Harv Davis: Life Is A Mix Tape, We All Contribute.

(above photo, left to right: Harv & 3/5 of "The Cars" - Ric Ocasek, Greg Hawkes & David Robinson - Boston 1981. Also shown: a digital rendering of Harv's "urn".)

From Ian MacLean Davis:

My father, Harvey MacLean Davis - "Harv" - passed away peacefully on February 14th at Andwell Hospice House in Auburn ME. His death followed a series of medical setbacks since early 2023, but was nonetheless sudden, with Lymphoma the ultimate cause of his passing.

His dream job was to own and run a record store, and for a good run, he did just that and built a community around him whose common interest was music, recorded and (definitely) live. Myself, he took me to see Kiss in Portland ME when I was 6. The "Dynasty" tour. If you know, you know. It was the first of many shows he took me to, from The Civic Center to Raoul's to The State . Through these experiences and his love of knowledge, he embedded within me a love and appreciation of performance and Art that ran a very wide berth. His enthusiasm was infectious and knowing facts was encouraged.

For most of his adult life, Dad worked public-facing jobs in Maine and New Hampshire, related to the music industry. He was well known for his gregarious and social personality, if not for his encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary music & culture which always shared with enthusiasm.

This GoFundMe page is *not* a typical fundraiser. Rather, I'd prefer if it was considered a place of tribute to the memory of my father. While I've a designed a custom White Marble "urn" vessel for Harv's cremains (conceptual rendering shown above, here and also here), my primary goal isn't to raise money to cover fabrication expenses. The urn is already in production, regardless of fundraising. This design embodies Harv's life as a musician & collector, and as a fan of music, film, cars & photography.

Click on the links listed above for a better view. As fabrication proceeds, I will post updates and photos. As it so happens, my Great-grandfather on Harvey's side was a stone mason/fabricator, and for the last several years I've found myself working as a Project Manager for a marble fabrication shop in Baltimore. Funny, that.

I've created this page to not just share the urn design, but memories of my father from and for the community he valued and served.

From 1975 to 1987 Harv was the proprietor of the music store "Manassas, Ltd." in Brunswick, ME, serving the Central & Mid-Coast ME community as a vital source for new, imported and rare vinyl LPs, Cassettes, CD, VHS & Betamax. For a few years, "Manassas" also had a location on Congress St. in Portland. The business was a regular advertiser with WBLM Radio, well known at the time for their co-sponsored Friday “Price Massacre” promotion and then-ubiquitous ads.

For a generation of music fans & college students, Manassas served as a social & cultural hub for the region. Well before the internet, Harv was valued as a source for deep music knowledge which he shared enthusiastically as what I've called a "record store guru". As example, my childhood memories of Manassas are not dissimilar to the setting of the film "High Fidelity", and I'm sure many colorful hijinks were had by employees and patrons alike...

Following the closure of Manassas (due to market changes), Harv continued to work throughout the region for local businesses such as DeOrsey's music (Brunswick & Lewiston), Bowdoin Camera Exchange (Brunswick), Play It Again Music (Falmouth) and The State Theater (Portland). He was also known as the manager of RecordTown/Coconuts Records (Lewiston/Auburn) and One Hour Moto Photo (Auburn) locations.

If you have memories of Harv, I encourage you to share them. If you wish to donate a few dollars towards the fundraising goal, it would be much appreciated but not mandatory. That said, the simplest way to join the mailing list may be to donate a minimum amount of money.

A Celebration of Life event is pending for later this year. Joining this project will be the best way to keep informed.

The primary purpose of this page is outreach and to make connections with you. It would bring us nothing but happiness to read your stories of Harv, as he lives on in all our memories.

Sincerely,

Ian, Carolyn & Laura