Addressing the Balance
Muirsical Conversation with Dan Reed
Muirsical Conversation with Dan Reed
Let’s establish a few launch protocols before we discuss Liftoff with Dan Reed, who released his solo album of that name toward the end of 2020.
If you’re expecting rock(et) power or spaced-out funk a la the Dan Reed Network then Houston, we have a serious problem.
However if you like to float in the ambient and electro percussive world of Dan Reed’s more recent solo excursions then you’ve come to the right place, as Liftoff is as musically chilled as they come, complemented by Reed’s contemplative, questioning and intelligently crafted lyrics.
Similarly chilled is Alchemy, Dan Reed’s instrumental album of meditative soundscapes from 2019.
Between those albums you have Hurricane Riders, the debut album from Snake Oil & Harmony (Dan Reed and his like-minded musical brother Danny Vaughn).
A singer-songwriter storytelling styled album, Hurricane Riders features country & Americana influences, a splash of melodic soul-pop and Crosby & Nash like harmonies.
Dan Reed spoke to FabricationsHQ about all three of the above albums (and how Liftoff in particular fits in with the ongoing global and political situations) as well as a little insight into the forthcoming, now completed Dan Reed Network album and potential ‘movie’ stardom…
If you’re expecting rock(et) power or spaced-out funk a la the Dan Reed Network then Houston, we have a serious problem.
However if you like to float in the ambient and electro percussive world of Dan Reed’s more recent solo excursions then you’ve come to the right place, as Liftoff is as musically chilled as they come, complemented by Reed’s contemplative, questioning and intelligently crafted lyrics.
Similarly chilled is Alchemy, Dan Reed’s instrumental album of meditative soundscapes from 2019.
Between those albums you have Hurricane Riders, the debut album from Snake Oil & Harmony (Dan Reed and his like-minded musical brother Danny Vaughn).
A singer-songwriter storytelling styled album, Hurricane Riders features country & Americana influences, a splash of melodic soul-pop and Crosby & Nash like harmonies.
Dan Reed spoke to FabricationsHQ about all three of the above albums (and how Liftoff in particular fits in with the ongoing global and political situations) as well as a little insight into the forthcoming, now completed Dan Reed Network album and potential ‘movie’ stardom…
Ross Muir: Musically, Liftoff is a chilled out electro-soul pop work that dovetails with insightful or thought-provoking lyricism on global issues, the planet and what ails us as a species.
The question therefore is was this album shaped by the pandemic and lockdown, as well as the global and political affairs of the last few years, or was this always the direction you were heading with this particular album?
Dan Reed: That’s an interesting question because about half the record was in the can before March of last year. I was actually planning on releasing it later this year, after the new Dan Reed Network record, which was supposed to come out late last year!
But the way things were with the pandemic and lockdown we decided to postpone the DRN album; I then decided to dive back in to the solo record and finish it off.
Half the lyrics were written after COVID and half before, but I do feel this was the direction I was headed in anyway, before this pandemic hit.
As you can hear in the lyrics I’m not really talking about lockdown or anything related to that separation and isolation but I did feel that the people who are listening to my music kind of needed this sort of album because of how divided we were, politically.
I could see that coming on the horizon – I have friends who supported Donald Trump and I have friends who hate him with a passion, so you could see these two worlds not colliding, but drifting even further apart.
The middle ground was becoming so vacant that I wanted to make a record that speaks to that middle zone; people can listen to it from both sides and find some kind of calmly delivered message in there.
RM: And that come across right from the start and the opening title track.
On Liftoff you’re contemplating the current global situation but within that lyricism you are optimistic and upbeat, swinging it back round to the answers of burying hatchets, togetherness and love – Dan Reed lyrical and philosophical traits.
DR: Well there are really only two choices – you’re either going to be frustrated and angry at the way the world is working or you take that frustration and anger and turn it into positive fuel.
I think, since becoming a father eight years ago, it’s my duty now to ensure I don’t fall into the darker side because I want to be an inspiration for my son; I hope he and his generation take better care of this world than we have, so I’m going to endow him with as much positive energy as I possibly can on this go-around.
RM: On the subject of when the album was written, was Spaceship Built For Two composed during lockdown? Because as a concept and what-if scenario I think we would have all loved the opportunity to get beyond the 2020 atmosphere of Planet Earth for a while with our closest companion.
