To name a few... Led Zeppelin!, The Dead, Stevie Nicks, The Rolling Stones, all the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, , Bob Dylan, The Doors, Hole, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Lenny Kravitz(Let Love Rule album), Mazzy Star, Liz Phair, PJ Harvey, Jewel, Cat Power, Sheryl Crow, Garbage, Lykke Li, Muzz Skillings, Ben Lee, Stereophonics, Rachael Yamagata, Joseph Arthur, etc, etc. . Marianne Faithfull, Miss Pamela, Patty Boyd, Jo Wood and all the original rock muses, downtown NYC, the beach, obscure clothes & stuff, my dog Jelly, rock bios, mags, the sky & stars...and so many freaking more...
In addition to being a singer/songwriter, sometimes writer/blogger(dossierjournal's style section and my blogs-coolshitdv.blogspot & livingdolldv.blogspot), sometimes maker of art or my fliers & other obscure stuff I'm also an actress. Right now I can be seen as one playing Laura in the rentable feature Momma's Man which preemed at Sundance '08 where it became the indie darling & toured the country/ Europe after kinda like a band. A little bit of This Song's For You is also in it..I & my songs also are in another upcoming film & I'm also writing for another. You can check out the trailer for MM here: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/452112/Momma-s-Man/trailers
Also, opened for OZOMATLI at their Sundance '07 show. It was rad and fucking freezing.
Have worked with Muzz Skillings, Greg Yates & Roger Che(Bad Boy) of Genius Ent., Tony Polemeni (formerly of the Duanes), etc..
*BUT MOSTLY I AM WORKING ON RECORDING MY NEW ALBUM RIGHT NOW AND IT'S GONNA BE RAW AND GOOD.**
Here's what they say about me & some reviews on my first self recorded album from some years ago -which I did in my parent's basement then, after recording with a pop producer & playing guitar with a 90's bass icon. (my new one will be pretty different and I'm psyched for you to hear it):
S.E.G(Show Entertainment Group) Presents 1/2010
DANA VARON is a beautiful NYC songstress with a clear voice and a self-produced record that mixes indie and classic rock, and even a bit of grunge thrown in.
-Dana Varon-Back to My Roots-
Travel to Dana’s MySpace page and fall in love. Instantly endearing, her somewhat bare-bones music offers an intimate take-me-as-I-am glimpse at her world. Not as raw as PJ Harvey, not as spacey as Hope Sandoval, the music is sometimes atmospheric in nature. In fact, Back to My Rootscould be the perfect accompaniment to cooking dinner with a special someone or sitting in a darkened bar at 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Rocking the hidden-track remix of “Swallow It Down,” her debut video follows her through the streets of New York City, strumming her guitar and drawing you in. Slightly exhibitionist photos in her Pics section make you thankful she’s not as wholesome as you might first think. Innocent? Yes. A prude? Thank heavens, no. Enjoy a refreshing departure from all the jaded, soiled crap you’re probably listening to right now. [myspace.com/danavaron] SP-Reviewer Mag http://www.Reviewermag.com
DANA VARON- BACK TO MY ROOTS- (Self Recorded)..another
Well, what do we have here? A young, beautiful songstress with a mind of
her own. Initially, upon hearing her debut, released all by herself, “Back
to my Roots” one was reminded, a la the vocal stylings, of Hope Sandoval, the dreamy, doe-eyed vocalist for Opal and Mazzy Star.
With Dana Varon, though, one gets a more personal record, one which ends up speaking with one voice, one person’s expressions and that consistency
helps create both continuity and celerity. Two songs, “Jelly” and “Don’t
Shut Me Out” both stand out to me – speaking of “Jelly,” there is also a
person with the moniker ‘Jelly’ who helps out vocally on this album – there
was just something catchy about both tunes in different ways, respectively,
but they weren’t catchy in a pop sort of way, not “hook”-driven, etc. Just
something about those two songs that was hard to articulate; you’ll just
have to listen for yourself to find out what I’m talking about.
Another great tune that stood out for me was an uncredited song (figures,
huh?) As far as the back of the CD goes, there are only 8 songs listed and
“Goodbye to Yesterday” was the last one to be listed and so I assume that
“Goodbye to Yesterday” was the slow, acoustic and wistful goodbye of a
tune. Then, to my surprise there came another song – track nine and isn’t
it funny that this surprise, untitled track was one of the best ones on the
CD!
In spite of the fact Dana has a clear, tuneful, well-enunciated and just
plain beauteous vocal range, she’s not just your average, everyday
chanteuse; Dana’s got talent, she is a musician for real; on Back to My
Roots Varon, besides singing, plays “guitars, bass lines, percussion &
other ear candy…” she also, besides writing all the songs herself, produced
the CD too. It just shows that the only reason you see so little of this
independence in a talented woman – even in today’s “Hillary 4 Prez” society
must be due to some hierarchical machinations or some just hard-headed
resistance to change or just plain hatred from the “establishment”, run, of
course, by old men (you know, that “vast, right-wing conspiracy” ha-ha).
Talent, motivation and originality make all the difference; prettiness
helps, but beauty, whether authentic or surgically enhanced – fake – beauty
is ephemeral and fleeting.
Dana Varon, man or woman is a talented musician and hopefully will continue
to grow, musically and lyrically and that this won’t be the last we hear of
her. I would be happy if her next musical effort was just better than this
one which is always – or always should be – the goal of any
musician/singer/band. For more information on this dynamo, check out:
http://www.danavaron.com – KM.
Reviewer Magazine
DV at CMJ
What do you get when you mix classic rock roots, grunge influences, indie darlings (think Liz Phair, PJ Harvey, Juliana Hatfield), the emerging singer/songwriter crew and the current resurgence of rock bands with a muse named Jelly? Landing in NYC after hailing from the Garden State and blossoming in Miami - Dana Varon recently went off on her own to have complete creative freedom after previously collaborating with others including a producer from Bad Boy Entertainment and former bassist for a popular late '80's, early '90's rock band. DV takes all her experiences rolled into one that unravel with each rocked out song. Simple enough but equally profound, you'll want to sing along with her raspy verses and then pick her brain later. While at BLVD for her CMJ Showcase pick up her self recorded CD done in true indie style (in the basement), Back to My Roots & hear something you've never heard.
Thanks for writing back. It looks like a good acoustic. I figured it was the one in Teaneck. I never played there myself, but have visited I know they changed their format because when I last went there, like in '05 or '06, it was purely Jam Bands. I may reach out to them soon to see if I could set up a gig in the Spring or Summer. The stage and the room itself are both so ample. I like to play in wider spaces. Let me know if you know the booking people there. Again, thanks for taking the time to write back!
Best wishes to you and yours for this holiday season and throughout 2010! May you leave all your worries behind in 2009 and only take the happiest memories into the New Year!
Hi Ya'll, Wishing everyone a God Blessed Holiday Season filled with joy and fun! I'll see you agian befor Christmas! Have an awesome weekend! All Peace & Love Lee
Bonjour Dana Thanks for the friendly add really appreciate your sound and beautiful voice Best wishes from France (Follow me on twitter.com/pascal95 ) Pascal
So glad you found us! - I kinda mumbled the band name, I am so super surprised you found us. Thanks for looking us up and hope to see you at one of our shows.
This Wed at Otto's Shrunken Head is a Cramps Tribute night where a fews bands all play 3 Cramps songs each. Or come see us play at Don Pedors in Williamsburg on Thursday night....Woot!
Take care and so lovely to meet you.... Be great to have a drink and a laugh with ya!
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