Author: DanAdmin

It’s official. I’ve finished tinkering with the new record and it’s now out there. Whew, it’s been a long process and I’m so happy to be able to share with you. I put a few of the tracks up on the music page and it’s also available to buy on CD or through iTunes on the store page. 

The record release party at 12 Bar Club last week was so much fun! Thanks so much to everyone who made it out and to my rockin band, Hanna Grahm on fiddle and vocals, Jamie Whelligan on bass and vocals, Oscar Preciado on thunderous drums, Jeremy Mendonca on electric guitar and vocals, Grace Solero on vocals and Whiskey Mick on mandolin. It was a good 150 degrees or so on stage and we really played our socks off. Was a fun challenge to fit all 7 of us onstage for the encore!. Tom Palloway from Headlite did a fantastic job with the lights. Thanks Tom! The Hallelujah Trails and Ben Holland played stellar sets as well and I was overwhelmed with all the love and support in the room. I’m really excited to have a couple of California shows coming up as well. Hope to catch up with all you folks out there!

I’m also in the process of putting my last few solo albums on iTunes as well. And a record from way back from a band called Jiff. 

It’s all coming together, folks. I was down at Heart of Gold Studios today with Tim Bazell mastering the record and it’s sounding pretty rockin. Great to catch up with him and see one of his studios in the far reaches of NW9. Last night, I met with Tom Palloway from Headlite at 12 Bar Club and he’s gonna do the lighting for the record release party. I don’t know how psychedelic he plans on getting but stay tuned!

I’ve put together a band for the Car Pizza release and really excited to rock these songs out with actual other people. Had some jams with Jamie Whelligan on bass and he’s got a really good feel for the tunes. Will the drummer is just back in town after playing some shows in Germany so hoping to all get in a practice room soon. Hanna and her fiddle are coming over from Sweden a few days before the gig and it’ll be great to have her in town. Also, Jeremy is gonna sing and play on a few tunes as well and there might be other special guests. And kicking off the live music for the night will be Ben Holland, a really talented singer/songwriter/guitarist. Then there will be a full electric set with The Hallelujah Trails. Then my band goes on around 10. Can’t wait!

And just had SF and LA gigs booked for September. See, it’s coming together. Hope you’re all having a great summer!

Whew, been mixing up a storm with the new album! It feels great to just get in there and do it and I’m really enjoying having the tools to make it happen. Excited to share it with you soon!

Last month, my sister, Geralyn, and I went on an epic road trip through the south of the US. We hit the big music cities of New Orleans, Nashville, Memphis and Austin as well as plenty of small towns along the way. I haven’t quite recovered from how great a journey it was. In short, I would say it was super inspiring and has given me a lot of energy for releasing both my solo album in August and the Grace Solero album in September. Once my album is mixed, I’ll get a move on booking gigs to support it. I’m really excited about the record release party on Aug. 8 at the 12 Bar Club in London. My fiddler friend, Hanna, is coming over from Sweden to play and Hallelujah Trails are also performing electrically on the night. Woohoo! 

“The Rebirth of Howdy Hank” documentary we did a few years ago is up on youtube! Have a look:

Whew! Working hard on this solo album. Just about finished with the artwork but still recording bits and mixing songs. Really enjoying the process but sometimes seems there aren’t enough hours in the day.

My friend Hanna came to town last month and we ended up recording a few tunes together. Probably went over 20 or so of my songs and then focused on the ones that seemed to jump out more. We also shot a music video for a song called “Dream the Same Dream” with Karol Lakomiec and Emil Kunda. Luna was our ever-helpful stylist and play button presser. I’m excited to see how it turns out!  

So the new album will be out in August. I’m gonna have a record release party, a few London gigs and will play some California gigs in September. Feeling pretty inspired. 

Back gigging with both Norton Money and Grace Solero. Grace Solero played down at Water Rats last Friday and it was great to rock out again. It was our first gig since finishing the mixing and mastering of the upcoming album. We’re looking at releasing it in September so stay tuned for all the exciting updates!

