Dan Banks' Blog

Nashville Dan

2012-02-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

Nashville is a meat-and-three. It's one burly cut of meatloaf...surrounded by three amazing sides. Where the mash potatoes say, "we make the dish! and that awful meatloaf takes all the credit!" The green beans say, "thank you mash potatoes, we don't even make sense being here on this plate without you!" {tear} Corn says, "you'll be seeing more of me later..." {evil smile} Meatloaf....says nothing...just listens. And the Cornbread is the giant-yellow-southern cherry on top, saying, "Ta-da Bubba...this lunch is surly a hit!", then proceeds to drop and break the plate, lunch ruined. Start over.

The longer I'm here, the more complex I realize Nashville Is, and more reverence I have towards all of It. So many legends, so many great things, so little time. This place kicks so much ass, it's ridiculous.

Q: "Mr. Banks, what are you doing in Nashville?"

I'm working hard and fast, absorbing the craft of songwriting from the Masters. They're like Jedi's shuffling around town, cloaked, with light sabers ready to whip out if they feel like it. I'm getting my hands on knowledge. I'm learning the force. It's is allowing me to improve my current & future work. It's allowing me to take some 'ideas' from the past, and perhaps take them all the way to the great big market in the sky. It's a pretty awesome feeling! Similar to what He Man is saying in this video.

It's a game changing feeling, one like I've never had before.

Oh...but, there's more...

Recently, I was chosen by Mike Doyle, VP at Major Bob Publishing for his Spring Songwriter Workshop series. It's an absolute KILLER opportunity, where 12 cherry-picked artists/songwriters from TN (and beyond) spend a few hours each week together... refining what they do, becoming all they can be.

We talk, pitch songs, tweak songs, shred songs, high-five, support each other, and share. Mike's been great at lassoing up amazing guests: hit writers, other publishers, record label executives, attorneys...suits wearers, shirt-tuckers, and flip-floppers. This week, the hit came from one of Garth Brooks' friends, and the writer of Rodeo and Unanswered Prayers.

Say what you want about my man Garth, but consider this: he's in the same tier of record sales as The Eagles & Bruce Springsteen. He's a Superstar, in the entirety of the 'musical experience' on planet Earth. He somehow connected with a HUGE audience, which afforded him huge commercial success. i.e. people liked him so much, they gave him ten bucks at Walmarts.

So, lately I've been imagining what may have been going going through Garth's head in the beginning. When he walked into Douglas Corner the first time...and heard The Dance played at an open mic. Saying to Tony Arata, "hey man, if I ever make it, I'm going to cut that song". The night he destroyed The Bluebird with a song, maybe not even realizing he was being watched by a label head ...and was signed the next day to his first record deal. I pictured him pretty much like this photo. While others' were out telling people what time it was, Garth was somewhere figuring out how the clock worked, and lubing gears.

I mean... look how serious this dude is! Holdin' a cantaloupe sized piece of Country Music in his hands, getting ready to slam dunk it on Pop Music's head... who knew?

You know what...I think he knew. May not have always known, but once he knew...he knew. He wasn't messin' around.

So, here's what I want to say to you Mr. Brooks:
-------------------------

Garth,

Remember when you were like me?

On a mission to find a glowing, misty ball of pure earth-shattering Awesomeness.... Ready to stand in the Levi, 501 Sky... Proud... Mysterious... and perhaps even a little photoshopped... Prepared to change the world with the Songs you found, created, and helped co-create? Songs you believed in. Songs that Had the Power.

When the half-moon in the sky was your broken fingernail, resting easy on a cloud...And you dreamt of that sea of hundreds of thousands of fans in Central Park...that would let you surf all the way from that stage, to Tin Pan Alley, back to 16th Ave on Music Row? Could you feel how it felt to hear your labors of love reach their full potential....echoing from the Antelope Sky to the Cold and Damp tenements of the Five Boroughs?

I think you did, and that's why it happened.

Mr. Brooks, I know that you don't know me from Adam.. However, I'm really grateful that you paved the way for people like me, dressed up this town, and lined its coffers. That...is showing me the real power in a Song. One song, can make the world go ... Boom.

take care,

danbanks.com

Songwriter Rounds

2011-08-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

"I remember when Robert DeNiro told me not to name-drop...."

Great line I heard last night by Steve Bogard, listening to 'Writers In The Round' at the Commodore Grill, in the heart of Vanderbilt. It was a round hosted by Jerry Foster along with Bryon Hill. It's going to take a long time for me to not find it highly surreal that I can go hear music that's on the radio, some of it iconic, sung by the people who wrote it...for free, on a Thursday night, at a Holiday Inn.

Regardless of your music preference, when you hear something Great...it just hits you.

I've never really listened to country music growing up. Coming from Northeastern Pennsylvania, moving to Southwest Florida...the music that resonated with me came from people like The Beatles, Billy Joel, James Taylor, The Dead, and The Allman Brothers. It made sense. I'm from a coal mining town, not a farm.

