Mammoth Dallas Cowboys All-Pro lineman Leonard "Bigg" Davis Tries To Cast His Huge Shadow On The Music Industry

Since that night Heggar, who has given lessons to Cowboys ranging from Ed "Too Tall" Jones through Mark Tuinei and Daryl Johnston, has been tutoring Davis weekly.

"He's home-schooled, with his self-taught technique," says Heggar, whose band played nightly parties during the recent NBA All-Star Weekend and will be in high demand for next year's Super Bowl XLV. "But you can tell he has natural talent. He's very coachable."

Gloria Levario

Whether he is playing lineman or bass man, Dallas Cowboys All-Pro offensive guard Leonard Davis is a talent worthy of your attention.

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Says Davis, "He took me back to the basics. Music scales. Finger positions. Like I was starting over. It's been great for me. I can even read music now."

Davis isn't yet a Vic Wooten or Stanley Clarke or Flea, and Free Reign won't be playing OzzFest's main stage this summer, but there is momentum. Their debut CD—Tragedy—is among the best-selling albums by new artists on Amazon.com. Their off-season tour included a stop last weekend at Las Vegas' House of Blues, and next month they'll play a bill at San Antonio's AT&T Center headlined by Drowning Pool. A couple of networks are even sniffing around the band with reality-show ideas.

"It's more than a hobby to me; it's a second career," Davis says. "Football will end at some point. I can enjoy and play music for a long time. I have a real passion for it. It's a different kind of fun than football, but I love it. I just want to keep getting better, and I want people to really like our music, not just to say they like our music because we're football players. That'd be enough for me."

In football, Davis is a Pro Bowl starter for a playoff team. In music?

"I'm a starter, but on a lower-level team," he says, shrugging. "Like the Redskins, I guess."

And, yeah, about that time-gobbling hobby. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo gets regularly lambasted for too much golf. Funny how nobody slams Davis, who also owns a local Smashburger chain, for too much guitar.

"I haven't heard much of that," Davis jokes.

Go ahead. Rip him. The line forms way in front of me.