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Free Single!
Download the single ‘Alchemy’ FREE at Denver Post’s Reverb Blog!
Below is the link:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2010/07/13/steal-this-track-dan-craig-and-the-knew/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
CD Release!!!
The new record ‘Alchemy’ is finally done! To celebrate, I’m going to be playing a CD release show with good friends Churchill and Mouthful of Thunder at the Bluebird Theater! The record will be available at the show, so make sure you’re there!
More details to come…for now, enjoy this video and see you soon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf7m1rMZrx4
the deuce, suffrage
celebrating the right we all have to show our opinions and support through the democratic process, the band and i jumped into a little musical contest this past week. the Music on Main festival in Frisco, CO teamed up with channel 2 The Deuce in denver to search for a local opening act for the big show this coming saturday. They offered 3 bands the chance to play live on tv and then opened the voting online to determine who gets the spot.
we had a blast debuting a new song live on the small screen and would love even more to get a chance to play a beautiful big outdoor show at altitude this indian summer. i’ll post the video of our performance here below. please take a second to go cast a vote (or two :) for us in the next day or two. polls close on wednesday 8/19.
check it out here: http://www.2thedeuce.com/entertainment/localmusic/
travel with wife
if there’s a theme to married life so far it is travel! starting off with a beautiful trip to kauai for the honeymoon after the wedding, it feels like we’ve been unpacking and re-packing since the big day. had a few weeks down after the honeymoon to get the home settled.
last week we headed out west to play a couple house shows with our friend david greco from san francisco and to make it to jessica’s family reunion in seattle. there is a lot of america between denver and seattle and since we drove, we saw most of it. there is something about the breathy, spacious flats and hazy mountains in WY, UT, and Idaho that is so peaceful. the trip took us through san fran, portland, and seattle (had a little stop in sunnyside, WA but we didn’t exactly stick around to see the sights). All 3 were amazing cities. i’m really hoping we find an excuse to get out to the northwest again. it was a haul back to denver though. we drove about 17 hours straight through, and my body is still recovering.
now that we’ve had a day or two back at home, i’ve got a little lawn-mowing and bill paying to do and then at 5:15 tomorrow morning i’m headed to the airport to make it to nyc to play at the living room tomorrow night. should be fun though as Jess will be joining me in the big city for the first time. we’re also heading up to MA to catch up with engineer/producer/friend john mailloux to do a radio show and see his new studio. then back to nyc for a showcase on tuesday. then back to denver on wednesday, straight to band practice, then a weekend of 5-6 shows between Jessica and me the next weekend (mostly at the DPUMS).
so i guess that’s the life you sign up for when you marry another muscian and both dig road trips. looking forward to a few weeks in august of just being home and enjoying the end of Colorado summer.
i will say that traveling as a married couple beats traveling as an engaged couple hands down. no more double rooms and keeping separate receipts and such.
Older News
Naturally
My fiance (now wife), Jessica, and i wanted to add a little something special to our wedding ceremony. Being musicians a song seemed to fit the bill. We also were trying to think of a cool way to include our wedding party and have some fun with it. So we decided to build a piece around the idea of a kazoo ensemble. I came up with the kazoo part and the whole song came from that little piece. Writing a song for my own wedding was a challenge indeed but the lyrics came easily as I thought of our journey together and what the day meant to me. Writing without the idea of it ever being on a record felt freeing, and it allowed the whole idea to be lighthearted and joyful without losing the sincerity. Anyway, it came off great in the ceremony and was the perfect addition to the EP we gave out as a party favor to our guests. Who knows, it may find it’s way onto a release at some point. meantime, we’ll share it a little bit here and there to give the wider world a little piece of our special day.
The song is called “Naturally (I Promise I’ll Stay” and you can hear it at ReverbNation.com/dancraigmusic.
EP In Stores!
For all the Denver locals, the new ep is now available at Twist and Shout and Wax Trax record stores.
For a limited time, you’ll also get a free poster from the CD release show if you buy the accidents ep at twist and shout.
Both of these stores have been great supporters of independent music. It’s an honor to be on their shelves.
