Marshall Dane’s infectious blend of music is Country by definition, but fueled by rock and roll and infected with a watermelon-sized helping of hope, love and salvation, Marshall’s the kind of guy you want to have on your side when the going gets tough in this world and his latest album “One Of These Days” is set to be your alibi.
“One Of These Days is about how I deal with the curves life throws,”says Marshall. “It’s not really about where I’ve been but more so about where I am now, where I wanna go, and how I’m gonna get there, wherever ‘there’ is.”
One of These Days has country in its veins topped up with doses of rock, pop and a side helping of soul. This latest collection is never far away from a radio-friendly corner, whether it’s the thrill of “Living It Up” or the reflective energy of “How Do I Get There From Her.”
“One Of These Days” is the follow-up to Marshall’s successful Running Stop Signs, released in 2010.
Winning a songwriting contest and opening up for Emerson Drive in the summer of 2009, Marshall bagged a deal with The Agency Group, opening for Alan Jackson in 2010, a tour in early 2011 and then a nomination to represent the New Artist Showcase at the 2011 CCMA’s.
“I’ve been playing the circuit for a few years, consistently making sure to deliver a first class performance til the last note, even if the club had only four people in it! I’d rock it as best I could, hoping that one day someone who could change things and bring me to the next level would walk right in.”
1. How long have you been doing what you’re doing and how did you get started in the first place?
Marshall Dane: I got my first gig at age 15. The local café wanted an artist to perform every Friday and Saturday evening…but couldn’t pay the going wage of $100 to the guy from Honey Moon Suite, so he offered me the gig for $35 and a piece of cheesecake…I accepted and have been on a musical pursuit ever since.
2. Who were your first musical influences that you can remember?
Marshall Dane: Besides my parents and grandparents…Zamfir, Frank Mills, Johnny Denver, Kenny Rogers
3. Which artists are you currently listening to, and is there any one of these you’d like to collaborate with?
Marshall Dane: Eric Church
4. What impact did Don Burton (The Cranberries/Gold Lake (w/Danny Goldberg) and “The Beav” have on your career?
Marshall Dane: They made it possible for me to make my second full length album and showcase my wares on the world stage for at least one more roundJ!
5. Is there anything in particular you learnt from your working experience with Canadian award-winning Producer Dan Brodbeck?
Marshall Dane: yeah…that’s it’s a small world! Brother Thompson would agreeJ
6. Live gigging or studio work, which do you prefer and why?
Marshall Dane: Live gigging…performance and the energy of a crowd caught up in the moment.
7. Tell us something about your songwriting processes. Do you lock yourself up in a room and ‘work at it’ or do songs arrive while you’re busy doing other interesting things?
Marshall Dane: All of the above….it’s like gigs…you take em when you can get em…and sometimes you gotta go look for em… either way…at the end of the day…songsJ
8. On which one of your songs do you personally think you delivered your best performance so far, from a technical and emotional point of view?
Marshall Dane: Hmmm…Not Today…Work It Out….Till I Get To You…J
9. Could you tell us something about the recording and production of the album “One Of These Days”?
Marshall Dane: Where to begin?! I wrote the first two songs for the album in July of 2011 and finished up with a collection of over 45 tunes… made a short list…made it even shorter…then pounded away in the studio for 3 weeks in June 2012….planned our strategy…and launched the title track One Of These Days in April of 2013! It was an emotional year leading into the writing of this album and it lurks within the lyrics of some songs. Said that, I believe in hope and love and salvation…and that always prevails…in each tune!!
10. If you were forced to choose only one, which emotion, more than any other drives you day after day to stay in this tough business. Is it joy, anger, desire, passion, hysteria or pride etc., and why?
Marshall Dane: passion
11. What aspect of being an independent artist and the music making process excites you most?
Marshall Dane: Trying to stay alive lol!
12. What aspect of being an independent artist and the music making process discourages you most?
Marshall Dane: Always trying to stay alive lol!
13. How involved are you in any of the aspects regarding your musical career (recording, producing, and marketing processes etc.)
Marshall Dane: I run the entire gamut of the ship…from book keeping to booking.
14. What do think is the best piece of advice in this business you received and actually followed so far, and one piece of advice you didn’t follow, but now know that you should have?
Marshall Dane: followed: Make it all about a good hang!
Try to follow: Know when to hold em, know when to fold em
15. At this point, as independent artist, is there any aspect or element you consider exclusive to Major label artists that you desire and feel will undeniably benefit your future?
Marshall Dane: Sure…their reach and budget
16. Do you consider Internet and all the new technology, as fundamental to your music, or indie music in general, or do you think it has only produced a mass of mediocre copy-and-paste artists, who flood the web, making it difficult for real talent to emerge?
Marshall Dane: real talent will always find an audience…breaking through the billion dollar music business is about so many other variables.
17. The new technology has completely changed the way the music business works. Today we digitally download almost anything. You said your first musical purchase was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” on cassette. Which was the last physical CD you actually purchased?
Marshall Dane: Zac Brown Live
18. You have a history of playing bars and clubs as a solo singer and with a touring band before making records. What do feel about the ‘stardom’ shortcuts currently available to artists – like winning The X-Factor or The Voice?
Marshall Dane: That’s one way to make it into the business….there are countless waysJ
19. What do you think is the biggest barrier you have to face and overcome as an indie artist, in your quest to achieve your goals and attain any significant commercial success?
Marshall Dane: budget…the business demands finances.
20. Is going Platinum or winning a Grammy important in your scheme of musical things? And if you were forced to settle for only one choice, which of the two would you ultimately prefer and why?
Marshall Dane: Both would help the bottom line…either is quite an achievement…they are, however, not the ultimate goal.:)
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