The Song Architect Behind Glee! - Tim Davis

What this episode is about

Tim Davis shares his journey as a background singer and songwriter in the music industry, emphasizing the importance of humility and faith amidst an environment that often prioritizes self-promotion. He reflects on his move to Nashville, his desire to align with Christian artists, and the spiritual guidance he received about finding success through humility rather than opportunism.

Key takeaways

• Humble beginnings can lead to monumental opportunities; one table at a time, your path might just unfold.
• In a world of self-promotion, sometimes silence is golden; let your work speak louder than your mouth.
• Networking in the industry? Try serving instead. You might be surprised who comes back asking for your talent.
• Faith over fame: true elevation comes from divine timing, not the whims of industry gatekeepers.
• In Hollywood, being a 'bridge' may sound cliché, but authentic connection beats celebrity status every single time.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Joe Shalaby (Host) · 18 min speaking
• Tim Davis (Guest) · 43 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 10:00: Tim Davis
2. 10:00 – 20:00: Tim Davis, Glee, Curb Records, Proverbs
3. 20:00 – 30:00: Tim Davis, Studio Singer Intensive
4. 30:00 – 40:00: Joseph Shalabi, Studio Singer Intensive, UpperHand Creative
5. 50:00 – 1:00:00: Joseph Shalabi
6. 1:00:00 – 1:01:07: Tim Davis, Joseph Shalabi

Notable quotes from "The Song Architect Behind Glee! - Tim Davis"

• So much. Well, 5 months into my time at this restaurant, a woman came in. I did not know who she was. She turned out to be the vice president of Curb Records and she was…

  about Curb Records · at 12:41

• Because of his skill. That's why in Proverbs it says, Do you see a person of great skill? They will stand before kings. Why does God want to place us before kings so that we can influence.

  about Proverbs · at 17:12

• Until I started what I started in 2014 called the Studio Singer Intensive, which is where I bring singers in who are interested in this kind of work that I was, who have a dream to make a.

  about Tim Davis · at 28:10

• Anyway, he invited me to be on his podcast to try to help me get the word out. yeah, it's exactly what we were talking about before the show, content.

  about Joseph Shalabi · at 30:18

• Yeah. I use a I use a company called UpperHand Creative. I'm signed to them. So, they do all my content like editing and create like management, you know. So, I film, they do…

  about UpperHand Creative · at 32:39

• Glee was the Gosh, I've never been so stretched in my life. and we lived in Orange County during that time. I Where'd you live?

  about Glee · at 43:15

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Tim Davis — Person · Main guest · 5 mentions · first at 9:10
  Primary interview subject; a veteran studio singer/vocal contractor and mentor discussing faith, longevity in entertainment, and his Studio Singer Intensive business.
• Joseph Shalabi — Person · Host · 3 mentions · first at 30:14
  Interviewer guiding the conversation; invites Tim to share his story and explicitly notes Tim was invited onto Joseph's podcast to spread awareness.

Companies & orgs

• Curb Records — Company · Referenced company · 1 mention · first at 12:49
  A record label that played a pivotal role in Tim Davis's career by connecting him with opportunities.
• UpperHand Creative — Company · Service provider · 1 mention · first at 32:39
  A company Tim Davis is signed to for content creation and management for his Studio Singer Intensive.

Products & tech

• Studio Singer Intensive — Product · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at 28:13
  A training program for aspiring studio singers created by Tim Davis, mentioned as his current entrepreneurial venture.
  Until I started what I started in 2014 called the Studio Singer Intensive, which is where I bring singers in who are interested in this kind of work that I was, who have a dream to make a living with their voice and I bring them.

Concepts & topics

• Proverbs — Concept · Key argument · 1 mention · first at 17:14
  Biblical book referenced by Tim Davis to illustrate principles of skill and humility in the industry.

Media & podcasts

• Glee — Media · Case study · 1 mention · first at 15:18
  A TV show Tim Davis worked on, mentioned as a significant test and trust in his career.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:18 Hey. Hey. Hey. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. N. Oh yeah. Heat. Heat. Hey Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. uh Christianity and being around an industry that's not so accepting.

8:54 Um well, first of all, I I think It's been a journey. I'll just say that in the very beginning when I I wanted to be a studio singer. I wanted to be a background singer on people's records. That's what I wanted to do. I didn't want to be a star. I didn't want to be an artist. I just wanted to sing backgrounds. So, when my wife and I got married, uh, we moved to Nashville because I knew a lot of Christian artists that were there. I I followed a lot of them and I knew a lot of the background singers were and I wanted to get in that camp but I didn't know how. And so um I was just asking God like how how do I do this? How how am I supposed to break in?

