Former Drury executive sings, songwrites with local flavor

David J. Hinson, a former executive at Drury University, started a singer songwriter project this spring. This new venture features a single that celebrates the small-town communities that he road-trips through on his extensive business travels. 

Hinson notes local spots on his most recent single “Ada to Ozark,” in which he references, among other small towns, the communities of Bois D’Arc and Monett. 

“I dare say, not too many songs have Monett or Bois D’ Arc in the lyrics,” said Hinson. 

Hinson’s path to the music world was a little different than most. Hinson, from 2016 to 2021 held many titles with Drury University, serving as chief of staff and chief operating officer.

He would go on to work at multiple different colleges following his stint at Drury, which would see him traveling across state lines and back, this is where he would derive the inspiration for his song “Ada to Ozark.”

The small communities he encounters along the way are important to Hinson. On his travels home from business trips, Hinson would find himself using these small towns on the backroads as benchmarks to determine how close he was to home. 

“I spent quite a lot of time between Ada [Oklahoma] and here in Springfield,” said Hinson. “Its about a four-and-a-half hour drive and so every little town along the way provides a bit of a mile post.”

Currently at Simpson College

Hinson currently serves as the chief information officer for Simpson College in Iowa. At 64 years old and in a seemingly distant profession, few would have predicted that Hinson would be releasing a sing-songwriter project, but his trajectory becomes more clear after finding out where he was raised, Nashville, Tenn. 

“You were always around people that performed high level,” said Hinson. “I don’t know if it was conscious or not but I was definitely surrounded by music growing up in, of course, music city.”

Hinson draws inspiration from other regions as well, citing many musicians from Laurel Canyon, Calif. 

“I would say James Taylor was an early influence and growing up, I was always a big fan of Elton John and Neil Young and a lot of the music that came out of Laurel Canyon.”

But Hinson’s music taste and inspiration range even beyond that.

“I’ll listen to everything from Radiohead to Arctic Monkeys to Jason Isbell to The Flaming Lips,” he said. 

Hinson’s EP, “Better Late Than Never” released in March following his lead single “Better Days” and has since garnered radio play. Hinson said that the song has been played on multiple NPR stations and on satellite radio. 

“It’s a little surreal and satisfying to have [a song] you wrote and something that didn’t exist six months ago that’s now out in the world,” said Hinson. 

Goal of gigs

Hinson’s goal through all this has never been to become famous through his works. Instead, he hopes that this new project will give him more opportunity to explore creatively, and possibly garner more gigs so he can perform more often.

“You know, you’re not going to get rich these days on streaming platforms and putting your music there,” said Hinson. “It’s basically a calling card; you want to make sure that you put your best foot forward. But my hope is to just be able to play and perform more throughout the years. With a lot less of my professional career in front of me than behind me, I’m sort of looking forward to what comes after.”

Hinson’s single “Ada to Ozark” went live on all streaming platforms on May 8.