BLUES SINGER/SONGWRITER GUY DAVIS TO DEBUT NEW 2-CD AUDIO PLAY ON FEBRUARY 21, THE ADVENTURES OF FISHY WATERS: IN BED WITH THE BLUES

BLUES SINGER/SONGWRITER GUY DAVIS TO DEBUT NEW 2-CD AUDIO PLAY ON FEBRUARY 21, THE ADVENTURES OF FISHY WATERS:

IN BED WITH THE BLUES

“There is no tale so tall I cannot tell it, nor song so sweet I cannot sing it” - Guy Davis

BRONX, NY – Acclaimed blues singer/songwriter Guy Davis announces a February 21 release date for his 2-CD “audio play,” The Adventures of Fishy Waters: In Bed with the Blues, on his own Smokeydoke Records label. The release marks the debut on disc for the production Guy Davis has performed off and on since 1994, and he’ll celebrate the release of the new album with a special run of performances of the one-man play in February at the famed Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Here is the schedule of Crossroads Theatre shows:

The Adventures of Fishy Waters: In Bed with the Blues - February 16 - 26
Previews: Thursday 2/16 at 8pm, Friday 2/17 at 8pm
Opening Night (Press Night): Saturday 2/18 at 8pm (** note there is no Saturday matinee); Sun. 2/19 at 3pm, Thurs 2/23 at 8pm, Fri 2/24 at 8pm, Sat 2/25 at 3pm and 8pm, Closing show: Sun. 2/26 at 3pm. For more information, go to www.CrossroadsTheatreCompany.org.

The Adventures of Fishy Waters: In Bed with the Blues features a number of Guy Davis original compositions, as well as songs by such blues icons as Robert Johnson, Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell and Big Bill Broonzy. The album is a “road story” in the truest sense. Guy Davis performs the stories and songs in character as “Fishy Waters,” who traveled throughout the south meeting a host of vivid characters and creating a lasting impression that is at times humorous and playful, at others mysterious and sometimes intensely powerful.

“Story telling is the most ancient, most powerful magic of the universe,” says Guy Davis, son of acclaimed actors Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. “I grew up in a house full of story tellers. I met many more through the years but family members such as my grandpa Marshall (my mom’s dad) and my father were among the very best. My grandpa was famous for his rascally tales and jokes but every once in a while he’d tell about the time his mom killed and cooked his pet chicken and he didn’t realize it until after he had eaten it! My dad could tell a story over and over and make it fun every time. All these factors came together in my life and were helpful to me in writing The Adventures Of Fishy Waters: In Bed With The Blues.”

The play had its beginnings in 1991 when Guy Davis was working on another play, Mulebone, the Zora Neale Hurston/ Langston Hughes collaboration that was being performed on Broadway. “I began to write The Adventures Of Fishy Waters: In Bed With The Blues backstage at the Ethel Barrymore Theater while I was an understudy in Mulebone, Davis recalls. “I understudied four parts in Mulebone. Among them was the traveling blues musician played by Kenny Neal. The green room was downstairs, directly underneath the stage. Night after night I heard the footsteps of the actors as they danced and spoke. I knew most of the stories and longed to be on stage telling those tales and singing those songs.”

After the close of Mulebone, Guy Davis was cast in the title role of Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil, a fictional account of Johnson’s death, performed at the Off Broadway, Henry Street Settlement. His performance in that play won him a Harlem Theater Award and a “Keeping The Blues Alive” Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis.

The Henry Street Settlement was also the location for the debut of The Adventures Of Fishy Waters: In Bed With The Blues in 1994. While the initial run was only a week, it received critical praise from the New York Times and Village Voice, and the play has been since been performed when and wherever there’s an opportunity that fits his schedule. It has been done at The New Federal Theater in New York and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. “One of the most memorable nights was in Oakland California when Brownie McGhee attended,” Guy remembers. “Another time, in Florida, I got to perform it in front of Billy Branch, Charlie Musslewhite and David ‘Honey Boy’ Edwards. The play has also been performed in Australia, Canada, and England.”

“The task of a story teller, in a dramatic setting, is to include stories that encompass the full range of emotion,” says Davis about the new album. “Funny stories, serious subjects, even ugly things. It must be done in such a way that a white audience won’t feel accused and uncomfortable, or a black audience won't feel offended by a perceived return to Uncle Tom humor. As a story teller I strive to present vivid, thought provoking images. The fewer words it takes me, the better. I didn’t set out to write a book. I didn’t set out to explain, represent or save black people. The piece is written to communicate as simply as possible a sense of humanity.

“Some tales allow us to view inhuman treatment and laugh with the recognition that a person will do anything in order to survive. Others focus on the enormity of a terrible tragedy too big to be absorbed by us, and must use humor to deflect the nature of events. There will be moments when a white audience will be very silent and attentive while black members of the audience will roar with laughter.

“The Adventures Of Fishy Waters: In Bed With The Blues is a story containing several smaller stories: a mixture of stories, tall tales and music. The subjects are survivors, not victims. The culture is Black. The music is Blues. The message is human.”

In addition to being a recipient of the “Keeping the Blues Alive Award,” Guy Davis has been nominated for 10 Blues Music Awards from the Blues Foundation. Over the years, his albums have drawn critical praise and honors from such media outlets as National Public Radio, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle and Acoustic Guitar magazine. Among his many career highlights include performing at Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden (leading Steve Earle, Warren Haynes, and the SNL Band in Pete's “False From True,” a song Guy recorded for the Seeger tribute album, Where Have All the Flowers Gone). Also on that show were Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Ben Harper and a “Who's Who” of the folk world. Guy's also opened for the legendary Jethro Tull, with Ian Anderson joining him onstage every night.

Davis has recently been dubbed “The Ambassador of the Blues” following performances in 2011 in Greenland, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands (the first-ever shows sponsored by the Ministry of Culture on those enchanted islands), Denmark and Spain.

In addition to his performances of his play in February, Guy Davis will support the release of the new CD with consistent touring around the country. Guy is managed by Thom Wolke Management and booked by Piedmont Talent. For more information, visit www.guydavis.com.

Additional Guy Davis Tour Dates

2/2 - Duff's Garage, Portland, OR

2/3 - Cozmic Pizza, Eugene, OR

2/4 - Unitarian Fellowship Hall, Ashland, OR

2/5 - SPACE, Evanston, IL

2/6 - Civic Center Temple Theatre, Des Moines, IA

2/7 - CSPS, Cedar Rapids, IA

2/8 - South Broadway Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM

2/9 - Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO

2/10 - Lensic Theatre, Santa Fe, NM

3/1 - Regattabar, Cambridge, MA

3/2 - One Longfellow Square, Portland, ME

3/3 - Northwest Park Nature Center, Windsor, CT

3/5 - Blue Note, NYC

3/7 & 8 - Children's shows at schools in London, Ontario

3/10 - Avalon Theatre, Easton, MD

3/16 - Raritan Valley Community College, Branchburg, NJ

3/17 - World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA - daytime children's/family show at 11:30am

3/23 - Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, Old Saybrook, CT

3/24 - Fitzgerald Theatre, Minneapolis, MN

3/31 - Colonial Theatre, Idaho Falls, ID