Brad Davis The Shredder is an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

/folk guitarist and singer-songwriter. Initially, a member of country singer Marty Stuart's road band, Davis has also performed with Earl Scruggs,

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Reviva ...

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

and several other country and musical acts, in addition to writing songs for artists like

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

Jo-El Sonnier Jo-El Sonnier (; born Joel Sonnier; October 2, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and accordionist who performs country music and Cajun music. Originally signed to Mercury Nashville Records, Sonnier charted several minor singles on the '' B ...

Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

, and Thornton. Davis also has a solo music career of his own, with several releases, both instrumental and vocal, and he has released instructional material on guitar playing, particularly the style of Flatpicking.

Role as a writer, producer, and studio musician

Brad Davis has had plenty of work as a guitarist, harmony vocalist, writer and producer for other music artists and movie soundtracks. In the late 1980s, Davis was invited to become a member of the

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ...

band. Upon arriving in Nashville, he discovered the job had been given to another musician. As he needed to find a way to pay the bills, he found a job as a roving fiddle and guitar minstrel at

Opryland USA Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially "Opryland") was a theme park in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally (generally March to October) from 1972 to 1997, and for a special Christmas-themed engagement eve ...

.Welcome to Takamine
/ref> In 1992, he became a member of Marty Stuart's road and studio band, the Rock and Roll Cowboys and continued in the band through 2002, touring across the world and appearing in music videos and television shows on CMT and what was then known as TNN. During this time, he also appeared on Stuart's gold-selling album '' This One's Gonna Hurt You'', the Marty Stuart "Hit Pack", and Stuart's last MCA recording, "The Pilgrim". After a jam with Stuart at the home of Earl Scruggs in 2001, Brad was invited to become a member of Scruggs' road band, "Earl Scruggs with Family & Friends", of which he is still a member. Davis appeared on a Grand Ole Opry episode, which aired on CMT, as part of this configuration, to sing "The Ballad of Jed Clampett". Other prominent musicians who have appeared in the Earl Scruggs band include

Albert Lee Albert William Lee (born 21 December 1943) is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also mai ...

and

Jon Randall Jon Randall Stewart (born February 17, 1969) is an American producer, songwriter, and musician. His career began as a guitarist for Emmylou Harris' Nash Ramblers with whom he won his first Grammy for their ''Live at the Ryman'' album in 1992. B ...

. By 2002, Stuart had opted for a different sound (and record label), and all members parted ways to work on other projects. During this time, Davis established a musical partnership with

, more famously known as the actor, in his road band and studio band, which continues to this day. All releases from Thornton, from his first in 2001, "Private Radio", to his latest under the new group, The Boxmasters, self-titled, feature Davis' guitar work and harmony vocals, and he co-wrote, performed on, and produced all tracks on Thorntons' CD, "Beautiful Door" (2007, Universal Records). Davis will tour with Thornton's "Boxmasters" across the United States in the summer of 2008, including TV appearances. He participated in the filming of the music video for the first single, which aired on GAC and CMT. From 2003 to 2005, he was the guitarist and harmony vocalist in

's road and studio band, and appeared on Bush's " King of My World" in 2005. His unique playing can be heard on movie soundtracks, including

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’s "Fire Down Below", and

’s releases "Daddy And Them" and "Waking Up In Reno". He also recorded with Sheryl Crow, among others, on the Johnny Cash tribute album "Kindred Spirits", and played guitar on

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’s final Grammy-winning recording, "The Wind". In addition, he has toured, recorded or written with major artists such as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

, Emmylou Harris,

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Tommy Shaw Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the rock band Styx (band), Styx as co-lead vocalist. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with other groups includi ...

( Styx), David Lee Roth (

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

), and Sweethearts of the Rodeo.

Solo career

Davis was born and raised in the Dallas, Texas area. He has spent his life performing on stage and touring with bluegrass, country, and rock acts from all over the world. ''wHiTe wAter'' was a group formed by Davis in 1997. Sam Bush, Marty Stuart, Stuart Duncan, and Roy Huskey Jr. are among those who appear on the group's only release, ''No Gold on the Highway''. ''I'm Not Gonna Let My Blues Bring Me Down'' was released in 2003 on FGM Records. The title track is a duet featuring fellow Texan and former roommate

. "Tell Me Son" from the record features Billy Bob Thornton and Tommy Shaw. Other musicians on the record include Sam Bush, David Grier, John Jorgenson, Rob Ickes, Glen Duncan, and Earl Scruggs. ''This World Ain't No Child'' followed in 2004 on FGM Records. Once again, Sam Bush appears on fiddle, mandolin, and slide mandolin. As this CD was recorded while Davis was a member of Bush's band, members Byron House and Chris Brown also contributed. John Cowan and Béla Fleck, who, with Bush, were part of the

New Grass Revival New Grass Revival was an American progressive bluegrass band founded in 1971, and composed of Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Ebo Walker, Curtis Burch, Butch Robins, John Cowan, Béla Fleck and Pat Flynn. They were active between 1971 and 1989, r ...

, also contribute to the record. Additional musical assistance is contributed by Ickes, Jorgenson, Shaw, and Thornton, among others. Over the years, Davis has had his songs recorded by various country and bluegrass artists, including country star

("Ain't No Angels"), Grasstowne ("Love You Don't Know"),

("Can't Give My Heart Away"),

("Always Countin'", "Beautiful Door"), Hometown News ("All The Time"), and

("I'm Singing Harmony"). Davis is often cited as the creator of the "double-down up"

flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...

technique. In fact it is known by many professional musicians especially those who attend the Steve Kaufman Flatpicking camp that he learned it from a fellow musician from the Caribbean . He has been a columnist for Flatpicking Guitar Magazine since 1996 and is currently Takamine's main guitar clinician, conducting dozens of music store clinics for

Takamine Guitars is a Japanese guitar manufacturer based in Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan. Takamine is known for its steel-string acoustic guitars. The company was founded in 1959, being renamed as "Takamine Gakki Ltd." in 1962. In 1978 they were one of the first co ...

each year. He has taught at Steve Kaufman's Flatpick Camp, Nashcamp, Camp Bluegrass, the St. Louis Flatpick Weekend, the Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend, and more. He has also produced four instructional DVDs for Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, "Flatpick Jam", Volumes 1, 2, & 3 and a book/DVD/CD course called "Flatpicking the Blues". Additionally, he has produced several instructional courses for Mel Bay Publications, including the "Blue Book of Speedpicking", and a series of instructional Ear Training Cds. He is the musical ambassador for Coffee Fool, a coffee company that is sponsoring both The Boxmasters tour and the Styx tours in 2008. At the 2008 NAMM trade show in Los Angeles, California, Davis and his band were asked to open for John Mayer and Phil Keaggy, and they received a standing ovation.

Discography

*''Climbin' Cole Hill'' (1995) *''No Gold on the Highway by wHiTe wAter'' (1997) *''I'm Not Gonna Let My Blues Bring Me Down'' (2003) *''This World Ain't No Child'' (2004) *''Where The Bluegrass Grows: The Bluegrass Tribute to Tim McGraw'' (2006, CMH Records) *''The Bluegrass Tribute to Brad Paisley'' (2007, CMH Records)

Footnotes

External links

Brad Davis official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Brad American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters American folk guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians Singer-songwriters from Texas Living people People from Commerce, Texas Year of birth missing (living people) Guitarists from Texas Country musicians from Texas American male singer-songwriters