David Chamberlain

• Kevin M - DRUMS
• Ben I - Lead Guitar
• (DC) David Chamberlain - Ryth Guitar &Lead Vocals

Veteran Aims to Make A Splash In Traditional Country Music

Sept. 14, 2011 interview with David Chamberlain at Luigiano's Italian Restaurant in Mustang – 2 – 4 pm by Mike Fry.

Helping Out Where He Can
Embedded solidly in country tradition, David Chamberlain continues the people's narrative style of storytelling that has made this genre of music so enduring. He skillfully blends humor with wit, insight and honor to write everyday songs about greater-than-life experiences – like riding a raging bull, dealing with the loss of loved ones, being a soldier, or making promises that can't be broken.
October 2nd David and his band, along with several other bands, will play at the Half Time Sports Grill at 6812 SW 55th in Wheatland in a fundraiser for The Hugs Project for Veterans. This is an organization, started in 2004 by Ray and Karen Stark of Oklahoma City. They raise money for care packages to be sent to soldiers in the Middle East. The "hugs" are cooling ties that go around the necks of the soldiers. They also send out hygiene items, socks, snacks, and many other items to our soldiers. Learn more about The Hugs Project on their website: or visit them on FaceBook.
He also will be performing September 30th at the Express Event Center for the "Sunset Stampede", a the first major fundraiser for Sunset Therapeutic Riding Center in Yukon. Sunset TRC is a non-profit organization which helps children ages 3-16 who have disabilities gain confidence, exercise, and emotional well-being from the contact and encouragement of working with knowledgeable trainers and experienced equine.
"I'm a Shriner and I think the Sunset Therapeutic Riding Center is a great cause. I truly believe in helping kids," Chamberlain said during a recent interview in Mustang. "They need a chance at life just like everyone else. It gives these kids an avenue to rehabilitate. It's a place where they can bond with the horses and let their imaginations run free.
"I used to ride horses myself. I was a mounted patrolman for Oklahoma County back in the 1990s for a year or so. I used to ride bulls also. That's how I came to write 'Cowboy Up On a Funky Bull'. I wrote it from real bull-riding rodeo experience."
"And for The Hugs Project for Veterans, I'd do about anything to help the brave men and women veterans who are away from home protecting us. I want to do more and would be glad to help if anyone has an idea on that."
Over the summer David and his band also played for the Joplin Disaster Relief Concert to help out after the devastating tornado in Missouri.
A Little Help From His Friends
David discussed his new album "Freedom Don't Come Free" which is widely available in record stores and online. "I believe a melody comes from your heart and soul and the only way you can get it out is to pick up a guitar and work it on out. I wrote many of the songs on my new album that way. But some of the songs were written by some pretty great songwriters. 'She Ain't Rich, But She Can Rock a Feller' was written by Nashville's Dewayne Blackwell, who wrote the Garth Brooks hit 'I Got Friends In Low Places'. He wrote 'You Can Still Drive and Drive in Mexico', 'Take it Away Twin Fiddles', 'I Feel A Little Haggard Tonight', and 'Work is the Curse of the Drinking Man' on my new album. He also wrote David Frizzell's hit 'Gonna Hire a Wino'.
"Another song I have on my new album is called 'Oklahoma Sooner' and it's written by a man from Nashville I know who shares my same first and last name, David Chamberlain. He also wrote the number one song for George Strait 'Am I Blue'. One day this other David Chamberlain said to me that he had a song I had to sing. He said he hadn't pitched it to anybody. He said it fit my voice and my style, and he wanted to give it to me. It's called 'Oklahoma Sooner'. It might be really big at OU if it was about football, but it's not. It's actually about a guy who goes to Nashville to try to be a singer, but he was there too long, and when he returns to Oklahoma his wife or significant other is packing up and leaving. So the guy is saying, 'well, I should have been in Oklahoma Sooner.'
Playing The Rodeo Opry
"When I wrote 'Freedom Don't Come Free' I was sitting on my couch watching FOX News one morning and they recalled how there had been approximately 367 of our soldiers who had died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Then I recalled the events which had happened to me, so I decided then I would get up and write a song about it. It took me a while to write it, and it took some time to get the nerve to publish it. The song meant a lot to me. I played it to people around town here, sitting on the back of my truck. When I got it to where I thought it was finished I went up to the Silver Stallion in Mustang and got with a bunch of my friends and asked them to listen to it. There were tears. Anytime you get tears you're on to something. So I decided to go ahead and record it.
"I called the Rodeo Opry in Oklahoma City and I spoke with a woman named Angie. She asked if I had the song anywhere on the internet and I did. She had it pulled up within seconds. She told me that this song gave her chills. I had recorded it at home at a home studio. I played all the instruments keyboards, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and background vocals. Angie ask me to come record it with some professional musicians. So I did. We recorded a demo. It turned out great. She would later send this demo to promoters in Texas. The promoters came up to the Oklahoma Opry and saw me. So we decided to do a project together. It took about a year and a half to get this album out. Tate Music, out of Mustang, came along and said they wanted to sign me, I have since signed with them so things are doing well now
