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Ethan Davidson has been all over the map. The son of former Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson, Ethan for years traded affluence for a drifterβs life, playing leftist folk music around the world. Winters were spent in a remote cabin in Wiseman, Alaska, with no electricity or running water. He says heβs not into organized religion, but has studied both Jewish philosophy and Islamic law. Yes, Davidson is something of an anomaly.
Heβs easier to pin down these days, though. Davidson now has a wife β a fellow musician β and children. Heβs also got a permanent address β a 1920s-era home in Oakland County β and something akin to a day job as treasurer of the William Davidson Foundation, which recently made significant gifts to the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Michigan Opera Theatre, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Heβs also just released , his first solo album in seven years.
What took so long between records?
The last tour ran for six years and 900-something shows. I was getting pretty burned out by the last year or two of that. I was thinking about taking some time off, anyway. It was about that time that my dad called and said he wanted to start up this private foundation and asked if I would come back home to work on that for a little while. I thought Iβd take a year off, do the foundation, think about what the next steps are with the music. In the meantime, he passed away.
Did your fatherβs death influence the music?
I donβt know if I really know how to write about that yet. Itβs strange. Iβm not really an organized-religion guy, but I found myself going to say Kaddish for him for the 11 months after he died, and I practically never set foot in a synagogue before that and never set foot in one after that. I donβt even really know how to talk about it.
What is the foundation all about?
Weβre primarily interested in Jewish education and Jewish cultural identity worldwide. Those were my dadβs core interests, and this is really his vision. He was always β probably to his detriment β quiet about the things he did in Detroit. I think that maybe he had a reputation that he wasnβt really interested in the city at all, especially moving the Pistons out in the β70s and that sort of thing. But he was very clear with us that he wanted to have a Detroit focus, both Jewish and non-Jewish.
Do you have a favorite tour memory?
I loved the freedom of it. I lived in my little cabin in Alaska with no running water and no electricity. I still have that place. I lived in my van for six years. Whether Iβm totally delusional or not, I think Iβm a guy thatβs pretty comfortable with whatever.
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