Somewhere along life’s hard highway, singer-songwriter Brock Davis stumbled upon a feeling and a music sensibility he jokingly describes as “agnostic gospel.”
“It’s not about religion or music genre,” the Santa Cruz, California-based artist (who is originally from Canada) is quick to point out. “But there’s a beauty and power in wrestling with the mystery of life, and in the yearning for there to be something bigger than ourselves. I don’t claim to know what’s out there, but I’m fascinated by songs about a greater purpose in life, like love and art, that try to answer the essential question of why we are here.”
Brock reflects these rays of light back on his latest album, Everyday Miracle, out July 26 in North America on Raintown Records. The 13-song album is subtitled (Backstage Sessions – Part 1) and contains the first half of a set of songs Brock and his band recorded at Nashville’s Backstage Studio over the course of two intense days. Part 2 will be released in early 2025.
Everyday Miracle was produced by Brock along with Grammy Award-winning engineer Zach Allen (Keb’ Mo’, Christone "Kingfish” Ingram) who also mixed it. Here, Brock is backed by a band of world-class musicians who have been working together for years and have developed a telepathic musical chemistry. The group is made up of A-list Nashville session players whose credits include work with Bob Seger, Tim McGraw, Stevie Nicks, Blake Shelton, Lori McKenna and Eric Church among others.
Brock is a songwriter who looks at life with a gleam in his eye, with the hard-won knowledge that pain leads to growth, and with growth comes new beginnings. His songs are cut from a worn-denim blend of country and folk washed over with anthemic rock n’ roll. As a lyricist, Brock snapshots moments of daily living, and his words brim with picturesque imagery, poetic life insights, clever turns of phrases, and heartfelt sincerity, and he sings with a sweet country urgency.
Brock’s previous album, A Song Waiting To Be Sung, was a global success, hitting number #5 on the Euro Americana chart and earning enthusiastic reviews around the world. Sweden’s Baretta Magazine called A Song Waiting To Be Sung “a small masterpiece.” Americana Highways called it: "A quality country album, with thoughtful emotion, compelling vocals, and vibrant harmonies;” while Canada’s Rock Doctor wrote: "A combination of intelligent, deeply personal, emotionally honest songs and a warm, inviting voice along with frankly superior musicianship make A Song Waiting To Be Sung a must-have.”
Brock’s traumatic childhood growing up in a small mill town near Vancouver, Canada, was a lot like a hard-luck country song. Early on, music became his salvation, and he went after it like a wide-eyed romantic. Bruce Springsteen was a formative influence and spurred on by the fever behind the Born In The U.S.A. record and too many readings of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, Brock hit the highway as a teenager to follow the Boss on tour. But hitchhiking and sleeping rough in strange cities, eventually got the best of him: “I was running out of money, I was tired, and I was lonely—I missed my sweetheart. So with a silent apology to Jack Kerouac, I spent the rest of my money on a Greyhound Bus ticket and beat it back to Vancouver,” Brock recalls.
Brock began working professionally as a musician starting in his early teens and spent many years performing and recording before taking a hiatus from music to raise a family. His previous album marked a triumphant return.
Everyday Miracle picks up where Brock’s last album left off with an uplifting set of songs about life after a hard reset. The emotional heart of the album is “Rain Falling On The Water.” Built around elegant fingerstyle guitars and Brock’s soulfully weary vocals, the song soars to redemption with a gospel choir joining in with the sing-along refrain: We are rain falling on the water, coming home again.
The album’s title track is modern country, flowing over with hushed awe as it surveys the beauty of daily living. One standout passage is: There’s a promise in these chords / There must be something more / Cause from nothing, beauty is born / A little proof / Of a bigger truth.
A pent-up tension courses through “It Just Takes One” as the band masterfully blends elements reminiscent of The Police with a country-rock vibe. The song is about speaking out against sexual harassment in the workplace, and Brock wrote it with his wife who bravely shared her own experiences with him.
The songs “Angela (Please Say Yes)” and “My Promise To You” form a love story set. The former is a gorgeous piano ballad wedding proposal in song, and the latter is Brock’s wedding vows set to a breezy country tune. “My wife loves grand romantic gestures, so I knew I wanted to ask her to marry me with a song. But I barely made it past the first line before I started crying, and then that set her off crying as well. She did say yes, though,” Brock laughs.
The winsome folk-infused song, “The Warrior,” was inspired by a photographic print of an old, battle-scarred mustang that Brock purchased at an arts and crafts fair. The true story behind the print is of a career salesman who found his love of photography after being laid-off and replaced. “He recognized he had something in common with the old horse that had been forced out of his band by a younger challenger. They were both warriors in their own ways,” Brock says.
Writing and recording Everyday Miracle has been artistically and personally inspirational for Brock. “Many artists and writers buy into the idea that the best songs come from a broken heart,” Brock says. “While pain can certainly produce a beautiful creation, so can love. You can create from a place of hope, wonder, and love, and it seems to me that creation is a true everyday miracle.”
Everyday Miracle – Credits and Track Listing
Produced by Brock Davis and Zach Allen • Engineered and mixed by Zach Allen • Recorded at Backstage Studios, Nashville, TN • Mastered by Alex McCollough (True East Mastering) • Assistant engineer: Will Kienze • Assistant engineer: Joe Trentacosti
Vocals & piano: Brock Davis • Drums: Marcus Finnie • Bass: Duncan Mullin • Acoustic Guitar & mandolin: Pat McGrath • Electric Guitar: Rob McNelly • Electric Guitar: Justin Ostrander • B3 Organ & Piano: Michael Rojas • Pedal Steel: Russ Pahl • Choral Arrangements: Michael Hicks • Background Vocals: Trey Keller, Tania Hancheroff, Michael Hicks, Kyla Jade, Devonne Fowkles, Maureen Murphy, Harmonie Hall, Andrew Thompson
1. Everyday Miracle
2. Keep On
3. Make A Family
4. Rain Falling On The Water
5. You’d Think I’d Know By Now
6. I’ll Always Be Your Dad
7. It Just Takes One
8. Give Forgiveness
9. The Warrior
10.Ready For A Good Time
11.September Rain
12.Angela (Please Say Yes)
13.My Promise To You
