While Dan has always had a creative drive and a passion for the sounds of the 70’s and 80’s, his musical journey to meld the two is a recent one.

After college, Dan’s goal was to put his marketing education to use as a copywriter.  “I was intrigued with the idea of using words creatively and, at the time, I thought that was the path I should pursue – a copywriter.”

Ironically, one stop along the way of Dan’s journey was a stint working at ad agency on Nashville’s Music Row.  “Yeah, it’s interesting how things work out sometimes.  There I was, living and working right in the heart of one of the biggest music meccas in the country and only now, back in Florida, does my adventure in music begin.”

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction…

After a wave of setbacks while “working for the man”, Dan embarked on a new journey.  “I finally came to a point where I was disillusioned with Corporate America.  I’d worked my rear off for far too long to have so little to show for it – not just financially, but emotionally, too.  Even when there was any creativity involved in my work, it was rather mundane stuff.  I had little sense of fulfillment from all the work I’d done.  I guess you could say that, ultimately, I felt my life’s purpose was going to waste.”

Don’t Stop Believin’…

At that point, Dan took a deep look inside himself and knew he needed a plan to get back to his creative roots.  “I had these ideas I wanted to bring to life in movies and music, but I needed a vehicle to get me to where I could afford to pursue those ideas.”  Working into the wee hours on weeknights and weekends, he embarked on a new venture.  “I figured there had to be a way to earn a living online – or at least as much as I was earning at my 9-5’er which wasn’t a whole lot above poverty level – and then use this to finance my creative ambitions and build up from there.”

It was then that Dan got involved with online affiliate marketing.  “It was intended to be means to the end… to get me to where I could finally be free to be creative while not worrying about whether I was earning a living from it or not.  The idea was that the online stuff would eventually be setup to give me time to pursue the creative dreams.   I think all artists wish they could just create and not worry about making money from their craft, but unfortunately, as we all know, unless you’re born with a silver spoon in your mouth, it just doesn’t work that way.”

Under Pressure…

“My affiliate marketing endeavors went ok at first, but eventually I was fighting a losing game.  As soon you’d get to the point where you were about to finally earn a living from your efforts and be freed up for your real interests, the search engines and affiliate programs would change the rules and set you back almost to square one.  To have everything you’d worked so hard for taken away in a heartbeat like that was devastating to say the least.”

Won’t Get Fooled Again…

Tired of starting over, Dan took a step back to look at things from a new perspective.  “I realized two important things.  First, life is too short to put your dreams on hold.  You’ve got to grab the bull by the horns and do it now.  As Brad Delp sang “the road is callin’, today is the day!”

I also realized the only way to create a dependable, sustainable income was to have your own products.  I’ve always had this creative spark just awaiting to ignite and burn.  Maybe it would burn into a giant blaze of glory or maybe it would burnout quickly like paper in fire, but I was determined to let it burn and see where it takes me.”

I Can Dream About You…

So what are Dan’s plans now?  “My dream is to attract fellow fans of the sounds of the 70’s and 80’s.  I plan to do covers of songs from that era which I feel I can do justice to (and, hopefully, make them different enough to give ’em a “raison d’être” while keeping what made them so great in the first place – a tall order, I know, but that’s my aim).  I also have some ideas for new songs in the style.  I know there are many out there like myself who have often lamented for music to return to how it was in that era.  So that’s what I want to create – new takes on the songs we love from that era as well as all-new songs that are reminiscent of the style and tones of the genre.”

“I want to do some music videos too.  Of course, for cover tunes, that requires both sync licensing and mechanical licensing – and the costs add up quickly, but if the fans are there and support what I’m doing,  there’ll be no stopping us.”

What about live gigs or tours?  “Well, my motto is basically: ‘If there is enough demand, anything is possible’.  But we have to walk before we can run, right?  I think I’d be most comfortable starting out doing virtual shows (e.g., via StageIt.com) because I’m still evolving as a musician.  But sure, I hope to get to that level and hope people will want to join me on this journey.”

So is everything you do going to be strictly 70’s/80’s related?  “My musical tastes aren’t limited strictly to the 70s/80s and so I’m confident most other fans of the genre enjoy songs that lay outside that range as well.  Mixing things up a bit is fun, so don’t be surprised if I cover a song outside that range.  In fact, I’m going to be taking polls on the site of what covers people want me to make – that way I can at least know in advance I’m creating something for which there is actually some level of demand.”

Recording albums isn’t cheap.  How do you plan to finance ongoing studio recording/mixing/mastering costs while trying to make a living at the same time?  “Well, foremost I’m hoping fans buy some of my offerings – without that, yeah, I’ll be living on the streets {laughs}.  I’ll also be blogging some music reviews (and maybe reviewing other retro stuff) and throwing in an affiliate link to where they can bought. YouTube also pays for views so that’s a potential revenue stream if enough people view and share my vids.

Any other goals?  “The sound engineer for Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad albums lives in my area now so naturally it would be amazing to work with him, but let’s see how things go.  Also vinyl is making somewhat of a comeback and – since that was the medium on which most 70’s & 80’s albums were originally released – I think it’d be cool to release an album on vinyl complete with all the large album cover artwork, liner notes, etc.  They allowed listeners to enjoy an album as a complete experience as envisioned by the artist. You just don’t get that when downloading individual songs.  A CD provides a somewhat better experience, but the graphics are small and the audio fidelity of the digital data being read by a laser beam just doesn’t have the same warmth as a vinyl record played using a stylus.

And as for the movie interests?  “I’ve got a supernatural/suspense flick simmering on the back-burner.  It’s still a go, but needs some finishing work before it’s ready for release.  So I’m hoping enough people will support what I’m doing here as that’s really the only way I can continue to create anything, musically or otherwise.  If that happens, I’ll be sure to announce it to fans through the email list and on the Facebook page.”.  As fans of the 80’s flick Vacation know, Clark Griswald is asked at the hotel pool about his “motto”.   When asked:  “”So, are you gonna go for it?”, Clark remarks: “‘This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!”  But for Dan, the answer isn’t crazy at all, but an easy “Yep, this is what I was put here to do.”

Is he nervous?  “Of course!  I mean, let’s face it, there are haters out there who are bored and/or out of work who hate the thought that anyone – even a starving artist – might actually make a few coins so they make it their mission to troll around the web, criticizing and thumbs-downing anyone who is actually trying to do something.  We’ve all seen it, right?  I’ve already experienced that with the movie page I started awhile back.  I got many positive comments on the trailer and several thousand “Likes” and yet it’s the 1 hater that comes along and gets you questioning everything, right?  So one just has to maintain a bit of thick skin as an artist.  Otherwise, you risk wanting to keep your works close to your vest, never knowing whether anyone might have liked them or not.  And I think that, at the end of the day, the pain from that is worse than any pain from dealing with a few haters here and there {laughs}.  Besides, their ‘bad karma’ usually comes back on them sooner or later – I’ve seen it many times.”

These Dreams…

“I’m just thrilled to finally be able to pursue my dreams and get in touch with the creative spirit God has given me.  I’m excited that there are so many people out there who share my love for Retro and Classic Rock and just hope and pray they’ll like what I do and join me on this journey.”