In one way or another, music speaks to everyone. Thursday, 'Music with Daniel Boling' will speak to people who attend the concert at Gnu's Room.
Tina Tatum, owner of Gnu's Room, said she thinks the audience will really enjoy Boling's music as well as his personality. Tatum booked Boling after listening to a few of his CDs.
"He has a really nice sound," Tatum said. "He has some humorous stuff, he has some more serious lyrics, and a lot of times it's the personality of the person more so than the style of the music that makes a performance."
Boling, a New Mexico native, said he's always intrigued to see what interests college students when he performs. While one draw is his wordplay and characters, Boling said he thinks the main attraction is the instrumental side.
"I'm a pretty accomplished finger-picker," Boling said. "A lot of college students these days are musicians themselves, and I noticed I can pick them out of the room pretty readily when I play some pretty nice guitar licks."
That's one aspect Sara Sellers, senior in exercise science, said would interest her in the concert.
"I play the guitar," Sellers said. "So I always love watching other people and appreciate any kind of music."
Boling tours with an acoustic guitar as well as a banjitar, a hybrid with a banjo sound, but six strings and the neck of guitar.
With these instruments, Boling makes music that he said fits the folk category.
"A lot of my songs are ballads," Boling said. "My topics range pretty broadly from real life stories about myself and my family and my friends, to anecdotes that I pick up."
And while the folk genre isn't a requirement to play at Gnu's Room, Tatum said they do look for the acoustic aspect.
"We are best-suited to host acoustic concerts," Tatum said. "Because of the size of the cafe, we can't really accommodate big bands."
Gnu's Room will have seating for up to 30, but standing room for a few more if necessary.
"Certainly people can lean on the bar, coming in the door, wherever, if they just want to come in and hear a little bit," Tatum said.
Boling said he hopes for a great turnout.
"I do this for the interaction and connection with people," Boling said. "My songs have a story to tell. I don't see any point in playing at places where that doesn't get across."
Boling said that while common advice is "never let the truth get in the way of a good story," his personal motto for songwriting is "never let the facts get in the way of the truth."
"What you're looking for is for the story that your song tells to have the emotional truth intact," Boling said. "If you have to adjust the facts a little bit to support that, that's fair game."
Tatum said the concert will be split into a 45-minute set, a 15-minute break and another 30- to 40-minute set. Pastries and coffee will be sold before the concert, at the break and after.
"The vast majority of what I play in public are my own songs," Boling said. "I would say that in an average show, at least three-fourths of the material is my original writing."
Songwriting has been a part of Boling's life since high school, although he started playing guitar in sixth grade.
"I've been musical my whole life," Boling said. "It's something that I've always done and really feel that I have to do."
Boling played clubs and coffee shops in high school, and has been touring full time--a career he calls "an honor and a privilege"--since the beginning of 2008.
"Intimate venues are really what I thrive on," Boling said, adding that he plays a lot of house concerts.
Boling said his concert would appeal to a varied audience.
"Everybody's looking for something different to break up the day," Boling said. "You can't get much more different than being exposed to original art."
The concert will begin at 7 p.m. A $5 donation is suggested, and Boling said he will also have CDs and download cards for sale.
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