Artist: Daniel Daniel
Hometown: Washington, DC
Latest Album: The Lonesome Hollow
Personal Nickname: Chef Dan
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
It is hard to pinpoint one artist. There have been so many that have impacted and inspired me along the way. The ones that truly dig down and touch my soul seem to evoke beauty, angst, and heartache with their writing — people like Townes Van Zandt, Son House, Little Walter, Simon and Garfunkel, Hans Zimmer, Jeff Buckley, Washington Phillips.
If you could spend 10 minutes with John Lennon, Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Joni Mitchell, Sister Rosetta, or Merle Haggard how would it go?
I’d love to sit down with John Lennon, open a good bottle of wine, ask him a hundred questions on his songwriting, and then proceed to write one together.
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
I don’t have a distinct memory of one song, in particular, that was harder to pen than others. When I do encounter those songs that are stubborn, I have learned to lay them aside. If they are meant to be, they will come back around, when they actually want to work with you.
Since food and music go so well together, what would be your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
Miles Davis was known to be a pretty solid chef and, since I enjoy cooking myself, I think we would have a grand ol’ time.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
Who, me? I never do that.
