There’s something about a bookstore and a coffee shop that brings together all kinds of artists. At Church Street, we’ve always had a staff full of artists: Richard’s a sculptor, Mary Grace is a painter and calligrapher, Heather’s a classically trained ballerina, I’m a writer, Nancy’s a baker, Neal’s a cook, and Jim and both Joshes (Josh Cannon and Josh Kelley) are musicians. It’s not that unusual to see a Church Street barista on stage at Bottletree or Sound & Page, and today we’re happy to announce that David, who you’ll recognize from nights and long Sunday afternoons behind the bar — or maybe from the stage at Bottletree — has a new album out with his band, Wray.
We seriously love this album (you probably spotted a few other Church Street bakers and baristas in the crowd if you went to Wray’s release show at Bottletree Friday night), and we seriously love David — and we’re not the only ones. The New York Times (yeah, that New York Times) gave Wray a good review in the music section last week, saying the band sounds “about as rooted in downtown Los Angeles, the Thames Valley of England and the Bushwick section of Brooklyn” as it does in influenced by Birmingham.
We’ll miss David for a few weeks as he heads out on tour, but we’re consoling ourselves by listening to him sing on Wray’s album. You can buy it here from our friends at Communicating Vessels, or in the next day or two at Church Street.