Show @ Scruffy's Irish Pub Feb 6, 2011

With this performance being my second one at this location, I already had a good idea as to what audience I was performing for. I saw some new faces and lots of familiar ones too! I had such a great time performing here, and have already penciled in another show here in the future. The service, the customers, the atmosphere, the singing and participation was memorable, and I know it will be another incredible show next time around.

Dan

Show @ Dub Linn Gate in Vaughan

I am already speechless. wow. The show went really really well. Not only is the venue is HUGE, but because the ceiling is really tall, it adds a little bit of  reverb to the vocals and guitar which makes it sound bigger. Even though the pub is in mall with an AMC, and other restaurants, it was great to see the place packed with family and friends.

Playing classic sing along songs really got the place singing, swaying, and drumming on the tables which resulted in happy people staying longer and enjoying more songs. The people of Vaughan really know how to have a good time. I am returning to that great pub in the future and I look forward to entertaining and playing some more great tunes and meeting new people.

Show @ Molly Blooms on Friday January 28th 2011

This was my second performance at Molly Blooms Toronto, and once again, what a fantastic show. It didn't matter that there were new faces there, they still got into the music, dancing, singing, requesting songs, and just all around having a wonderful time. I've learned that there are popular songs that always get people into the show, and I love playing those classic songs and seeing everyone smile as they say to their friends, "I LOVE THIS SONG!!".


Dan

Show @ Gryphon's

Whitby has a good number of venue's where university kids go absolutely wild for music. Last night was a great example of that. Starting the show off with some emo cover songs, and continuing through out the show with classic sing along songs such as, "I would walk 500 miles", "Ring of Fire", "Don't stop believin'", and "Sweet Caroline".

I met students that were in school, people that have been at companies for over 15 years, and I even met someone last night who buys beat up cars, restores then, and resells them. I'm not talking about classic cars, I'm talking about 1989 Honda's, Toyota's, and Volkswagens. The college/university pubs are a lot of fun to perform in because they can really appreciate and respond to live music. Although I always get the same requests for, Tragically Hip, Neil Diamond, Rush, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Guns & Roses, it's fun to hear what everyone likes to listen to, and what they'd like to hear.

I'll be back at this awesome venue Feb 11th, and hopefully a lot more.


Dan

Show at Bobby O'Brians in Guelph

Alright, so I played a show last night in Guelph and let me tell you. What a night! The place was full of all kinds of people and personalities, and it was never a dull moment. From the time I came in to start setting up, to the time I got into my car and started driving home.

As I was setting up my gear, people from outside started filtering in realizing that there was live music. As I started playing and the lyrics came out, so did the sweet voices of the people singing along and swaying to the music. It was great to people so involved, and getting into the swing of things. As I went around and got to know my audience, and making introductions, I met so many different kinds of awesome with university students, parents, and business people. I met students that were studying music, marketing, zoology, law, family studies, and much more.

What I wasn't aware of, was that right above Bobby O'Brians, there's a night club that POUNDS dance and techno music. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind dance music once an eclipse, but for 4 hours straight is a little much for me. The most refreshing part about my show last night, was right at the end. I met a group of people that were out for the night looking for a great place to have some food, drinks, and conversation, but what they got was food, drinks, conversation, and live music. When I talked to them afterwards, they had nothing but positive things to say about the live music they heard. They too had the same opinion about radio play, and the pounding club music upstairs.

As I walked out of the venue, the streets were swarming with cops patrolling, and making sure everyone was staying out of trouble. I lost count of the amount of people the cops put in their cruisers. For them, it was like picking out free candy, of all flavours. I would even go as far as saying that Guelph parties harder than Toronto. Hard to believe, but I think it's true. I'm glad I was inside, performing and entertaining for the great people of Guelph.


Dan

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Requests

Alright, so i just got back from a show I play in Mississauga, and for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about this topic all night. Song request are pretty common in the presence of a DJ, a cover band, or someone running the jukebox. And yes, I said jukebox.

As a full time musician I do my best to cover all sorts of genres when I perform shows and play cover songs, HOWEVER, it doesn't mean that I know every single song by every artist in the world. I can't tell you how many times I've had the following conversation,

REQUESTER: "Do you know any Bony M? The Who? Bruce Springsteen?

ME: "I of know those artist yes"

REQUESTER: "GREAT, can you play one of their songs? I don't care what song from either of those guys, just something"

ME: "I'll do my best to cover that genre, but it's hard to know songs from every artist"

REQUESTER: "............."

ME: ".........It was nice to meet you, and I will play other artist from the same decade if that helps, ha ha ha"

REQUESTER: "...........well then"

*sigh* Ya, rough I know, but how can people have the assumption that whoever is playing/performing, they're going to know every song. This is definitely one of those fence topics where the argument can go either way, but seeing as to how it's an occurring thing for me, i'm leaning more towards to conclusion that, a song request is merely a suggestion as to what someone wants to hear. Believe me, i'm ok with that, but when i've had people request Lady GaGa, Rhianna, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Macy Grey, Alanis Morissette, it becomes a challenge for me to figure what my audience wants to hear. Some people request anything just to see if i'll play it, or how I'd react, without realizing where they are and the atmosphere in the venue. More often than not, the song request I get when i'm performing are not fit to be played in a restaurant or a pub, even if they are songs that are great to play and rock out to.

As an encouragement to my fellow readers, if you are in a situation where you have the chance to request a song to a LIVE MUSICIAN, I urge you to understand where you are, the vibe that's in the venue, and it the song will fit. My entry in no way pertains to a DJ who is standing behind a laptop and turntables with a list of thousands of songs to choose from.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment your opinion into this entry.

