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Let's start with a straight-up endorsement. Dave Hardin's new CD, Nine Years Alone, is among a handful of locally produced, independently released, albums that I have listened to for pure enjoyment, well past the point of professional obligation.And, as most of you probably know, I've been at this awhile. The Palm Harbor-based singer/songwriter has, until recently, kept a relatively low profile, restricting his gigs to northern Pinellas County, Florida. In the last few years, he has become a WMNF on-air favorite. (I heard him sing live on 88.5 in '97 and was immediately floored.) The station has nabbed Hardin to perform at its most high profile event, the Tropical Heatwave at the Cuban Club in Ybor City on May 20. WMNF has songs from the CD in frequent rotation. Nine Years Alone was a two-year project that was mastered by George Harris at Panda Productions.
"I work a full-time day job and play out three or four nights a week," says Hardin, 38. "If I was tired I didn't work on (the record). I didn't think there was any big rush. I don't think it sounds dated. When you write about things in your life, they don't go away in a day. They tend to stick around for awhile." |
Hardin is a master at rendering snapshots of everyday life into revealing, emotionally-charged song-stories. His uncluttered lyrics cut to the heart of matters without resorting to cliches.Yet he possesses an earthy poetic flair, as evidenced in the song Queen Size Wall, which captures a flagging marriage with the lines, " 'Cause scrapes are slow heal/ When you're sleepin' on your side/ And there's a queen-size wall between us/ A stronger man could climb." Hardin delivers these songs in an affecting, twang-tinged rasp, like John Prine with more air than gravel. Although a few of the songs, most notably the tear-drenched title track, stick to acoustic guitar accompaniment, most are outfitted with lean arrangements that include ringing electric guitars, piano and other keyboards, electric bass, harmonica and some background vocals. Because Hardin is anything but a hype kinda guy, he and his cohorts are not exactly orchestrating a Big Push for Nine Years Alone. The disc is up on MP3.com and MilesOfMusic.com., and is being sold at retail in the Meijers chain (none of which are in Florida). Hardin, who was raised in small-town Kentucky by his paternal grandparents until moving in with his father in suburban Cincinnatti as a teenager, first started performing, mostly for bar tabs, in Europe while he was in the Navy. His professional career did not begin until age 30, and that developed gradually. The admitted loner, he lives with his second wife and 12-year-old son, says he is by nature a patient man. " I'm pushing 40 and I'm in no hurry," he says. " If something happens it happens. If nothing happens, that's cool too. But I'm not out there trying to grab for some brass ring."
–Eric Snider ORLANDO'S JAM MAGAZINE |
