Jordan Davis Recalls Early Career Advice From Eric Paslay, Sleeping on His Brother’s Couch
Jordan Davis is set to release his debut album, Home State, on March 23. The Louisiana-based singer-songwriter co-wrote each of the 12 tracks on the project and his older brother, Black River recording artist Jacob Davis, assisted on one of the songs featured on the release.
Jordan and his brother have written many songs together over the years — though they were never a duo and pursued separate music careers, they often collaborated when it came to songwriting.
"In college, Jacob started playing the bar scene in Baton Rouge and grew it to where it was pretty big," he shares in an interview with Taste of Country Nights. "I was always writing songs but I really never played a show until I moved to Nashville. I would write songs and come up with verse ideas, melodies or choruses and I would send them to Jacob and be like, 'Hey man, if you can ever do anything with this let me know.' That was about the closest we were as a duo. We still write a ton."
The song the two brothers collaborated on for his debut album is called "Take It From Me." The guys penned the upbeat track with Jason Gantt and the feel-good song has Davis singing of wanting to skip an after party to hang with his lady.
Davis moved to Nashville in 2012 after finishing college and spent a few weeks crashing on his brother's couch. He was a bartender before he saw a publishing and record deal, working at a place outside of town called Ellendale's. One of his famous patrons was future labelmate Eric Paslay, who bestowed some helpful advice onto a struggling Davis.
"He came in one night. I was talking to him — and at the time I didn't have a publisher or anything a— nd I was telling him I was a big fan of his writing and a big fan of his songs and his music," Davis recalls. "He gave me the tip, 'Keep at it, man. Hang in there.' It's so funny, now we're both on Universal and I got a chance to open a show for him in North Carolina about three months ago."
While Davis admits that at first Paslay couldn't quite place who he was in North Carolina, he refreshed his memory. "I don't think the beard was that big back then," he says with a laugh. "He remembered. It's one of the cool stories that come out of Nashville. That's one of the most famous [people] I got to give a drink to or a Diet Coke to."
Davis' debut single, "Singles You Up" is out now.
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Listen to Jordan Davis' Interview With ToC Nights,