Dan Neal Biography 2/07

Dan Neal Biography 2/07

Dan’s childhood home on the Oregon coast was a place of competing interests. From his mother, the only female member of a touring big band, came music. From his father, came sports. Both parents, as teachers, emphasized education. For Dan, music prevailed over sports at a young age. By the time he was 16, Dan had already written a regional hit, toured the western states with his band and opened for several national acts. His bandmates left Oregon for L.A. at that point but Dan pursued higher education at the University of Oregon. As successful with his studies as with music, Dan earned a heap of scholastic awards throughout college and grad school, then immersed himself in a career in law, of all things. As a public defender, he represented a host of troubled souls, poor desperate people, some mentally ill, many victims of abuse, mostly folks guilty of something and all needing an advocate. Musically, Dan’s choice of education and career did nothing to diminish his passion for music. He kept plugging away at his songwriting and developing his guitar chops, dividing his energy and passion between the worlds of career and music.
Then in 2004, Dan experienced his own tragic loss when his older brother Steve, an accomplished writer with a legacy of 4000+ newspaper columns, a dozen books, 3 Pulitzer nominations and much more, took his own life. Shocked and saddened, Dan decided to alter his career path to pursue his own music. Later that year, he released his first cd “When The Big Picture Fades” which he dedicated to his brother Steve. His critically acclaimed debut earned favorable comparisons with artists such as Tom Petty, John Hiatt, Richard Thompson and from one publication “a young Elvis Costello”. The cd received national radio airplay and found its way onto French cinema. Backed in the studio by Lucinda Williams rhythm section and recorded in L.A. “Big Picture” represented a solid new beginning for Neal.
In 2006, Neal released the single “Ballgame”, a baseball inspired song in the vein of John Fogerty’s “Centerfield”. Played at Boston’s Fenway Park, “Ballgame” gained additional recognition for Neal.
In April of 2007, Neal’s second full-length cd “Party of One” is being released. His growth as a songwriter and artist is evident throughout “Party of One”. Featuring such songs as “Tunnel of Light”, “BiPolar Express” and “Wake Up In The Mud”, Neal’s unique take on topics as dark as mental illness and death is both poignant and inspiring. In this cd, Neal’s gift for articulating the silver lining in the bleakest of circumstances is on full display. Unapologetically political at times, Dan is especially passionate on “Crawford” in which he concludes by asking President W. “Why don’t you go back to Crawford and leave us alone?” Early reactions to “Party of One”, also recorded in L.A. with Lucinda’s crew and a host of cameos from top session players are uniformly positive. The ten songs include “Time To Shine”, a stunning and inspirational duet with Gia Ciambotti who toured with Bruce Springsteen. Few songs engender real chills these days with straightforward delivery and lyrics with a certain poetic depth, but it is precisely this combination of attributes which make Neal an artist of note with a promising up-side.
In his live performances, Neal’s contagious energy and showman’s personality endear him to audiences. With his broad palette of songs, ranging from introspective numbers about meaningful life experience to humorous tales of loveable miscreants, Neal succeeds in getting audiences to laugh, think and leave well-entertained with the feeling that they’ve made a new friend. His plans for 2007 include a series of performances around the country in support of “Party of One”.