9:44 Like everyone was telling me you've got to be really good at promoting yourself. You've got to be you've got to be a networker. You've got to knock on these doors. And and I would feel so that that That just felt off to me. I couldn't do it. It felt slimy. It felt opportunistic. I'm not saying it's bad for everybody. I'm just saying for me it wasn't the way. And the more I sought God on that, he would lead me to scriptures that that said things like promotion only comes from the Lord. Okay. So, how do I get promoted, Lord?

10:24 If you humble yourself under my mighty hand, I will lift you up when it's time. These are scriptures. Be like Jesus who made no reputation for himself. When you come into a party, take the lowest seat at the table. Don't lift up your head. Don't Don't presume to take the seat of honor. And then the host has to say, "Actually, that's for somebody else. you go sit down there. Don't do that. Instead, come in low and allow God when you humble yourself. I used to ask God, "Oh, God, humble me." That's not a biblical prayer. You humble yourself under God's mighty hand and he'll lift you up when it's time. So, I was like, "Okay, that's either true or it's not true." So, I'm going to trust that that's true. Now, this was over 30 years ago that all of this was that God was laying this foundation for me, but what he proved to me, and I don't have time to go into the whole story, but basically

11:31 I was waiting tables at a restaurant in Nashville, and I just was I was practicing listening to his instruction and reading the word and what he said to do because the word of God contained the keys to our success in life. And so I would read those things like humble yourself, make yourself low, don't try to lift yourself up, allow God to do it. I was like, okay. So, I'm waiting tables in this restaurant and these people are coming in that I want to work with on my bucket list. Producers, singers, artists, and they're all sitting in my section and I want so badly to go, "Oh my gosh, I want to work for you. Oh my gosh, you're the best. I there was everything in me that wanted to do that, but I kept hearing this voice.

12:27 Sh, don't say a word. Just serve them and walk away. And so I it became a joke because of the people that came and sat in my section. And I just like this is hilarious, God. Thank you so much. Well, 5 months into my time at this restaurant, um a woman came in. I did not know who she was. She turned out to be the vice president of Curb Records and she was bugging me after a number of times coming in and asking for me in my section and I didn't know why, but she she just called basically called me out. She was like, "You're you're I bet you're a really good singer. I want you to come to my office and I want to hear your demo." So, after her bugging me probably three times, I went to her office. She listened to my demo for about 10 seconds, stopped it, didn't say a word, went over to the phone, picked up the phone, called a producer, uh, and said, "Yeah, I got him here. Can you work on Thursday?" "Yes, yeah, he'll

13:33 be there." She wrote down an address on a sticky note and gave it to me. And it was the producer who was at the top of my bucket list to work for in Nashville. Uh, and I and I was on a session with him by myself that Thursday and he called another producer for the next day. I was booked the next day. That producer called another producer and literally over that weekend I had to quit my job because I was booked for 3 weeks. And it never stopped. The Lord told me, "You will not have to write an email, write a um make a phone call, ask or solicit for any work. I will bring it all to you if you do it my way. It's not the easy way because you you relinquish control. But if you do it my way, I will elevate you to a place where no man can take you out of my hand.

14:32 If you trust the feeble hand of man to lift you up, they'll get bored. they'll drop you. I will never drop you. And no one can take you out of the place where I put you. And he's proven that to me for the last over 30 years in the industry. So the foundation I I say all of that to just share that the foundation of my life in this industry has been in the secret place with God, learning his principles and seeking to walk in a way that honors him. Um, I remember early on in Hollywood, uh, I was on a set of a show and God said to me, it like interrupted me and said, "Hey, by the way, there's one reason that I have you here.

15:31 It's not for your status." And this was at the beginning of the show Glee that I worked on. Um he said, "You are a bridge for me to walk across and love these people that I created. That's it. That's the only reason I have you here." So don't get it twisted. This is not about you. Uh so I just it there there's a scripture that says the perfect love of God casts out all fear. It was in that moment I just felt like the fear of the opinion of other people just kind of fell off of me and I felt so free to just walk around to these actors and producers and directors and whoever was on set. I felt free to just love people, to be myself um without fear. And that is kind of been my mission. And not to be a weirdo like I had the Christians can just be weird. Church people can be weirdos.

16:38 We were saying that earlier. Yeah. who who try to go into these places in business in the marketplace in business and be an evangelist or it's fine like if that's what you feel like God's asked you to do but I think more often what is what is most effective is when we can walk into the marketplace and be so skilled at what we do that our peers look at us and the people that hire us look at us and they're like

17:07 I want this guy around because because of his faith? No. Because of his skill. That's why in Proverbs it says, "Do you see a person of great skill? They will stand before kings." Why does God want to place us before kings so that we can influence kings? Because kings influence culture. So it's very it became very clear to me God wants to trust us with these positions in society so that we can represent him and make him famous and love the people that we that we come in contact with. Wow. I'm really preaching.

