Before moving to North County, San Diego, singer-songwriter Spud Davenport drummed for various L.A. and San Francisco bands such as Toymuzic. After adding guitar and keyboard to his talents, he penned the tune "Overnite," which was included in the Brat Pack movie Class.
“I was writing songs long before I learned the drums,” says Davenport. “I briefly tried to learn the accordion, and I still struggle sometimes with guitar. Damn sausage fingers.”
“While a lot of my heroes are British, I must send out big props to our great American songwriters and composers — my heroes — such as Paul Simon, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Randy Newman, John Hiatt, Warren Zevon, Steve Earle, and Frank Zappa, all of whom are odd and oddly present in my music, somehow.”
Davenport's album Green was released in 2007. In addition to his solo work, Davenport has also manned his vintage Gretsch drum kit for the Shamey Jays, alongside Dave Howard, Jerry Rig, and Matt Silvia, as well as performing with the Messy Necessities.
In 2015, Davenport teamed with Charlie Recksieck to form a new combo called Leaders in the Clubhouse, releasing a debut album, Won, that summer. The band describes that album as "a modernly-retro offering of songs about sex, narcissism, crappy electronics, and partying at the end of the world." Two videos were produced for the first two singles, "She Gets Loud" and "Lawn Chairs."
A new solo release dropped in January 2023, Songs For The Cynical, co-produced with Charlie Recksieck at Big Rock Studios, preceded by a video and single for "Home For The Headaches."
FIVE THINGS WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT SPUD DAVENPORT?
1) “One of my neighbors, and an early drum student of mine, was Mike Bordin, of Faith No More and Ozzy Osbourne’s band.”
2) “I had retired from music and didn’t play drums in a band for 15 years, until Dave Howard twisted my arm to start the Shamey Jays with him in 2007.”
3) “When I was single, I dated the three-breasted space hooker from Total Recall and the señorita in Devo’s ‘Whip It’ video. Those were the days.”
4) “Just because my name is Spud, and I’m originally from Ohio, I actually have no affiliation with the band Devo.”
5) “I know a lot of things about a lot of crap that no one gives a crap about.”