Norton Money was back at Aces & Eights the week before last. Great to be playing and singing together again.

The solo “Car Pizza” album is getting closer to completion. I’ve been connecting my old recording system to the new one to get bits of some songs back and it’s been quite a technological adventure. Can’t wait to share the album with you.

I had a solo gig back in January at the Piano Bar in Hollywood. Thanks to my friend, Henry Fenton, for sorting it out for me! Couldn’t sort out any SF gigs this time around but hope to get something together the next time. My sister and I also got to check out some incredible guitars around Hollywood. Just looking this time around…

So we’re here at the Engine Room in London mixing the last few tunes for the next Grace Solero album. It’s amazing how much concentration listening can take, as well as how exhausting not moving very much can be. 

I have a solo gig on Saturday put on by The Fine Line Project in support of a charity called Rethink Mental Illness. It’s at the historic Troubadour, where Bob Dylan supposedly played his 1st London gig. Should be a good night and heck, it’s always fun to play on a Saturday.

I’m trying to sort out some California gigs for January and will post them on the website when I get them. Man, where has this year gone? 

Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone! 

To quote Jonathan Richman, it’s gotta be action packed. Well, it has been. I feel like I’m running in several directions at once but headway’s being made.

Norton Money played last week down at the Aces & Eights in Tufnell Park, London. Great to get back onstage and see friends after a summer break from gigging. I been doing a lot of recording recently. I’ve been laying down guitar and voice versions of some of my solo songs. This album I’ve had in the works for a while, Car Pizza, has been delayed because I wasn’t really happy with the way the full band versions of songs were sounding. I’m thinking of just keeping it as a more acoustic affair. 

I’ve been working on recording a song with a South African songwriter called Dan Szymczak. I really like the tune and I think it’s cool that he primarily writes songs on a ukulele. Talented drummer too. 

This week, my other band, Grace Solero, has been working on mixing our 2nd album at Assault & Battery Studio in London. This is a place of dreams. Gold and platinum records on the walls and I’m getting awfully distracted from mixing when there’s Alan Moulder’s guitar collection in the other room. A couple Fender Jaguars from the 60s as well as an old Jazzmaster. There’s a strange old plastic Maccaferri and I’m happy to see a Surfcaster representing. The mixes are coming along really well. Darren Lawson is our able and talented mixing engineer and Bjorn, Grace and I shout at him to make changes. No, actually, we all make a really good team. Darren has worked closely with Alan and Flood at this studio so it’s like we have home field advantage. We’re here through Sunday and hope to get back next week for a couple more days. Mixing is such an intense, exhilerating, exhausting, fun experience and to have Darren expertly working the controls of so many fun processors makes it all the better. 

A couple months ago, I met a Swedish fiddle player called Hanna Grahm while busking at Piccadilly Circus. We ended up jamming on a bunch of my songs for over an hour. I was amazed how quickly she picked them up and how much soul she put into her playing. A lot of passersby were stopping and there was such a great energy coming from the music. She was only in London for one night before heading to the US to go play at bunch of music festivals. I’m hoping to get her back here soon to record some songs, get an album together and hit the road. 

Having the Olympics in London was pretty darn fun too. I spent a few days and evenings checking out events on big screens in Victoria Park, just a stone’s throw from the Olympic Stadium. There was a great roar there and lots of Jamaicans when Bolt won the 200m and Jamaica got gold, silver and bronze. I also played a solo gig at the Diamond Club at Emirates Stadium for a Chinese sports company that was here for the Olympics. Met some really cool musicians that were also playing. 

So as fall starts, I just have to focus on my several simultaneous things going on. Easy enough. Thanks for reading. 

The new site is up! Tons of thanks to Maurizio Liberato for designing and building it. I’m gonna be adding things gradually so feel free to check in from time to time. I’d also love to hear from you through the contact page. Thanks!