17:46 Sorry. No, you know, it's it's shocking that someone like you has been in a world that's im entrenched in like anti- good like rhetoric, right? like the what you've experienced and then you could be just this like glimmer of hope,

18:09 this this beacon of light in a world that's like so dark because the music industry we all know and we've all heard the rumors that you know that's like these superstars have sold their soul of the devil. That's the at least here that's the you know the gossip. I don't know how much validity there is to all these superstars selling their souls to the devils. You would know better than any of us. I mean is there any truth to that? I mean, I don't know. And that's

18:34 Oh, yeah. There's there's truth to it. Yeah. Because there just like I had a dream that I I chose to ask God about and and I followed his precepts to get me there. They have a dream and they also had a choice of which God they asked to get them there. And I do believe 100% I know it. Many of them have done some crazy things and sacrificed and compromised their their souls for for their money and fame for sure. Um yeah, but this is how I see it. Everyone, everyone is desperate for love and true love, the love of God. And uh no one can deny that. Like if you come at I I've I've had a lot of interactions with a lot of people who are in some pretty dark stuff, but I don't see that. I don't see it as us and them. I just see us as we're the same. We're we're we're all just people that are broken. And if you hate God and you hate the church, it's probably because you were wounded in some way and traumatized by someone in

20:09 the church that said to represent God. This is just a a person who's hurting. That's how I see everybody. I mean, the the reality is, and we've said this many times, just like the church is just a hospital.

20:23 Everybody's sick together. We're all just sick together. Yeah. You know, there's like some person might be a little bit better than the other, but

20:30 they're all sick. Yeah. And and even in my uh faith and in our culture, like we've lost many multitudes of people because of hypocrisy. It's like, no, it's not hypocrisy. It's just that's just humanity.

20:43 Humanity. Brokenness. Yeah. Yeah. Humanity. And you know, we all struggle in that in the same aspects of life.

20:51 Yeah. And I think um you asked me how how it's been to be or I think a lot of I think a lot of the church will say, "Well, why do you want to be a part of something so dark?" Okay. It's like you're in you're in the mortgage industry, correct? There's a lot of crap that goes on in your industry that is evil and false and wrong right?

21:18 That that's I was actually just thinking that like how many people sell their souls to the devil in music, but how many people sell their souls to the devil in finance?

21:26 Come on. In any industry, sorry. It's it's it's so we but we just don't have the same memes or whatever, you know? We don't have the same, you know,

21:35 because there's not celebrities as much in in these other industries. So, it doesn't get as much coverage, but um uh where was I going with that? It was so good, too. I had such good things to say. I can't Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, the church says, my grandmother used to tell me this, Tam, she's southern. Tam, don't give your talent to the devil. Don't give your talent to the world. You got to use it for the Lord. Well, I can use my talent for the for the Lord in the marketplace. And I think so many people have run away. You know, the church used to be the place where all of the creative arts came out of. They all were born in the church.

22:31 But because I think by and large Christians have forfeited their they've run away. They've run into the mountains and like run away from the industry because it's evil. I don't want to be corrupted. Well, that's why it's so corrupted because the presence of God has left because God's presence is carried through people. Hello. So why do we think that God doesn't want us in the darkest places in the world? Like Jesus, that's who Jesus hung out with. The people that were the most depraved, the prostitutes, the the criminals, he didn't care because he knew they needed life. He knew they needed love. He knew they needed him.

23:23 Why do we think we're any different? So, I had several people I've had several people over the years, you know, people that I knew earlier in my life, um, who were religious. I'll say religious because they care more about the rules and, um, they don't care as much about Jesus and what Holy Spirit is doing in the earth. Who would say to me, you know, I can't I can't follow you on anymore because you're promoting you're on this television show that promotes darkness. and and I would say, "Okay, peace." I mean, I don't know what to tell you. You're you're so shortsighted and you can't imagine that God could use somebody in the industry. And I I did start to have this conversation with them before we ended it, but um they said, "Well, has anyone accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?"

24:19 I said, 'Well, first of all, that's not my job. My job is to communicate the love of the father to people to bring the kingdom of God and excellence to the earth in the marketplace. That's my job.

24:31 And ex and show it. And you live Christ. You lived it. You got to live Christ around all these people who just they were like, "What's up with this guy?" And like, "Why is he so different? Why is he so happy? Why is he in such a good mood? Why does he have such great hair?" That was the That was the real question. It's a wig. I'm wearing a wig. No. So, um, for me, I wouldn't change a thing. I mean, I'm so grateful God allowed me to pursue my dreams and to be and to do it in safety. Like, he has directed every step of my life in this way. A man plans his path and God directs his steps.