Dan

Radio Play

Ok, people that know me, know that I get really frustrated with the radio, the songs they play, and things they say/do. I don't know why, but listeners seem to enjoy hearing the same songs repeated over and over again. Not to mention, the same 6 songs stations are recycling sound THE EXACT SAME! Ugh! I don't think I have to name the stations for you to know what i'm talking about, but you are all smart people and can figure it out. I have, however, found a few stations that keep the music changing in terms of genre and artist. If you are interested, post a comment or send me a message and I'll let you know.

The other thing that makes me cringe, is when stations say, "COMMERCIAL FREE MONDAYS", but after 2 or 3 songs, there's talking and interruptions. Some people may argue, "but it's not commercials, it's the DJ's talking", but to me that's still the same thing. There is a station that I've found that is LITERALLY commercial free. No ads, no contests, no callers, just MUSIC!. The DJ every so often will introduce the next song, or recap the previous tunes he played, but it's quick, and to the point. He then finishes his spiel by saying the station you're listening to, and then....MORE MUSIC!. It's great.

Obviously everyone is going to have a different opinion on this topic, and I can respect that, but this is mine :)

Dan

Time Waster

We all know that there are many things to distract us while we are hard at work. First and foremost, we are all on Facebook, chatting, tagging, posting pictures or notes, creeping other people walls and photos, searching for long lost friends/family/ex-boyfriends/girlfriends. It's obvious to say that the creator of Facebook is not only filthy rich off of making such a poplar social network, but sustaining it for many years, and it still being a big deal.
There are certain things that I specifically do when I log-in to Facebook and it never fails that a few hours go by and I've done nothing with my day except check someones status, newly added pics, or check certain games that I play. Just like you, I too have friends and family that literally spend ALL DAY on Facebook doing various different things, chatting, etc, and do nothing with their life. Not only is unhealthy to be staring at a screen all day long, but it's sad and unfortunate that those people are wasting their life away with a social networking site such as Facebook. As great as it is to re-connect with people, share pics and emotions with the world, and view someone else's life online, it poses a question that I think needs some serious consideration. What is the world coming to?
I spend the majority of my day at my desk working away, booking shows, and calling my clients. I can always count on someone asking me, "Do you have a Facebook page I can check out?" . I always chuckle inside because I realize that we now live in a society where it's a necessity to have a public profile so clients, friends, potential employers, and family can view your profile and get the most accurate first impression. I have heard stories of people going for interviews for jobs and professional positions, and being rejected based on their public profile on Facebook, because they posted pics of them partying really hard and thinking that it's a good idea to share that lifestyle with the universe. Posting provocative pictures, inappropriate profile status', recording and uploading videos that really shouldn't be shared or filmed in the first place, are other great examples as to why certain employers have difficulty hiring new staff members.
In my opinion, a Facebook profile is merely to allow certain people (or everyone depending on your privacy settings), to see if you look different after X amount of years after high school, or to share that you have found true love, or to brag about academics, marital status, occupation, or a purchase you are really excited about. Why is it that when people are hosting events, and are thinking about the guest list, the first thing they do is send a mass message to their entire list of "friends" (i'll explain later why I put that word in quotations), to see who's coming, who can't come, who's on the fence about coming, or who is going to make a public excuse to justify their declined RSVP? Last time I checked, there are thousands of new and improved cell phones that store thousands of phone numbers for you to call in case you hosting an event. Instead of calling someone to invite them to a party, people are sending FB messages and invites, anxiously awaiting a reply. If one is not given, the host/hostess will then result to getting offended that no one replied, and no one wants to come. Meanwhile, he/she has a cell phone in their hand, furiously flipping through the event/invite page, not realizing that they have an address book on their phone, and it'd probably be a better idea to CALL SOMEONE.
The reason I put the word FRIEND in quotations, is because everyone is proud to have a high number of friends on their profile, but that's as far as it goes. Just because someone may have  300 or more friends, doesn't mean they talk to every person, or view all 300 profiles (unless you have nothing better to do). It just means that having 300+ friends makes you feel popular, and important, and like you were back in high school when all the kids wants to hang out with you, or be you. What some people don't see, is that with a mentality like that, times 1 000 000, we are all once again living in high school competing to be the most popular, with all the "cool kids" on your friends list, who you never talk to. It is the strangest thing when I log in to FB and see that someone has "poked me", or a random person I don't know has sent me a friend request because we have 2 or 3 people in common. Yet we've never met. I periodically go through my friend list to ensure that the people that are there, are there because I talk to them, I'm interested in what they status says about them or what they're going through, and I value our friendship.
I encourage you all to re-evaluate how you view Facebook, and dig a little deeper as to what you obsession with it is. Give it try. Go through your list of friends and be honest with yourself and to the other person. Don't keep them on your list because you're afraid they'd get made if you "unfriended" them. If their profile is public, I'm pretty sure you can check up/creep their profile later on down the road.
For those of you who are employers, please don't judge a book by it's cover. Some people forgot they even had those pictures up, or they never got around to taking those videos down, because they're working on becoming a better person. And if you still have all those things up that can hinder you (potential employee) from getting a job, or getting a date, or moving on from an ex, take the time to filter through your profile for it to suit who you currently are as a person, and how you want people to view you.
Dan

Welcome

Welcome one and all. Thank you for checking out my blog, and showing interest in my work. This blog will reflect my work, what I do during the day, what I do at my shows, things I've experienced while working, or what i've seen. Hope you enjoy, and feel free to post comments, topic discussions, or questions you want answered about being a full time musician. 


Dan