Today we’d like to introduce you to David Michael Meadows II.
Hi David Michael; we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I’m not quite sure; I’m just lucky, I guess. I went to college to study English and Philosophy. I did well while I was there too. It’s funny for me to look back on it now, even though I don’t consider myself a writer, philosopher, or whatever. I still can trace a direct line from my education to my current life as a rocker and a maker; I don’t own penny loafers anymore. I studied a very specific kind of literary theory at university that dealt with our relationship with our material world, how we interact with our jobs, and how we interact with each other. It’s called Marxist theory, and, sure, maybe it sounds a little scary, but it’s not. What’s scary is living a life you f*cking hate to earn a buck.
After college, I took a long hike; hiked 1,000 miles through France and Spain. It took me like 65 days or something. It was insane. I would stay with the nuns in these small villages, drink wine, and write poems. I kept telling them when they asked, “why are you walking?” I would say, “to forget everything I learned in college.” but that’s not entirely true, not everything. I wanted to teach. I wanted to lock myself in the library, read and write forever, and just be a brain. But the world isn’t an idea; it’s a place. It’s real, and it’s dirty, and it’s beautiful. When I returned to Nashville, I contacted every studio I could find. And I don’t mean music studios; I mean places where I could get my hands dirty. I emailed so many people. And all of them said no. all of them except this small leather jacket business. I got hired to sweep the floors two days a week. I didn’t even know how to stitch a f*cking button on a shirt. But by the end, I made myself a custom leather jacket. I bought the leather from a writing award I won my last semester of college, and my boss gifted me a silver silk lining. That job came with a silver lining. Once covid hit, things got quite weird. I spent a lot of time with my uncle—he’s a woodworker. He learned a lot from his dad and passed that on to me. That was a couple of years ago now. I’ve had a couple of other studio jobs, one as a leather worker and two as a woodworker. Anything to get my hands dirty. There’s something so spiritual about the process of creating for me. Turning an idea into something physical is what my life was missing when I just had my head in the books. About a year ago, I moved in with my best friends—Hannah hall, photographer extraordinaire, and Cole Shugart, the guitarist and one of the masterminds behind the rock band, The Criticals. I asked cole one day if the band needed a bass player. He looked at me and asked if I even knew how to play bass. I said yes.” I didn’t. I didn’t even have a bass. But that was almost a year ago. I got the gig, and we’ve been all over the US, selling out cities left and right; Nashville, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. I’m writing this interview right now while we are headlining on our first west coast tour the night before we play in San Diego. Life’s a f*cking trip sometimes.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Love is the result and devotion, hard work, and sacrifice. Nothing worth having ever comes easy. You have to make sure you fall in love with the right things.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
As I said, I’m a woodworker and a musician. I make shit, and I play songs. I f*cking love what I do. There’s never a dull moment.
What characteristic of yours would you give the most credit if you had to?
I have this image next to my bed of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s pink fabric-wrapped islands in Biscayne bay. They made this gigantic piece of outdoor art in the middle of Miami’s race riots in the 80s for seemingly no reason. They didn’t do it for money; they just made a series of prints of these beautiful and vibrant islands. One of my favorite quotes comes from a guy driving home from work who had never noticed these islands before and said, “I never knew something I looked at every day could be so beautiful.”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @d.m.m.ii
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ArhcOX0zzUe8GDzLTgBrK?si=L7KCgMLuTemnYyISmmAoTA
Image Credits
Hannah Hall
