On his heart: Singer-songwriter David Wilcox pays homage to his 'good friends' on new album
Sep. 25—David Wilcox regularly returns to New Mexico when he goes on tour.
Usually, he will try to work in a few performances during his time in the state.
"I spent some time there in Santa Fe around 1987 and would frequent the outdoor music venues," he says. "It's been so long since I've been back, I'm thinking I will go to Meow Wolf for a visit."
The singer-songwriter will play two shows. The first is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, at Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery in Santa Fe.
Then he will drive south to Corrales to play the Historic Old San Ysidro Church to perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28.
Wilcox released a new album, "My Good Friends (The Guided Tour)," on Sept. 1.
One of the first singles released was "Jolt," which is a backdrop to lyrics about today's obsession with online fearmongering and internet disinformation.
"I enjoyed this song because I got to put the word algorithm into a song," he says. "I began writing songs (for the album) about eight months ago."
The folk singer worked with Bill Berg on drums, and Steve Cohen on bass on the album.
It is produced by Wilcox and almost entirely written by Wilcox, except for co-writer Robert Vincent on "Just a Trace of Light."
Wilcox calls this album a labor of love and pays homage to those that inspire him.
"I am grateful for the community that sustains me — my good friends," he says. "These are the kind of friends that get you through difficult times. The kind of friends that you go to for a fresh perspective when the future looks grim. These songs grew out of conversations with friends, and they hold ideas that I like to have around. I like that I have friendships that didn't start with awkward beginnings. They are all comfortable now."
Over the course of his career, Wilcox has challenged himself.
The Ohio native found his artistic muse in North Carolina during the mid-1980s.
In 1987, he released his debut album, "The Nightshift Watchman," which led to winning the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in 1988.
That translated to a four-album stint with A&M Records, starting with 1989's "How Did You Find Me Here," which sold 100,000 copies by word of mouth.
Thirty-plus years and 20-plus albums later, Wilcox won top honors in the 23rd annual USA Songwriting Competition in 2018 for "We Make the Way by Walking" from his last album release, "The View From the Edge."
With this album, he wanted to focus more on his songwriting process — which he found enjoyable.
"I wrote a song two days ago, and it's quirky and satisfying," he says. "I used to think of songs as if it were my job. Now I think of it as therapy. I'm not after more 'hit' songs. I'm after that practice of listening and asking my heart if there's anything I should know before it's too late. Now I come to songwriting as sort of a way of keeping track of what's on my heart."
