Kinks founder Dave Davies coming to Montclair
Cindy C. A. Pereira, North Jersey Media Group
Dave Davies, who founded The Kinks, an English rock band in North London, in 1964 with his brother Ray, will play Montclair April 7.
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NorthJersey
Dave Davies founded The Kinks, an English rock band in North London, in 1964 with his brother Ray. Dave will be coming to Montclair’s First Congregational Church on April 7, courtesy of Outpost in the Burbs.

He will play a mix of his solo music, songs from his album “Open Road,” (2017) by Dave Davies and his son Russ Davies, as well as music of The Kinks.

Davies had a stroke in 2004 that was debilitating and kept him hospitalized for months and then in rehab. He fought through the difficulties and made a full recovery.

“We’re born and we die alone," he said. "We have to develop some kind of internal mechanism to survive our own inner demons, problems and things we confront.”

When asked how one reconciles life’s sorrows and comes up with a song like "The Path is Long," whose lyrics end in "Life here is beautiful," Davies explained, “It helps being an optimist&mldr; I’m the eternal optimist, I think.”

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Wanting to know what kind of music influenced him in the past and what he listens to nowadays, he responded, “I listen to anything that has a bit of meaning and a bit of spirit and feeling.”

He referenced Charlie Byrd, a guitar player from the 60s, who he characterized as buoyant, saying when he listened he would “expect something good to happen.” He added that some other favorites were Bach and Haydn as well as some of his contemporaries like Leo Kottke and The Band.

Davies has spoken about having a psychic connection with some people. On if that connection manifests itself as he is now working with his son, Russ, he said, “That kind of sensitivity and connection with people is very important,” He said he and his brother Ray also had that connection growing up, but added that it can help or get in the way and drive you mad.

Jimi Hendrix once commented that the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” was a Hallmark song. Davies said it was a collaboration between he and his brother. “I was developing a sound on my amp and Ray came up with the riff on piano, then I started playing it on guitar.”

In his autobiography, "Kink", he discussed a brief period of bisexuality in the late 1960s. When asked if he thought one's sexuality changes over time he said, “When I was young I felt a pull to experiment&mldr;” He added that he was searching for some sort of identity whether music or other things that answered the question of who we are. “That plays an important part of one's own growth whether emotional, mental, sexual.”

Davies is looking forward to playing at First Congregational in Montclair. Having toured for so many years he talked about how you experience being on the road when you are older.

“Some days things go wrong, some they go smoothly...I just like playing live because of the vibe you get from the crowd and the people.”