David Byerly performs at Music on the Square Thursday

Wednesday, July 13, 2016
David Byerly

Music on the Square will be back Thursday and will feature David Byerly as the entertainer.

Since 2003 David Moses Byerly has been engaged in the area music scene moving full force with a passion, and drive unlike any others out there. If there is a venue he has stormed its doors. He has lit the fire under the audience's seats and moved people with his musical sound, technique, and passion.

One name cannot even begin to sum up who, or what, David is. His vast number of bands, projects, and creations are so numerous that to name them all would take pages. Byerly is most commonly known as "Smokin' Dave" from his tenure with Eric Lane and the Doghouse band. While performing as the band would come to the guitar solo, David would go planetary with his soaring and fast guitar riffs. Sometimes he would fall to the floor rolling around while playing, or jump off of a guitar amp, kick it then throw his guitar down with the screeching of feedback coming from the speaker at a loud volume at the end of a song. He would suddenly leave the venue. Someone else would shut off his amp wondering if he would return.

David has fallen through tables during performances, cut his arm on guitar strings, finished off a broken guitar, and smashed mandolins, all in the name of rock n' roll. His high energy, and multi-instrumentalist style takes him to the piano, mandolin, banjo, acoustic, and electric guitars most often.

David has often performed under the names Cougar Moses, David Cougar, or David Cougar Moses, as well as he was the frontman for two long running bands in the area, Down & Out, and Shane Moses.

In 2008 David won three awards at the area Local Ear Music awards for: Keyboardist of the Year, Favorite Rock Group, Down & Out, and he was a member at the time for the award winning Best Country Group Eric Lane Gulliford and the Doghouse Band.

Currently David's big main project is being the lead guitarist for the band "Barnstormers" who stay very busy playing shows in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. David also makes appearances with his side project bands, as well as solo perform-ances.

The style David has been known to produce is Country, Dark Country, Blues, 80s-ish, acoustic, solo, all from his recording sound lab. When you see his name on a flyer you just have to show up to the event and see what kind of setup he will bring. It could be just him and his mandolin, or him and his guitar or it might be a three-piece band or he might just be a duo with keyboards and bass or two guitarists. He might be in a tie and clean cut, or with holes in his blue jeans, scarf on the microphone stand and floppy, full head of hair. You will never know until you get there. It's all just part of the show.

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