My name’s Dan Webb. I’m a keyboardist and singer/songwriter from Melbourne. I’ve released two EPs in the past few years and toured Australia, the UK and New Zealand. This year I’m doing something a little different…
You’ve just released your first song as part of 12 songs in 12 months, tell us about this brilliant idea and what other musicians you are working with on the project.
The idea hit me last year around September when I was getting ready to record demos to pitch to potential producers of my upcoming debut album. I figured that releasing demos for free download to the public would mean that fans get a taste for the ideas I’m playing around with at the moment and they’ll ultimately get a say in what songs get reworked and rerecorded for the album. It’s an open process. I’ve been extremely fortunate to be able to work with some of Melbourne’s finest session musicians – Peter Marin (Paul Kelly, Bertie Blackman) on drums, Joshua Jones (Dan Sultan, Gossling) on bass, Ari Farrar & Kieran Conrau from The Cat Empire horn section as well as Kylie Auldist (The Bamboos) and her saxophone player Damon Grant.
How has your approach to writing for this differed compared to your first two EP’s?
Some of the songs we’ll be releasing I wrote in a day or over a couple of nights while others I’ve been working on for two or three years. The release strategy means that I can continue to work on new songs for most of this year – at this stage I’ve only done overdubs for about five of the 12 songs and we still need to track drums and bass for three songs. We’re not really in any rush to meet deadlines, which is a great feeling.
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
I started learning piano when I was four and a half years old. I was encouraged to perform regularly at student concerts from very early on; I think we did them every couple of months to show off our progress. My grandfather was an organ player and my step-grandma used to play First Violin for the Melbourne Symphony – so they really inspired me in those early years.
You must answer this question honestly. What and where was the first gig you went to?
I have a vague memory of my parents taking me to a jazz gig in a pub when I was a kid. I remember going to a vineyard to see Wynton Marsalis perform when I was about eight, and I was lucky enough to get to speak with him backstage. The first rock concert I saw was Jet at Festival Hall when I was about 14.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
The Beatles, George Harrison, Wings, Led Zeppelin, John Williams, Monty Python. Why not?
How do you feel all the new streaming services help an independent artist like yourself?
I’m still undecided. It’s great to have that technology there, but it’s such a saturated market these days I think it might actually hinder some artists.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have?
That’s an interesting question. I think I’d like to keep it relatively intimate. I like the idea of having it inside a venue like some of the younger festivals are starting to do, rather than having hundreds of thousands of people outside rolling around in the mud. I’d put an eclectic mix of artists on the bill, perhaps something like The Roots, Stevie Wonder, Chili Peppers, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Robert Glasper and Dirty Projectors. The main attraction would be the artists.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living artist from anywhere in world would you most like to collaborate with?
I love collaborating with other artists. On my recent New Zealand tour I teamed up with a popular singer over there called Tyra Hammond as well as Barrett Hocking, the trumpet player from The Black Seeds. I’m not sure which artist I’d most like to collaborate with, but I hope I get an opportunity to work with more people in the future. I’m happy to take suggestions.
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
I’m in the middle of a national tour. I’m particularly excited about my Melbourne show at The Workers Club on Thursday February 7th.
I’ll have my full band as well as sound engineer Andrew Crosbie from the recent recording sessions, and also a couple of surprise guests!
Check out danwebbmusic.com for tour dates or to download free music!
