David Walker Clapp Music

David Walker Clapp is a native New Yorker who resides in West Linn, Oregon with his wife Diana and their 4 cats Barley, Stout, Mela and Stella. (Crazy Cat People!) David's degree in Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine is the background to his 35 year career as a Personal Fitness Trainer. David and Diana own PEAK Personal Training, a personal fitness studio, in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

David has always had a passion for music and singing. "My father was an amazing Tenor! I enjoyed singing with him as a young boy and later on in a Barbershop Quartet." David grew up in a musical household where he learned to play saxophone in the school band, baritone in a drum and bugle corps and enough piano to understand the fundamentals. But his real passion has always been for the guitar.

David was inspired to learn guitar when he saw Tony Melendez playing for the Pope in the 1980's. Tony Melendez was born without arms and plays the guitar beautifully with his feet. "I always doubted my own ability to play guitar until I'm watching Tony perform beautifully with his feet. I told myself, 'If this guy can play guitar with his feet, you can certainly learn how to play with your hands!'" Years later, after David began mastering the guitar, he had the opportunity to meet Tony Melendez and thank him for his inspiring example.

After decades of playing guitar for his friends and family, David launched his new music career in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. "I had hosted an open mic night at a local bar before Covid and they reached out to me after things started opening back up. They asked if I would come perform in their pub because a lot of musicians were still reluctant to perform in public. I recruited a friend to play bass guitar with me. We called ourselves 'The Mand8's'. I knew we were a real band when we split up in 2022 after 2 solid years of performing together!" David's bass player got busy with a growing family and work obligations. David decided to continue playing on his own under his new promotional name - David Walker Clapp Music.

"The harmonica came natural for me when I was working on "Heart of Gold' by Neil Young. I decided this song just isn't the same without the harmonica!" David ordered a G-Harp from Amazon just to see if he could do it. "It actually came very natural and easy for me." David continued to add more and more songs with Harmonica parts and today, he has over 20 different Harmonicas for an entire variety of songs in different keys.

David loves to connect with his audience through the music. "I love to read the room and read the situation; feel the energy and move in the best direction possible to keep everyone engaged." David has an extensive playlist but never has a set order of songs. "I want to feel the mood and understand the situation. It's exactly like personal training. I never have a set training plan for a client. I have a general idea of what their workout is going to look like. But it all depends on how they're feeling on any particular day. Music is the same. It's not about me and what I want. It's all about the people I'm there to serve in the room. "One summer evening I was playing at a popular bar in Oregon City. As I was setting up, a good friend asked me to open up with something fun and energetic. No problem... I'll open with "Should've Been A Cowboy" by Toby Keith. Key of G. Just as I was about to hit my beatbox to start the song, we could all hear a freight train coming. It was going to pass right behind the bar. I instantly switched my opening song to "Folsohm Prison Blues by Johnny Cash in the Key of G! I got my Taylor guitar rolling like a train on the tracks and blew the G-Harp like a train whistle!!! "I hear that train a coming...." The energy of the song and the train passing us by hit the crowd and for the rest of the night, we had an amazing connection! It felt so good!"

David would love to bring his passion for music and his passion for people to the venue of your choosing.
"Let's create a memorable event together!"

Thank you for your time and consideration!