Getting to Know… Dan Riley | Interview 🎤

In the 291^st Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, we get the inside scoop from Washington DC-based singer/songwriter, Dan Riley.  

“I’m really good at feeling the vibe of the room and interpreting any given song in a lot of different ways so you might never hear it played the same way twice.”

  That’s awesome, 🎙 Dan Riley! In response to our first burning question, the Washington DC-based singer/songwriter expounds, asserting, “I think that my experience playing for all kinds of different crowds in bars and restaurants when I was cutting my teeth as a musician really helped shape that aspect of my performance.” Like our many other Getting to Know Q&As, we get the inside scoop on Riley’s beginnings, goals, musical influences, and of course, current, and future musical endeavors. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into 🎤 Getting to Know… Dan Riley: Interview No. 291!

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For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes you distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

🎤 I think that when it comes to my live performances I’m really good at feeling the vibe of the room and interpreting any given song in a lot of different ways so you might never hear it played the same way twice. I think that my experience playing for all kinds of different crowds in bars and restaurants when I was cutting my teeth as a musician really helped shape that aspect of my performance. When you have that much variety in whom you’re playing to, how big the room is, etc. I think it’s really useful to be able to take what you know and put a spin on it to make it something sad or something you can dance to or anything really that will fit the vibe of the room, day, night, etc.

I think that my original music has some traits of its own that seem to really connect with audiences. One thing that I think really gets peoples’ attention is that most of my songs feel like a journey because of how much they change, the topics that I cover, and the vocal range that I like to play with in my music. Like when I get to the time change in 🎵 “Colorado” or the falsetto hook in 🎵 “Out There”, I see that the way these songs are put together can definitely turn heads when people have never heard them before.

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Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did your music career get started and what were some of the goals or visions you had early on?

🎤 I’m a solo act but it was a pretty long journey to get to the point where I decided to make the leap beyond just playing music by myself in my room, which I had been doing for most of my life just as a form of therapy and creative release up to the point of that decision. The goal has always been just to try to take that creative release and use it as a way to bring some joy to people while expressing myself in the best way that I know how. Once I got that first hit of playing live and seeing the way an audience can react in a positive way to what I was creating I was completely hooked. Really I’ve always just wanted that as the end goal, to be able to make and play music for people who want to hear it and enjoy it. It’s that simple. Of course, it helps to be able to make a little money doing it too.

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Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 I think the biggest thing now is that everything is just a little more structured. I’ve taken the leap and I understand the road ahead, the obstacles involved and the hoops I need to jump through to release music and play shows. When I was first starting out, I was releasing anything I could, taking any opportunity I could to play live, and just hoping that I was stumbling in the right direction. Now I mostly know that I’m moving in the right direction, most of the time. I think the biggest difference now, too, is that I’ve gained a lot more confidence with time. I used to suffer from a lot of self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and just general fear that I wasn’t good enough to hang with the other musicians or hold a stage. Now I know that I belong here and that I’m good at what I do, and I’ve worked out enough of the other kinks along the way to at least know where I’m going.

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Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Whom would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 There are definitely a lot of influences at play in my music so it’s hard to name them all, but I think I can name a few that have affected my songwriting in specific ways. I think that the sonic of my songs and riffs are pretty heavily influenced by what John Frusciante has done as the lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. When I was learning to play I always mimicked his style and I think that his influence shows up in just about everything that I do. He’s really incredible. I think that when it comes to structure, groove, and a general vibe in my songs, I’m pretty influenced by the work of Americana/ Southern-Rock leaning bands, specifically, The Band, whom I think were the most influential pioneers of that whole genre of music. Lyrically, I think you see a lot of influence, but I think that my taste for hip-hop comes up a little bit in this aspect of my songwriting. I definitely gravitate toward different rhyme schemes and structures that are similar to hip-hop in a lot of ways with aspects like internal rhyme schemes and funky similes. I also love a good story in a song, so as strange as it sounds I think that my own lyrics exist somewhere between John Prine and the Wu-Tang Clan in a lot of ways.

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Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.  

🎤 I feel like my wacky performance stories are probably a little less crazy than some due to the nature of me being a solo and mostly acoustic artist, but of course, you’re always going to run into some funny stuff. One time I was playing a solo show at a bar where I knew all of the employees really well and this girl came up and kind of smiled and dropped a piece of paper in my tip jar. I had no idea what it said at the time but it turned out that she wrote some very suggestive stuff that’s probably too raunchy to share on here and then left her number at the bottom. Now by itself, that’s not a very remarkable story but what happened afterward was where it got pretty funny.

One of the guys working at the bar, a somewhat older, divorced guy, saw her drop this in the jar. He then proceeded to pull it out and look at it. When he saw what it said, he walked up to her table without hesitation (funny considering the over-the-top nature of the message), and told her that I was in a committed relationship (which I was and still am), but that he was available. She then proceeded to pretty much stomp out of the restaurant. Meanwhile, I’m up on stage and I can see this entire scene unfolding and had to work pretty hard to not laugh or say anything. Then I asked the employee if I could see what the note said and when he handed it to me I pretty much lost it. One of the funniest things I’ve seen at a show, for sure.

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Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

🎤 I think my favorite song that I’ve written so far was actually my first ever release, 🎵 “Out There”. The process of creating and releasing something with the intent for people to actually listen to it for the first time was incredibly cathartic for me and it was even more remarkable how people responded to it. At this point, that song means a lot to a lot of people and nothing could be more special to me than that. It’s also really fun to play live and, as I mentioned earlier, usually turns some heads. I think I’ve got a new favorite, too, but that one’s not coming out for a couple more months, so you’ll just have to stay tuned.

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Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

🎤 I grew up moving around all over Central, South America, the Pacific, and the US so I collected some pretty interesting and unique experiences along the way. I used to think it made me kind of a weirdo but as I’ve gotten older that’s definitely something I’ve embraced. It just really contributed to a lot of funny little factoids about my life like the fact that I speak fluent Spanish, didn’t wear shoes for about 3 years of my life, and also had a pretty serious career as a competitive skier. Also, I’m an Ecuadorian citizen, which you’d absolutely never be able to tell by looking at me.

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Closing out, what are you currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

🎤 Currently I’m working on finishing and releasing several new singles over the course of the next year.  My newest release, 🎵 “Howling At The Moon” is out now on all major platforms, where you can also stream any of my other work. Also, as I mentioned, I’m incredibly excited about the next single coming down the pipeline as well so stay tuned for that.

Other than that, I’m hoping to release an album not long after this series of singles as well and you can catch me playing shows at my weekly residency at Astro Beer Hall in Washington, DC, or at lots of other shows elsewhere in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area, with hopefully more places coming soon too. Stay tuned and thanks so much for the interview.

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Follow… Dan Riley: IG • Facebook • Spotify • YouTube

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Getting to Know… Dan Riley: Interview No. 291 [📷: Alfred Derks from Pixabay, Brent Faulkner, Dan Riley, Darkmoon_Art from Pixabay, The Musical Hype]

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