New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Karl W. Davis and The Sweetpeas' latest release, "It's High Time" (2014 Churchill-Nash records), is now garnering high critical acclaim in the U.S. and France, and marks a new chapter in the career of this fire-and-brimstone gospel/blues powerhouse. Karl W. Davis was born in Folkston, Georgia, a small rural community situated at the crossroads of Savannah and Macon with deep gospel and blues traditions.
After joining the African Methodist Church at the age of 9, Karl became a fixture on the southeast Georgia gospel circuit, not only as a charismatic and passionate soloist, but as the only white member of an all black congregation and choir. Blues and soul music became Karl's life. Travelling and performing on the Chitlin' circuit from Virginia to Florida, Karl honed his ability to bring the power of a tent revival into every backwoods bar and uptown honkytonk. Eventually bigger and better opportunities came along and he was fortunate enough to share the stage with many greats in the blues and R&B world such as Gatemouth Brown, Crown Prince Waterford, Dr. John, Son Seals, Big Eye Willie Smith, Bob Margolin, Michael Burkes, Jimmy Johnson and more. In 2000, Karl was chosen to represent Jacksonville Florida at the Rendez vous de l'Erdre festival in Nantes, France and continues to perform at the finest festivals and venues in Europe. After the world-renowned success of the Urban Voices Choir in Nantes, where for five years he composed songs for and performed with 1000 singers, Karl was ready to hit the European blues and soul scene in a big way.
The blend of influences heard on It's High Time will remind the listener of the soul and gospel greats, such as Al Greene, Syl Johnson, and Harvey Watkins Jr. "For me this album represents a brutally honest reaction to the end of a fifteen-year marriage," says Karl. "We wrote 20 songs over a two month period and the ones that ended up on the new release were the songs where the lyrics came entirely at one sitting. These were just the most honest. We decided to choose these six and give them the best production we could manage instead of twelve songs with a watered down effort. Since this would be our calling card I think this was the best way to make a good impression right from the start." It's High Time brings forth a wave of emotion, where the listener is transported to a place where tears of joy or sadness can hardly be controlled.
You can learn more about Karl W. Davis and The Sweetpeas at https://www.karlwdavis.com
