn DeLisi