Visit Dave at his own website: daveclarke.ca

E-mail Dave: Dave@steelrail.ca

Guitarist Dave Clarke is well known for his role in Montreal-based folkgrass trio Steel Rail, but his musical career includes a growing reputation as a guitarist, producer and arranger.

In addition to his work with Steel Rail, he tours frequently with award-winning singer-songwriter Penny Lang and is hatching a West Coast bluegrass combo with acclaimed singer-bass player Tammy Fassaert and smoking young mandolin player James Whittall.

His top priority for early 2007, however, is putting the finishing touches on his second solo release,  tentatively titled Reunion. The CD, which will feature both instrumentals and new vocal material, is slated for launch in spring 2007, at which point he plans solo gigs on the West Coast and in central Canada. Dave also maintains a busy teaching and workshop schedule based out of his home in the Fernwood district of Victoria, B.C.

Dave has been called one of Canada’s finest bluegrass pickers for his work with Steel Rail and the legendary Quebec group the White River Bluegrass Band. He was also a member of the jazz-folk-swing band Soupe du Jour, and over the past two decades he has played with such performers as David Francey, Barde and Theresa Doyle.

Dave’s tasty picking and his 1938 D18 Martin guitar have been featured on everything from bluegrass albums to television soundtracks, and one of his instrumentals is featured on the album Six Strings North of the Border, along with those of such other guitar luminaries as Bruce Cockburn and Don Ross. His debut solo instrumental album, Guitar Songs, showcases his lyrical melodies and unique blend of folk, bluegrass and Celtic sensibilities. 

Dave’s songwriting with lyric partner Lucinda Chodan is featured on three Steel Rail albums, and their material is being covered by a growing number of other folk and bluegrass artists. His highly original arrangements are showcased on both Steel Rail albums as well as David Francey’s three releases. They reflect both his formal musical training -- he has a music degree from Montreal’s Concordia University –- and his love affair with various genres of roots and acoustic music.

He also has a growing body of work as a producer, including the Steel Rail albums River Song and  The Road Less Travelled. Dave appeared on Francey’s first CD, Torn Screen Door, as guitarist and producer and on two other Francey CDs, Far End of Summer and Skating Rink, as guitarist and co-producer (along with Francey and multi-instrumentalist Geoff Somers). The collaboration resulted in Junos for Best Roots and Traditional Recording (solo) in 2002 and 2004.

Dave played with David Francey from 1997 to 2004. His versatile and sensitive guitar arrangements provided a musical bedrock for Francey’s strong original material and powerful vocals.

Workshops and teaching

Since moving to Victoria in 2005, Dave has taken on a growing roster of guitar students. Over the years he has given many hands-on guitar workshops including at the Ottawa Folklore Centre and the Townships Bluegrass and  Old-Tyme Music Society in Waterloo, Que. More recently, Dave has been invited to teach at summer acoustic music camps, notably the Woods Camp in Ontario and the B.C. Bluegrass Workshop in Sorrento, B.C.. For many years he was Montreal’s foremost acoustic guitar teacher, with stints at the Montreal Folklore Centre and his own private teaching studio.

 Selected Discography 

w 1981: White River Bluegrass Band, White River Bluegrass Band,  [out of print]  

w 1995: Steel Rail, A Thousand Miles of Snow, Crossties CD-1001

w 1999: David Francey, Torn Screen Door, Laker LKR-1001 (Festival)

w 1999: Steel Rail, The Road Less Travelled, Crossties CD-1002 (Festival)

w 2000: Various artists, Six Strings North of the Border, Borealis BCD128 (Festival)

w 2001: David Francey, The Far End of Summer, Laker LKR-1002 (Festival)  

w 2002: Dave Clarke, Guitar Songs, Crossties CD-1003 (Festival)

w 2003: David Francey, Skating Rink, Laker LKR-1003 (Festival)  

w 2005: Steel Rail, River Song, Crossties CD-1004 (Festival)

w 2006: Penny Lang, Stone & Sand & Sea & Sky, Borealis Records (Koch)

 

 Selected quotes

“Dave Clarke is one of Canada’s most accomplished and tasteful acoustic guitarists.”

Mike Regenstreif, Montreal Gazette

“Clarke’s lead guitar is a joyful marriage of bluegrass flatpicking and the big generous notes of folk music.”

Patrick Langston, Ottawa Citizen

 “Lead guitarist Dave Clarke sweeps you along with both style and substance.”

No Depression