Dave Perkins is an artist whose musical journey crisscrosses the map of American music . . .
“When I was 13, I put down $35 at a pawnshop on Philadelphia’s South Street and took home a Harmony arch-top guitar (painted sparkle gold). When I bought the guitar it was not with aspirations of becoming a great player. It was more about self-expression and trying to write songs. A decade and several guitars later, however, I developed enough skill that folks began to see me as a “guitarist.” Since then, I have enjoyed the privilege of recording and/or performing with a number of America’s great popular music makers. Bluegrass and swing with fiddle-maestro Vassar Clements, Texas renegade-country with Jerry Jeff Walker, singer-songwriter pop with Carole King, alternative rock with Chagall Guevara, Americana with Guy Clark, blues and jazz with violinist Papa John Creach, reggae with Mystic Meditations, and industrial hard-core with Passafist—those are just a few of the memorable episodes in my musical story. There were also the occasional odd jobs, such as accompanying Ray Charles on his “3/4 Time” video. After two decades of professional music making I grew restless. Attempting to scratch an intellectual itch acquired by a voracious appetite for reading philosophy, I entered graduate studies at Vanderbilt University. The result was a Masters degree in Theology and a Ph.D. in History and Critical Theories of Religion. I went on to administrate a program and to teach for twelve years at The Divinity School of Vanderbilt University. Despite my love of the world of ideas, the siren song of music making called once again. In July 2021, I returned to my first love–songs and guitars. The story continues!”
STAGE and STUDIO
Whether it was one night on stage, or days, weeks, or months in the studio or on tour, Dave Perkins has enjoyed recording and/or performing with: Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Charles, Carole King, Vassar Clements, Guy Clark, Chagall Guevara, Papa John Creach, Willie Nelson, Passafist, Over the Rhine, Squeeze, Lucinda Williams, Buddy Miller, Amy Grant, Bobby Bare, David Allen Coe, Smash Palace, Dolly Parton, Donna Fargo, Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Paul Butterfield, Rick Danko, Shel Silverstein, Maria Muldaur, Russ Taff, Lenny Breau, Johnny Paycheck, DC Talk, Waylon Jennings, Steve Earle, Hunter S. Thompson, Kevin Ayers (Soft Machine), Mustafa Abdul-Aleem, Little River Band, Stephane Grappelli, Willie Nile, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Steve Goodman, Vince Gill, Gary Tallent, Long Players, Andy Statman, Billy Joe Shaver, Jimmy Hall, Greg Trooper, Matt Wallace, Pam Mark Hall, Mystic Meditations, Joe Ely, Uncle Pleasant, Bridget St. John, Phil Keaggy, Shakin Apostles, Phillip Wilson, Keith Edwards, Newsboys, Pig Robbins, Randy Stonehill, Henry Paul Band, Jack DeJohnette, Leon Wilkeson, Bonnie Bramlett, Winters Brothers, James Talley, Kevin Max, Billy Cox, Gerry Groom, Taylor Sorensen, Orleans, Roger Miller, Joe English, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Geneva, Ashley Cleveland, Kenny Greenberg, David Bryson, Bill Lloyd, Jack Joseph Puig, Odessa Settles, Doug Powell, Ultra-Fix, Charlie Daniels, Rick Nelson, Darryl Rhoades, Tracy Nelson, Leo LeBlanc, Jon Corneal, Steve Forbert, Johnny Neel, Wayne Perkins, Mylon LeFevre, Rev. James Cleveland, Joe Venuti, Byron House, Mickey Raphael, Pete Thomas, Phil Parlapiano, Michael Rhodes, Bruce Helford, Clark Pierson, Fran Breen, Margaret Becker, Will Rambeaux, Jimmy Hall, Fingers Taylor, Dan Huff, Michael Clarke, Jimmy Nalls, Gerald Emerick, Walter Eugenes, Rick Cua, Steve Taylor, Johnny Sandlin, Solid Senders, White Heart, Lost Gonzo Band, Mattie Groves, Ramsie Shick, Gary Rossington, Richard Price, Reece Wynans, Mel Watts, Jack Hall, Mike Duke, Greg Husted, Rob Frazier, Michael Saleem, Steve Camp, John Elliott, Martha Velez, Gerry Moore, Bill Pound, Dru Lombar, Pat Walters, Peter Levin, Phil Madeira, Little Kings, Silver Taylor, Don Heffington, Nathan East, Hayseed, Jimmy Thackery, DeGarmo and Key, Peter Case, Tonio K, Arthur Offen, TJ Klay, Reed Arvin, Say-So, Brian Sutton, Gene Eichelberger, Robin Eaton, Mike Frazier, The Stand, Bob Ludwig, Randy Goodman, OT Young, Tony Sarno, Dee Archer, Trees, Malcolm Harper, Mark Richardson, Mike Rayburn, Zane Campbell, Tom Pacheco, Jason Eskridge, Dave Olney, Al Kooper, Katy Moffatt, John Porter, Don Merlino, Jerry Dale McFadden, Bob Halligan, Gregg Gerson, Paul Griffith, Jeb and Jock Guthrie, RS Fields, Bobby Bradford Blues Band, Caldwells, George Grantham, Greg Jackson, David Humphries, Jerry McPherson, Geoff Moore, Ed Raetzloff, Chris Rodriguez, Scott Roley, Servant, Jerusalem, Bob Slawson, Chris Shadwell, Joe Walk, Craig Krampf, Dan Dailey, Chris Donohue, Bryan Owings, Bruce Summerfield, Kim Hill, Robin Crow, Cactus Moser, Antoine Silverman, Aaron Smith, Maxwell Wheeler.
Dave Perkins is an artist whose musical journey crisscrosses the map of American music.