Denison Witmer is a guitarist and vocalist. A classic singer-songwriter in the indie folk style. Witmer grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania attending Lancaster Mennonite School, representing the faith tradition in which he was raised. At some point during his youth, Witmer began taking guitar lessons from Don Peris (The Innocence Mission), and recorded his first album while he was in high school. The project was not marketed to the public, so his true debut came a few years later in 1998, in the form of Safe Away.
Our featured song today is from this album. “Los Angeles” evokes emotions that are both personal and universal. A broken relationship, concern over a friend going down a treacherous path, feelings of one’s own self-importance? Witmer’s lyrics feel intensely personal and yet relatable. Perhaps this is intentional. He once told Italian magazine Ondarock, “I want to experience every emotion as fully as possible. Sorrow has encouraged me to never take my joy for granted.”
Witmer has collaborated with a number of artists familiar to our scene, including but not limited to Sufjan Stevens, Rosie Thomas, The Six Parts Seven, Blake Wescott (Bloomsday, Cush, Pedro the Lion, and more), and has recorded for a wide variety of independent record labels including Velvet Blue Music, Burnt Toast Vinyl, The Militia Group, and Asthmatic Kitty.