When I sing in 'Freedom Don't Come Free' and I write how I have scars and wounds that anyone can see, that's the truth. And I know I'm not alone.
About the Dawgs
"Some of the members of my band are: Kevin Mallory, my drummer. He's my rock now and gives the band a solid foundation. I love that guy to death. He's a great asset to the band. My bass player, Marty Deshields, used to play with the band Superfreak. He's a wonderful person. He added even more structure to my band and he's got us playing just like the record sounds. Then Chris, my steel guitarist, I think he is one the best around. He is just a nice guy and a great musician.
"Also there is Ben Engle. He's one heck of a blues guitarist. Ben is amazing. He has now made the transition to Country and is simply amazing! The thing that my band, The Dawgs, all have in common is they want to see me succeed as an artist. And they want to help and guide me toward this goal that I have wanted my entire life! They are unselfish and dedicated. They are my extended family! With that in mind, we're going to volunteer our time to help needy causes. They know there may not always be a paycheck at the end of the night, but the paycheck in those instances will be giving back to our community.
The Law and Me
"When I got back from serving my country I went to college and got my degree in criminal justice. Then I went into law enforcement. I went from one law enforcement agency to another for a while, just bouncing around, then ended up at the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office. I was on the Fugitive Squad for a while.
"I loved law enforcement. I would be in it now but I got hurt in the line of duty. So maybe I was meant to sing for a living – that was my purpose in life. I love to sing and perform, and reach folks with my words. After all is said and done I hope that people enjoy my singing and my music long after I'm gone. My goal is to show the younger people that you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it, no matter how much adversity you have to face.
A Soldier's Story
"I was in Desert Storm for six months with the Big Red One. I was in combat signal. As it happened, one day I was at Ft. Lewis and my unit was called out on alert. We began drills such as going out into the field and doing live fire missions. We trained for a week or so. We didn't know it but we were at war at that time, in December of 1991. We came back and started painting vehicles and we're getting ready to go to war.
"Then they told us, 'no, stand -down, our unit's not going to go.' I was disappointed. So I jumped my chain of command and went to my Sergeant Major and said, 'I want to go. I feel like I need to be there. It feels like it's my destiny.'
"I remember they took me to Fort Knox, Kentucky and out-processed me and next thing I know I was on a plane heading to Saudi Arabia. Not long after we landed I'm in my full chemical gear and in the middle of scud attacks. That was a big reality check. You have to be careful what you wish for, because sometimes you get it. It was hot. It was dangerous. People were dying out there. It wasn't a game anymore. It wasn't Cowboys and Indians. It was real human lives that were being taken. I can still see those people lying dead in the desert. Think about that. That's somebody's kids.
Coming Home Again To The Country
"When I returned from Desert Storm I went to a local studio and recorded my first song 'Don't be Cruel' by Elvis. I thought it would be pretty cool to see what I sounded like. After recording it I went to a local station in Washington, KJUN, and asked if they would play my song. Within minutes it was on the air. A lady named Deanna heard it and called in and invited me to the Auburn Opry Theater. I audition and that's where and how I got into this wonderful business!
"I left the service, and when I came home my father was very ill. He had come down with a rare form of cancer called Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), a brain tumor. It was untreatable, and I wanted to be close to him. I wrote a song about it. It's called 'The Promise'.
"So making music makes me feel good, or helps me work out some of the problems in my life. It helps me cope. I feel like I'm giving back too.
"Some of my songs aren't always cheerful, but they come from emotions needing expression. You can see where I'm coming from on some of these things, like the 'Freedom Don't Come Free' and a NEW Gospel song 'Peace Be With Me Tonight' and 'The Promise'. It's my life in song.
"But the feelings I wrap in my music are authentic and these songs come from deep inside me. Someone once told me, 'we're all trying to heal from one thing or another.' Sometimes it isn't what's happened to us that is important, but how we deal with them later, and how we help others by our having gone through those experiences. I want to make my impact on this earth with music and by helping others. That's where my focus is right now. That's the promise I've given."
You can contact David Chamberlain for bookings or more information at cellphone . You also can e-mail him at
People can buy my albums directly from David, or go to They can also buy them at Hastings in Yukon.
David Chamberlain has a music video on You-Tube people can see of his song "Cowboy Up On a Funky Bull". Just type in David Chamberlain and look for his official music video which was shot at the M&P Bucking Bulls Ranch in Pocasset. If you want to download David Chamberlain's music you can get his songs on iTunes or Napster or most online music stores. Just Google David Chamberlain, and you'll find his music to purchase.

