Daniel Davison

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Daniel Davison is the original drummer and co-founder of the band Norma Jean, an artist and filmmaker.

1 Biography
2 Exit Norma Jean
3 Farewell Letter
4 Discography
5 Post Norma Jean
- 5.1 Recent Music Ventures
6 External Links
- 6.1 References

[edit] Biography

Daniel Davison, OzzFest 2007

Daniel spent his early life in Douglasville, GA. He received his first drum kit as a gift for his 13th birthday from his mother. After playing the drums for only a few short months, Daniel joined with a group of friends and formed the band Luti-Kriss, which would later evolve into Norma Jean. Daniel's involvement in music would prove to be an elemental part of his life.

At age 15, Daniel's 10th grade art teacher, Miss Coward, introduced him to the art world. Daniel also began to learn about photography and developed an intense interest in photograms, which is a primitive form of photography. Daniel continued to play drums with Luti-Kriss during this time of art exploration. His interest in photograms continued to grow, ultimately spawning a passion for mixed-media art.

By the age of 16, Daniel was serving as the band booking agent, which proved to be an increasingly important role as Luti-Kriss grew in popularity and started touring the country. Davison used this opportunity to further his involvement in art and photography. He was inseparable from his camera during this season of touring, and all of his extra money was spent on film and processing.

At the beginning of his senior year of high school in 2001, Davison decided to home school so that the band could go on tour full-time. It was also during this pivotal year that the band changed their name to "Norma Jean."

Two years later, in 2003, Daniel decided to meld his love of music with his love of art. Drawing from his early fascination with mixed-media, Daniel began to explore the integration of photography and film in Norma Jean's live shows. The vivid and startlingly emotive nature of these film projections began to attract the attention of many, and soon became an elemental part of experiencing Norma Jean live.

Daniel continued to play drums, serve off and on as the band booking agent, and also produce all of Norma Jean's live visuals for the following 5 years. In 2007, after 10 years with Norma Jean, Daniel decided to part ways with the band and pursue his own artistic endeavors. He now devotes all of his time and energy to creating visual art through the venues of mixed media, graphic design, film and video.

[edit] Exit Norma Jean

After 10 years of writing, recording and touring around the world, Davison chose to leave the band Norma Jean. He publicly announced his departure on September 21st, 2007 in the following farewell letter posted on the bands website.

[edit] Farewell Letter

"Dear Friends and Fans,

After much time, prayer, council, and consideration, I have come to

an important personal decision. My decision is that as of November 8th, 2007 I will no longer be a part of Norma Jean.

As many of you know, Norma Jean is considered a "Christian band",

and it is in fact made up of 5 guys who are all Christians. This is something that is a huge part of my life, and something that I take very seriously. Recently I have come to the point in my life where I no longer see Norma Jean as a ministry, and for me to continue in the band, saying that it is, would in my opinion, be wrong. I am not leaving the band on bad terms with any of the guys, but there are differences between us, both personal and spiritual, that I felt were too great for me continue on with, or ignore any longer.

We as a band have in some ways worked towards making things right in

the areas where we differed...but for me, the feelings did not change, and we continued to grow apart. So after giving these things much time and thought, I have come to the place where I know that it is right for me to be finished. Making the choice to step away from something that I have been a part of for 10 years, has not been the easiest of tasks. But do know that this is not a hasty decision by any means. I have total Peace and confidence in my choice.

The band will continue without me. This winter the guys will begin

writing for a new record. And I wish the best for them.

Lastly, I would like to thank every one of you, who over the years

have supported me and this band. We could not have done anything without you. You all really mean so much to me. I hope to see as many of you as possible on my last tour, and thank you face to face for supporting our band, and for being a part of what we have been doing for all of these years. I will never forget the times that we all have shared. I am going to miss Norma Jean dearly, but I know that this is a step that I have to take.

Sincerely,
Daniel Davison"

[edit] Discography

Luti-Kriss/Travail Split 7"
Luti-Kriss - Throwing Myself
Norma Jean - Norma Jean/mewithoutYou Split 7"
Norma Jean - Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child
Norma Jean - O God, the Aftermath
Norma Jean - Redeemer

[edit] Post Norma Jean

Daniel Davison has now fully devoted his time to creating art. He directed and filmed the video for "Now that You're Home" by Manchester Orchestra, released in April of 2008. His work can be viewed at thedavison.com, YouTube, Myspace and Antiquity Films