So go get to know your local record store wherever you are. They’re the good guys.
going coastal with 5 new songs
So I know technically the new ep has already been released, had a big show in denver with the whole band, got the new songs up on iTunes etc etc, but there’s something about bringing the actual, physical copies of the CD to new places for the first time.
in the next couple weeks i’ll be heading to LA and New York to officially spread the accidents e.p. across the USA. new york city has been one of my favorite places for a long time. i’ve really focused on playing there more consistently this year and i think it’s paying off. the last set i had at the living room went really well. it’s also a great excuse to see many of my friends from college (and CO) who have migrated to manhattan over the years. this trip i’ll be playing at the Mercury Lounge. which is a new place for me, but still down on the lower east side where i always seem to end up.
Los Angeles has never really held any appeal to me before. For some reason the little that i did know about it and the few people i knew who had moved there or lived there before hadn’t ever made me feel like LA would be a place i would feel at home. when it came to music though, and especially film/tv placements, I knew that i’d have to make my way to california to start getting more connected to the musical and publishing culture out there. I’d never played a show west of salt lake city before i headed out to play the Mint in LA last month. My fiance, Jessica, had always talked about how great LA was, how beautiful and relaxing and warm, and i usually rolled my eyes. I wanted the nyc skyline, the busy-ness, the warm crush of streets and subways, bodegas and pizza, not beaches and sushi. Turns out though, i love LA. maybe being on that trip with my beautiful wife-to-be swayed me, but i really enjoyed it. The mountains and palm trees and beaches, the connection i felt to Brandon and Brenda, Dylan and Kelly…it was busy but breatheable. anyway, i never thought i’d be so excited to get back, but i am. I’ll be at the Hotel Cafe on april 9th at 8pm. it’s a venue i’ve heard about many times but haven’t checked out yet.
It feels a little self-indulgent to put on 3 EP release shows, but i feel like it’s my way of giving these songs an anchor, a foothold, a wingspan broader than CO…and mostly i just want to.
So if you’re around the new york or LA areas, come get your 1/3 of the accidents e.p. release experience.
Thursday 4/9 Hotel Cafe Los Angeles EP Release 8pm www.hotelcafe.com
Tuesday 4/14 Mercury Lounge New York EP Release 7pm www.mercuryloungenyc.com
EP Release Aftermath
Man, what a great night we had at the Bluebird a couple weeks ago! It’s been a busy last two weeks for me, and i haven’t had a chance to collect my thoughts much since then, but i thought i’d say thank you again to everyone who was there and put up some links to some EP-Release-related media.
If you missed it – Ellison Park, Ian Cooke, and Hello Kavita were amazing. It is such a privilege to be friends and peers with those guys, and it made for a beautiful mix of music. check them out at:
www.myspace.com/ellisonparkmusic www.myspace.com/iancooke www.myspace.com/hellokavita
Thanks to Dan Obeng and Jessica Sonner for helping out with video and merch and such. Thank you to all the fans and friends who came and bought tickets and clapped and sang along. We had over 300 people packed into that place! I know $10 and a saturday night is no small thing to invest. How unexpected and heart-warming to hear so many people singing along too.
Alright, if you didn’t make the show or if you just want to re-live it a little bit:
check out brian carney’s photos at – www.photogbrian.com/gallery/7422325_oB43C#478629870_EGBma Live video of soldier, don’t look down – www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYQeHWMRHzc Backstage video of the band before the show www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsAks5RKdj8 Get The Record! – Twist And Shout (Denver) has actual copies and Posters! digital tracks are live on iTunes now CDBaby has hard copies to ship anywhere you want!
I don’t know what else to say about the show without just getting all emotional. Just a huge blessing to have a big show like that in a beautiful theatre with great bands, made us all in the Dan Craig band appreciate how far we’ve come in the last year.
Accidents Artwork
Now that the new songs are out there in the world, I want to give some credit to the talented people that helped with all the artwork for the new record. I’ve had so many comments about the way the disc turned out and the posters for the show, that i thought i should officially put some names out there. the record packaging itself and the record poster were designed by Jonathan Till (who also worked with me on the Wirebird album). He’s an amazing designer and artist. If you’ve seen his material you know how versatile he is, capable of many styles. We looked at some records together and listened to the tracks and he came up with the cover and graphics with watercolors mostly, along with a handmade font. It’s beautiful. His other recent work includes the new Photo Atlas record, which is pretty much quintessential Jonathan Till design. So check that out too.
