Posts by DanHoodMusic

My last one was just 5 days! I need to write more tunes!!

It seems a big chunk of the library is in this thread!! Here is my contribution:

Definitely an impressive feat! Grateful as the rest, but now I have to write better tunes!! faster!!

VF said
Word word word.

...press!!

“I possess a unique set of skills…..”

The organization of time, space, thought, and feelings…

so philosophical!! haha!!

jhunger said
Hey Dan, substitute clarinet for the trumpet and I think I followed a parallel path as you for a while. I started on piano and got reasonably good but disliked it because I was basically just repeating what was on the sheet music and not creating anything. So I quit when I was about 12, and didn’t play for a year until I got a little cheesy casio keyboard for Christmas. At that point, I started playing around with the beats and automatic chords and started learning that chords were the foundation of music and a building block for songwriting. Around 14 I picked up a guitar and taught myself to play. I loved my parents music more than the contemporary stuff (this will be a politically incorrect statement for a lot of you, but there wasn’t much I liked going on in popular music in the late 80s). I got into the Beatles, Cat Stevens, and especially Paul Simon. I learned to finger pick by learning to play The Boxer, and also learned a lot about good lyric writing there as well.

I tried to play in bands in college (Eugene, OR), and later in Seattle, mainly with my SeaportSound co-collaborator, Natt, but it never really went anywhere except that we composed literally 100s of songs. After that, I mostly just muddled around in my spare time. And then in 2009 I discovered stock music, and started writing and recording again. That’s about it! Now I’m just climbing the learning curve, and having a blast.

Thanks for this thread, Jamie – I haven’t read everybody’s bio yet but I plan to go through them in the next day or two.

That’s awesome!! Indeed, very similar paths. That’s one of the cool things about music, it does take time and dedication, but it is always there when you need it. I had a jazz professor that encouraged us to “improvise everywhere”. Basically, to find music in life and its smooth and sometimes chaotic rhythms. Always making melodies and enjoying the flow.

JBlanks said

DanHoodMusic said
Great question!!

My story is a bit weird maybe…

It all started with piano lessons at a young age, then trumpet, then guitar at 15… My earliest influence and musical memory is sitting on the steps to our basement, listening to my brother play band instruments in a “round robin” fashion when I was about 5. He would play a trumpet part, then trombone, then tenor sax, then the piano part of a high school band tune…

I never intentionally pursued music as a career until my mid-late 20’s. I just studied some jazz in college and played in bands on guitar and bass, and taught lessons just because it seemed natural. I have a composer friend that approached me about some guitar tracks, and I began to “freelance/intern” with him for about 5yrs. We have done well, and still work together as often as I am needed. In the past 10+ years, I have begun the process of learning to listen… then translating that feeling into music. I am reminded of my childhood days watching Looney Tunes cartoons where the music was a subconscious thing that contributed to the emotional content of the visual. I want to be able to do that…

This led me to AJ… I needed an outlet for my “learning” and another source of income (being a full-time musician is hard work!!)... I have written a lot of music in the past 6 months. Almost as much the past 6 years of custom music and session work!

That’s a great story Dan, good that you had a musical brother and a collaborator – so happy to hear that last 6 months has been a really productive time for you. I’ve loved all the stuff I’ve heard from your portfolio and you seem to be doing well with sales too. I dig your focus on acoustic work – nice one. I wish you masses of success bro and may music to be your sole occupation in the future. Keep writing great tracks Dan!

All the best Jamie

Thanks for the kind words! The acoustic thing is “home” for me, but anything related to guitar is my comfort zone. I plan on branching out into some other areas in the near future as well. I am hopeful for the day that I can compose full-time… I play music full-time now, but the goal is just to compose and do sessions, only play the gigs I want to play… I have been playing 100+ shows a year for the past 5 yrs and all that localized travel can really wear you down!

Cheers! It seems you had a great reputation long before audio jungle! For me, that is just another reminder that I am in the right place…

jhunger, this is great! I am glad someone took the initiative. I record Uke the same way as you, but my mic is a C-460b. That runs into a 70’s API pre. I use just a bit of compression more for the tone then the “squish” (Waves stuff) and just a touch of EQ. My room has a bump at about 385Hz and another at around 160Hz.

The only difference is where I want the Uke to sit in a mix. if it is prominent, then I record closer to the source, if it is a background instrument, then I back up about a foot or so to get a bit of my room. (acoustically treated, but I still have to add more)

SoundFix said

DanHoodMusic said
Once in awhile I get on a U2 kick… In my younger days, I listened to Pearl Jam Ten, and Vs. every time I drove my car… I wore out both cassettes…. yes cassettes!!!

Cassettes!? Only kidding. Pearl Jam Ten, I have that on CD still (yes I’m a CD era kid ha) Used to have the fold out album sleeve on my wall. I did record my first band demos on to tape though with a 4 track recorder back in 2003/2004

Ha! yes, my car only had a cassette player and the car was too crappy to invest in a CD player… they were expensive in the 90’s!! I have really been feeling old lately… The best part of a cassette is when the heat makes the tape stretch and you get a weird pitch warble/ smear sound… too funny…

I have been considering another cheap 4-track tape machine. Iron and Wine recorded his first record on one. It’s hard to match that vibe with more than 4 tracks. It really causes you to make decisions!