DR: I had the chorus for that song written before lockdown but I wrote the verses after.
And that worked out well because, as you say, during lockdown and the pandemic we probably all wanted to get away for a brief holiday, maybe to another planet that has its shit together more than us! [laughs]
The question therefore is was this album shaped by the pandemic and lockdown, as well as the global and political affairs of the last few years, or was this always the direction you were heading with this particular album?
Dan Reed: That’s an interesting question because about half the record was in the can before March of last year. I was actually planning on releasing it later this year, after the new Dan Reed Network record, which was supposed to come out late last year!
But the way things were with the pandemic and lockdown we decided to postpone the DRN album; I then decided to dive back in to the solo record and finish it off.
Half the lyrics were written after COVID and half before, but I do feel this was the direction I was headed in anyway, before this pandemic hit.
As you can hear in the lyrics I’m not really talking about lockdown or anything related to that separation and isolation but I did feel that the people who are listening to my music kind of needed this sort of album because of how divided we were, politically.
I could see that coming on the horizon – I have friends who supported Donald Trump and I have friends who hate him with a passion, so you could see these two worlds not colliding, but drifting even further apart.
The middle ground was becoming so vacant that I wanted to make a record that speaks to that middle zone; people can listen to it from both sides and find some kind of calmly delivered message in there.
RM: And that come across right from the start and the opening title track.
On Liftoff you’re contemplating the current global situation but within that lyricism you are optimistic and upbeat, swinging it back round to the answers of burying hatchets, togetherness and love – Dan Reed lyrical and philosophical traits.
DR: Well there are really only two choices – you’re either going to be frustrated and angry at the way the world is working or you take that frustration and anger and turn it into positive fuel.
I think, since becoming a father eight years ago, it’s my duty now to ensure I don’t fall into the darker side because I want to be an inspiration for my son; I hope he and his generation take better care of this world than we have, so I’m going to endow him with as much positive energy as I possibly can on this go-around.
RM: On the subject of when the album was written, was Spaceship Built For Two composed during lockdown? Because as a concept and what-if scenario I think we would have all loved the opportunity to get beyond the 2020 atmosphere of Planet Earth for a while with our closest companion.
DR: I had the chorus for that song written before lockdown but I wrote the verses after.
And that worked out well because, as you say, during lockdown and the pandemic we probably all wanted to get away for a brief holiday, maybe to another planet that has its shit together more than us! [laughs]
RM: That other planet of yours would probably have a civilisation or intelligence that would take one look at our own planet and think "no thanks." Frankly I wouldn't blame them.
DR: I happen to believe we are not alone in the universe. I also have a feeling that not only are they looking at as from afar – they are so advanced, folding space and time to travel faster than the speed of light or have a lifespan of thousands of years – that anyone who has figured out that kind of technology puts their mental energy and resources into the collective of their species rather than the division of their species.
We spend so much energy on building walls and weapons of war it’s a miracle we’ve even got to the moon and managed to get to Mars with probes and satellites.
But one day, hopefully, we’re going to figure out that all religions are talking about the same thing and that the colour of your skin doesn’t relate to your intelligence – or lack thereof – there’s a lot of smart and stupid people in every race [laughs]
RM: Similarly anyone who is watching from afar, along with those of us who see the bigger picture and worrying health of the planet, will realise we are approaching a singular moment in time where we either move on collectively and intelligently or lose the plot completely through even further division.
We live in Interesting and troubling times.
DR: We do. Everybody around the world was celebrating when Barack Obama got into office – times are changing… the Bush era is over… no more wars... and all the rest of it – but Obama being in office actually showed us two things.
First, it showed us what an intelligent and compassionate human being can look like and, more importantly, sound like; he also brought up and uncovered a lot of racism that had been hidden within our country.
But he also showed that politicians are also often hypocrites. He didn’t do half of what he said he was going to do, he escalated a lot of the drone campaigns in different countries and started a couple of conflicts with Syria and Yemen.
So, as much as he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize within the first year of his presidency, he wasn’t really deserving of it at the end of his eight years.
Hypocrisy and racism issues brought Donald Trump to the forefront and now we have the rebound with Joe Biden; we’re going back to the old guard as opposed to electing someone with new ideas like Tulsi Gabbard of even someone more radical like Bernie Sanders.
