Dan Garner

"THE SECOND ALBUM"/DAN GARNER

"Sometimes I'm happy, sometimes I'm sad" Dan Garner sings on "Without A Broken Heart", the rocking first cut on his newest CD release. That seems to be an appropriate sentiment symbolizing the melange of feelings on the release, "The Second Album", where Garner candidly portrays a wide range of emotions.
As on his former release "25 Things", Garner also shifts fluidly between styles and genres, from the stripped down folk of "Red Balloon" to the country shuffle of "I've Got A Fever" – the latter stoked by the always flawless guitar of Mark Griffith who adds great flair to the CD in several notable places. Listen for his subtle nod to Hendrix on "Gypsy Woman".
When Garner checks into "Wing Motel" it is with an endearingly insouciant, Guy Clark-meets-Leonard Cohen vocal, yet he moves easily to the Kinks-like, neo-punk rave up on "Same Sun".
From rockers to acoustic, Garner maps the shifting landscapes of love with a practiced hand. Whether reflecting on the "wreckage strewn" or being "down to my last card" on "What Is Happening To Me" or the driving optimism of "I've got a fever, white hot and pure" on "I've Got A Fever" he deftly illustrates that he has been to both the deserts and the oases of relationships.
Though "The Second Album" is filled with one strong cut after another-even more consistently than "25 Things" (possibly due to the shear number of songs on the latter) – Garner seems most at home on the acoustic singer/songwriter work he is known for in his many live performances around the region. "Where Are You Now", recorded live, is a real standout, exemplifying his striking talent for intimate connection in delivering his heart-felt lyrics.

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So, Chris Alexander(aka Mister Christopher), of "Why The Hell Not Music" comes to me and says, "We're doing a big release party at the Warehouse on February 9th....wanna put out another CD?" I sorta had a few tracks leftover that didn't go on the "25 Things" CD and a few other songs that I really wanted to record, so I said, "WHY THE HELL NOT?!!" Next, Derrell Stephens came in with a demo of some songs he was going to pitch up in Nashville. "Whatcha think?" he asked. I'm not much of a judge of country music, but I loved the production. "Ummm, where did you record those songs?" I asked.
Turns out, it's a great little studio up in Nash, Texas (right outside of Texarkana...check my top friends for their site) called Smart Productions. Derrell (also in my top friends) put me in touch with them and time was booked! Next, I assembled the "A" team: Mark Griffith on lead guitar, Rick Willis on bass guitar, Jim Obrien on drums and Cookie Garner on background vocals and percussion. Our stalwart band headed north where we met Matt Whattley, who engineered, mixed and mastered 5 of the newer tracks on the CD. He seemed to really get what we were going for, and I believe he delivered!! So now the ALBUM IS OUT and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!! ...This is the fun stuff!!

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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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I'm now featuring four songs on my site, www.myspace.com/dangarner and on www.myspace.com/25things, straight from my new CD, 25 Things. Hope you enjoy them!!

I can't believe the incredible job that "Why The Hell Not? Records", Chris Alexander did with the music I gave him, but finally after about 3 years I'm putting out a new CD called "25 Things" and I'm very happy about it.

There are still so many songs that couldn't be included this go round, but maybe I can get around to those more quickly since Chris made this a very non-traumatic experience.

The art/photography was done by my good friend J.K. Potter and the musicians involved are some of my favorites!!

I'm even set up with an online account that you can order directly from....click here to buy my CD.modern technology never ceases to amaze me.
Don't forget to check out the CD Release party this Saturday, February 24th (see details below) I'm going to kick it off with a short set at 8:pm...Other great music will follow on my heels as I head out to my gig at Lee's with Cookie and The Kingcakes!!

Yes. I've become addicted to the crack cocaine of the internet: My Space.
I've returned, here to let you know that if you don't find many updates, it's because I'm doing them primarily on MySpace.
Check it out:
http//www.myspace.com/dangarner
http//www.myspace.com/dangarnersongs

Just got word today that a great, sweet, incredibly talented man passed away. Ron Capone left Baton Rouge as a teenager and went seeking fame and fortune as a drummer in Memphis. He eventually found himself at Stax Records, doing more knob twirling than skin pounding. Mostly, Ron learned how to place a microphone and hear.
Ron became the engineer on most of the legendary music out of Stax, including "Dock of the Bay", "Knock On Wood", "Soul Man", even winning a Grammy for his work on "Shaft".
When Steve Cropper left Stax, he lured Ron away with him to Southern California. Ron got homesick and wanted to be nearer to his folks, so he took a job in Shreveport at Nightwing Studios. When that folded he found himself working on projects with Stan "The Record Man" Lewis, and eventually hired on as staff engineer for Denny & DeAnza Duron's "Louisiana Light" Studios.


Ron worked on just about every CD project that I had anything to do with. He had incredible ears and knew instantly if an EQ adjustment needed to be made and could tell you exactly what the adjustment should be.
The world has lost a great sweet soul and a truly great engineer.

I'll be there along with some of the best songwriter's in town, through the end of February. It's good food, good folks, good music, good times and no cover!! Who could ask for anything more? To see Java Junction's full calendar of entertainment, go to their MySpace by clicking on the title of this blog. To see my complete calendar click on the link to the left, "The Music of Dan Garner".
I'll see you, soon!!