25:18 That's the truth. God, I want to I want to sing on records. We're going to move to Nashville. Okay, you plan your path. Now listen to me. I'm going to direct your steps. I want you to do this and this and this and this. But we're so used to, especially in the Western culture, do like do what look what everyone else is doing. Compare yourself and then run faster, run harder. Paddle paddle paddle paddle. Do it. Do it better. or do it more. It's just not that's not the kingdom of God. That's not how God set set things up to be, I don't think.

25:53 Now, let me ask you, you were drawn in to the movie into the music industry as a background singer. That's what drew you in.

26:01 Yeah. And what do you think has kept you in the industry this long? Um, to be able to work in the industry this long? I think it's skill again. Um, if you can, so these two principles I'm always talking about the two pillars of skill and humility. If you can walk in humility and be teachable and coachable and learn like I'm I'm a learner. I'm always trying to learn and be better uh and with with skill too. like you know here's the fact after 30 plus years of singing in the recording studio my voice cannot do what it used to do that's that's just the fact your voice becomes aged and uh it's not as resilient and that's just humanity but what can I do to continue to use this gift and everything that has been invested for the last 30 years in my to help other people. That's where I am now after 30 plus years. It's not so much about gosh, I hope I get called to sing on this record or this film or this

27:19 TV show. My thing started shifting about 10 years ago into how can I help bring in the next generation? How can I help teach them what I've learned? Because by the way, in this specific niche of the industry, studio singing is what it's called. Uh where you go into the recording studio and you sing and you don't see these singers a lot. You see, you hear them on records or film trailers or commercials or whatever. This is a viable career that most singers don't even know exists. It's called studio singing. So, how can I find singers that are super talented, that have great voices, that need opportunity? Because there is no platform in the world that shows singers how to do this.

28:10 until I started what I started in 2014 called the Studio Singer Intensive, which is uh where I bring singers in who are interested in this kind of work that I was, who have a dream to make a living with their voice and I bring them into the recording studio and train them like for um I I put them behind the mic. We learn songs and I try to run it like a real session is run. Uh it's very demanding. It's intense. That's why it's called an intensive. And it's like 5 hours in the studio, but I but I'm just like giving direct feedback, honest feedback to help people so that when they get called for a real job, they don't go in there and flounder.

28:58 Um there isn't there never has been any kind of training in the industry for this. There's always there's acting classes, there's you can go to engineering school, you can go to dance classes. These are all things for all of the different um disciplines in the arts in the industry, but there's never been anything for studio singing until now. So, I have zero competition in the marketplace. I was telling you I just started as an entrepreneur like like I'm really diving into building up this business of um looking actively looking for singers around the country. I was just in Houston last week. I was in Miami before that. I'm in Vegas next week. And I'm and I'm trying to bring in singers that want this kind of opportunity and show them the ramp into the industry.

29:54 Well, how do they know this opportunity exists if it's first off, it's not marketed?

30:00 Second off, it's it's something that only those that know know. Yeah. You know, and and it's something that's essential. So, how do people even find out about it? How do they get involved with it? You you're one of one. You have no competition. And so,

30:14 well, there's a guy named Joseph Shalabi. I don't know if you've heard of him. Anyway, he invited me to be on his podcast to try to help me get the word out. Um, uh, yeah, it's exactly what we were talking about before the show, content creation. Like, I I am learning so much. It's uh I'm learning what a road this is. Like how how hard you have to work and be so consistent in churning out um scripts and content and filming and managing and looking at like I I am working 12 to 14 hours a day and seeing very little fruit from it for the last 6 months. But I know that it will pay off. It's very different because in the industry for the last 30 years I've in in what I've done, it's always been instant gratification. Hey Tim, come to the studio. Uh I do two days of work, get a fat paycheck, go home. Hey Tim, come to the studio. Go to work, get a fat paycheck, come home. All these different things. And it's instant

31:25 gratification. And now it's and now it's like months. But I love it because here here's here's what I love about it. There is no greater joy that I have. This is true. and finding then then getting an opportunity having some production company call me like we need singers for this or we need singers for that and connecting those opportunities with talented singers that can do the job with excellence and skill and elevate the whole industry like that excites me so much and the fact is I'm the only one going out into the world looking for singers to bring them in.

32:17 Otherwise, how do you find them? Like, what are you doing? Like post on Instagram. Like, what are you doing to find

32:21 Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, whatever. And I and I um You do like U where you test them like come I'm going to be here at this date singers.

