Firstly, here's a lovely compliment I received from a music writer:
"David Stone's songs are carefully written and could easily stand alone as poetry. The fact that he can accompany them with strong melodies that lend themselves to sing-alongs, a voice just this side of gravelly, and delicate guitar work when the occasion calls for it makes Stone a quadruple-threat." - Rachel Cholst (Adobe and Teardrops).
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In my own words:
Plainly speaking, I'm a singer/songwriter, musician and producer from a couple hours north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you like The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Bruce Cockburn, The Barenaked Ladies, Gordon Lightfoot, Noah Gundersen, Neil Young or anyone like that, there's a pretty good chance you'll like a least some of my music. Although I have influences all over the musical map, those are some of the artists whose sound I seem to have landed closest too, and some of the folks I've been compared to more repetitively than most.
I was always excited about music as a kid, and got my first guitar at 11. I can still remember holding it for the first time, and not really knowing what to do with it, but just that I never wanted to put it down. I played everyday, and right away started trying to piece together my own songs from bits of poetry I was writing and little guitar bits I'd come up with. When I was about 15 I joined the worship band at a local church, and really started to grasp chord progressions, song structure, and singing along to my own playing. I took every music class available at my high school, joined the school worship band, the concert band, and got my co-op credit assisting with the guitar class. It was my music teacher in grade 11 and 12 who really pushed me to be a better musician, songwriter and performer. Getting me out of my comfort zone regularly, and giving me the confidence and work ethic I needed to keep progressing as a young person interested in being a working musician.
I really started writing my own songs around age 16, I wanted to be different, even if it meant I wasn't successful. It's a bad business model on paper, but it was a really useful place to start from artistically. I wanted to write music, and lyrics, that weren't only meaningful, but mine. I grew up between Collingwood and Wasaga Beach, ON in the 90's and early 2000's. They were small, touristy, seasonally driven little towns right on the shore of Georgian Bay and the foot of the Niagara Escarpment. I played hockey, snowboarded, camped, canoed, swam, hiked and biked my way through all the beauty of the place I was lucky enough to grow up in. My parents were separated when I was really young, so my sister and I lived between the two homes, and our third home at my Grandparents place a couple towns over. There is something so particular about the people, places and feelings growing up where and when I did, and how, and I wanted to capture that in my music in a way that felt pure and tangible.
I met my wife when we were both teens, and discovered we'd lived within minutes of one another our entire lives. We moved in together right away, leaving home and our hometown together, and settling into a basement apartment in a nearby city. There was a pivotal moment in our lives when she left for university two years into our relationship. She moved into a dorm, and I basically couch-surfed for a couple months with family trying to plan out my next move, knowing I wasn't happy with the way things were going. I had taken a job near where my Mom was living, working nights at a factory. My most recent band had called it quits, and besides the odd gig, I was having trouble getting booked to play locally. One morning as my shift ended, I decided I needed a change. I quit my job, packed some clothes and my guitar, called my (now) wife (then) girlfriend, and made the three hour drive to her dorm with no plan besides being with her, and getting my music career back on track in a big city. I lived with her in her tiny dorm for three months, busking on campus and booking local shows until the semester ended, and we moved into our own space together again. We were married in 2017, and welcomed our first daughter in 2020.
Since 2011, I've released ten albums/EP's as a solo artist, along with a handful of singles and live recordings. I've written, performed and in most cases produced everything I've released as a solo artist, making each new release a truly solo undertaking. I've performed all over Ontario, and around parts of Canada, playing around a thousand shows at this point, from large festivals to coffee shops, pubs and sidewalks. I'm always working, trying to constantly improve my craft, and make the next song, recording or performance a little better than the last.
Anything else you want to know about me is probably in one of my songs. Thanks for stopping by.