They wouldn’t let those people through the pipe though because Corporate America doesn’t want to pay higher taxes; they don’t want to stop conflicts in other countries because a lot of people are making a lot of money out of it.
RM: From politics to the plight of the planet; although they are intrinsically linked, sadly.
I think one of the strongest tracks on Liftoff, musically, lyrically and thematically, is Back to Earth.
A love song to the planet, it also nods to the Ancient peoples of the world and the Native American.
Related, I’ve always believed Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown should be part of the curriculum in
every school in the United States.
DR: But it’s not and I don’t think ever will be.
To wake up the youth of America to that possibility is dangerous in respect of patriotism – the 'America is all good and we don’t do anything bad,' sort of thing.
We are lucky though that they are starting to teach now that Columbus didn’t discover America; that’s finally stopping in some schools, which is a good thing, but it always seems to be about balance. You can’t tip the scales!
RM: A middle ground, if you will.
DR: Yeah. Rob Daker and I – Rob’s my producer and member of DRN – were talking recently about how even liberalism is getting out of control.
You have the right wing, which is getting very entrenched in its points of view – The Trump World, far right conspiracies like QAnon, all that stuff – but then you have liberalism and what’s being called the Cancel Culture.
For example liberal based, Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Twitter are now trying to silence right wing talkers and thinkers and what-have-you by editing and censoring them.
I think that’s a big mistake because it just pushes them into the shadows where they will create their own world of communicating as opposed to having their comments – whether insane or sane – exposed under the light and in the public forums. I think censorship in any form is very dangerous so liberalism and its Cancel Culture is getting out of whack as well.
But I also think that’s just the balance of the scales again, you know? You have the left and right wings, which always have to balance themselves out – if one’s going to get radical then the other is too!
RM: I want to make mention of another track from Liftoff, the lovely soul-pop number Deeper Than Our Fears. That features songwriting contribution from my fellow countryman James Bird of Scottish rock band Mason Hill.
DR: James sent me that piece of music, without lyrics, and it’s pretty much the same arrangement that’s on the album. I wrote the melody and lyrics and added some extra guitar and drum stuff; James also had the melody for the bridge section.
He sent it to me because he didn’t think it was the sort of song Mason Hill would do and I loved it immediately.
I was so inspired by it that I think I sent him back something the very next day, after he sent over the track.
I wrote the melody and lyrics for it that night.
The same thing happened with the track Richard Hilton sent me, Shed My Skin.
Richard is the keyboard player with Chic and Nile Rodgers music director for his live shows; I first met Richard when Nile was producing the DRN album Slam back in 1989.
Richard said "Dude! I have this track that I don’t see any home for, but I thought of you when I wrote it!"
He sent it to me and the very next day I sent it back with my own stuff over it...
DR: I happen to believe we are not alone in the universe. I also have a feeling that not only are they looking at as from afar – they are so advanced, folding space and time to travel faster than the speed of light or have a lifespan of thousands of years – that anyone who has figured out that kind of technology puts their mental energy and resources into the collective of their species rather than the division of their species.
We spend so much energy on building walls and weapons of war it’s a miracle we’ve even got to the moon and managed to get to Mars with probes and satellites.
But one day, hopefully, we’re going to figure out that all religions are talking about the same thing and that the colour of your skin doesn’t relate to your intelligence – or lack thereof – there’s a lot of smart and stupid people in every race [laughs]
RM: Similarly anyone who is watching from afar, along with those of us who see the bigger picture and worrying health of the planet, will realise we are approaching a singular moment in time where we either move on collectively and intelligently or lose the plot completely through even further division.
We live in Interesting and troubling times.
DR: We do. Everybody around the world was celebrating when Barack Obama got into office – times are changing… the Bush era is over… no more wars... and all the rest of it – but Obama being in office actually showed us two things.
First, it showed us what an intelligent and compassionate human being can look like and, more importantly, sound like; he also brought up and uncovered a lot of racism that had been hidden within our country.
But he also showed that politicians are also often hypocrites. He didn’t do half of what he said he was going to do, he escalated a lot of the drone campaigns in different countries and started a couple of conflicts with Syria and Yemen.