32:31 I have them. So, I have them apply to come to an an intensive and I uh How do you market it? You just market it on your Instagram?

32:39 Yeah. I I use a I use a company called um UpperHand Creative. I'm signed to them. So, they do they do all my content like editing and create like management, you know. So, I film, they do all the editing, they put it on a schedule, they turn it out. They're incredible, truly. Uh, and it's really a challenge to keep up with all of the demands, but that's how the word has been getting out and Google ads as well, Facebook ads. Um, so yeah, these people apply, they send in some kind of video or voice sample and man, I just heard this kid in Vegas and he's a um he actually is a hairdresser.

33:30 His voice, I was like, "Oh my gosh, this guy is insane. He's so good and he needs to be working in the industry." like he he's just that insanely talented. So, I can't wait to like cuz I'm going to work with him in Vegas next week. Um he's one of about 20 singers that'll be there. And anyway, I love finding diamonds like that and then hopefully connecting opportunities. I had a production company from France reach out to me and say, "We we're doing this concert tour with an orchestra. We need a soloist. She has to be able to sing in Italian, French, and German. She has to be able to sing rock and classical um legitimately like in all these different styles and and the range is crazy from low to high. I'm like, wow, insane. And but this girl popped into my head who I had met in Nashville

34:31 who could do all that, who could do all of it. And so I sent I I was and I hadn't talked to her in five years. I recorded uh I produced her vocal reel for her and I remembered her because I had worked with her. But then I I I called her. I was like, "Hey, would you want me to submit you for this thing?" She goes, "100%." So, she got the job and she's gonna do this tour and make a lot of money and that makes me so happy and I get zero dollars of that of that referral beh. So,

35:10 you're just doing God's work, man. I'm doing God's work. If I can make a living also doing it, which I am, um, he's blessing that as well. So, so that's good. Amazing. It's amazing what you're doing and it's amazing that you're, you know, finding these remarkable talents and in a lot of ways that's kind of my job too. I'm just kind of like a a talent scout.

35:33 Yeah. You know, so that's and I and also being a talent scout, I find the talent. I help mold the talent and elevate the talent and come up with new ways, innovations to basically, you know, help them really really uh shine.

35:49 Um, I mean, in music, it's much more niche. You gota and that, you know, especially with singing. So, you you've kind of created your own American Idol or something

36:01 kind of, but I can't make you a star on the stage. I can maybe help you have a career with your voice.

36:11 Yeah. But do you put them in touch with agents and um get them? Interestingly, there are no agents for studio singing. There's no management for studio singing.

36:22 Oh, there you found another job, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, people are like, "What? You you should really turn this into an agency." Well, I think that would I that's way too complex and it would

36:36 It's just It would It's just placing talent where there's a job needed. Yeah, that is the job of a vocal contractor which is in existence. That is a job in existence already. Um, but I'm but what I what I do if I find someone who's just incredible. I love to send them around to the different contractors that I know in LA, Nashville, New York, Orlando. Those are the main hotspots for recording right now. and um connect them with with opportunities and yeah, as I say, there's no there's no greater joy in doing that.

37:19 Let me ask you, what's the difference between someone who's talented and someone who's actually working in the industry?

37:28 Because I feel like you could be talented, but you still can't get a job. Because you see these some of these singers, these famous ones, are they talented or they're just like beautiful? They satisfy some look or they did something to get famous or

37:43 maybe I mean there's no way like Nicki Minaj is a super talented singer. Something like that. I don't know, you know.

37:51 Yeah. Okay. So that's just someone who comes in my head, you know. Well, you're you're talking about you just spoke about two different categories. One is the artist, which that's not what the world I'm dealing in. I'm dealing with the people behind the scenes, the background singers. I will tell you why a very talented person will not work as a background singer, and it's usually because they're entitled. They don't play well with others. I'm talking about I I've I've had so many singers I've worked with who are just incredible who blow up every room that they go into because they don't know how to behave themselves or they think they're just so incredible and they start to tell other people what to do. It It's like, oh my gosh, you are a nightmare and you need to go away. I like you when you

38:44 or you need Jesus. Yeah. Well, that too. when you when you go into these rooms, but also that happens in churches too.

38:52 Yeah. With church singers and which is a whole another level. A whole another level. Anyway uh these these people are super skilled vocally, the ones I'm thinking of, but they just don't know how that they're traumatized and they're fearful of missing out on an opportunity. So they feel like they have to like posture and position themselves in the room to be seen and heard and it's such a repellent. It's such a turnoff. So for me, I don't I don't want to hire those people because they don't bring uh any life into the room. It's all they suck the life out of the room because the it has to be about them. So, I think that's that's a reason that a lot of really talented people aren't working. Um, yeah. But I I feel like, you know, your room your gift will make room for you, scripture says. So, if you have a gift, you you can get in the room, but you can absolutely sabotage it with your lack of self-awareness

40:05 and your and your trauma that you've not dealt with in your life that just comes out of you.

