Dan Reed's BLOG

Dan Reed Tour Journal 2 - May 26 - Cambridge and beyond!!

Toni — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:18:11 +0000

Here we are in Cambridge for the show this evening, after performing in Stoke, and then Liverpool this week. I must say that the band is ‘alive’ on stage, even more so than last tour, and it feels like we are approaching a new zenith with regards to ‘letting go’ of any pre-conceived ideas of how to approach the new and old material. There are many gentle moments in the set where we break down to near silence, and then moments later it feels as if the stage is going explode from the voracity of the band. I remember questioning whether playing with a full band was going to be as dynamic as doing live shows solo acoustic, for I had gotten use to bringing up and bringing down the volume as much or as less as the moment demanded. This is now a worry not warranted for playing with this collective has proven to be even more in tune with what I am thinking than I am, often taking the performance deeper, darker, more hope filled and powerful than I had previously imagined… and of course I am not speaking only of the band, but of the audience’s attention and energy during and in between the songs. How we present the music live is, for the most part, a reflection of the audience’s desire to be affected… and therefore it is a true collaboration, or at least sure feels that way so far. Thank you to Rob Daiker, Robert Ikiz, Brooke Lizotte, and Bengan Jonasson for being on this journey on stage in the UK and thank you to all who are attending these shows. So far it has been yet another positive step in being back in the midst of the ‘music business’, with a minor emphasis on the word business and a much welcomed focus on the ‘music’. Looking forward to London tomorrow, then Dudley, Glasgow, Newcastle over the weekend and Manchester on Monday.

The first show we had a quite a challenge in that we blew up the power supply to Brooke’s keyboard and thought we were going to have to perform without our older brother, but Paul Anthony from Rock Radio saved the day and contacted a friend of his name Neil, who happened to own a music store he was willing to open up on a Sunday and sorted us out. Thank you both for being guardian angels this week!

Monday morning my good friend Darren and his mate Nathan drove me up North to do a live 2 hour radio talk show, where I performed a few songs, but also got to be involved with the ongoing discussion about religion, politics, and other potentially silly things! Thoroughly enjoyed the day with friend and strangers. Got an email to write an opinion piece for the Jewish Telegraph about Elvis Costello’s decision to boycott Israel by canceling his scheduled concert in Tel Aviv… so attempted to tackle that on the bus yesterday.

Upon arrival to the hotel Bengan and I rehearsed a new song which will be a preview of the new album coming out next year, and today we will run it at soundcheck with the band. Rob Daiker was to join us in the hotel room, but the jet lag of flying from Portland to England over the course of 18 hours got the best of him. To see everyone on their laptops at morning breakfast reminds me of how much ‘rock and roll’ has changed, at least in our world… and I am very grateful for that. There are no hangovers to be healed, but rather loved ones to be written and messages to be returned from those who are sending good wishes for the tour. Yesterday I was asked to write an opinion piece on Elvis Costello’s decision to cancel his concert in Israel out of protest to the Israeli governments policies. I’d much rather be doing that in the morning then nursing a hang over any day. Rob Daiker and his girlfriend will be having a baby in December and this friend of mine for over fifteen years has a certain new born calm about him and an intense focus, both in his presence and in his playing on stage. Ikiz… well, the ‘Turkish Warrior’ has been blessing us with even more adventurous drum arrangements off the cuff while Bengan has been cutting loose both on vocals and his bass stylings. Brooke has been putting the icing on all the songs with wonderful piano melodies, string/synth ambiences, great stories on life… and the occassional ‘Oh, Yeah Baby’ spoken during the songs, done in his increasingly famous baritone voice of silk. Barry White look the hell out!!

Thank you Luke Curner for making sure we are on time, in line, well rested and safe on the road. Thank you Martin Kielty and Rock Radio for putting up these journal writings…. and thank you to everyone that has helped make this return to music such a great adventure.

