Forestville singer and songwriter David Luning has been working long enough and hard enough that any day now, as the old show business joke goes, he’s about to become an overnight success.
Luning, 30, born and raised in Sonoma County, gave his first performance at a piano recital when he was 5 years old, and music turned out to be his lifelong pursuit.
Long popular on the local club and festival circuit, he drew national attention with his televised “American Idol’ audition three years ago, and while he didn’t win, he accomplished his goal. He raised his own profile and graduated to a new level of polish and professionalism.
Luning’s second CD, “Restless,” which comes out Friday, Feb. 3, was produced by Karl Derfler of Blue Rose Music, who has worked with Tom Waits, Dave Matthews and No Doubt. Luning and his band will celebrate the occasion with a live performance Saturday, Feb. 4, at Petaluma’s 550-seat Mystic Theatre, his first show as a headliner there.
Luning self-produced his first album, “Drop On By” in 2012, and had almost finished the second one, at that time titled “Restless Wandering,” when he signed on with Derfler, and they started over.
“Getting signed by Blue Rose and working with Karl Derfler is the high point of my career so far. He’s got a huge reputation. It was an incredible learning experience. He pushed me, and he was able to bring my music to another level.” Luning said. “The next step, I believe, is making this record go where it can possibly go, and tour really extensively, and then get another record.”
You can even buy David Luning merchandise at the show as well as the CD. But so far, Luning isn’t quite ready to sell replicas of his trademark snap-brim fedora, which caused comment when he appeared on “American Idol.”
“I don’t know who I’d have do that for me,” he said with a laugh.
The Shore Fire marketing company, which has represented John Prine, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt and Elvis Costello, is handling promotion for Luning.
Luning’s managers are two familiar and respected names in local music: Bill Bowker of KRSH Radio and Sheila Groves-Tracy, former owner of the Twin Oaks Roadhouse and former talent booker for both the Uptown Theater in Napa, where she was also general manager, and for the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma.
The “Restless” CD was recorded at Panoramic Studios at Stinson Beach,
“It’s a really cool studio. It’s super funky. This guy decided he was going to build his dream house all by himself, so it’s like a mixture of a cottage and castle. There are these huge windows that look out over the ocean,” Luning said.
Songs on the new album include “Driftin’,” “Ain’t Life a Beautiful Thing” and “I Bet It All on Black.”
“All the songs I record are mine. I wrote them all,” Luning said. “In performances, I’ll throw in a cover version of someone else’s song here and there, just for kicks. I like covering Ryan Adams, and occasionally Dr. Hook, like ‘Cover of the Rolling Stone.’ And I’m definitely a John Prine fan.”
Luning and his band will focus on songs from the new CD both Saturday at the Mystic and during tours later this year.
In Concert
What: David Luning and his band, with Jason Crosby and Elliot Peck opening
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4
Where: Mystic Theatre, 23 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma
Admission: $17
Information: 765-2121, mystictheatre.com.
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