By Sonia Schnee | Thursday, June 9, 2022
Tomorrow (Friday, June 10), Asbury Park’s David Ross Lawn will be releasing a new 4-track EP entitled “Don’t Be a Stranger” in which he applies his contemplative piano style of music to the tracks of award-winning indie rock singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. The EP will be available on all streaming platforms. Not only is David a composer, musician, teacher, and style icon, he is also the newest addition to the Jersey Indie team, as concert and community event photographer.
So, why cover the music of Phoebe Bridgers?
“Phoebe Bridgers is my favorite artist of all time,” says David. “I thought to myself, there's got to be a way for me to pay homage to her music in my own way. I started doing piano versions of her music and posted them as livestreams on TikTok as well as on YouTube. People who commented kept saying, ‘You have to save these’, so really I’m doing it for my audience. I’m doing it so her fans can hear her music the way that I hear it and experience it the way that I experience it.
When it comes to my piano covers, I do it all in one take. Connor Hanson, who recorded with me, can attest to this. It's almost improvised. It's very fresh. I stay true to the melody. If someone wants to sing along to it, they can. What I change slightly is the energy of the pieces. I take them to a more contemplative, quieter place — subtle, but quietly powerful. It’s almost like a lullaby that can cradle you off to sleep.”
To get a sense of David’s musical style you can check out his playlist of past Phoebe Bridgers covers, here.
David’s new EP will consist of 4 tracks, featuring two songs from Ms. Bridgers’s first album (“Motion Sickness” and “Scott Street”) as well as two of her more recent songs (“Kyoto” and “Garden Song”).
The title of the EP, “Don’t Be a Stranger”, is inspired by the last line of the last song, “Scott Street.” As David explains, “The phrase ‘don't be a stranger’ is one of those things that, to me, is just such a stab to the heart. If you've ever had someone in your life that you wish didn't go away, you’ll understand. It’s like you left the light on for those people, but they never called. If you’re familiar with the song “Scott Street”, there’s this beautiful anthemic uproar at the end with a string quartet and all these beautiful side samples in it. In my version, that’s where I like to showcase my classical training. It definitely ends in an explosion.”
David studied classical and contemporary piano performance and composition as an undergraduate in Scotland at the University of Aberdeen and at Westminster Choir College, in Princeton, NJ where he got his Masters.
In addition to David’s serious talent, though, he also has a fun side.
“My Instagram is more demure and somber and serious, but my TikTok is literally just me being myself, being smiley and happy and waving.” Inspired by his students, who encourage him to post his eye-catching outfits, David’s TikTok account has amassed over 375,000 followers and over 15.8 million likes. Full of fun and flair — and authenticity — you can see why his videos easily garner between 10,000 and 2 million views per post.
But back to Phoebe Bridgers.
I asked David how he first discovered her music and if he remembered when/where that was.
“I was on a walk listening to her song “Smoke Signals”, which is the first song on her first album,” says David. “It came on thanks to Spotify shuffle, and it made me stop in my tracks as I was walking to work. I actually had to sit down. It was that kind of experience. I listened to the lyrics and started crying. I got really emotionally invested in what was going on with the songs, and I remember basically diverting my entire day to go walk on the boardwalk and listen to that album in its entirety. When she released her other album, it was almost the same situation where I said to myself, I'm going to devote an entire day just to listening to this, experiencing this out in nature, away from everyone, away from everything.
So even from that first song, I was invested. I still listen to her music to get through hard times myself. Music can be used to narrate part of your life and your experiences. Her music fills in a large void for me and makes me feel deeply. A big part of why I do what I do on the piano is to help people feel a certain emotion. That's what her music does to me. If you know her music, it's just so deep and cathartic. It takes a hold of your heart, so it's definitely my kind of music.”
So, what’s next on the horizon for David Ross Lawn?
“If Phoebe Bridgers was to see this EP, my life would be completely made. I would be dancing on the street.”
So, Phoebe Bridgers, if you’re reading this right now, know that you’ve got David in your corner. And hey, if you ever want to do a piano collaboration with him, it could be dynamite. ;)