My deepest gratitude to Toni Medcalf, Steve Zapp, Dee Bahl, Valerie Potter, and Dan Holt at Grape. More to come! Dan

Dan Reed Full Band Tour - Journal 1 - May 4th/2010

Toni — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:51:55 +0000

Dan Reed Full Band Tour Journal, May 4th - UK/Sweden - Celebrating the release of the new album ‘Coming Up For Air’

Three weeks out from the first show at The Sugarmill in Stoke, England. Spring is in the air… and I am very excited about getting back on tour! I think what makes this an interesting time is that the new album, which I started recording in Jerusalem over 3 years ago, is going to finally be released! So instead of playing new songs that no one has had a chance to listen to, it is my hope that everyone will be able to dive in to the song’s intentions even more so after having received the pre-orders. Once again, the band made up of Rob Daiker on guitar/vocals, Tommy Denander on guitar, Robert Ikiz on drums/percussion, Brooke Lizotte on Keyboards, and Bengan Jonasson on Bass, will be joining me on stage and what we realized last tour was that our final show in Northern Ireland was our most ‘free’ show, in that we threw all caution to the wind and just let it fly. What I believe we will do different this tour is our very first show will pick up where we left off, and we will continue to take it up a notch, both emotionally and in it’s intensity.

Brooke Lizotte, our keyboardist, had such a good time on the last tour he is now moving to Stockholm from Los Angeles for the foreseeable future so that we can write and record more often! Interesting times ahead indeed.

The new album will be available on tour… and I am looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts on this labor of love (and labor of patience Also the first single ‘Closer’ will be released to radio both in Sweden and all throughout the UK this summer. We shall see what the future holds. Oddly enough I have just finished writing the title song for the next album… as if the moment this album reached people it was time to start thinking about the next chapter… insane, I know But for now… I am thrilled to be coming back on the road with this amazing collection of artists and hope to see you all at the shows!

Rob Daiker, who co-produced half of the new album will be opening the shows on this tour as well as performing with my band, and his new album will be available at the performances, coming out on our new label ‘Zero One’. You can check his material out here - www.myspace.com/..robdaikermusic

Stay tuned for a possible London Show for a limited number of guests on the 27th of May. Many people have asked ‘Why no London Show?’… but since we just played at Union Chapel in March, we thought it best to maybe do a small listening party where we can visit with supporters more, and have a small intimate show… all of which is being worked out in the next days.

Thank you all for your amazing support over the years… it has been the fire behind all that is happening now. More to come… Dan

For all tour dates and how to get the new album please go to - www.danreed.com

Sunday May 23rd - Stoke on Trent - The Sugarmill

Monday May 24th - Liverpool - The Acadamy

Wednesday May 26th - Cambridge - Haymakers

Friday May 28th - Dudley - JB’s

Saturday May 29th - Glasgow - King Tut’s

Sunday May 30th - Newcastle - Academy 2

Monday May 31st - Manchester - Moho Live

Wednesday June 2nd - York - The Duchess

Thursday June 3rd - Grimsby - Yardbirds

Friday June 4th - Sheffield - The Corporation

Tuesday June 8th - Stockholm - Gota Kallare

Wednesday June 9th - Goteborg - Sticky Fingers

Tour Journal number 2 (February 14th)

dan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:22:02 +0000

Valentine’s Day and one week before rehearsals begin in Stockholm. Many have asked why am I doing band shows now, how this band came together, and who are the folks I am performing with, so I will give a short background on this day of celebrating ‘love’.
Rob Daiker, the electric guitarist from Portland, Oregon, and I have a long history. One of Rob’s first album’s I co-produced with him over 15 years ago. Rob is a great singer/songwriter and two of the former DRN members, Blake Sakamoto and Dan Pred played with Rob in a band called Generator after the DRN days had finished. Coming full circle Mr. Daiker has over the years co-produced material with me, including 6 of the new songs on ‘Coming Up For Air’, and playing drum elements, electric guitar, synths, singing background vocals, and mixing the songs.
Bengan Jonasson and I met via the web while I was living in Jerusalem. I had heard some of his own compositions and was moved deeply by his chordal bass musings and fretless work… melodic and uplifting, and invited him to play on some of the songs I was recording there. We accomplished this via the web, sending tracks back and forth and you will find his playing on a few songs on the new album… especially noteworthy is his fretless work on ‘The Dictator’, a song which has been up on Youtube this last year. Bengan joined me on stage with Tommy Denander for a short Swedish tour this last year, and it was magic.
Robert Ikiz, the drummer/percussionist, was introduced to me through Bengan, and after one meeting and short jam session in Stockholm last year, I was convinced Mr. Ikiz could add the colors and subtle rhythmic nuances the new music required. We spoke of my recording time in Jerusalem and the rhythms of the Middle East. I learned that Robert Ikiz is from Turkish decent and was well versed in the instrumentation and stylings if Mid an Far East. This sealed the deal!
Tommy Denander is a whole other story, as he and I met in Stockholm over 20 years ago when he was a young, but talented beyond his years, guitarist and composer. In the years following he found himself working with some of the biggest names in the business, Toto being one of them… a band that inspired me greatly growing up in South Dakota. Tommy and I met again through Jens Lundberg, last year and did some writing together, and I was invited to sing on a track for his new album that has just been released on Frontier Records. Tommy has joined me on my acoustic tour in New York, Vienna, London, Paris and Stockholm, and although he is well know for his electric guitar work, I was floored by the acoustic work he added to the set, and have asked him to continue this tradition we started in 2009 with the new band.
Finally, Brooke Lizotte from Los Angeles… we met back during the Network days when we use to play up in Seattle, Brooke’s home town. Through a mutual friend Art Ford, I was introduced to Brooke and once visited his loft studio in Seattle after a DRN show one evening, and had a long night time jam session. 20 years later we found ourselves in his and Art’s studio in LA, working on a song for soundtrack. Brooke comes from the old school of piano, B3 organ, and stings arrangements, as he has spent that last decade scoring film projects and creating soundscapes for many projects.
With the release of ‘Coming Up For Air’ finally approved, it was time to represent the songs as they are recorded on the album, with not only a full band, but with artists that will take those recordings, those snapshots in time, and interpret them in their own way. This collection of artists seem to just naturally come together over the years, and we shall soon see if the experiment comes to life as it is in the imagination!
These are all musicians that live and breathe music daily in a number of projects, and I am honored to be touring with them and creating something new… a true ‘love’ for music. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Dan Reed Tour Journal - February 11th, 2010 - 2 weeks before our first band show