So, as much as he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize within the first year of his presidency, he wasn’t really deserving of it at the end of his eight years.
Hypocrisy and racism issues brought Donald Trump to the forefront and now we have the rebound with Joe Biden; we’re going back to the old guard as opposed to electing someone with new ideas like Tulsi Gabbard of even someone more radical like Bernie Sanders.
They wouldn’t let those people through the pipe though because Corporate America doesn’t want to pay higher taxes; they don’t want to stop conflicts in other countries because a lot of people are making a lot of money out of it.
RM: From politics to the plight of the planet; although they are intrinsically linked, sadly.
I think one of the strongest tracks on Liftoff, musically, lyrically and thematically, is Back to Earth.
A love song to the planet, it also nods to the Ancient peoples of the world and the Native American.
Related, I’ve always believed Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown should be part of the curriculum in
every school in the United States.
DR: But it’s not and I don’t think ever will be.
To wake up the youth of America to that possibility is dangerous in respect of patriotism – the 'America is all good and we don’t do anything bad,' sort of thing.
We are lucky though that they are starting to teach now that Columbus didn’t discover America; that’s finally stopping in some schools, which is a good thing, but it always seems to be about balance. You can’t tip the scales!
RM: A middle ground, if you will.
DR: Yeah. Rob Daker and I – Rob’s my producer and member of DRN – were talking recently about how even liberalism is getting out of control.
You have the right wing, which is getting very entrenched in its points of view – The Trump World, far right conspiracies like QAnon, all that stuff – but then you have liberalism and what’s being called the Cancel Culture.
For example liberal based, Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Twitter are now trying to silence right wing talkers and thinkers and what-have-you by editing and censoring them.
I think that’s a big mistake because it just pushes them into the shadows where they will create their own world of communicating as opposed to having their comments – whether insane or sane – exposed under the light and in the public forums. I think censorship in any form is very dangerous so liberalism and its Cancel Culture is getting out of whack as well.
But I also think that’s just the balance of the scales again, you know? You have the left and right wings, which always have to balance themselves out – if one’s going to get radical then the other is too!
RM: I want to make mention of another track from Liftoff, the lovely soul-pop number Deeper Than Our Fears. That features songwriting contribution from my fellow countryman James Bird of Scottish rock band Mason Hill.
DR: James sent me that piece of music, without lyrics, and it’s pretty much the same arrangement that’s on the album. I wrote the melody and lyrics and added some extra guitar and drum stuff; James also had the melody for the bridge section.
He sent it to me because he didn’t think it was the sort of song Mason Hill would do and I loved it immediately.
I was so inspired by it that I think I sent him back something the very next day, after he sent over the track.
I wrote the melody and lyrics for it that night.
The same thing happened with the track Richard Hilton sent me, Shed My Skin.
Richard is the keyboard player with Chic and Nile Rodgers music director for his live shows; I first met Richard when Nile was producing the DRN album Slam back in 1989.
Richard said "Dude! I have this track that I don’t see any home for, but I thought of you when I wrote it!"
He sent it to me and the very next day I sent it back with my own stuff over it...
RM: That has to be musically gratifying when you get that dovetailing of song ideas, whether with people you've known for decades, like Richard, or met or interacted with more recently like James.
DR: It is. I really love working on music that someone else has created; it really inspires me because I’m not having to think about anything except the lyrics and the melody.
I love that part of the process, even more so than tracking drum parts and the more technical stuff!
So, yeah, it was very inspirational working on both those tracks.
RM: Now, whether by musical accident or ambient design, Alchemy, the album you released in 2019, is the instrumental and meditative precursor to the lyrical and contemplative Liftoff.
The six movements that make up Alchemy were originally written for Swedish truth sayer and energy worker Leah Allén?
DR: Yes, that’s right. Leah came to me and said she had an Alchemy of the Heart meditation and she wanted some background music when she did it live, but also wanted a record of it as well, with her speaking in Swedish.
I loved the whole idea of that and told her I could give her a month solid of me working on this for her, so she hired me to do just that.
But, I fell in love with the music so much that I asked her if she would let me release it as a meditation record without the Swedish on it, because I knew the majority of our fans around the world would like to have the music.
She was totally cool with that and it worked out great.
