John Davis
JC—What I Mean?!


Back in '96 there was this little rock band called Superdrag. The lads in the line-up toured with Green Day, scored a radio hit ("Sucked Out"), made some videos, worshipped the Kinks/Beatles, and spiked your local radio stations punch bowl with Jack Daniels. Without naming specifics, I also know first hand that they took some pretty controversial pictures in a radio station bathroom in Michigan… but I ain't one to gossip, so you ain't heard that from me!

Growing up in the Midwest offered the perfect opportunity to track the evolution of this one-hit wonder. Superdrag got their taste of fame, but never got too big for their britches. They created under-the-radar rock-pop, felt the warmth of college radio, and played places like Grand Rapids, Mich. roughly 399 times from '96-'02. They consistently rocked, wore black t-shirts, smoked cigarettes, and greeted the most amateur journalists with a smile.

The last interview I had with the band was in 2001. I bought two members of the band a pitcher for the interview. Lead singer John Davis politely turned it down, stating that he recently turned sober. This was an early sign of something I wouldn’t fully understand until this past March in Detroit. Davis is not only a solo artist and sober now, but has also in his words "been saved." Apparently John had a heavy relationship with Jack Daniels, has "seen the hand of God," and now rocks in the name of  JC. This is, in rock 'n' roll terms… a gamble.

"I have seen everything come full-circle" says John. "With Superdrag I started to hate who I was, I really bought the rock 'n' roll lifestyle." There is a genuine disgust from the new Davis of what he once was. "I don’t know how my wife stayed with me, she really is an angel, because I was a hard person to be around," He adds.

"I started to realize that I was doing things I wasn’t proud of. I started to think about what it would be like if my father came to visit me when I was wasted, and you can close the door to try and lock people out, but God can see everything" 

It is a complete re-evaluation of his surroundings. Once he saw how alcohol could kill him and his relationships, it was time for another direction.

What God (and the rest of us) can see these days is that Davis has a new solo album simply titled John Davis. The album directly reflects his new vision, leaving no guesswork about his influences. It is not so much of a departure of the Superdrag sound, but a venture into new lyrical territory. There are roots to the tunes as well, slide guitar and soul, take the place of his old fondness of hipster cool. "People put Christian music into such a category" Davis said. "I tried to give the songs an older, rootsy feel, a real back-to-basics exploration."

The one song that feels like a Superdrag outtake on the album is "Nothing Gets Me Down." The power chords are there, the sneer is there, but lyrically one can tell he is leaving some things behind as it opens "Every night is a Saturday night and it makes me sick."

It seems like Davis is winning a hard fought battle. One of the last extensive tours Superdrag went on was with indie-gods Guided By Voices, not strangers to excess on any level. "Bob Pollard was very supportive, he was like that nice uncle to everyone on the tour," Davis said. "I knew that if I could get through that tour sober, I could get through anything." He added that Pollard recently sent him a gift congratulating him on his new baby (Paul Davis, born Jan. 20). "He didn’t have to do that!" Davis said.

The John Davis show (at the Shelter in Detroit) was attended by little more than 20 people, including some heckler punks who filled the gaps between songs with conversation about the new Star Wars trailers. This didn’t deter Davis, "I like these guys," he brushed off the comments. Whether or not the rock purists, or heckler punks for that matter will validate his efforts towards faith based music doesn’t seem to matter. With family, guitar, and faith go John, so be careful backsliders, this article may show you your future!