David Victor is an American rock vocalist and guitarist, formerly of the multi-platinum band Boston. He scored a number one hit with Boston called “Heaven on Earth” in 2014 and appeared on two North American tours. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, David has produced three albums of original music and currently runs four live shows: David Victor and the Hits of Boston and Styx, David Victor’s Supergroup, Platinum Rock Stars, and Rockin’ America.
Host: Richard Lowe | Guest: David Victor
Interview Transcript
Richard: How did you get into Boston?
David: My whole family are artists, writers, and painters, but there’s no musical blood. I came to things a little late, which gave me an interesting launchpad — I loved music before I knew I wanted to make music. The first album that started to change my life was the first Boston album. Then my sister’s boyfriend was sitting on our front lawn playing acoustic guitar. I asked how long he’d been playing. Two weeks. I thought, this is the application for me.
I started taking guitar lessons, joined bands, and eventually moved to LA because I grew up in an isolated part of Northern California where there wasn’t much of a music scene. LA was the best thing I ever did for my career.
From Tribute Band to the Real Thing
David: In LA, I joined a band called Smokin’ — what people call a tribute band, which I think is the stupidest name ever because it implies something it’s not. You’re just promising the audience you only play music from one artist. We did all Boston music. One of the videos we shot found its way onto YouTube and into the home of Tom Scholz, who is Boston. They called me in 2009 and said, “How would you like to come out and record at Tom Scholz’s studio?”
If you’ve seen that movie Rockstar with Mark Wahlberg — it was pretty close to that. Your first audition is going in and recording.
When I got the invitation, there’s a weird thing that happens when something you’ve fantasized about actually comes true. You sort of go, “Yeah, this is supposed to happen.” But having perspective on it now, four years out of the band, I see it for what it was — a real brass ring, amazing, wonderful moment. But I was ready for it. That’s the key.
The Audition
David: My wife at the time and I had a vacation scheduled to visit her mom on Cape Cod, which is close to Tom’s studio. So I drove up and cut right to work. He’d auditioned a lot of people, including one extremely famous person they never told me who it was. They kept dropping hints like they were going to crack, but they never did.
The audition song was very low, and my voice is very high. I didn’t think I’d have to sing in my lower register, but that’s what it was. I was confident enough to pull it off. Afterward, his assistant called and said Tom wasn’t sure about the sound. I thought that was it — their way to let me down. But a couple days later they called back, I did some touch-ups, and after that it was, “Let’s go.”
Then for a number of years before the band toured, I wasn’t allowed to tell anybody I was in. That was hard.
First Tour
David: We rehearsed for about three weeks, playing eight to ten hours a day — which I was told was a lot less than it used to be, so I guess that’s a compliment. We always started at the Hard Rock arena in Hollywood, Florida. We went in two or three days early and ran the full show with lights and production. By the time the actual show happened, we’d already been on that same stage looking out over the same vista for three days. All of a sudden, there’s just a bunch of people there. So it wasn’t too bad — muscle memory, basically.
At Boston Strong, I got to sing with Steven Tyler — stood on stage at the same microphone. Met Joe Perry, Donnie Wahlberg, the guys from Extreme. That was probably the highlight celebrity moment.
Go Where It’s Happening
David: First and foremost, move to where it’s happening. If you want to be a musician or actor, get to LA, get to New York. Don’t sit in Racine, Wisconsin going, “I’m gonna kill it here.” I mean, you might, but that’s probably all you’ll do. The blending and mixing of networking with people who all want to do the same thing is really powerful.
Through one entry point — meeting the bass player from Quiet Riot — I met Ricky Phillips from Styx, Pat Torpey from Mr. Big, Jason Hook from Five Finger Death Punch. Social media is a pale imitation of pressing the flesh. We have tons of videos online. People watch and say, “Yeah, okay.” Then they see us live and lose their minds. There’s an energy and electricity in live performance that’s impossible to quantify.
Charity Work
David: I wanted to do something more connected to the communities we play in. When I was touring with Boston, we’d zip into town, park in an underground lot, walk through a backstage labyrinth, play the show, do a fast “grip and grin” meet-and-greet, and get on the bus. I never really got out and saw the places we played.
So with my shows, we do a deep dive on every community. What do people do there? Who do they root for? Where do they eat? We build a whole spreadsheet. And at each show, we find a local charity, auction an autographed guitar live during the performance, and people bid on their smartphones while we play. We’ve raised up to $12,000 at one show. In Saginaw, it was Major Chords for Minors — free music lessons for underprivileged kids. In Napa, the Humane Society. In Danville, a local school band program.
I’m also starting my own 501(c)(3) called Harmony and Healing — going into hospitals to play music for cancer patients and people in long-term care.
Brand Yourself
David: The Boston thing was the greatest thing that happened to me musically, but it came from a video I posted myself. I put it up, tagged it, and it was out there to be found. I wouldn’t have been found if I hadn’t done something for myself.
It took me a long time to brand myself as David Victor. I wanted to be in a band, I wanted a group. But at the end of the day, if you’re doing all the work, securing the gigs, making the sales — it’s your baby. Getting people on board is important, but ultimately you’re in control of your own branding destiny. Get on board with that as soon as you can.
We’re also starting to write our own songs. In my tribute show, we’ve built a following and realized we’re squandering it by just doing the same thing over and over. The creative process is unlike anything else. Writing music is the way to leverage yourself ultimately.
Learn more about David Victor at davidvictor.com.
Find Richard Lowe at TheWritingKing.com.
Video edited by Bonnie Dillabough.