Meet Tommy Davy | Guitarist, Ethnomusicologist, Luthier

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tommy Davy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tommy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I grew up with a father who was a violin maker and an art restorer. My mother is a theatre director and costume designer. I was always around people who were improvising, solving problems and creating magic from simple raw materials.

It was never a conscious decision. I was about 14 years old and I had my first encounter with serious Gypsy/Romani musicians. It stuck a chord with me internally and I wanted to learn how to communicate the same way with others through music. To me, these artists represented the pinnacle of musicianship, creativity, technical ability, and the intuitive sense of how to channel emotions in their music. Being an outsider to that community I wanted to learn how to crack that code or at least understand as much about it as possible. That led me to travel across Europe for the last 15 years to study with these guys. It was my guitar professor at CalArts (Miroslav Tadic) who introduced the idea that as a musician you can make your own instruments to meet your needs. Les Paul was another huge inspiration in that department.

I now work as a luthier (guitar maker) so during the same period I was actively researching instruments and collecting historic items.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Back in 2003 when I started my studies I had the dream of bringing some of my fondest experiences in music and traveling to back the United States.

I was able to assist many of the most famous Gypsy/Romani artists like Angelo Debarre and George Miu to come to the US to play concerts and festivals. Having the opportunity to work closely with them gave me the time to learn to play the way they needed me to down to the finite details. I would say that authenticity is something you gain from many experiences like that.

I saw these incredible antiquarian instrument stores full of life and the most amazing historic instruments. In the old days, these places were the epicenter of where musicians and experts would congregate on a Saturday afternoon. In this current time in which we live, we have lost most of these places and also the knowledge that was cultivated. In a sense, I made my shop to be a defacto shrine to all the musicians and people who made this kind of music so great. The shop itself is an artistic expression and a way to preserve knowledge. Every piece of art on the wall, every instrument, and every artifact has a personal story and comes directly from Paris.

I regularly provide expertise for auction houses, instrument dealers, and curators. I fabricate custom parts for museum restorations among other things. Many guitars in my collection are studied to better know how to approach the restoration process or replicate finishes. My clients range from folks like Grammy award-winning artists like John Jorgenson Andy Summers and Nile Rodgers to the complete novice picking up their first guitar. Each day is a different type of client but, regardless of their level of ability I always aim to help guide them the right way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Theatre Raymond Kabbaz: One of the best live music venues in town for international performing artists and Jazz.

Petit Ermitage: You can see some great musical performances and meet many artists here.

Corazon Performing Arts: Great little listening room hidden in Topanga Canyon with music for all tastes.

Philosophical Research Society: This fantastic institution hosts a wide variety of classes on art, the esoteric, and the study of all sorts of stuff.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Petro Ivanovitch: He was one of my teachers who recently passed away. He was very generous to share so many musical treasures and I got to truly understand what Romani music was about because of him. I got to spend a good number of days with him in the mid 2000’s in Oslo at the Iagori festival. 5-6 groups from all over Europe come to represent the different Romani dance and music traditions. He was a tremendous musician from Belgrade who immigrated to France in the 60’s. His group Tziganes Ivanovitch became very popular on the Phillips label and sold a lot of records at that time. He later would be known as “The Godfather of Gypsy Music in Paris” he was an absolute legend.

Website: www.tommydavy.com www.DjangoGuitars.com

Instagram: instagram.com/tommydavyguitar

Facebook: facebook.com/DjangoGuitars

Other: NEW ALBUM: https://open.spotify.com/album/18qhWIVwAkMyqztTc7gu4t?si=Tx6yv3EfTJOypIQTr3PQlw