by Jason Ankeny
Perhaps best known as Lou Barlow's partner in the Folk Implosion, singer/songwriter John Davis was also a successful lo-fi solo performer in his own right, as well as a former member of the Palace Brothers. A native of Massachusetts, Davis began playing guitar at the age of 12; inspired by Sebadoh's Weed Forestin', he began compiling his own acoustic home recordings in 1988, sending his first tapes to Barlow as well as Shrimper labelhead Dennis Callaci, who released Davis' debut cassette Stars & Songs in 1993. That same year he and Barlow teamed as the Folk Implosion, issuing Take a Look Inside the Folk Implosion on the Communion imprint in 1994. Davis' first full-length solo effort, Pure Night, appeared at around the same time, followed in 1995 by Leave Home. In 1997, he released Blue Mountains, and I'll Burn followed in the spring of 2000.