Punk Monks dig Elvis

[johnfoyle]

http://www.dailyiowan.com/news/531464.html

Zen power chords splashed with humor

By Richard Shirk - The Daily Iowan, 17 October 2003

Stuart Davis could be the wittiest self-ordained monk to ever rock power chords. Shaven-head bald, and as devoutly Buddhist as he is devoutly rockin', he is a man bringing spirituality through rock 'n' roll and rock 'n' roll through spirituality. Now, with his latest album, Bell, in tow, the original Punk Monk will bring his finely tuned pop-sense, razor-sharp wit, and a fanatical legion of fans to a the Yacht Club on Saturday.

Both tactful and accessible, Bell follows the formula that has made Davis an underground pop-star for more than 10 years - an ample supply of clever lyrics, a keen sense of humor, and more crunchy guitar than most Soto Zen Buddhists are willing to crank out.

Admittedly, mixing rock music and theological doctrines is usually a great formula for bad music. But just as Richard Thompson's Islamism is always a subtle adornment to his superb songwriting, the charm of Davis' albums and his live performances lies in his understanding that a healthy mix of sincerity, Elvis Costello covers, humor, and tongue-in-cheek attitude is sometimes the only way to talk about the more serious facets of life (and afterlife).

Written conceptually around the idea of the dakini - the celestial women of Buddhist texts such as the Jataka - Bell is an album recorded with a watchful eye on the pompous meter. Compared with last year's pre-emptively posthumous The Late Stuart Davis, Bell might be a bit weightier, but it hasn't lost any wit. The most staid songs - "Ara Belle," "Original Face," "Smoke," and "Flower of a Zero" - are played with enough passion and humility to sweeten the usual terrible taste that a song containing "mercy," "the Mystery," and "lightning" within five lines will usually conjure.

The more complex and straight-faced moments succeed in being just as disarming as Bell's more laid-back moments. After all, not every singer/songwriter can wrap a song around an etymologically corrupt rhyme of "Bodhisattva" and "Prada" (in "Sexy Messiah") or turn the sinister porn 'n' carnival gypsy-rock of "Wizard" into a deadpan comedy. Somewhere in between lie "Karma Pyre" and "Dharma-Drama," songs that span the middle ground with chugging riffs and Davis' Buddha-centric lyric play.

Playing somewhere around 150 to 200 shows yearly in North America and Europe, Davis' live appearances have created a base of devoted, if not devout, fans. Under the moniker Punk Monks, the followers are more than just a source of moral support when it comes to recording, releasing, and marketing Davis' albums.

Bell is the fourth-consecutive disc to be released on Dharma Pop, a label staffed and funded entirely by volunteer Punk Monks. Aside from funding Dharma Pop through investments in future projects, Davis' followers act as promotional street teams, sell merchandise at shows, and maintain the label's Web sites.

So why are these Davis disciples willing to follow the man around the country and buy shares in his work?

"Musically, he's amazing. He's probably the best songwriter I've ever heard and had the honor of seeing play," said Toni Wilson, a UI senior and Punk Monk who has seen Davis 30 times since she first heard his music in 1999. "He just has a way of telling stories in his songs that are so human. You can connect to them so well. Personally, he's just a really great guy; he's really outgoing.

"If you ask any of Stuart's fans, they would probably say the same thing - there's something about his music and who he is that you can't quite put a finger on. You know it when you're around it and you hear the music. It's just unbelievable."

Believable or not, the charming secularism of Bell might be a bitter vitamin pill to wash down with herbal tea. But with a sense of humor, the best Hüsker Dü guitar riffs ever to be played by a bald Zennie, and a mighty songwriting ushnisha, it's hard not to don the Punk Monk garb and reach for the hem of Davis' flowing, transcendental popster robes.

E-mail DI reporter Richard Shirk at:

rshirk@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu

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see also

http://www.stuartdavis.com/dharmapop

[King_of_Spain]

Elvis, Monks... and Rowe?