THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 12, 1994 TAG: 9411110111
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
HERE'S A SHOW with a difference: Davis Daniel at Heartbreak Alley - minus his band.
``This is a promotional stop,'' Daniel said from his Nashville home, ``so I'll be doing some acoustic things myself.''
Translation: It's an - uh - inexpensive way for Polydor Records to push Daniel's self-titled second album. There is a plus. Admission is only $1.50, but you have to be among the first 1,000 people.
The Cruzin' Coyotes will be on hand. Why? Depends on who you talk to. One source says they will back up Daniel; another says they will be the opening act; a third says they will do both.
Hopefully, Daniel can use the Elizabeth City-based Coyotes. If not, the high-energy entertainer will not be able to jump around stage and move into the audience.
``I go out in the crowd. I've been doing that for years,'' he said. ``I jump on the bar, walk on tables. It's hard to do that when I'm up there by myself.''
Pause.
``Well, I'll try to do it even without a band.''
Daniel will perform his current hit, the locally flavored ``William and Mary,'' a clever upbeat song about the Williamsburg institution:
``She went to William and Mary / I went to Haggard and Jones.''
The next single from the album, ``Tyler,'' is Daniel's favorite. The recently divorced father wrote about his 5-year-old son.
``I was gone so much when he was little. I worried about him forgetting how much I love him,'' the performer said. ``He's on the song at the end.''
Daniel, who comes from a non-musical family of seven boys and two girls, was born in Chicago, ``but Dad wanted to be a rancher, so we moved to Chadron, Neb.''
A visit to Denver for a Willie Nelson concert hooked him.
``Mom bought a guitar at a garage sale,'' said Daniel. ``I went to the mall (and) bought a Willie Nelson songbook. I learned from that. I still can't read a note of music.''
He would like to get the kind of airplay Nelson and his other heroes used to enjoy. But the country music world of 1994 is a different story.
``It's tough to get records played on radio. I'd be lying if I said it was easy,'' Daniel said. ``There's a lot of good talent - this is a high-dollar business. But, we're gonna be fine.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Davis Daniel got hooked on music after attending a Willie Nelson
concert.
CONCERT FACTS
Who: Davis Daniel with the Cruzin' Coyotes
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Heartbreak Alley, 100 W. Newmarket Square, Newport News
How much: $1.50 to the first 1,000 people; tickets will not be
sold in advance
Information: 1-245-3313
by CNB