Description
David Gerald, the son of Rural Mississippi born and raised parents, grew up to the sounds of the blues and R&B music in his hometown, Detroit. He's the youngest of 11 children, 6 of whom were born and partly raised in Mississippi. "Because segregation and racial discrimination were so bad in Mississippi at the time, my dad moved the family north to Detroit when he was 33, so we'd have a better chance at the American dream." Gerald, whose dynamic, blues-infused rock and soul hybrid has been captivating audiences across the country for over a decade, grew up to the sounds of the Blues, R&B and Rock in his hometown of Detroit. He started playing guitar at 14, influenced by Prince and '80s rock guitarists. "I was lucky enough to have a neighbor who was a guitarist and gave me scrap guitars. I would piece them together and build 'Frankenstein' guitars," says Gerald. "They were horrible to play and sounded bad, but I had to play music. It was and is my destiny. I finally scraped up enough money to buy an old amp and I was happy." Gerald performed in many local blues, R&B, and rock bands cutting his guitar and vocal chops live and in person. Finding it hard to keep a band together, Gerald learned to play guitar, bass, keys, and drums. Using two antiquated cassette recorders he would overdub each part individually until the song was complete. "The end result sounded horrible, and the songs would not end up in the same key they started in. But it got my songs recorded," says Gerald. This was the beginning of his songwriting, most of which were pop and rock tunes during the 80's. Around the age of 24, he began experimenting with computers to write and compose music. As he began to explore the music of blues guitar heavyweights like Albert King, ZZ Hill, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, his sound evolved and expanded to where it is today. Gerald is now playing nationally with his own band. Year round, he performs at clubs and festivals across the United States. Some notable appearances include: Riverdays Festival (formerly known as the International Freedom Festival) in Detroit, MI; Chrysler Arts, Beats and Eats in Royal Oak, MI; Springing The Blues Festival in Jacksonville, FL, among many others. Gerald's music has been receiving widespread radio play, along with recognition in the Blues and Rock communities. His 2009 debut CD, Hell And Back, continues to receive consistent airplay, while his stirring live performances have brought widespread acclaim. Recently Gerald was listed as #1 on the ReverbNation blues charts for Michigan Blues artists. "Hell and Back" reached #1 on Roots Music Report's Blues Chart for Michigan based artists and remained in the top 20 for many weeks in a row. Gerald's long awaited new album, N2U, was released in April 2018. Videos from two of the album's ten tracks of Blues infused Rock N Soul had begun to leak out across the internet prior to the release, creating a groundswell of excitement in anticipation. "This album has been a long time coming," Gerald comments. "I put together these songs for myself, my friends and supporters. It's all about new thoughts, new experiences and deeply felt emotions. I hope everyone who listens can find something that touches them. Something they can relate to." N2U is a true solo effort; with the exception of two live tracks where he's backed by his band, Gerald not only plays every instrument on the album's eight studio tracks, he also handled all of the recording and mixing duties.