• Miami - My Amy 3:27 Keith Whitley
• All My Ex's Live in Texas - George Strait 3:21
• Fireman - George Strait 2:36
• High Cost of Living - 5:45 Jamey Johnson
• Big City - 3:01 Merle Haggard
• Empty Glass - Gary Stewart 4:36
• Too Cold at Home - 3:39 Mark Chesnutt
• You and Tequila - 3:55 Kenny Chesney
• The Man I Want to Be - 3:27 Chris Young
• Toes - 4:21 Zac Brown Band
• Chicken Fried - 3:57 Zac Brown Band
• Miami - My Amy
• I'm Over You 3:02 - Keith Whitley
• A Country Boy Can Survive - 4:15 Hank Williams
• Suspicious mInds - 3:50 Dwight Yokem
• The Conversation - 3:51 Hank Williams Jr.
• Mama Tried - 2:10 Merle Haggard
• You can still Drink and Drive in Mexico - 3:59 David Chamberlain
• She Never Cried In Front of Me - Toby Keith 3:36
• Write this Down - 3:41 George Strait
• Oklahoma Soone - r 2:57 David Chamberlain Fdcf
• Unwound - 2:26 George Strait
• I Lead The League In Doubles - 3:04 David Chamberlain Fdcf
• Freedom Don't Come Free - 4:25 David Chamberlain Fdcf
• I'll think of Something - 3:54 Mark Chestnutt
• I Feel A Little Haggard Tonight - 3:14 David Chamberlain Fdcf
• Bullets in the Gun - 4:17 Toby Keith
• Who's That Man - 3:32 Toby Keith
• In Color - 4:51 Jamey Johnson
• Cowboy Up On A Funky Bull - 4:03 David Chamberlain Fdcf
• Troubador - 2:56 George Strait
• Too Cold at home - 3:42 Mark Chesnutt
• The Ride - 3:07 David Allan Coe
• The Promise - 3:19 David Chamberlain
• Work is the Curse of the Drinking Class - 3:12 David Chamberlain
• Give it away - 3:27 George Strait
• Does Fortworth Ever Cross your Mind - 3:16 George Strait
• old violin - 3:45 Johnny Paychceck
• Write This Down - 3:40 George Strait
• Fightin Side of Me - 2:51 Merle Haggard
• I wish a Buck was still silver - 4:15 Merle Haggard
• I love this bar - 4:08 Toby Keith
• Radio Lover - 3:29 George Jones
• I saw God Today - 3:23 George Strait
• Love me if you can - 3:37 Toby Keith
• Workin man Blues - 2:37 Merle Haggard
• In These Arms - 4:32 David Chamberlain Fdcf Country & Folk 10

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