arts & life

Michigan Roots Rock

Native son Joshua Davis

is wowing on The Voice.

I

Esther Allweiss Ingber
Contributing Writer

oshua Davis, a Jewish
singer from Traverse
City, is competing on
NBC's hit reality show The Voice,
and his Metro Detroit-based
mother, Pamela Shriman, and
bubbie Ella Shriman are among
those rooting for him.
Davis, 37, a professional
musician for 15 years, does gigs
around town to support his wife,
Ann, and their children Tahlia,
9, and baby Theodore. He's also
toured statewide with various
bands, including Steppin In It
and the Joshua Davis Trio.
Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be
Released" was Davis' choice to
perform on the show's Feb. 23
eighth-season opening night.
And on March 9, Joshua became
part of Team Adam, when Adam
Levine leapt out of his chair to
claim him in a "steal" during the
show's battle rounds. Joshua says
he likes how Adam is "super-
competitive:'
To get placed on The Voice, at
least one of the celebrity coaches
—Adam Levine (who also is
Jewish), Blake Shelton, Christina
Aguilera and Pharrell Williams
—must turn their chair around
during a singer's "blind" audition.
After several elimination rounds,
viewers get to decide who stays in
the competition. The show's win-
ner receives a recording contract
and a boost into the big leagues
for his or her musical career.
Here, the Jewish News chats
with Joshua Davis.

j

Q: Are you having fun on The

Voice?

A: It's been a great experience.

I'm a little out of my element
being in L.A. and the massive
framework of the television
world. But incredible people
work on the show, and the other
contestants are very supportive.
We're all friends. It's been a great
thing to know everybody.
Q: Where are you from, and do
you come from a musical family?
A: I was born in Marquette and
my dad still lives there. My mom
and I moved down to Detroit
when I was 2. A lot of records
were in our basement and I'd pull
them off the shelves to listen.

46

March 19 • 2015

JN

We'd go to [Detroit's] Hart Plaza
for music festivals.
Q: Where did you attend
school?
A: I went to Einstein Elementary
and Roosevelt Middle School in
Oak Park and was in the Berkley
High School Class of 1995. I
graduated from Michigan State
University with a bachelor's
degree in theater. I didn't go to
school for music.
Q: Did you become a bar
mitzvah?
A: Yes, at [the former]
Congregation B'nai David in
Southfield. My mom worked there.
Q: What sparked your inter-
est in music?
A: My bass guitar was a bar
mitzvah present. I began playing
when I was 13. I had a band at
16, Electric Tibet, put together
with one of my good friends,
Skye Haas. We were a 12-piece
band playing Motown. Skye's dad,
Marc Haas, was the band direc-
tor at Cass Tech [High School in
Detroit], and he showed me how
to work with a band when I was
very young. It's one of the things I
do best now I know how to work
with people, how to arrange and
produce things. I also worked at
Tamarack Camps as a song lead-
er. Singing with the kids and staff
— to be involved in that — was a
wonderful experience. After that
first summer, I decided music is
what I wanted to do.
Q: What does music mean for
you?
A: Music is all about bringing
people together. It's a community
gathering point. Like the Civil
Rights Movement with its spiri-
tuals, music can be bigger than
yourself. I do American roots
music, what I call "roots rock:' I
like the roots of rock 'n' roll, old
soul, old country music, old gos-
pel and old spiritual music — to
blend them all together. I admire
Paul Simon as one of my main
inspirations because he blends
different sounds of music but
has his own voice steeped within
those traditions.
Q: Does being Jewish figure in
your music?
A: It absolutely does. I grew up
listening to songs at shul and we
sang the Debbie Friedman tunes
at Tamarack. My new CD, Miracle
of Birds, is based on my travels in

Israel and the West Bank in 2012.
Meeting with musicians, danc-
ers and community leaders from
both sides, we traded stories and
tried to build bridges.
Q: How did you get to
The Voice?
A: The Voice saw videos of mine
and invited me. It caught me by
surprise. I'd never seen the show.
[Later,] I was impressed by the
positive air of the show. No one is
being talked down to.
Q: Adam and Blake both want-
ed you in the first round. What
made you choose Team Blake?
A: It was a tough decision. I'm
a songwriter, and Blake's really
keyed into Nashville where a lot
is going on.
Q: Do you see all the coaches
daily or just Blake and his help-
ers, including singer Meghan
Trainor?
A: It's still so new We're mostly

"I'm super excited

to be working with

Adam Levine,"

Davis says.

interacting with our own coach
and focused on our own team. I
like Blake as a person. He's very
disarming and charming.
Q: Is your family in
Los Angeles?
A: They come at specific times
for taping. The show is very sup-
portive of the families and flies
them out. I'm a guy who likes to
stay close to home, so it's really
great to have them there.
Q: While the coaches were
choosing more singers, where