MP3 Deja Vu - POP: Delicate

Dynamic, singer/songwriter, folk-rock

4 MP3 Songs
POP: Delicate, ROCK: Folk Rock



Details:
Northeast Ohio newcomer David Ullman is making a name for himself through performances that are at once poignant and intimate and fiercely intense. In outpourings of passion that are sometimes savage and other times delicate, Ullman sings personal, candid, and insightful lyrics over melodies plucked and pounded out on his guitar. Ranging from a whisper to a roar, his soulful voice lingers with listeners long after the final note of one of his songs rings out.

âPlaying music was an integral part of my upbringing,â Ullman says. âMy Dad taught my brother and I to play guitar as kids, and weâve both stuck with it.â Ullman began learning Buddy Holly songs at age eight, also employing the rock & roll pioneerâs practice of overdubbing vocal and guitar parts to fill out his own amateur recordings. In the bathroom of his childhood home, Ullman taped himself performing a mixture of Hollyâs signature tunes as well as his own early efforts at songwritingâsometimes recruiting his father to play the lead guitar lines. During his adolescence, he began gravitating towards acoustic arrangements, as they enabled him to carry a tune unaccompanied. Throughout his teens, the young singer developed the ability to imitate his favorite performers, closely emulating their vocal delivery and style for small gatherings of friends and family. âMany of my friends are also musicians, and we would often pass the guitar around, playing covers for each other. Before long, we began playing songs together, rather than separately.â

The resulting collaboration was the short-lived band Steve, an acoustically based quintet in which Ullman shared singing and songwriting duties with four other members. âEach of us would bring songs to the table, and then weâd work out the arrangements as a group. The style of music ranged from folky, singer/songwriter tunes to Drop-D rockers and eclectic, world music-inspired tracks featuring a didgeredoo.â Steve recorded a limited run, homemade CD (IN THE EVENT OF RHYTHM), which was sold at the handful of shows they played between 2000 and 2001, and even resulted in an award-nominated documentary entitled FINDING 'RHYTHM,' which Ullman himself crafted from the 80 hours of footage shot during the bandâs existence.

The Steve experience rekindled Ullmanâs interest in writing music. He found freedom in singing his own words, and during the years that followed developed a repertoire of nearly twenty original songs. âIâm finding my own voice. A lot of that has to do with having something to sayâsomething that I need to communicate for my own emotional wellbeing. Iâve found that songwriting provides me with most visceral and immediate means of expression.â

However, Ullmanâs interests extend beyond just playing music. He is intimately involved in all aspects of the artistic experience. A devout âdo-it-yourselfer,â Ullman creates his own fliers and maintains his own website, as well as doing the bulk of his own recording and graphic design work. An experienced and award-winning filmmaker, with four feature-length productions, countless short-subjects, and over 60 broadcasts to his credit, Ullman is also taking a hands-on approach to his music videos. Collaborating with Pittsburgh-based production company Ship King Media, the singer/songwriter co-produced the video for his first single, âDéjà vu,â recently released on Ullmanâs own Dreaming Out Loud label.

Ullman finds it difficult to describe his own music. âI suppose my songs incorporate different styles and approaches. Some tend to be very mellow and reserved, while others are loud and edgy. Itâs not uncommon for all of that to be going on in one song.â The singer admits to having a slightly âschizophrenicâ song roster, the most extreme example being âMulletman,â a B-side on the single which he describes as âa funk-rap-type-thing with a 50âs doo-wop chorus. Iâm still working out how to play that one live.â

In concert, Ullman mixes his original material with often-innovative covers of artists such as Pearl Jam, Jewel, Dave Matthews, U2, Radiohead, Wilco, Damien Rice, and even a crowd-pleasing rendition of the opening number to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (âScience Fiction, Double Featureâ).

Raised in Rittman, Ohio, Ullman, 27, lived in Raleigh, North Carolina for several years before moving back to Ohio in 2004. He now resides in Kent, where, in addition to playing music, he is a full-time student at Kent State University. His debut album, DOG DAYS, is due out next year, and the discâs first single, âDéjà Vu,â was recently released on Ullmanâs own Dreaming Out Loud Records.

December 2006