”I like to think that I’m a thinker. I think a lot about being a thinker,” laughs Clayton Davis, guitarist and vocalist for Nashville-by-way-of-Chattanooga, Tennessee band Behold The Brave; the group recently released a nine-song self-titled stunner which deftly blends their Southern rock roots with subtle psychedelia. “Before this album, we were in the indie rock realm,” explains Davis. “We’ve matured a lot since then, and we got really into the classics—The Beatles in particular. At least for me, it was the first time I’d given them a good hard listen and wrapped my head around what was really going on, and it opened the door for me with other bands like Led Zeppelin and The Stones,” he continues. “We still have the Southern/indie rock thing in us, but it came with a new enlightenment.”
Inspired partly by Davis’ first real heartbreak, the band recorded at Glow In The Dark Studios in Atlanta with rock producer Matt Goldman. It virtually oozes a raw and unique energy that can only come from tracking songs live as a band in the same room.
“Matt is big in the rock scene. He produced a band called As Cities Burn that we love; we were beyond stoked to be able to record with him, we never dreamed we’d have the chance to do that,” says Davis. “We woke up and recorded until we went to bed every night. He’s a Beatles fan too, and we just clicked.” This marked the first real recording adventure for the band, and Davis says Goldman opened their eyes to an all new creative experience. “He imparted a lot of wisdom,” Davis adds. “He even liked our flubs, he left some of them in. He taught us that we don’t have to play everything perfectly, It gave it a raw feeling, and it was what it was.”
Behold The Brave hopped in “Mo” the touring van, and have been tearing up the highways for the last month in support of the record. You can catch them tonight and tomorrow night in New York City.
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