David Nigel Lloyd
Born in Mombasa, of British parents, David Nigel Lloyd lives in Northern California with his wife Gita. In the 1970s, while listening secretly to Pentangle and Incredible String Band records, he began his career in the Los Angeles punk/new wave scene. It took him a decade, however, to start to play like Bert Jansch and go acoustic. In the 1990s, funded by the California Arts Council, he taught thousands of school children in Kern County to sing “Cruel Sister” and other ballads. DNL has performed at folk venues in the British Isles, Canada and throughout the US, accompanying himself on the 8-stringed octar, and on guitar in l’ud tuning (learned from John Renbourn). In 2011, he was an Official Showcase Performer at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Rights of Man / The Fall of Jack O’Lantern
Pieces by David Nigel Lloyd, after Bert Jansch, for Bert
“With my arrangement of ‘The Rights of Man’, the influence of Bert and John seem plainly evident. I feel the influence of Bert Jansch much more strongly in ‘The Fall of Jack O’Lantern’. Thematically, the song is an American analog to the sort of guitar-driven balladry which Bert pioneered. Bert was never afraid to let his playing get rough and dirty. I hope I show the same fearlessness. Bert would, I think, have OKed my song’s metrical irregularity. The little fanfare that I use thrice as an instrumental break, however, is something purely my own. And that, I think, is something of which Bert Jansch would have completely approved.”
“During the 1990s, I was Bert Jansch’s former roommate’s West Coast Tour Manager (driver/sidekick). What an illuminating and fascinating job! This roommate was Robin Williamson, whose song-poetry had been a formative influence on me when music began to possess me in my early teens. Of all my favourite song poets, Williamson, I felt, was the best. Naturally, I wanted to be as good as Robin Williamson when I grew up. I still do. But if at any time over the past 40 years, you poked me out of a deep sleep and demanded I immediately confess what musician I really wanted to be, I would have shouted: Bert Jansch!”
David also recorded At Hollywood & Western on the Transacoustic guitar as well as some of his upcoming album, Of Service in Rosemary Lane.