The photo on the back of the record is by Bethany DeMarco who’s been a close friend of our band for a long time now (and it turns out she used to live in my house!). The picture is the 6 of us holding various objects which we later smashed into pieces (also a cool photo). She has shows occasionally in Denver. i’ll try to get the word out next time i know of one.
Finally, the show poster for the Bluebird Theatre EP Release was done by Rick Messer (www.rickmesser.com). He’s also a member of the instrumental Denver band Anisette (formerly the Messengers). i’ve seen so many show posters, but nothing has grabbed my eye as well as Rick’s design in a long long time. I know he’s looking for other artists and projects to work with so please look him up. you will not be disappointed!
EP Release Officially Booked
5 new songs coming out on Feb 21st, 2009. The Accidents EP shall be released at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver, CO.
It’s a pretty incredible lineup with Ellison Park and His Parade of Elephants, Ian Cooke, and Hello Kavita joining the Dan Craig Experiment to celebrate this little birth.
It’s a 16+ show, $10/$12dos, saturday 2/21/09 8pm.
I’m really proud of the way this EP came together. we recorded the whole thing basically in one day at NFA (where we did Skin Grows Thin). This one had a little more collaborative feel though, arrangements a little more full-band-ish. Can’t wait for everyone to hear it (and see it – Jonathan Till did the artwork, and it’s very special)
video blog #9 Sir Thomas More
This song is about the struggle of reacting to a friend making a bad decision, doing something you can tell is wrong and wanting you to justify it. I know that i’ve been on both sides of that exchange in the past year which is probably why it hits so close to home for me. I was inspired by the play ‘A Man For All Seasons’ by Robert Bolt which is about Henry VIII. The King is changing the law and his own religion to accomodate his personal romantic desires (divorce) and he comes asking Sir Thomas More – Henry’s friend and court member – to give his word of support for the king’s decision or face death for treason. For me, it was an inspiring account of a man who couldn’t deny the truth he knew for his friend’s comfort or even for his own life, an example of how it’s possible to balance integrity and compassion when you really believe a friend is in the wrong. It’s so easy to condone, to support even, and drive home knowing you weren’t honest, weren’t man or friend enough to tell the truth.
Anyway, it’s on the accidents EP coming out Feb 21st, but it’s more Rhodes-ey and less guitar-ish on the record. seth does a great double-cello harmony on the track.lyrics; with your soul so bent under a crown do you even have one real friend around with your ears beneath the mess you’re in you tell yourself it’s worth it just for anne boleyn you took the reins of such a royal thirst but you swore you’d be a husband first
and oh, you come beating on your chest singing sweet self-righteousness when we both know it isn’t true now you’re asking for my name oh henry, what a shame i just can’t say the words you want me to
so you brought me here to justify going left when the road turns right when you know the rules, you’ve seen the proof way before you saw her bathing on the roof now your reasons don’t stand up so tough when the truth is you don’t love your wife enough
chorus
i wish you could, i wish you could i wish you could tell when you lie to yourself i wish you could, i wish you could i wish you could see what i’m seeing so well it’s not okay
NYC Show Jan 30th
Very excited about the upcoming show in nyc. haven’t been back to the big apple since CMJ. the show is at 8pm down on the lower east side (154 Ludlow) at the Living Room. It’s early enough that there’s plenty of Friday night left afterwards and late enough not to interfere with most dinner plans. There’s no cover, just a reasonably priced 1-drink-minimum. Special promo Wirebird giveaway too if you bring a friend.
MTV
been a little lax on promoting and informing some activities in the past couple months. as a handful of people saw/heard me and wondered if/how i’d finagled my way onto music television i figured i should tell you in case they re-run episodes (and let’s hope they do)
my song ‘further to fall’ was featured in an episode of the MTV reality show ‘Exiled’. nearly as i can tell, this show is about trying to get couples to cheat on each other with their exes. uplifting, right? hopefully my song was at least a glimmer of something more edifying than infidelity.
a friend of mine from Denver was assigned to give bass lessons and organize a battle of the bands as part of the MTV show ‘Made’ where they help high school kids pursue dreams of becoming models, skateboarders, sailors, dancers, and in this case punk-rock bass players. i was tapped along with a couple guys from local music press to be a judge for the battle of the bands finale, and apparently got my mug on TV for at least a second or two (i didn’t see the episode cause no one told me when it’d be on!).
so yes, proud to be a part of the dwindling ‘M’ in MTV. let’s hope next time it’s TRL.
