We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dan Gober. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dan below.
Dan, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Never hold back! I’m always exploring different sounds, voices and instruments. The smallest little light that sparks an idea of a song helps feed my creativity to explore it further.
I believe all the pieces are there, you just have to open up and really listen.
For me, part of the creative experience is letting a piece of music take me to where “it” wants to go.
I often approach a new piece of music with a stream of consciousness, there are no bad ideas in this first draft approach.
Each piece of music has it’s own unique path. You can continue shaping it to improve it but those early stages of a song are just pure magic!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My artistic career has been a bumpy ride! I grew up in a punk scene and that community taught me so much about comradery, expression and the DIY approach.
It was an open invitation to be as weird as you want and still feel accepted.
Those early years I formed a band with friends and started as a singer.
I was younger than my band mates by a few years. One by one as they went off
to college, I had to then fill there place as well as sing. This was my first introduction
to becoming a multi instrumentalist. But what made the biggest impact on me in the early years
was recording at a professional studio. It opened me up to so many more sonic possibilities.
Soon after I bought a four track tape machine and began feverishly writing. This is how
I cut my teeth! The four track allowed me to overdub and play each part on my own.
This was how I learned to write! To take my knowledge further I took up music theory and
fundamentals at a local community college. As technology changed so did recording equipment. It became
much more affordable to have a home studio. Throughout my musical career I have always
multi tasked. It has always been a balance of writing, recording, promoting and performing. I feel lucky that I
continue to have these incredible experiences around the country with various music projects. Currently, I’m working on
my sixth solo album and hope to have it completed by the end of the year. When I’m not working on
my solo material, TV and Film music is another area of the industry that I pursue.
For me, it’s art, normal rules don’t apply, be weird, be kind and have fun!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
What’s the rule of 10,000 hours? Well in songwriting you have to write a lot of terrbile songs before you find your groove and start coming up with gold. No one is immune to this!
Every songwriter has had to go through this in some form. Keep writing, keep moving and know
you will improve.
Don’t let the hard times beat you! Any form of art there is a certain ammount of dedication needed.
Often times you become your own worst critic, filled with self doubt or self sabatoge. It doesn’t matter what level
you are on everyone has these obsticales. Acknowledge the issue and keep moving forward.
I’ve learned to take a break when something isn’t working. Give it day or two and revisit it.
Sometimes fresh ears is all it needs. It sounds like common sense but when you are in a groove and
working it’s tough to stop even if you hit a rough spot.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Getting outside of my comfort zone! I’ve traveled a lot this past year attending different music expos, masterclasses and a songwriting retreat. Each trip gave me the opportunity to try something new and I met some incredible people.
You never know what will come across your path unless you take chances.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dangober.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dangobermusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dangobermusic
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@dangobermusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5b5SjQqzM6tmzn4VDZz3uz https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dan-gober/193270218
