Asheville Citizen-Times, July 15, 2011
BLACK MOUNTAIN — Acclaimed singer-songwriter David LaMotte is finding his groove again. The 20-year touring veteran, who’s released 10 albums of melodic folk pop, took a break in 2008 to study international relations, peace and conflict resolution at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Upon returning to the states he took a job as a consultant on Peace and Justice at the N.C. Council of Churches in Raleigh.
“Throughout my entire adult life, music has always been my primary source of income,” LaMotte says. “For the past couple of years I’ve been experimenting with others things, which have been really good and rich, but now music is pulling on me too much.”
Now, LaMotte’s touring schedule is starting to fill up again. He’s returning to Western North Carolina to play White Horse Black Mountain on Saturday. The evening will feature a full band show with collaborators Chris Rosser and River Guerguerian. It’s the latest in a series of White Horse shows celebrating the old McDibb’s music room in Black Mountain.
LaMotte enjoys playing the venue in Black Mountain, because of the attentive crowds.
“There are two kinds of venues out there: places where drinks are featured and music is provided and places where music is featured and drinks may be provided,” he says. “The latter is much more rare; White Horse is a place where people really go to listen.”
LaMotte has written a slate of new tunes, some of which he’ll debut at the show. He says he has enough for a new record to follow up 2006’s “This is My Song.” But before he hits the studio again he’s going to finish writing a new book, “Worldchanging 101: Practical Idealism,” which culls stories from his time in Australia and additional work in India with a Gandhian development organization. He authored a children’s book, “S.S. Bathtub,” in 2007.
Although he’s not going to play 200 shows a year anymore, LaMotte has some interesting gigs on his calendar. Next month he’s sharing a bill with Pete Seeger in New York, and he also has a show in the works with Wynton Marsalis.
“It’s a blossoming time for me with some really interesting things going on,” he says.
Jedd Ferris writes about entertainment for take5. Email him at jeddferris(at)gmail.com.
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