dan — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:44:42 +0000

In a snow covered Paris today, running through the songs for the set. Some old DRN songs and most of the new record ‘Coming Up For Air’. Rob Daiker, the electric guitarist and background vocalist and Brooke Lizotte, the keyboardist, are journeying from Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California to Stockholm in one week, where we will begin rehearsals with Swedish natives, Tommy Denander on acoustic/electric guitar, Bengan Jonasson on Bass/background vocals, and Robert Ikiz on Drums and Percussion. I have played with all these wonderful musicians separately, but never as a group, and the potential is staggering! My main thoughts now are focused on making sure during rehearsals we find a way to ‘contain’ all the wonderful abilities of these musicians so that no one steps on each other’s beautiful playing, while at the same time ‘releasing’ the power of melodic cohesiveness… an exercise in ‘chaotic stillness’ and ‘unleashed control’ will have to be our mantra. I can’t wait to get started!

All flights are booked, the dates are set, and the band excited! These will be the first band shows I have been a part of in over 16 years, and returning to Sweden, Norway, Scotland, England and Ireland for these 6 dates and with these musicians is a great honor and hopefully a new beginning of what will be a wonderful translation of the new record and an homage to music from my past. More to come!

February 25th - Uddevalla, Sweden - Mortens Krog
February 26th - Boras, Sweden - Puls Bar
February 27th - Bjugn, Norway
March 1st - Glasgow, Scotland - King Tuts
March 5th - London, England - Union Chapel - Live Video Shoot
March 6th - Ahoghill, North Ireland - Diamond Club

‘Coming Up For Air’ Release Update

dan — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:23:30 +0000

To those that have pre-ordered ‘Coming Up For Air’, the new studio album, I am writing to inform everyone that you indeed have not been forgotten. The release date has been held back due to negotiations with a major label. While I have been and continue to be extremely frustrated with the delays, I am tempered by the fact that more and more people in the industry are coming on board with the project and this will, in the end, allow a worldwide release of the record. Everyone will still receive a signed copy of the new CD one month prior to the street release date, and this date will be announced to all as soon as it is determined.

Your funding allowed the recording and production of three new songs for the album, the mastering of the recordings and the design of the album artwork. Everything is finally poised to be released and moving in a very positive direction. I will keep everyone posted on the release no later than the end of January, 2010. Again, thank you for the faith, the support in purchasing the pre-release, and for your extreme patience with the process. You have my deepest apologies for the delays. Dan

The Death of Patriotism… an allegiance to Humanism.

