DAVID MICHAEL DAVIS

DAVID MICHAEL DAVIS

May 9, 1946 — June 26, 2020

David Michael "Mike" Davis was a native Texan who became a well-known and respected metal fabrication artist in Boulder. His illustrious life of accomplishments was beautifully described by an associate, Richard Foy of Communications Arts, in a 1996 Boulder Daily Camera feature: “Mike Davis works with metal like a poet works with words.”  

For 24 years in his shop, Colorado Instruments on the Boulder Mall, Mike merged his prototype and machine-engineering work with his love of art and custom fabrication. His commercial designs and sculptures can be seen from San Francisco to Miami, as well as in Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and of course, throughout Colorado, which was his treasured home since 1970. 

From a very young age, Mike had a fascination with anything mechanical. If he could visualize it, he could build or customize it. And he did. Architectural ornamentation, metal sculptures, kinetic artwork, custom cars and hot rods, classic automobiles, motorcycles, trains for the backyard track he designed and constructed, and as Mike liked to say, his “toys.” His collections were impressive and extensive. Mike was a kind soul who loved his family, the mountains, his dogs and appreciated people everywhere with their own unique stories to tell.

Mike was also a musician who loved the blues and jazz. Many say he was the best drummer they’d ever personally known. He even played with the famous drummer Gene Krupa who called Mike his “buddy.” As a teen his band the Diminshuns, was noticed by a Dallas KBOX radio DJ who encouraged the group to make a record of their original tunes, and he offered to finance it. Slippery When Wet and Firewater climbed the charts to #27 in Texas and #1 in Oklahoma. Slippery When Wet was hailed as a forerunner to the surfer music boom, and can still be heard today via YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4uILcWdQkg.  

Not long after with new band members, the Martells produced an album, but with Mike’s marriage to Shirley Adsem and the birth of their beloved son, Sean Michael Davis, Mike decided to retire from traveling and music. He settled in Dallas working at Texas Instruments before joining Ball Aerospace in Boulder to work on space satellites. Shortly thereafter, Mike created Colorado Instruments.    

At the age of 50, Mike sold his successful business and moved to Cabo San Lucas, with equipment in tow, still creating and fabricating for individuals and several businesses. His design for Buzzard’s Bar & Grill waterfront complex quickly became a local tourist attraction. 

Wildly adventurous and always in search of a new project, Mike returned to Colorado where he purchased a historic building in downtown Erie.   He was in the process of restoration when he and his then wife Tammy, opened Kabbu – a popular establishment for live blues, brews and eats – which they operated at 500 Briggs Street until his semi-retirement in Lafayette, where he continued his passion for cars, trains and metal work.  

Mike always let his creativity guide his life, and he did it “his way.” He had a brilliant mind and was a pioneer of originality through his personal interpretations of art and design that gave rise to a style and reputation that was purely his own. 

David Michael Davis, left this world to join our Lord at the age of 74 following a year-long illness. He was preceded in death by his beloved mother, Jean Martin Davis, in December of 2018. Mike is survived by his son, Sean Michael Davis, Minneapolis, MN; father, David Keithley Davis, Dallas, TX; brother Derek Hamilton Davis, Dallas, TX; sister D’Et Davis Dixon and her husband, Don Michael Dixon, Dallas, TX; two nieces: Melanie Davis Foster and her sons, Brock and Drew, Austin, TX, and Cameron Dixon Bilotti and her husband, Nicholas Sabino Bilotti and their children, Charlotte, Savannah and Nicholas Houston; one nephew, Jeffrey Jordan Davis and his wife, Michele Esmont Davis, and their children Ethan and Sydney, Dallas, TX; aunt Bette Davis Cole and uncle Robert Davis, both of Oklahoma, and countless friends and loved ones, including Janet Liggett Davis, as well as Tammy Davis Thomas, who cared for Mike during his last year.

Memorial services in Dallas, Texas are pending due to COVID-19 safety concerns. If you wish to make a donation in Mike’s name, we know he would be honored for you to consider the ASPCA.