RM: And it works as not just a meditative tool but as a six movement sequence of relaxing, long-form soundscapes.
For example my wife, who is a Buddhist, has used Alchemy to mediate to – my own form of meditation however is playing Alchemy on a relaxing, lights down late evening with a glass of a suitably aged Balvenie.
DR: For me it’s marijuana [laughs]. Not when I’m on the road and not when I’m in the UK but when I’m at home here in Prague.
You can't buy it and you can't sell it, but it is legal to possess, and grow, a small amount for your own use here in the Czech Republic. And that's OK; it's that middle ground again.
RM: Damn, I really thought I had the trump card with the single malt [laughter].
I’d like to go back almost exactly a year to Hurricane Riders, the debut album from Snake Oil & Harmony, which is of course your good self and Danny Vaughn.
That's a lovely storyteller album featuring two singer-songwriters in musical and vocal harmony but unfortunately the promotional tour had to be cancelled because of the 2020 lockdown.
DR: It is. I really love working on music that someone else has created; it really inspires me because I’m not having to think about anything except the lyrics and the melody.
I love that part of the process, even more so than tracking drum parts and the more technical stuff!
So, yeah, it was very inspirational working on both those tracks.
RM: Now, whether by musical accident or ambient design, Alchemy, the album you released in 2019, is the instrumental and meditative precursor to the lyrical and contemplative Liftoff.
The six movements that make up Alchemy were originally written for Swedish truth sayer and energy worker Leah Allén?
DR: Yes, that’s right. Leah came to me and said she had an Alchemy of the Heart meditation and she wanted some background music when she did it live, but also wanted a record of it as well, with her speaking in Swedish.
I loved the whole idea of that and told her I could give her a month solid of me working on this for her, so she hired me to do just that.
But, I fell in love with the music so much that I asked her if she would let me release it as a meditation record without the Swedish on it, because I knew the majority of our fans around the world would like to have the music.
She was totally cool with that and it worked out great.
RM: And it works as not just a meditative tool but as a six movement sequence of relaxing, long-form soundscapes.
For example my wife, who is a Buddhist, has used Alchemy to mediate to – my own form of meditation however is playing Alchemy on a relaxing, lights down late evening with a glass of a suitably aged Balvenie.
DR: For me it’s marijuana [laughs]. Not when I’m on the road and not when I’m in the UK but when I’m at home here in Prague.
You can't buy it and you can't sell it, but it is legal to possess, and grow, a small amount for your own use here in the Czech Republic. And that's OK; it's that middle ground again.
RM: Damn, I really thought I had the trump card with the single malt [laughter].
I’d like to go back almost exactly a year to Hurricane Riders, the debut album from Snake Oil & Harmony, which is of course your good self and Danny Vaughn.
That's a lovely storyteller album featuring two singer-songwriters in musical and vocal harmony but unfortunately the promotional tour had to be cancelled because of the 2020 lockdown.
DR: We were really going back and forth on that; but it was the realisation that, shit, what if even only one parent or grandparent got sick from people coming to our shows?
We couldn’t have that so we decided to cancel the tour.
RM: Similarly, you’ve had to push back what would have been the DRN UK spring tour with Reckless Love and Mason Hill to March 2022.
DR: Yeah, we have. Everyone’s broke but we’re all in the same boat together, trying to figure out ways to get past it all while focussing on other aspects of the art – a lot of people are doing on-line concerts for example.
Other artists are finding time to write a lot of music again.
Usually they might be writing for around three months, spitting out a record then going out on the road to promote it but now everybody’s had what’s going to be about a year and a half, maybe more, to be in the studio or work on new songs – I can’t imagine the number of great albums that are going to be coming come by the end of this year!
RM: Again, balance – or the positive from the negative.
To return to the Hurricane Riders album – the album sounds more associated to a Danny Vaughn solo record via the country-Americana vibe that permeates it, yet it’s very much a collaborative work, given your sprinkling of soul-pop leanings, the many dovetailing-duet moments and blended vocal harmonies that genuinely recall Crosby & Nash.
DR: That’s interesting you should say that because we talked about inviting in one of Danny’s friends, the singer Steve Balsamo, who has a higher vocal range than Danny and I, to do a three-part harmony album, like a Crosby Stills and Nash record.
