By Jennifer Russo

If Love Was…, Dave Magario’s latest CD offering released in April, was born out of not only musical inspiration, but of personal struggle as well.  Dave brings to his lyrics both personal sadness and strength to form an album that not only touches upon humanity in its physical form, but also acknowledges the spirit that resides within us all. Dave (whom we profiled as an Up and Comers Graduate back in July of 2010) tells Pulse, “There’s so much more than music to create with the mind and body. I draw and write stories when I have the inspiration. Film, animation, cartoon voices, and so much more are a part of what I enjoy. But hopefully music will be the thing that carries me through life as safety net and sanity-saver.”

Though he has been fighting some significant health problems, Dave is determined to get his latest music heard, but it hasn’t been easy.  After all, who really wants to get up on a stage under hot lights and work on getting CDs printed when they feel like someone’s hit them with a freight train?  But Dave is committed to doing it all for one reason:  his love for music.  At the beginning of this year, he decided that he would simply not let any obstacle, no matter how daunting, stand in the way of where he wants to be, and he has stayed true to that goal ~ and If love was is his (and our!) reward. Though he didn’t realize he would be battling illness while he was writing, he pushed through the not-so-good days.  “Music is medicine to me,” says Dave.  “When I have the energy to make some noise, I use that time as best I can.”

Bringing in the authentic singer/songwriter sound of artists like Jason Mraz, Leonard Cohen and even Tori Amos, Dave’s vocals are purity on top of a simple and cool guitar-driven instrumental over a layering of piano, mandolin and other instruments that weave their way throughout the tracks. Songs like “Sing Your Name” are heavily jazz influenced while others have blues or rock roots.  “Making the music my own ‘style’ has never been a conscious goal. When I write I tend to place songs into lists by what artist I could hear performing that song or who directly influenced the structure or melody.  To say it’s my own really means I wish I could have heard Johnny Cash sing a few of my tunes or have Jeff Buckley croon his way through some others…The fact that I wrote in different genres and could still put it together into one album was as much an act of defiance as it was me simply being myself.”

Look up show schedules, purchase the If love was…CD, and learn more about Dave and his music at: www.davemagario.com.