When I was going through the pile of demos I had thrown together for the Eight Seconds Later project, I originally dumped “Great Escape” into the cut list…I just couldn’t hear this one connecting with my listeners or fitting in with the other songs that I knew I wanted to include. Luckily I decided to play it for some friends who basically told me “this will be the most popular song on the cd”…and it is! Thank you to all those who have consistently saved me from myself – this song would still be in a pile of demos if not for you.
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Bare (Matt Nathanson Cover)
You may know Matt Nathanson from his massive recent hits “Come On Get Higher” and “Faster”, but if you’ve never checked out his 2003 album Beneath These Fireworks you don’t know what you’re missing. Here’s a cover version of an amazing pop gem called “Bare” from this album.
Boston (Cover)
Augustana is a great modern rock band along the lines of The Fray, Coldplay and Pete Yorn. This is Dan’s acoustic version of their 2006 ballad “Boston”.
Growin’ Up (Cover)
Dan’s stripped down take on the Springsteen classic from the album Greetings from Asbury Park. Is there a more desperate first line in all of rock than “I stood stone-like at midnight, suspended in my masquerade”?
Hey Dear (Original)
“Hey Dear” was written during my dark period. In fact, pretty much all the songs on the Small Town Heroes cd were written during my dark period! Just listen to the lyrics – you’ll see what I mean. I brought all of my band members into the vocal booth to sing the call and answer chorus part. I think there were 5 of us in there at once…brotherhood! Great slide guitar solo by my long time buddy Kevin Jones.
Over My Head (Cover)
Acoustic cover version of The Fray’s first hit single “Over My Head (Cable Car)”, a song that’s been in Dan’s live set since it came out back in 2005.
There’s a Place in my Heart 4U (Original)
Check out Dan working on one of his latest songs in his home studio. A simple little love song called “There’s a Place in my Heart 4U”.
I Might Fall in Love (Original)
I wrote “I Might Fall in Love” with my good friend Craig Bernheart while sitting around on my couch in Milford on a Friday afternoon, sick with the flu. Craig came by to keep me company and next thing we knew we had written this song – took all of about 20 minutes. It’s definitely my first “hit” song…a friend of mine who I worked with back in the late 90’s just emailed me the other day to say it’s still on his IPod rotation today. What more could I ask for?
Do I Have To (Original)
From “The Garage Sessions”, a live video of Dan playing one of his oldest and most beloved songs. Here’s “Do I Have To”, from the album Who Can Tell…stripped down and acoustic!
Beg (Original/Demo)
“Beg” was written during the summer of 2013 following an article I read about a once great artist who let addiction destroy everything beautiful in his life (not to get all serious on you!). Here’s the demo version I recorded in my basement studio. Special credit goes to my wife who convinced me to end the song with a more satisfying G chord, as opposed to the uneasy E minor I originally had in there. I prefer uneasy, but I guess it’s not always about me, is it?
