Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dan Trilk. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dan, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My drive to create has always been an innate part of me. I have never given that I would be a musical artist a second thought. So in a sense there is an automatic resilience there. But that has looked different over the years and I have switched gears at times with the intention of bringing in income to support my family. This balance has always been a focus and and a challenge. You have to able to stick to your guns and pivot if necessary.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I was born and raised in Iowa and started writing songs and playing in bands at the age of twelve. I didn’t have any family members in the music business but somehow knew it was for me at an early age. At age twenty I hopped on a Greyhound bus with a guitar and a bag and moved to California where I had some older musician friends that had already moved out there. Soon we were playing in an original band and touring the states. For the fourteen years I was there I had many varied musical experiences including showcasing for indie and major labels, playing the Whiskey in Hollywood and winning a best unsigned band contest in San Francisco.
But then I met the perfect Iowa girl (in California)! We had a baby, got married and promptly moved back to Iowa. We had another child a couple of years later. Once we moved back to my hometown of Norwalk, Iowa I was able to start a successful teaching career where I give private guitar (my main instrument), bass, ukulele, piano, and drum lessons. For several years I also coached rock bands.. Although I have formed my own bands since being back, I am now focused on a solo career, playing for various venues and events around the Greater Des Moines Area.
In 2020, like many musicians I dove into production and sync music. This has been my main focus since but I have recently started to realize I am missing my calling of writing and releasing music as an artist.
On March 29th I released my first single since 2019 called “Lucky Like Me”. I have a back log of music that I plan to release regularly and hope to put a full album together by 2025. I am still producing for sync and doing session work in my home studio but am really leaning into writing and recording my own stuff. I plan to release another single this May.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Practice: Having put in the time on my instrument. I worked very hard to become proficient and expressive on the guitar.
2. Listening: I did a lot of listening and learned so much from many styles of music which were naturally incorporated into my writing. I also spent a lot of time listening to recordings of myself which helped to learn about my own strengths and weaknesses.
3. Willingness to go all in: I dedicated my life to music at an early age and never looked back. If you don’t have that kind of knowing and intuition it may not be for you.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The main challenge I am facing as a 52 year old singer/songwriter is finding my way around social media. I am getting better and better at it but it is certainly a process! I have decided to embrace it and have fun with it. I am also diving in, knowing that I will make mistakes and it will be a bit messy for a while.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dantrilkmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dantrilkmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dantrilkmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoqYjN1Xt5RX35__pIPjrIg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/dantrilk
Image Credits
Phillip Harder Brandon Burnette