But it just never came about and we decided not to go down that route with the record.
But, the country roots, that you mentioned? That’s because Danny and I discussed early on to make a really down home record, you know? Something we knew we could play live with two acoustic guitars and the songs would still translate, as opposed to a rock record or something that becomes a bit too complicated and would have needed those three-part harmonies.
Because then you have to think about bringing out another person on the road with you – and do they play guitar or maybe another instrument? Or do they just sit there and sing and does that mean sharing out three lead vocals instead of just two?
The style of Hurricane Riders was kind of the goal of that record; Danny really came up to bat with a few of the songs that dictated the direction of that album, and I loved it.
So, yeah, I support what you’re saying; it definitely has more of a flavour of Danny’s direction but it was also something, with my own roots, that I never got to visit on the DRN records or even my solo stuff.
I thought this would also be a great way for me to pretend I was living back in South Dakota!
RM: Love it [laughs]. But in all seriousness a song such as Last Man Standing does sit somewhere between Poco and a Jimmy Webb penned, Glen Campbell number. Just such a lovely song…
We couldn’t have that so we decided to cancel the tour.
RM: Similarly, you’ve had to push back what would have been the DRN UK spring tour with Reckless Love and Mason Hill to March 2022.
DR: Yeah, we have. Everyone’s broke but we’re all in the same boat together, trying to figure out ways to get past it all while focussing on other aspects of the art – a lot of people are doing on-line concerts for example.
Other artists are finding time to write a lot of music again.
Usually they might be writing for around three months, spitting out a record then going out on the road to promote it but now everybody’s had what’s going to be about a year and a half, maybe more, to be in the studio or work on new songs – I can’t imagine the number of great albums that are going to be coming come by the end of this year!
RM: Again, balance – or the positive from the negative.
To return to the Hurricane Riders album – the album sounds more associated to a Danny Vaughn solo record via the country-Americana vibe that permeates it, yet it’s very much a collaborative work, given your sprinkling of soul-pop leanings, the many dovetailing-duet moments and blended vocal harmonies that genuinely recall Crosby & Nash.
DR: That’s interesting you should say that because we talked about inviting in one of Danny’s friends, the singer Steve Balsamo, who has a higher vocal range than Danny and I, to do a three-part harmony album, like a Crosby Stills and Nash record.
But it just never came about and we decided not to go down that route with the record.
But, the country roots, that you mentioned? That’s because Danny and I discussed early on to make a really down home record, you know? Something we knew we could play live with two acoustic guitars and the songs would still translate, as opposed to a rock record or something that becomes a bit too complicated and would have needed those three-part harmonies.
Because then you have to think about bringing out another person on the road with you – and do they play guitar or maybe another instrument? Or do they just sit there and sing and does that mean sharing out three lead vocals instead of just two?
The style of Hurricane Riders was kind of the goal of that record; Danny really came up to bat with a few of the songs that dictated the direction of that album, and I loved it.
So, yeah, I support what you’re saying; it definitely has more of a flavour of Danny’s direction but it was also something, with my own roots, that I never got to visit on the DRN records or even my solo stuff.
I thought this would also be a great way for me to pretend I was living back in South Dakota!
RM: Love it [laughs]. But in all seriousness a song such as Last Man Standing does sit somewhere between Poco and a Jimmy Webb penned, Glen Campbell number. Just such a lovely song…
DR: We discussed so many song ideas for the Snake Oil album; we passed a lot of tracks back and forth.
In fact, the song you really like on Lift-Off, Back to Earth, I wrote that for Snake Oil & Harmony!
RM: That’s interesting because I just can’t conceive of Back to Earth being anywhere but on a Dan Reed solo album.
DR: Well what happened was I had written the music and had the chorus melody; I sent that to Danny and asked him to write the lyrics and the verses, but the hint back on that from Danny was he wasn’t hearing anything; he didn’t really feel like it was going to work.
So then I thought I’d save it for the DRN record because with DRN we go all over the place with different styles; I played it for all the guys and their initial reaction was "Yeah, we like it – let’s do it!"
But then Danny hits me back about two weeks later and says "You know what, I’ve changed my mind about this song!" to which I reply "Well guess what, the Network’s gonna do it!"