dan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:02:23 +0000

I’ve heard it said that you cannot speak to a terrorist, there is no negotiating with a madman. But was not Osama Bin Laden, the poster boy for all that is terror, once the CIA’s comrade in arms in the 1980s when he was fighting the Russians for us in Afghanistan? We surely were negotiating and speaking with him then. Did he just ‘lose his mind’ at some point, or was he pushed over the edge? It is said that during the 10 year embargo on Iraq between the years of 1991 and 2001 over a million Iraqi children died from lack of food and medical supplies due to the sanctions on Iraq, the US’ punishment to Saddam for invading Kuwait. The rumour is that Osama, witnessing these senseless deaths of innocents, wanted to strike back at those he once aligned himself with. Whether this is true or not, seeing the strikes on Taliban sites in Northern Pakistan these last weeks it seems quite possible that we are not getting rid of the enemy one by one, but we are rather defining their hatred and resolve to continue their quest to rid the world of modernism. Pakistan military with the help of US money and unmanned drones strikes the Taliban… a few days later a number of people blow themselves up in Pakistani markets… now it’s time to drop some more bombs on their heads.

When reading a headline that states -

“A local official told CNN the missile attack killed the nephew and son-in-law of Mawlanna Faqir Mohammed, the Taliban commander in Bajaur. Mohammed, himself, appears to have escaped the assault.”

I wonder… do we pat ourselves on the back in the war room and say, “There… now there are two more dead terrorists, now all we have to do is get the other 10,000 terrorists and this mess will be cleaned up once and for all!”. Are we really that naive to not see that revenge is a losing enterprise? Both their revenge and our revenge indeed kills some of those we despise, but the ‘cancer of anger’ grows like a wild fire, for are we not all justified from our own points of view? The planes knocking down the World Trade Centers on 9/11 may have seemed like, at least at that time, a great success for those who wished to strike back at America’s meddling in the Middle East, but the byproduct of that horrible day was the US military occupying Afghanistan and Iraq for near a decade now… and perhaps forever. Revenge by the radical muslim fundamentalists that day can hardly be viewed as a success in their hindsight. Now we drop missiles and kill Taliban leaders, or their family members in the mountains of Northern Pakistan. Dropping bombs on the same crazy Taliban organization that was being flown to Texas for years to negotiate a pipeline through Afghanistan. (another case of ‘use to be able to talk to them, but can’t anymore’). In time this will insure the friends and relatives of those who survive those we have erased with our modern weapons will want to exact revenge… and the cycle begins again.

If in time we do not heal this karmic circle of the age old method of an eye for an eye, we may be in for a surprise. When every country has finally achieved acquiring nuclear weapons, and one could bet this day is surely coming, whether it be above board or clandestine… what will revenge look like then?

Patriotism in all it’s forms is exciting, chest pounding, noisy, fun stuff. But if we don’t adopt ‘Humanism’ over our passion for borders and religious superiority, then perhaps soon all of our pretty flags will be nothing more than tattered, torn, burning remembrances of how us humans were too proud to survive.

The Death of Patriotism… an allegiance to Humanism.

dan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:00:24 +0000

When reading a headline that states -

Pre-order Release Date -

dan — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:35:54 +0000

Thank you to all who have pre-ordered the CD. The actual album release has been delayed a few months due to lead times for getting reviews on the album, and in the need to not release during the Christmas rush. However all those that pre-ordered the album will be receiving the record now three months before it hits the streets. I received a few requests asking when they would receive the album they purchased online through Paypal. You will have your copy no later than mid to late November. We are in the middle of shopping the record to major distributor’s, so this may change that schedule a bit, but only because there will be access to a wider distribution, so I appreciate your patience, support and understanding. Your faith in the music and pre-ordering the record has built the foundation to recording new tracks and putting the final touches on the record, and for this you have my deepest gratitude. I am looking forward to finally having this long process over and having the music in your hands. I hope it will be worth the wait in your eyes (and especially your ears In peace. Dan

Last UK show in 2009 - London, Union Chapel - November 5th

dan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:41:47 +0000

I am happy to announce that Live Nation is promoting my last show in the UK this year, on Guy Fawkes night, Thursday, November 5th in London at Union Chapel. It will be a full band set, with some very talented musicians from both Europe and the US, and we will also be making a live video of that night, entitled ‘In Between the Noise’, for release in 2010. I invite everyone in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland who came to the last tour to make it down to London if you are able and join us in being a part of the Live Video filming and see the first band show in the UK.

Union Chapel is one of the most beautiful venues I have seen and it is a great honor to perform there. You can check it here - http://www.unionchapel.org.uk/pages/visitor_information.html

Tickets available from www.livenation.co.uk 0844 576 5483

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 5th of November.