40:14 Does that make sense? Yeah. I mean, and their tongue in general. Yeah. In general. I mean,

40:19 for sure. I I I can't even imagine the the egos you've dealt with, but you've worked with like Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga and and these massive brands, these massive singers. Were they did they start off as just, you know, like at what point, for instance, did you meet Taylor Swift?

40:35 Well, that's um a false thing. I don't know where you read that, but I've not worked with Taylor Swift. Okay.

40:41 Um but I have worked with Gaga, and she's lovely. Um, I I can tell you, let me think about this before I say it. Um, I've not met one recording artist who hasn't been lovely. really like everyone that I've met with, everyone that I've met in the industry as as a celebrity like artist or celebrity actors, um, actresses, they've just been great. And I don't know if that's just that's just my experience. That's all I can say. It's the people that are climbing that want to be in those positions, that want the spotlight so badly. Those are the people that are horrific to be around.

41:44 Yeah. I mean, you've gotten to work with so many I I I don't know. There's so many names that came up in in your bio, but maybe I confused them.

41:52 I'm not I'm not much of a like a I'm I'm not in the weeds in the celebrity world much, you know. That's not my my space. Finance. Yeah.

42:00 Tell me who the fed I'll tell you who the next Fed president will be. Tell me. Oh,

42:04 it's Tim Walsh. is he's already young guy, Donald Trump's boy, you know. Wow. Wow.

42:10 It's going to help a lot help interest rates drop and uh hopefully nice, you know, speed up the economy a little bit more. We're paying, you know, three times higher rates in Europe here in the US.

42:23 It's all backwards here. Inflation's astronomical. Um, so let me ask you, working with like some of the biggest names in TV and film, uh, you know, in the music industry, what's one project you think that tested you the most?

42:42 That tested me the most could be spiritually, could be mentally, finan, I don't know. The biggest test you've endured in this space.

42:50 Well, I think glee was a big test for me. I think every everything that we get, every blessing in life is either a test or a trust. Rick Warren says that.

43:02 Yeah. Um because God trusts you with something to see how you'll steward it. And along with that can also come testing. Glee was the Gosh, I I've never been so stretched in my life. Um, and we lived in Orange County during that time. I

43:29 Where'd you live? Irvine. Oh, okay. For six years during during the run of Glee. And I calculated I spent 3 months of each year in my car driving from here to LA, Irvine to LA, to Calabasas, back to Paramount to like it was insane. um 18-hour days getting up and arranging a song, going to the set to work with the actors, then going up to Calabasas to the studio, going back down just physically, emotionally, mentally very taxing, um the demands of the job. I used every tool in my toolbox that I knew to arrange the songs, to hire the singers, to do all the paperwork and the administration, um, to field with the music producer and the show producers or whoever I was talking to. It was a lot.

44:30 Um, and when you're in an a successful project like that, also people's dark sides can come out. Uh, and I had some experiences on the show that were very, very much a test for me as well. So, I would say that. But I was the first thing that popped into my head though was when I was just one project uh this particular record I I hired 40 singers for a choir on and we were just like in a recording studio and this was a very like hush hush project because the artist did not is a big artist and they were they were about to release drop this song, but no one knew that they were in the studio. So, it was it was like this secret thing, right?

45:35 One of the singers that I hired showed up late and I I wasn't I was so in the moment like trying to deal with the arrangement and like manage the 40 singers and this guy I had never worked with before, but he showed up to the studio late and he walked through the control room which you don't do where the artists were and the producer and everyone and he was like taking selfies with them before he came and stood on the riser. Now, that I didn't know I didn't know this was going on. And he anyway, he came in there and then he took video of the artist standing next to me singing this song and posted it that night.

46:27 And boy, I it ruined my chances with this producer. He He was so angry, rightfully so, because this kid blew blew up this secret that the whole record company had had planned to drop this song as a you know, like out of the blue. And this kid gave a prequel, a preview of it on his Instagram. And um it went everywhere before we could get a control of it. And this producer was so angry and called me and was just like, "This is unacceptable. I can never work with you again." So don't be that singer and ruin it for everybody, you know. Um, but that was a that was a test. That was a test.

47:28 But I I'll tell you, by and large, I ju I just feel so grateful to have walked in the rooms that I've walked in with the people that I've walked with who are just amazing. the singers in in LA, Nashville, Orlando, New York that I've worked with, the artists, the television productions, all of the producers, the directors. Man, I think I've lived a life that most people would really dream about. I'm just grateful.

