Episode 25: Dave Cleveland - You Have To Play For The Song YOU CAN Make a Living In The Music Industry Podcast

This week I talking with my friend Dave Cleveland who is one of the top session and touring guitar players in Nashville. He’s played on over 30,000 songs throughout his career for artists like Little Big Town, Steven Curtis Chapman and Miley Cyrus. We are discussing the importance of learning parts correctly when playing for artists, ear training, being a “parts player” not an “everything player." Plus, why you have to play for the song, not for yourself.
Show Notes:
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Talking Points:
*I started playing guitar when I was 12 or 13 and by 14 I knew that was all I wanted to do.
*I learned to read music when I was in the school jazz band in high school.
*I was diligent and self motivated in practicing because I knew that to get to the point I wanted to get to and play like the people I was listening to, it took a lot of work.
*I wanted to play with orchestras and symphonies so I had to learn to read notation.
*I went to Florida after high school and studied jazz guitar for about a year and learned more about theory and chord voicing, etc.
*I got a call from the owner and director of the band TRUTH to be their guitar player and that was my college degree. I got that gig because a guy from a church named Joe Hogue that I met and wrote music with had become the keyboard player and he recommended me.
*I was into rock music with the “more is more” attitude and walked into this situation was there was no room for that kind of playing. After the first couple of shows, I thought I was doing a great job until the drummer came to me and told me to listen to the parts again that are on the album because I was playing way too much.
*That was the best thing in my life for me to learn and affected my whole career.
*You have to play for the song.
*When you play on an artist’s record, you have to listen to everything around you. You have to know where your spots are to add and you have to know where to not play.
*Being in TRUTH for 3 years helped fine tune that idea of being a “parts player” as opposed to an “everything player.”
*Always have a good attitude and treat whatever you’re working as the most important thing you’ve ever done.
*Always do your best.
*After TRUTH I took a break from playing professionally.
*A friend of mine asked me to come check out Nashville, so we came down and hung out with him while he was tracking an album and asked me to overdub a guitar part.
*That was the moment that we realized that we should move to Nashville and start playing guitar again professionally.
*Within a year I got called by Twila Paris to play for her because a guy that did lights for TRUTH referred me and I got an audition for her and got the gig.
*When you have to take other work that is not music related, you are being prepared for something.
*When you have down time, don’t neglect your practice time because that is essential for when you show up the next time.
*Never waste your down time. If you have down time, there’s a reason and you should dig in and whatever you feel you’re weak in musically you should strengthen that.
*After Twila Paris, Steven Curtis Chapman called me to play for him on tour because he saw me play with Twila and liked what I did.
*When your touring with high level players, the caliber of musicianship is so amazing and you have to get up to that level.
*When you touring with big artists you’re expected to play the parts EXACTLY like the record, unless the artist gives you permission to take a little liberty.
*If you audition for a band or artist, you should know not only your guitar part but all the other guitar parts note for note. Be so aware of all the other instrument parts so when you go into the audition, you are over prepared and try to have the exact sound or as close as yo