But as we started to work on the new DRN record and realised it was getting really heavy – not metal, but really funky with heavy guitars – stuff like Back to Earth just didn't fit at all!
So now we have the Snake Oil album out, and the DRN album recorded and here I am with this song just sitting around [laughs].
But I finished it by being guided in the direction of something I knew Danny would love too because he’s a big supporter of Native American rights and a big fan of that whole message; so it all worked out great.
RM: It is extraordinary how sometimes things just end up where they are meant to be.
You just touched on something I was going to ask as we start to wrap up – the situation with, and sound of, the delayed DRN album. This does indeed sound like, as you have just confirmed, a heavier DRN offering.
DR: Yes, it is. We finished tracking it a year ago this month – it was one year ago when I left Portland in Oregon after a month of recording and working with the band.
We were then going to release it that summer, but that became the fall… then winter… [laughs] but we are going to start pre-sales within the next couple of months; the record will come out just after the summer.
In fact, the song you really like on Lift-Off, Back to Earth, I wrote that for Snake Oil & Harmony!
RM: That’s interesting because I just can’t conceive of Back to Earth being anywhere but on a Dan Reed solo album.
DR: Well what happened was I had written the music and had the chorus melody; I sent that to Danny and asked him to write the lyrics and the verses, but the hint back on that from Danny was he wasn’t hearing anything; he didn’t really feel like it was going to work.
So then I thought I’d save it for the DRN record because with DRN we go all over the place with different styles; I played it for all the guys and their initial reaction was "Yeah, we like it – let’s do it!"
But then Danny hits me back about two weeks later and says "You know what, I’ve changed my mind about this song!" to which I reply "Well guess what, the Network’s gonna do it!"
But as we started to work on the new DRN record and realised it was getting really heavy – not metal, but really funky with heavy guitars – stuff like Back to Earth just didn't fit at all!
So now we have the Snake Oil album out, and the DRN album recorded and here I am with this song just sitting around [laughs].
But I finished it by being guided in the direction of something I knew Danny would love too because he’s a big supporter of Native American rights and a big fan of that whole message; so it all worked out great.
RM: It is extraordinary how sometimes things just end up where they are meant to be.
You just touched on something I was going to ask as we start to wrap up – the situation with, and sound of, the delayed DRN album. This does indeed sound like, as you have just confirmed, a heavier DRN offering.
DR: Yes, it is. We finished tracking it a year ago this month – it was one year ago when I left Portland in Oregon after a month of recording and working with the band.
We were then going to release it that summer, but that became the fall… then winter… [laughs] but we are going to start pre-sales within the next couple of months; the record will come out just after the summer.
The Dan Reed Network - getitn' ready to heavy the funk up in 2021
DR: Also, what I’ve been doing, over the last nine months, is working on a film that’s going to promote the new DRN album. It’s a dramatic story and forty-two-minute-long movie that I wrote and directed.
I hired a cast and crew – all the band members appear in it, playing cameo roles – and we shot it here in Prague last August.
These last few months I’ve been working on editing and sound design with a whole host of crew folks that are really talented; in fact we’ve just coloured the film and are now mixing the sound.
RM: Sounds both interesting and intriguing – this is clearly a lot more than just a video trailer-teaser…
DR: Well what we are going to do now is shop it to a few of the streaming services because it’s ended up being this kind of really cool pilot episode for a potential series; we’re going to shop it to the Netflix, HBO and Amazon folks first and if they all say no then we’ll probably go to the film festivals with it.
After that we’ll release it to the public and the fans in different forms, although we’re not sure how yet.
That’s our goal for what has been a nine-month pregnancy that’s giving birth very soon!
And… our main actor is a Scottish boy!
RM: Well I should certainly hope so… [laughter]
DR: Yeah, he’s a musician, writer and actor from Glasgow named Michael Abubakar; he played keyboards with me in my solo band for a while. He’s been living in London and acting on a serious level these last four or five years doing a lot of film, TV and theatre stuff, including Shakespeare.
He’s just fantastic in our movie; really great.
RM: That all bodes well for the immediate Dan Reed and DRN future but, given everything we have just talked about and the global, socio-political and pandemic state of affairs this last year and more, where do you think we will all be in say, two years time?