48:09 You have. Let me ask you something. You've managed to keep your kids grounded in a world where they are surrounded by ungrounded people.

48:18 What do you think the secret sauce has been to keeping your kids moral compass just laser focused?

48:26 Well, I'll tell you one one thing is we we raised our kids in Orange County, which is much more familyoriented and slow. And I remember going to my my son was in little league and I would I was one of the coaches and you know when you're when your kids in little league you go you go to the field to practice and you meet the dads and they're like so what do you do? That's always the first question and I'm like and I would say something like I work in the entertainment industry. Oh really? What do you do? You an actor? No I'm a singer. A singer. So like you sing at like the Holiday in Express Lounge like what do you this is what they think and I'm like after after a while I'm like yeah kind of that or or if they had the grace to hear it I would kind of tell them about what I did in the industry they'd be it was like they'd look at me like I had lost crawling out of my ears like they they were like what and it

49:27 would never so it didn't matter that was the most beautiful thing about living outside the bubble of LA where everyone's like, "What do you do? What What are you super busy? Work on a lot of projects. What do you It's so gross." And so down in Orange County, it's like

49:44 nobody cares. Nobody cares. In Newport Beach, like I'm I'm also a little league like assistant assistant coach, I guess, cuz I go to like they're my my kids are in like six sports each, so you can't be on, you know, I go to all their practices, but not not one dad asked what what do you do? And they're all dads in Newport. It's 3 p.m. They're all living in Newport. They're all at practice. Like, yeah, clearly they're doing something.

50:06 What do you do? I'm here. I'm at the ball field. That's what I do. Yeah, that's what I'm I'm a full-time dad. Living in Newport Beach, you know, like 300 p.m. I'm at practice.

50:18 And, you know, living outside of town, it really kind of protected me. Like, I I wasn't going to parties all the time or going to events or smoozing or whatever. It just I'd much rather be at home with my kids and

50:32 at little league at little league. And you know, our kids were homeschooled mostly, so if I would get home at 9 or 10 at night, my son would be up waiting for me and we'd watch cartoons till 1:00 or we'd w, you know, like we'd play a game or whatever. Like there was we we just kind of lived an unstructured life like that. But it really worked beautifully because now we have amazing relationships and um and you know we we definitely stayed in church. We had a faith community that we were a part of that was super important and became really important to our kids as well.

51:16 And again, we weren't weirdos. We weren't extremists. We were we just wanted to love God, follow his precepts, and um raise our kids in that way. Raise a kid in a child in the way that they should go and when they're older, they won't depart from it. You know, that's that's our prayer. And we certainly didn't do everything right. I My wife did. I certainly didn't do everything right, but um God's grace has carried our kids. I'll say that.

51:50 Now, I'm going to wind down. Couple last questions I have for you. You have this amazing kind of vision for your new um I would say, you know, singing, not agency, but like

52:04 business, you know, scouting. Yeah. Um what's what do you think your overall mission is? um to be to be an open door to open the door to the industry to people that would never have otherwise have the opportunity in cities all over the country. Um and then to I don't know I just want to infuse people with hope. I think so many people have are hopeless and they've had dreams since they were kids of using their voice for a living and I that breaks my heart because that was me. Of course, I didn't know I could sing till I was in college. But when I was a kid, I was so like obsessed with radio ID jingles like KISS 108 FM, that kind of stuff. I know it sounds crazy, but I was obsessed with those and the harmonies and the vocals. I was like, and if my parents had paid attention.

53:13 I had great parents, but they didn't know that world, they would have said, "Why are you obsessed with ID jingles? What is that?" Maybe that maybe God put something in you before you were born as a desire that's going to point to your destiny. And so that's what I I tell people like you don't need to feel bad or guilty because you have this desire. It's not a selfish desire necessarily. It may come with some selfish ambition, but if you have this dream or this desire in your heart like I I want to be one who offers a hand to help pull like bring your desires to bear.

53:59 Um because I just believe that God puts desires in our heart for a purpose and for a reason. And if we pay attention to them and don't just like shove them and say, "Yeah, well, it's not for me." And play a victim, um he can do God can do whatever he wants. He can maneuver people and place you wherever he wants. So why limit him? And I and I do in my intensives. You know, look, uh probably the number one thing that singers face is fear as a creative. Sers are sensitive. I call them babies because they're they're whiny babies like uh because I am I am a singer. So I can say that. Um, but they're sensitive and they're fearful and they don't want to take risks and everyone around them is saying, "Boy, you better find a real job. Don't you can't, you know, you got to find something else to fall back on because the industry is really hard.

