Dan Farrell
Dan Farrell is an English musician living in London. He started learning to play the guitar at 9 years old. Dan tells me "I started learning to play the guitar at 9 years old. Because I had older brothers who also played, I used to borrow the family acoustic to practice on. But they got mad at me when I changed the strings around (I'm left handed) so I decided the next time I practiced on their guitar, I would leave the strings strung for right handed players so as not to get another telling off. And this is why I play guitar upside down with backwards chords! I forced myself to learn the chords in a "mirror" fashion. "Inverted", if you will. I've never met anyone else who can do this!
INFLUENCES
Having elder brothers, I grew up with bands from the 60's and 70's - The Beatles being the main group in our house. I loved the guitar bands from that period and also the solo artists - Neil Young, James Taylor, Bob Dylan etc. I wrote my first song aged about 12 - it was called "Silence". I can't remember the chords though…..
BANDS
I played in a few bands and gigged around London. I wrote my own material but gave up after a phase of stage fright. Something I loved doing, playing to people, suddenly had to stop because of this and I haven't played live since - and that was a good while ago. So I spend my time writing and recording. I'm a home musician and I play every instrument you hear on my compositions - except drums! My neighbour wouldn't really like it if I had a drum kit, so I use drum loops from this amazing online company "Drums On Demand".
I released my debut album "Let The Sun Shine In" in March of this year which is available on CDBaby and iTunes. The title means a lot to me as these were the last words my father said to me before he died. I followed this up pretty quickly with an EP called "Delusions" - a mammoth 12 minute piece in 6 parts! There are times in life when the Universe lines up with the planets and everything comes together in the most satisfying manner. This is what happened when I wrote "Delusions". As vast a music scape as it is, it's been inside my head for years just trying to get out so when I recorded it, it flowed pretty easily. My latest release is a three track EP titled "I Woz 'Ere" . Both "Delusions" and "I Woz 'Ere" are available on Bandcamp.
I'm currently writing my second album with a view to release around Christmas this year."
Dan was kind enough to humour me with my cheesy questions.
1. When did you first start singing (or playing your instrument)?
Aged 9 playing guitar. Didn't realise I had a singing voice until much much later....
2. What was the first song you recall singing (or playing)?
First song I recall singing was "She Loves You" by The Beatles. First song I played on the guitar was "She'll Be Coming 'round The Mountain".
3. Who are your musical inspirations?
Beatles, Stones, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Rush. Guitar dudes mainly!
4. What genre of music do you listen to today?
It's wide and varied - but I love music that moves me emotionally. And that could be Bach's Brandenburg Concerto Number 3!! I listen to a lot of new artists on Soundcloud. One of the most incredible people I've discovered is a beautiful singer called Rachel Grey. I was so enamoured with her voice, I messaged her asking if she'd sing on one of my songs - and she agreed! It's being released very very soon.
5. What embarrassing songs might I find on your MP3 player?
Oooh....Looooads!! But I have an excuse. I used to be an internet DJ therefore had to have a lot of eclectic tunes to keep the audience happy. Probably the most embarrassing is Jimmy Osmonds "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool". Somebody requested it.....and I HAD to play it!
6. Where would you most like to perform?
I would love to perform anywhere. I suffered terribly from stage fright when I played in my last band and haven't had the nerve to do it again since. Having said that though, I am beginning to get itchy feet to play my new material live so who knows.....I might be playing in a pub near you soon!
7. If you weren't a musician, what would you be doing?
I'd be a movie star. Leading man obviously....
8. What instruments do you play?
Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums (badly).
9. If you could dabble in another genre of music, what would it be?
Reggae! It's so damned sexy.
10. What other talents do you have?
I'm a pretty versatile voice artist and have had my voice in movies and TV stuff.
11. What is your favorite song to belt out at the bar/in the car/for karaoke?
"She's a Woman" by The Beatles.
12. If you could sing a duet with any musician, living or dead, who would it be?
Paul McCartney.
13. What is the hardest thing about being in the music business?
When people start talking over something you're playing them, is one! But like any business, if you're honest and true to yourself you can deal with the knocks. And there's ALWAYS plenty of those babies.
14. What has been the best advice you have ever been given?
Always listen to women. They are ALWAYS right.
Please give Dan a like and a follow on his social media, it would greatly be appreciated!
WEBSITE : www.danfarrellmusic.com
TWITTER : https://twitter.com/danfarrellmusic
SOUNDCLOUD : https://soundcloud.com/danfarrellmusic
BANDCAMP : https://danfarrell.bandcamp/com
FACEBOOK : http://on.fb.me/1DUXOki
YOUTUBE : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-bqsFNLJhCxcrqPDxCEONw
Thank you, Dan, for taking the time to share your story and music with us!
"Delusions" is a song about those people who ask you to trust them, and then let you down. Each piece links thematically to the next - so it starts off with positivity, then reality, then anger and eventually escape to happiness!
"Push Your Body" is a song about realising the freedom you attain, if you force yourself to do things you think you couldn't do. Because if you push yourself, you generally get there!
What does tomorrow bring?
Tune in to find out!
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