Yet, I can still sit around Nashville and appreciate all the Great songs I hear. Most of them being huge country music hits, completely unfamiliar to me. They move me, deeply...on first listen. What's up with that?

Well, these guys are playing hits. Their hits. Songs coming from the songwriters' own 'well' of life experience, expertly crafted to fully express an original idea. When heard with open-ears, hearing a hit is a visceral, bell ringing experience. There's no ego in this process.

Does it mean you feel good? Not necessarily. But It made you feel something. It resonated. That It part of things, makes it work. Hits work.

If writing hit songs were easy, everybody would be doing it. If you come to Nashville, you'll see that a lot of people are trying...really hard, everyday, to write a hit. Some of these songs are already hits, the world just isn't ready to wear them yet. The House That Built Me...took nine years (from what I've been told)... for Miranda Lambert to record it. Was it any less of a song 9 years ago? What's up with that?

Well... has anyone ever told you something you weren't ready to hear, yet you knew they were telling you the truth? Like: hmm... you need more work. Or...you're not ready.

When pros go out and 'test' their material, they watch the crowd hard, watch for body language, and watch for this connection. It's also what the industry people hidden in the crowd are watching for... because how the audience responds is all that matters. It's all that matters when you're trying to do this for a living. Or, if you really want your work to matter in this world. (your secret's safe with me)

In my opinion: The best songwriters in this town do a very simple thing, and they do it well: they work tirelessly until their songs work for them. It takes what it takes. They don't quit.

If this weren't true, then why do I keep hearing the same story, played out in different time frames, built in different houses?

Off to work!
Dan

Blank Pages

2011-07-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1- Pennsylvania

Chapter 2- Naples

Chapter 3- Gainesville

Chapter 4- Bonita

Chapter 5- Nashville

"...And we'll fill in the missing colors, in each others', paint by number dreams." - Pretender, Jackson Brown

I'm excited to be starting to write the new chapter in my book called "Life". It will sure to be a very colorful chapter. Full of interesting people, self-expression, music, and painting.

Happy to be holding the pen again.

I have hope. Hope Merle.

xo,
Dan

The Bitter End...NYC

2011-07-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

I was sitting there...looking over at the bar, and imagining Jerry Garcia ordering a beer, while Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan were discussing the complexities of the human experience over the rickety ebony grand piano at the corner of the stage. I could see it filled with dense smoke, back when smoking was OK. With real hipsters and beatnicks sitting listening to a young James Taylor, test driving songs like Sweet Baby James. The Bitter End is all that and more...

It was a humbling moment in my life to be asked to play there. The vibe inside was worth the drive. It's really...special.

Did dinner at Umberto's in Little Italy, followed by dessert at Ferrara's. It was one of the best meals I've ever had.

To do all that with great friends was just the cherry on top. No doubt, it's made the short list of best nights in my life...so far.

On our way back to Nashville now, for a couple more weeks in Music City-- filled with writing, house hunting, and performing. Things are looking up.

xo,
Dan

Viva la Nashville

2011-05-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Nashville is a place like I've never seen before. While it has a sense of something familiar, it is definitely its own thing. It has amazing talent, architecture, artists, songwriters, food, and culture. There's no doubt, it has earned the right to call itself "Music City". Experiencing it for myself changed the way I looked at everything. I has a strong pull.

Coming from SW FL to a place like Nashville as a singer/songwriter was a breath of fresh air. I don't know what those pilgrims feel like when they finally reach their 'holy land', but I think I may have gotten a sense. Taking a glimpse down Music Row was the closest thing to giddy I've felt since the first time I walked through a Toys R' Us when I was eight. There something really cool happening there.

I was very fortunate to be able to play a song at the Bluebird Cafe. Monday night, by 5:30pm, there was a line 50 deep, to get on the sign-up sheet to have a chance to play one song. By 6pm, there was 71 people that made up the list. The host announced the 'rules' for the night...explicit that there would be no talking allowed during performances, everyone was to hurry on and off stage, and 'get right to' whatever they were playing. They weren't interested in how awesome of a guitar shredder you were, or the amazing heartache you may have endured to come up with such profound lyrics... simply: hurry up, let your song do the talking... if it sucks we'll be polite... if its awesome, we'll let you now personally. To be able to play in a place that serious, was a nice change. I'm happy to report that people liked the song I did -- so that's always nice :) Having that happen there...felt like a major accomplishment.

The rest of the week was spent perusing neighborhoods and music venues. We got to go to "The End" and see a three piece indie/pop/rock band from New Zealand. The End is a pretty much an old school, CBGB-type rock club. Not what someone typically thinks about when they think Nashville. Nashville is not typical.

I spent an evening watching a 'songwriters in the round' at Pick's. For those who don't know (I didn't) that's when a group of singer/songwriters get up and perform their songs, in a very intimate and stripped down way. I heard some amazing songs performed by Carl Jackson (legendary songwriter/producer, grammy winner) and Claire Lynch (grammy nominated amazingly talented blue grasser). It was the free music at the hotel.