55:05 You're probably never going to make it." Speaking death over everybody. So, when we come into the studio, I do this thing um called the identity exchange. And I have everyone write on a card. There's a card on their seat that says lies and then there's a card on their seat that says truth. And I say, I want you to take the lies card and I want you to write down every everything every everything that you believe about yourself that hurts you. I'm stupid. I'm fat. I'm ugly. I can't sing. I don't deserve it. I'll never amount to anything. So, anything that you that you've believed about yourself that hurts you.

55:49 All of those came from a liar. Now, I want to introduce you to the spirit of truth because the spirit of truth is the one who created you. And the spirit of truth will always speak to you in love and with grace. So, I want you to ask the spirit of truth, what do you say about me? Who do you say that I am? And then I want I and I want you to write down the first thing that comes to your mind. And everyone's writing on their paper. And as they're writing, I see them just like tears starting to stream down their face. And it chokes me up because I see people's I see this encounter with love that they have. And I don't know anyone's faith background who walks into those rooms. And frankly, I don't care. I want them to see rightly who they are by the one who created them.

56:45 And as they write down these truths, and I'll say, by the way, if you ask that question and the things that you're thinking about what you're hearing, if it if it makes you feel ashamed or condemned or guilty, try again. That is not the spirit of truth. The spirit of truth will always speak to you with love and grace and kindness. Um, and I see it transform people's minds in the moment. And then I'll have them read it over themselves. I am beautiful. I am valued. I am precious. I am wanted. I have a voice that needs to be heard. I whatever is on their paper.

57:28 And they're just sobbing. And what that does is gives everyone a level playing field in the room. I do this at the very beginning of my intenses. It gives everyone a level playing field in the room where there's no fear. And now they can operate from a place of truth instead of lies. And that sets you free to create because we cannot create and be creative while we're in fear. We just can't do it. a part of us will always be locked up and we're wanting to know, am I approved of? Am I approved? Am I good enough? Am I good enough?

58:03 But this just like pushes all of that away and we can be on the same level ground creating together and then magic happens. So, I I love uh this new chapter of my life that I've that I'm going into as an entrepreneur. And um I'm seeing it change people's lives. I'm seeing it open open doors of opportunity for people that they never would have had available to them. So

58:38 beautiful. Couple couple last questions. What's a personal goal that you have for yourself? A family goal that you have for your family? And we kind of hinted at the business goal, but just one overarching business goal. Oof. These are hard questions for me, Joseph, because I don't come from the business mindset. I'm learning it. So, a goal that I have for myself to keep learning and to never quit. To never quit. It's hard. Get a grip. Of course, it's hard. Keep going. That's what I'm telling myself. um a goal for my family to get for each of us to become more intimate with God and more intimate with each other.

59:28 That's my goal for my family. And as we become more intimate with with God, then we will become more intimate with each other. Um and a goal for my business, I want to make a million dollars this year. That's my goal for this business and to help set people free and put them on the path to achieving their dreams in the process.

59:54 Final question. When you're in front of the pearly gates, what do you think God's going to tell you?

1:00:04 I think he's going to say, "You're my son and I'm proud of you. you did what I asked you and you um and you make me proud. That's what I think he's going to say.

1:00:23 God bless you, Tim. I hope every one of your goals, you're changing people's lives. You're a faithful servant. If people want to connect with you, how do they find you?

1:00:31 Uh Tim Davis official on Instagram. Um this probably the best place. I don't know what my other stuff is. Tim Davis on Facebook, YouTube. Tim Davis Studio on YouTube is what it is.

1:00:48 Tim Davis Studio on YouTube. Okay, cool. Yeah. For those of you who have not connected with Tim, make sure you connect with Tim. He's an incredible human being, changing the lives of many, many singers. Thanks for being on the show today Tim.

1:01:00 Thanks for having me for real. Thanks, Joseph.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "The Song Architect Behind Glee! - Tim Davis"?

Joe Shalaby (Host), Tim Davis (Guest).

What is "The Song Architect Behind Glee! - Tim Davis" about?

Tim Davis shares his journey as a background singer and songwriter in the music industry, emphasizing the importance of humility and faith amidst an environment that often prioritizes self-promotion. He reflects on his move to Nashville, his desire to align with Christian artists, and the spiritual guidance he received about finding success through humility rather than opportunism.

What is mentioned in this Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby episode?

7 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Tim Davis, Joseph Shalabi, Studio Singer Intensive, Glee, Curb Records, Proverbs. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The Song Architect Behind Glee! - Tim Davis"?

The episode runs 1 h 1 min; the transcript is about 8,095 words in 100 timestamped sections.

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