DR: That’s a very good question and I think about this daily. I’ve decided to tune out; that’s my contribution. I’ve got rid of my CNN app, I’ve got rid of my FOX News app, I don’t try to look to anybody’s side any more. I’m going to walk down the middle and focus on my art and try to stay positive and listen to both sides equally.
Where we end up two years from now? If I really think about how divided we are, I have a feeling it’s going to get worse before it gets better – corporate greed over how we are treating the environment is also going to get worse before it gets better.
I think we’re in for long ride and I don’t know that I’ll see the changes in my lifetime now that I hoped for twenty and thirty years ago – but I hope my son gets to be part of the solution; that’s my goal nowadays.
RM: I sincerely hope that’s the case; meanwhile we can take heart and positivity from the power of music, which has absolutely no truck with such issues and refuses to recognise borders, boundaries or flags; that’s especially true of Dan Reed and DRN.
Thanks for stopping by at FabricationsHQ again Dan; always an enlightening pleasure.
DR: Absolutely brother and thank you so much. I look forward to the next time!
Ross Muir
Muirsical Conversation with Dan Reed
February 2021
Photo Credit: Linda Rowe (Dan Reed); Anders Gustafsson (DRN)
Dan Reed merchandise store: https://danreed.tmstor.es
Dan Reed Network website: https://danreed-network.com/
The DRN/ Reckless Love UK Tour (with special guests Mason Hill) has been rescheduled to March 2022.
All purchased tickets remain valid and on sale via www.gigantic.com and www.dan
I hired a cast and crew – all the band members appear in it, playing cameo roles – and we shot it here in Prague last August.
These last few months I’ve been working on editing and sound design with a whole host of crew folks that are really talented; in fact we’ve just coloured the film and are now mixing the sound.
RM: Sounds both interesting and intriguing – this is clearly a lot more than just a video trailer-teaser…
DR: Well what we are going to do now is shop it to a few of the streaming services because it’s ended up being this kind of really cool pilot episode for a potential series; we’re going to shop it to the Netflix, HBO and Amazon folks first and if they all say no then we’ll probably go to the film festivals with it.
After that we’ll release it to the public and the fans in different forms, although we’re not sure how yet.
That’s our goal for what has been a nine-month pregnancy that’s giving birth very soon!
And… our main actor is a Scottish boy!
RM: Well I should certainly hope so… [laughter]
DR: Yeah, he’s a musician, writer and actor from Glasgow named Michael Abubakar; he played keyboards with me in my solo band for a while. He’s been living in London and acting on a serious level these last four or five years doing a lot of film, TV and theatre stuff, including Shakespeare.
He’s just fantastic in our movie; really great.
RM: That all bodes well for the immediate Dan Reed and DRN future but, given everything we have just talked about and the global, socio-political and pandemic state of affairs this last year and more, where do you think we will all be in say, two years time?
DR: That’s a very good question and I think about this daily. I’ve decided to tune out; that’s my contribution. I’ve got rid of my CNN app, I’ve got rid of my FOX News app, I don’t try to look to anybody’s side any more. I’m going to walk down the middle and focus on my art and try to stay positive and listen to both sides equally.
Where we end up two years from now? If I really think about how divided we are, I have a feeling it’s going to get worse before it gets better – corporate greed over how we are treating the environment is also going to get worse before it gets better.
I think we’re in for long ride and I don’t know that I’ll see the changes in my lifetime now that I hoped for twenty and thirty years ago – but I hope my son gets to be part of the solution; that’s my goal nowadays.
RM: I sincerely hope that’s the case; meanwhile we can take heart and positivity from the power of music, which has absolutely no truck with such issues and refuses to recognise borders, boundaries or flags; that’s especially true of Dan Reed and DRN.
Thanks for stopping by at FabricationsHQ again Dan; always an enlightening pleasure.
DR: Absolutely brother and thank you so much. I look forward to the next time!
Ross Muir
Muirsical Conversation with Dan Reed
February 2021
Photo Credit: Linda Rowe (Dan Reed); Anders Gustafsson (DRN)
Dan Reed merchandise store: https://danreed.tmstor.es
Dan Reed Network website: https://danreed-network.com/
The DRN/ Reckless Love UK Tour (with special guests Mason Hill) has been rescheduled to March 2022.
All purchased tickets remain valid and on sale via www.gigantic.com and www.dan