I joined NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International). Pretty much like the Board of Realtors, if you're a real estate agent...for songwriters. Their building used to be the band Alabama's recording studio, right across from RCA Studio B where Elvis, Roy Orbeson, and Dolly Parton cut a lot of famous songs. I got to have three of my songs critqued by Brent Baxter (a hit songwriter). Same night I was attending a workshop there held by Chris Wallin (writer of "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney, and many other hit songs).

I know this may seem like a bunch of name dropping, and maybe it is...but I think its pretty exciting to run into so much awesome, in just six days. All that needed to happen was a 13 hr. drive, and an open mind....pretty cool.

Genre aside, personal taste aside...if something is Great, something is Great. It was very humbling to be in the presence of so much Greatness. I felt that all around in Nashville. I felt wonderfully uncomfortable most of the time-- with the overwhelming feeling that 'things are really happening here'...because they are. That, with the realization that anyone who's interested in making music, or their art, their life, could fully actualize in a place like Nashville. Plus...there's homemade biscuits.

Sign me up.

-Dan

So what do you do for work?

2011-05-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

I work on myself. I've done so for a long time now. Sometimes I take a break, but when I'm ready...the work is there waiting for me to do. I'm not talking about LA Fitness type work, even though, sometimes that's obviously the work that needs to be done. I'm talking about the 'coming to terms with life', and all of its challenges. For me, it's the distance between things are vs. the way I want them to be. Let's call it: creating a life.

When I work, stuff gets done. Things change. Life literally opens up. Sometimes I get freaked out about just how much work there is left to do. Eventually I realized I am not where I used to be, things aren't as bad as they may seem, and I start working again. The work's about moving forward, and improving. Regardless of where I'm at. It's what's required to get to the next place. It's a lot of work.

Much to my surprise, I am not the center of the Universe. This realization may have come easy for some people-- yet it's taken me a minute to figure out. On a good day, I'm humble, I'm teachable, I go with the flow.

Sometimes...that happens after only after minutes/hours/days/weeks/months/years...of Life kicking my ass, showing me how wonderfully broken I really am!

After all that, I begin, to consider, to get willing, to start... to work again. I get what help I need, and start to 'ease on down the road'. Life doesn't change...but I change...making Life work again for me.

So why all this?

Well... because It works.

xo,
Dan

Who are you?

2011-02-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

People have been asking me: What do you do? Who do you sound like? Who are you like? Are you good?

For me, my answers tend to be the same: I'm Dan Banks. I sound like Dan Banks. It's my music. I may be good, but I'm trying to be great. You may not like what I do, and thats OK...I may not like what you do either. And by the way, who are you again?

If you listen to my music you can hear undertones of all the artists and bands that have crossed 'the blood-brain-barrier". That + my own spin.... and hopefully, you begin to hearing something unique.

I am an artist. I play guitar, I make music. I write songs, for myself and others. I perform songs, for myself and others. I produce songs, for myself and others. I am a citizen, I need money. I've learned many things to be able to print money, legally. I'm a web designer, graphic artist, promo guru, marketer, salesman, showman, entertainer, I'm a CEO with a vision. I'm a personal advocate for myself and what I do. I see the greatness and others, and support them in doing the same for themselves (because it ain't easy, in a world that people mostly give up). I am who I am with a lot of help.

This renaissance man is giving himself a shot for once.

This is why I must leave where I'm at. I've decided (with help) that Naples, FL is one heck of place to visit... This is why I'm moving to Nashville.

-Dan

* that a picture of "Hi, How Are You", Daniel Johnston's first self released record. Check out his site here, he's a genius.*

It's A World of Magic & Music

2011-01-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I'm in the process of creating a vision for my new life in music. It's changed over the years, as I've matured. I've been a late bloomer. In fact, I didn't get a guitar till I was 19 years old. However, I haven't let that stop me. Thanks for your patience with me over the years, and allowing me to develop. I invite you to check out the new music I'm peddling on this site, you might want to own it. Buying my music directly from me, helps me directly. If you feel compelled to send a large donation... you have every right to feel that way, its OK... I accept Paypal :)

I'm a serious person-- yet I'm a goof ball, as you will soon find out. It's just me having a good time. I've been through some major tragedies, have overcome some major hurdles, and have dealt with some of the darkest parts of Life, and crunchiest people in it. I feel lucky to have an outlet to express myself- and I do take liberties from time to time. I have my 'story', just like all of you. It's the worst one I've ever heard, because I've had to live it....just like yours is to you. The only difference may be, is that mine eventually gets put to music.

Remember that feeling, when you watched Rocky II , and he gets back up, one second before Apollo Creed...and wins the title? THAT...is what I'm looking to do with my life.

So let's not be too serious....or too scatterbrained... life's too short for either. I mean, really do you think you have all the time in the world? Perhaps you haven't considered that dying is the only thing guaranteed in your life... Try that one on for size.

Welcome to my world. Glad you could be here with me.

-Dan