Dane Drewis has a bloodline strong with Motown, bossa nova and pizza. According to a March feature in Submerge Magazine, the local singer/guitarist grew up in a home full of soulful tunes, but did his best not to listen to it:
"I couldn't stand all the stuff they listened to when I was growing up; all the Motown, lots of bossa nova and Latin jazz. I heard it millions of times, but went out of my way to block it out of my mind. Now that I'm older it's coming back in waves I would never have imagined.
[...]
"I heard Led Zeppelin for the first time when I was a senior in high school. That's how into hip-hop I was. I used to be able to go through whole DMX and Tupac albums word for word. In hindsight, I listen to those records now and there's a lot of musical stuff going on there. It was my way of rebelling, but it led me here. Couldn't have been that bad."
Now, the former frontman of Cuesta Drive is focusing on music more similar to what used to fill the halls of his home, and his family is taking notice. His sisters and mother often lend background vocals, and his father is touring with Drewis, playing bass guitar.
The rest of the time, the roles reverse and the ardent SF Giants fan works for his father at the family pizzeria.
Drewis will play at 8 tonight at Crawdad's on the River, 1375 Garden Highway. His light, soulful tunes will likely be a perfect fit for the low-key venue, which I first visited about a month ago. Crawdad's is more restaurant than venue, more date-destination than concert hall, and wide-appealing music like Drewis' will likely be well-received.
Drewis released his debut solo album, Rock & Soul, in April. Promo video after the jump...
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