‘La Vie En Rose’ and Michael Jackson

dan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:54:48 +0000

One week before the news of Michael Jackson’s death came, I had just watched a movie called ‘La Vie En Rose’ (roughly translated as ‘Life is Bliss’), a film that displays the life and death of Edith Piaf, a magnificently gifted French vocalist who struggled all through her life, from childhood to her lonely, painful and slow death on a small farm in the countryside of France. After watching the film I was almost in tears realizing how much joy this ’song bird’ gave to the world and yet the world did not take care of her the way her talent and voice had taken care of the world’s spirit. Hearing a week later that Michael Jackson had died, perhaps not as ‘alone’ as Edith yet still alone, was deafening. One could argue that Michael was indeed alone in his solitude amongst the myriad of people all trying to make a living off of him and in the end this attributed to his demise, for where were his friends and family when he needed comfort, and support for his pain, both physical and mental? Perhaps they were there, but Michael could not hear them.

Like Edith, Michael was and still is the worlds ’songbird’. In his interviews, lyrics, melodies and his dance, he always reached for something higher that exists within ourselves. He tried to point humanity in a compassionate direction, despite what people believed of the controversy that surrounded his later years.

His father Joseph Jackson, appearing to show no remorse or sense of loss whatsoever since his son’s death is a testament to the truth that Michael told in his interview’s over a decade ago where he described his desolate childhood, and the sickness that followed him his whole life whenever his father was near. Maybe Michael would not have been so innovative and driven had his father not been such a tyrant within the family atmosphere, but Michael turned his pain into a art, into hope, into more pain in his life… and through that process he touched the heart of the entire world.

I imagine more people in the world have been touched by Michael Jackson’s art than have been touched by Jesus, or Mohammed, or the Torah. Michael touched everyone with his music and one need to look no further than the song “Man In The Mirror”, to understand what and who Michael Jackson was, or at the very least who he longed to be and how he wished the world to be.

We put our song birds in a cage, we ask them to sing, we show them off and parade them around, give them awards, and then we feed them with fan mail, cynicism, critiques, condescending headlines, and when they die of starvation of the soul… like Edit Piaf and Michael, the world sits back in shock and marvel at how much of an empty space they left behind, when all the while we could have fed them with friendship, listened to their pain and help lift them instead of trying to bring them down, and possibly allowed them to flourish outside of the cage, instead of crumble within.

I was not alive during Edith’s era, but was touched by her story. Michael Jackson on the other hand was a part of my life since childhood. I was 9 years old singing the song ‘Ben’ having no idea what or who the song was about. I can’t tell you how many times me and my friends have tried to moonwalk, or how we were moved by the lyrics, melodies, the dance moves, but most importantly the ‘voice’! He sang from his heart it always appeared… even when reduced to tears in ‘She’s Out Of My Life’, some would laugh and snicker at him breaking in to tears on the recording when he was alive… perhaps now it is us who will cry when listening to this song.

Michael Jackson was not the only voice out there, but he was the world’s voice… in the music world, the spiritual world, and in the political world as well, through many decades and generations… for it is obvious now after his death he has united people from every country, from every religion and every background… this cannot be said of politicians or religious leaders, the United Nations… no one but Mr. Jackson has done this.

In the generations to come many will not believe that a gifted soul like this had ever existed in reality, for the world will never see one such as him again. I wish the media and us, the lover’s of his art, would have let him know this before his passing. Yes, he sold out 50 shows in London in 3 hours, and this indeed is a form of love and appreciation… but did we hear his lyrics and the intention of his most insightful songs? And if we did, did we heed their call?

Michael was a messenger and like all the messengers before him, their ‘message’ was clear, and for our gratitude we often persecute them. Joan of Arc, JFK, Gandhi, MLK, Jesus… all were saying the same thing and were extinguished because of it. Michael used different tools then the aforementioned, he sang and he danced, he spoke of how selfish and silly the world is in interviews, he used the tools of modern man and media to try and affect change, even while contorting himself to escape his own self, his past.

Maybe some day the world will listen to this ‘message’ that is brought to us over and over again through different souls, different faces and different methods… and then we can possibly share the burden that people like Michael Jackson seem to feel the need to carry on their own and get crushed beneath it’s weight.

Thank you for the music, Mr. Michael Jackson… and for having the courage to perform like a lion and yet speak as a child. May you have a safe journey home.