WDCV Legend: Davis Tracy

Community Post: Interview with community DJ Davis Tracy   

When he was young, Davis Tracy yearned for a family TV, but he got a radio instead. This gift sparked a passion for radio that has lived on throughout his entire lifetime thus far. He would listen to a multitude of stations, from popular music to radio theater. This passion stuck with him throughout his schooling, time in the army, professional career, and to this day Davis spends two hours every Monday morning playing bluegrass CDs for his loyal listeners.

Davis started his show, Bluegrass @ Dickinson, in the 80s, when vinyl was still popular. Over time, Davis has switched to CDs, though he questions what he’ll do when those go out of style as well. Because of the popularity and age of his show, Davis has connected with many bluegrass artists and labels who send him bluegrass music. This way, Davis finds new voices, sounds, and twists on his favorite genre each week. This relationship also allows Davis to curate larger bluegrass events, such as Bluegrass on the Grass, a Carlisle community event that occurs every summer on the Dickinson campus. Inspired by the fun he found in playing with his own band, Country Bob and the BBQ Boys, and help from other bluegrass lovers, Davis introduced Carlisle to a bluegrass festival that is now one of the town’s most popular community events. Davis of course wanted to show people how lovable bluegrass is, but also had the intention of depicting Dickinson as an approachable and desirable place to visit. The town had other popular music festivals in the past, but they mostly focused on orchestral music, a genre that Davis believes to be less accessible. Bluegrass, on the other hand, is easy to dance along to, and brings joy to many listeners, and Davis himself.

Before Davis’s WDCV career started, he served as a United States Army Officer in the early 70s, and participated in many Outward Bound wilderness classes, in which he learned survival skills and the ability to get along and work with others who were different than him. Davis then went back to school and earned a Master’s and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. He worked at Dickinson College as a counselor in the Wellness Center for 29 years, and as a faculty advisor for WDCV for over 10 years, where he made many improvements for the station and the students involved. In 2010, Davis retired, and has since worked part time at Franco Psychological Associates in Carlisle in addition to continuing his WDCV radio show. He starts his day around 5 am every day, occasionally accompanied by his beautiful labradoodle, Freddie, who loves to snuggle up next to anyone he takes a liking to, which is most everyone.

Davis has always loved music and been invested in it.He played tenor guitar in high school just because no one else was playing it, but discovered his love for guitar at Lehigh University. Davis never did participate in college radio when he was attending Lehigh, but he met his “radio mentor,” Paul Campbell, while attending the University of Tennessee. From this experience, Davis learned to appreciate bluegrass more, as well as the importance of college radio. He finds that college students have a refreshing on-air presence that commercial radio voices don’t possess. Davis loves to hear the progression and growth of student DJs, whether that be their professionality on air or their music tastes that first developed in high school. This student connection is what Davis misses the most about advising WDCV, though he is grateful he still has the opportunity to share his music with his listeners, and enjoys listening to student and community DJ shows alike. Davis is loved here at WDCV because of how much he has done for the station, and how committed he still is!

 

 

Listen to Davis’s show, Bluegrass @ Dickinson, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, from 8 am to 10 am!

 

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions, email Julia Ormond at ormondj@dickinson.edu. Thanks for reading!

Bluegrass on the Grass 2015 Review

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On the first clear day in weeks, Dickinson College was the site of the 20th Anniversary of Davis Tracy’s Bluegrass on the Grass festival. I had heard the school hosts this little secret from some friends of mine, so when the opportunity arose for me to work the festival, I jumped at the chance. As someone who has never particularly cared for bluegrass, I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into…but after sitting through eight hours of non-stop bluegrass I will say this: Why have I never been there before?

 

First of all, the atmosphere throughout the day can be summed up in one word: happy. Everywhere I went, smiles were on everyone faces. Whether they had been there every year since the first festival in 1995, or were attending the festival for their first time, everyone in the over 3,000 strong crowd was excited and genuinely happy to be there. People had come from all over the country to this small town in PA; I met folks from Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and so on. One woman from Florida told me, “I made my sister come with me this year. She tried telling me that she didn’t like bluegrass music, but I told her that this was better than Christmas!”

 

Five bands took the stage this year, each of them playing two sets by the end of the day. The Dismembered Tennesseans were up first, and as they have played every Bluegrass on the Grass festival except for the first one, the audience was fully prepared for their unflinching yet refined take on bluegrass music. After them came a newcomer to the festival, Tellico, from Ashevillle, NC. What struck me about this band was their commitment to the art of the song; they did not riff or improvise a lot, but instead stuck to their songs of passion and heartache. After Tellico was Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. Fronted by award winning fiddler Michael Cleveland, these guys delivered the most virtuosic performance of the day. They ran through their songs while weaving back and forth through melodies and improvisations with impressive ease. While they were a tough act to follow, Jake Krack & the Bing Brothers did not show up to disappoint anybody. I am a fan of punk rock myself, so fiddler Jack Krack and his band were my favorite act of the day because they never let up on the intensity of their driving, in-your-face brand of bluegrass. Closing out the festival this year was another newcomer to Bluegrass on the Grass, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. Led by award winning vocalist Russell Moore, this band brought the audience to a standing ovation with their gospel-influenced bluegrass. I have no doubt that they will be asked to come back in the near future.

 

If you want to check out next year’s festival, stop by Dickinson College’s campus on July 9th, 2016. And if you want to hear some more bluegrass before that, check out WDCV on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday from 8-10 AM, either on 88.3 FM or at http://blogs.dickinson.edu/wdcvfm/

 

* Thank you to everyone who helped make the festival possible. Through your hard work and generous donations, Bluegrass on the Grass has been able remain free to the public, and will be back again next year.*

Music@Bosler Library 4/24 7pm Free: Country Bob & the Barbecue Boys Featuring WDCV DJ Davis Tracy

The Music@Bosler Library series presents…

Country Bob & the Barbecue Boys

Friday, April 24th 7:00 – 8:00 PM

Bosler Library

158 W. High Street in Carlisle

$$ FREE $$

 

In the Spring of 1983 while roasting Vienna sausages on a small hibachi on a patio overlooking Big Spring Creek in Newville Pennsylvania, Paul Strother, George Sneed, and Davis Tracy sat playing some of their favorite tunes.  This was the setting the three named themselves Country Bob & the Barbecue Boys.

 

Soon thereafter, Larry Marschall joined the Boys and in recent years Glenn Carson became a member.  Numerous other local and Tennessee born pickers have participated in the Country Bob experience, yet, to our knowledge, Bob himself remains unknown to this day.

 

With influences of folk, old-time stringband, traditional bluegrass, and Texas country music in their backgrounds, Country Bob plays works of Stephen Foster, Flatt & Scruggs, Guy Clark and John Hartford.  The band has played for Carlisle First Night, the first Bluegrass on the Grass in 1996, the Gettysburg Railroad tours at Aspers Fire Hall, and various backyard barbecues.

 

Glenn Carson – Fiddle and Banjo

Larry Marschall- Banjo

George Sneed- Mandolin

Paul Strother – Bass

Davis Tracy – Guitar

 

 

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