Dan Greenwald is, “The Workers”. Music has always been a part of him for most of his life. He started out in his school band in the 4th grade playing the clarinet. Then eventually picked up the cello and played in the school orchestra. He grew up in a strict environment and never even attempted playing popular music until he was in College. He then gravitated to the guitar because he thought it might be difficult breaking into mainstream with a cello.
[youtube VDu0cuIfTmE nolink]His creative heart lived silent and dormant but was always present. He gave up his pursuits of being a fulltime musician in college and decided to become a psychologist instead. Like many musicians, we fall under criticisms when we chase a dream that some seem to consider impossible to obtain. We get labeled as irresponsible careless dreamers. Dan does not regret his choice, he had the fulltime gig and thought he could pursue the music on the side. The hands on the clock swiftly cascaded by and 20 years later he got an opportunity to go into semi-retirement. He saw his second chance and decided the musician in him could not stay silent any longer.
It is amazing what can happen when you put forth the efforts. His music career started to move forward with incredible speed. For his short term musical goals he is now working on building his fan base and setting up more live performances. He said he was a bit apprehensive about the whole idea of this social media craze, then quickly realized the aspect of reaching a broader audience was the exact thing he needed to jump start his musical endeavors. Today’s technology is a loyal friend to musicians and if you are not utilizing it to its fullest capacity you are only hurting yourself. It is certainly a small world we live in and with the internet it continuously becomes smaller and smaller. There are no boundaries, the sky is the limit.
For his long term goals he said, “First and foremost, I’d like my music to be an ongoing and interesting expression of my creativity”.
Well said, music survives because we keep it alive in our thoughts, hearts and in everything we do everyday. Dan seems to have a good grasp on that concept and is fearless to do whatever it takes to make it happen. We all wish for the monetary rewards that come from a successful career. But, sometimes passion exceeds money and the value of what you do has a deeper meaning than the almighty dollar.
[youtube jP1qcV3Z3mo nolink]Music comes from the love of the game. It is a tough journey ask anyone who is traveling it, but everyone will tell you, I would not be who I am if I did not do what I do. Dan is no different and hopes for the “classic milestones” every musician works towards; however, he is grateful for the opportunities he has experienced thus far.
I asked him if their was a story behind the band name, “The Workers”, and he replied, “Yes, there’s an interesting story behind the band name. In ’91, I was married and my ex-wife was the lead vocalist of my musical unit at that time. We had a chance to open up for a jazz vocalist at The Village Gate in Manhattan. The manager told us that he didn’t like our band name “Game Theory”, and directed us to come up with a new name. We had one week to do so. It was my ex-wife who dubbed us “The Workers” because I’m such a hard worker”.
We all know to be a musician you have to be a hard worker. If you thought it was all glitz and glam well let me educate you; this life is not a life to take lightly. I know I have said it before and it still never gets old, the only ones who are successful are the ones who never give up. Dan finally has his chance to sink his teeth into his dreams and he is not showing any signs of slowing down.
Dan lives in the NY area and it is a tough place to have your voice heard. Standing out in a crowd in a huge city is like finding a needle in a haystack. But that does not intimidate him. He celebrates the large achievements as much as he celebrates the smaller steps. He knows each stepping stone is one jump closer to the ultimate goal.
He shares some of his highlights of his music career with Skope, “Having my first CD release, ‘East Bronx Epiphany” stocked at Tower Records in Yonkers, NY for 2 years was a big thrill. We sold out multiple consignments there and had our poster displayed in the store. Another highpoint was recording at SkyeLab Studios in Times Square Manhattan owned by the legendary recording engineer Artie Skye. Winning the ASCAPlus Popular Division songwriting award 2 years running has also been a real boost for me. Most recently, my new music video “Janine” was featured in Episode 48 of The Indie Music Video Show (TIMVS), and was broadcast to a potential viewing audience of 4 million via public access cable across the USA and the internet. TIMVS liked the look of my video so much they used a still from it as the thumbnail photo to advertise the episode. The thumbnail has been prominently displayed on their “TIMVS on Blip TV” sub-page since early December”.
I’d say these are some impressive highlights and certainly something to light up the pride beams. I can see them shining all the way from where I’m sitting.
Dan is a pleasure and is full of good intentions and talent to take his dreams to the next level. We could all learn a few things from listening to the experiences of those out their living the dream. It is not all fairytales and bright lights, but nothing worth fighting for comes with out a cost. “The Workers” are working it and are not stopping until success rears its pretty face. In the mean time we get the pleasure of following his journey each step of the way.
http://reverbnation.com/theatreofthedistraught
Rebecca Hosking – hoskingrebecca@gmail.com
