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Website: www.DaveRussell.com
Email: Dave@daverussell.com
Booking: Reztanroc Entertainment
BIO
“Takes the stage like Elvis Presley in 1968 for his comeback special”.
This is what an “USA Television Executive” said about Dave after seeing his performance. “You have a great stage presence” he went on to say. Comments like these can be heard all over the place as Dave has spent most of his life working on being not only a singer, but a “Country Music ENTERTAINER”.
“There will always be fantastic singers in the world”, Dave says, “and a lot of times when you see them that is all they have to offer, a great vocal talent. I want people to see and feel, that there is an energy at my shows, and that it is coming from me. I want to try and be the total package of singers. Fun, energetic, accessible, and relatable, that is who I am. I want that to be how I am seen. To have people see one of my shows and come away saying how much fun they had, along with enjoying the music, that is, and always will be my goal. That is not easy to do as a singer but I sure work as hard as I can to make it happen”.
Dave grew up in rural North Carolina, right outside of the tobacco town of Winston-Salem. The youngest of seven, he always had a love for music, but when he was about 5 years old, it was while he was in a church play that he realized what “Being on Stage” was. His older siblings all had tried their hand at musical instruments but after tiring of them, luckily they were left to for Dave to play around with.
“I never really was able to really learn the instruments but I was able to pick out melodies and short songs”. Unfortunately Dave’s parents were not in a position to pay for lessons so that was pretty much the extent of his endeavors with playing an instrument. (Although now Dave has taught himself, drums, guitar, and his newest love, Harmonica, and plays them nightly on stage).
But he still was able to sing. And sing he did. Any chance he got, Dave would be singing. His father allowed him to play with a tape recorder and Dave would record himself singing and trying to sound like the singers he would listen to on the radio. It was this type of “playing” that help forge Dave’s ability to impersonate many singers, as he often does in his shows today.
Dave grew up listening and singing many types of music. “Having 6 older siblings, there was a wide range of music being listened to. From Jim Croce, The Beatles, all the way down to the Bay City Rollers, they were all being played in our home. The music was great but what influenced me most was the visual. My mother loved watching anything with Elvis. My Dad and I would love watching the Jonny Cash show. So seeing what it was to be “Entertaining” was the thing that always burned deep inside me”. In high school, Dave sang in the school chorus, where even though he could not read music, he was asked to be a student director. He also sang in a band with his best friend, and also dabbled in the dramatic arts as he was the lead in several of his school’s productions. Dave really started to get a solid feel for the lights and love for the reaction of a crowd.
After a severe motorcycle accident put Dave out of commission for a bit, he really started looking at what he wanted to do with his life. He was working at McDonalds along with being a Supervisor at UPS, but he still longed to be on stage. Dave started competing in some local talent shows and did quite well. With the feeling he had found what he wanted to do more than anything, Dave set out to Nashville to audition for Gaylord Entertainment, the company that owns the Grand Ole Opry and provides entertainers for shows all over the world!! He was asked to do the show they were producing in San Antonio and from there he has been on the go from stage to stage in places like, Nashville, Branson, Biloxi, Reno, Vegas and more!!
It is this ability to work on stage and connect with people, which separates Dave from many singers. To him, it is all about the show. He knows people want to be entertained if they pay good money to see a concert. They want to feel the energy of the singer and those around them. They want to be made to feel that they are there to have a good time. “It’s the artists like Garth, Travis Tritt, Marty Stewart and Tim McGraw that know how to work an audience, that inspire me the most”. Along with Dave’s choices as to the songs he sings, (he strives to keep everything as up tempo as possible), Dave’s willingness to put his everything into each performance will always be his main goal.
“There is nothing in the world that I would rather do with my life!! I feel so lucky everyday to know I am going to be on a stage. I think that I have been lucky enough to be given the chance to perform, feel blessed to do so, and really want to work as hard as I can to give as many people as I can the joy of music. Oh yeah,,, and also,,, a heck of a show!!!”
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