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BIO:Described as a singer/songwriter who paints a diverse sonic and lyrical landscape, showcasing a broad diversity of musical influences, Dan Garner is a veteran of the Blues Festival circuit as well as the Shreveport, Louisiana music scene, having played on practically every stage in the city, from clubs to casinos. His work has been compared to Nick Drake, Michael Franks, Paul Simon and Leonard Cohen meets Guy Clark. Dan was an apprentice for thirteen years to the late legendary pre-war bluesman, JesseThomas, recording and performing with him until Thomas’ death in 1995. Dan played with Thomas in venues and festivals across the country, including the New Orleans Jazz Festival and the Long Beach Blues Festival. Living Blues magazine referred to Garner’s work on the release of Thomas’ "Lookin’ For That Woman" as "well attuned." That description inspired the title for the Blue Goose Blues Records release of Dr. Cookie & Louisiana Dan’s "Attuned To The Blues". Through various labels, Garner has produced eleven releases, which span the genres of acoustic blues, rockabilly and gospel. In addition to documenting some of the vanishing music traditions of Northwest Louisiana, "Louisiana Dan" Garner has also produced music for commercials and jingles in the Americana tradition. Currently Garner works for The Tipitina’s Foundation of New Orleans and performs with Cookie & The Kingcakes, THE PATIO DADDY OS, The Velvet Swivel Rockers and as a solo singer/songwriter with a mission to keep the music traditions of Louisiana alive and well. He has recently contributed a chapter to the University Press of Mississippi’s "Shreveport Sounds In Black and White" a history of music in North Louisiana and will make his Network Television debut on the series, "Sordid Lives" which airs summer of ’08. "25 Things" is his first solo release and "The Second Album" is his second.
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A FIRST REVIEW OF "25 THINGS":
25 THINGS/Dan Garner
A sprawling, ambitious project with 25 songs, ³25 Things² paints a diverse
sonic and lyrical landscape that showcases Garner¹s broad diversity of
musical influences.
At times displaying the perceptive intellect of a Leonard Cohen, at
others, exposing a Warren Zevon playful slyness, ³25 Things² cooks up a
gumbo that sacrifices stylistic continuity for an always surprising and
satisfying ³eclectricity.²
On the opening cut, ³I Told You Before,² Garner attempts to impart
world-wizended wisdom to his children, and that lyrical maturity is
masterfully counterbalanced with the raw musical energy of a proto-power
punk music bed. This is a great device for luring the kids in to listen to
the message with music they can relate to. Telling an obstinate,
know-it-all teen, ³you¹ve got more issues than Time Magazine² smartly sums
up every parents dilemma with their rebels with or without causes.
Garner moves from the energetic power of proto-punk to the realm of
³sensitive singer/songwriter² with effortless ease. In ³You¹re So
Beautiful² he tells the object of his affections that ³you¹re so beautiful,
you don¹t even know.² This is a subtle but searing romantic line guaranteed
to make a heart melt, right up there in a league with ³you had me at
hello.²
On several notable cuts like ³What Makes The World Go Round,² ³Someone Who
Can² and the unsentimentally nostalgic ³Bossier Strip² Garner slips into
the smooth blues grooves indigenous to this area .
Garner is not only a prolific writer but a well-versed student of the
musical history of this area and beyond. Given that talent, Garner
references several genre and artists without sounding like he is copying
any of them.
His vocals do occasionally evoke early Dylan and Nick Drake, even Michael
Franks here and there, but he never appears to be doing a cover. And, since
he wrote all the songs on the CD, he has kept everything well within the
range of his voice.
There are some stand out guest star s on ³25 Things² including guitarists
Mark Griffith, Ron Johnson and Dave Green; background vocalists Cookie
Garner and Amelia Blake and The Ever Ready Gospel Singers to name a few.
Ron Johnson¹s fluid, blistering lead work on ³Someone Who Can² channels
Stevie Ray Vaughn¹s swagger and Dave Green adds an alternative and
progressive fire to ³I Told You Before.² Griffith¹s ferocious space blues
attack on ³Bossier Strip² seems to come from a Boom Boom Room in a parallel
dimension.
The closing title cut gives us a hilarious menu of arm chair philosophical
nuggets encased in a musical shell of talking blues a la early Dylan. They
are guaranteed to make you think - and to make you smile, if not laugh out
loud. Remember, ³it ain¹t the jeans that make your butt look fat.²
Tales of love both lost and found; insights both profound and tongue in
cheek; superlative songwriting craft; and vocals comfortable in their own
skin. These elements make for one of the most entertaining and enjoyable
releases in recent memory.
All songs written by Dan Garner.
Produced by Dan Garner
Mastered and Released by Why The Hell Not Records
Art Design: J.K. Potter
----------Karl Hasten, The Forum
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It all started a couple of years ago...maybe 3 years ago. I wrote down a simple goal: I want to put out a CD of my songs this year.
The plan evolved...I would put out 25 songs on a CD and call the CD "25 things" after a novelty song I had just written with the same name. I went full tilt into production at various studios around town, getting my favorite musicians to play on it...I would take my time with it...it would be my masterpiece!! ....life came along and set me straight. I ended up with various pieces of work languishing about unfinished. I continued to write and do home recordings...outlines more or less. And then I met a madman by the name of Chris Alexander, who was, if possible, more manic than me.
C: "Dan, I'm putting out 12 new albums on my label, WHY THE HELL NOT, by the end of February. Would you like to be one of them?"
D: "Why the hell not?"
C: "I'll need all the artwork and music by February 14th!!"
D: "Why the hell not?"
I told my good friend Jeff Potter, who is a world class illustrator and has been a co-conspirator of mine on more than one occasion.
D: "Hey Jeff, could I use a couple of pictures you took of me for a new CD project?"
J: "Let me do some new pictures..."
D: "Why the hell not?"
Jeff not only did new pictures, he did layouts and titles. Then, I get a call from Chris.
C: "Dan, I have to go out of town Monday the 12th. I need everything by then!!"
D: "Why the hell not."
Okay, lets don't go through all of the daily grind of my life...let's dont't go through all of the gigs that were hitting at the same time or the trauma that my personal life was going through (re: stays in); suffice it to say that for some insane reason I thought I could pull it off. I did a couple of all nighters and called myself doing the best with what I already had...If it turns out any better it's because
Chris remastered...
C: "Uh, Dan, I've been listening to the tracks...I really like a few songs that I don't think I can use unless they're remastered, but I don't have the time to remaster and get your approval..."
D: "Run with it..."
C: "Excuse me?"
D: " Do what you need to do. Run with it."
There you have it...It all started out so simple. It has become a crazy-quilt patchwork of songs, some "LIVE", some studio pieces, some home recordings, some recorded with many friends who I consider to be some of the best, some recorded with me on everything (I think you'll be able to tell which ones those are) and some with just me, a guitar and a microphone.
This then is "25 Things".
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