Okay, welcome to episode number 25 of the Dan
Time Podcast. I am your host, Dan McCardle. It's
wonderful to have you here for the first time,
for the second time, or for the 25th time. Thanks
for listening to the show. DanTimePod at gmail
.com is how you can reach me. You can also follow
me on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Just
search at Dan Time Pod. Be sure to download and
subscribe so that you never miss an episode New
guests appear every Sunday here in the US and
every so often a bonus episode So stay tuned.
You never know when the next one of those is
coming your way All right. It has been a fun
couple weeks I think we have scratched the itch
for fellow baseball fans talking about historic
Rick would field talking about umpiring and talking
probably a good bit of nonsense, but I hope you've
enjoyed these episodes. Listen, I really enjoy,
as you can see, shining the light on musicians,
singer songwriters from around the country and
around the world. This is of special interest
and importance to me. Please follow my previous
guests. Check out the old episodes if you've
missed any. Here's some news on some of the prior
guests. and what they're doing right now. Dan
Harrison, Nashville based singer songwriter,
just released his stirring new single, Alameda.
Find Dan on Instagram and other channels, Dan
Harrison Music. Danielle Moralia, Boston based
blues artist, performing March 24th at the Mass
Art Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. If you're
in the area, be sure. Do yourself a favor. Go
see Danielle perform. Dan Brody. You guys know
how I feel about Dan Brody. If you heard the
episode a few weeks back, February 4th at Shot
Kickers Melbourne, Australia, the album launch
party for what I consider to be one of the best
LPs of 2023. The Ballad of Cowboy Dan. Get a
copy of this record however you can as soon as
you can. And if you're in Melbourne, Do not pass
it by to see Dan. Finally, Dan Thomas. Out on
the road, a number of UK dates beginning February
2nd. He's in Dundalk, Ireland, February 4th.
Don't miss the chance to see Dan. He is at Dan
Thomas Solo. Is it enough yet? Is the upcoming
single and video? Love some Dan Thomas. Okay,
so I think you get it by now. Dan Time is a run
through the Daniverse most of the time. And these
are conversations with Dan's, Danielle's, Danny's,
et cetera, who are making their mark in a big
way. And if they appear on this show, it's because
I believe that you should hear about them and
their stories. But remember, some guests are
outside of the Daniverse, and this will apply
in another week or two. All right, with that
being said, I am just delighted. We say excited
enough. How about delighted to introduce to you
this week's guest, Italian -bred, California
-based, singer -songwriter, Daniella Gallasso.
Daniella described her sound to Buzz Music as
a cross between indie pop and Folktronica like
Lennon Stella meets Ellie Golding and Maggie
Rogers. Now, I think Daniella's music is going
to resonate with you whether you're 16, 22 or
62. Her vocals have been described as Smooth
and vintage, as well as delicate and airy. Daniela's
single Yesterday's Story took home second place
in the pop category at the 2022 Indie International
Song Competition. The song Sway was a semi -finalist
in the 2022 International Songwriting Competition
for Adult Album Alternative. You're going to
be swept away by Daniela's rendition of Don't
You Forget About Me, the iconic song from the
Breakfast Club soundtrack recorded by Simple
Minds. Follow Dani on the socials. She's at SoundsLikeDani
and SoundsLikeDani .com. Her new single, Wait,
really showcases Daniela's ability to invite
her listener to come closer, to not only hear
the message, but to feel it and very easily embrace
it. Wait is very light, airy and soothing. It
opens with Daniela's calming vocals over a strumming
guitar. The song puts a whole new spin on unconditional
love, maybe one that you've never before heard
expressed this way. The opening lyric speaks
to just how dedicated someone can be to another
person. Remember, you can find this song and
her other singles wherever you download music
by searching Daniela Galasso. So with that being
said, how about... We take a listen to a clip
of the new single, Wait, and then get to the
conversation. Folks, it is Daniela Galasso time.
Buried in the dirt Carry the weight for you And
you'll never be alone I'll wait, wait, wait for
you Till the sun comes up I'll wait, wait, wait
for you Till the sun comes up I'm just so excited
about today's guest, a lifelong musician. She's
out of the San Francisco Bay area, categorized
as an indie pop singer -songwriter, but she incorporates
different styles into her music. Some songs are
more dreamy, some are a little more up -tempo,
but one thing Daniel I want to say from the start
why I wanted to have you as a guest on the show
today in our current culture and The busyness
of everyday life a lot of the noise out there.
I feel like your music really slows things down
a little bit allows people to take a breath and
Take a moment maybe embrace some feelings that
are Kind of hard to embrace but you carry them
there and let them go to that place And then
you have some other songs that you just want
to roll the windows down and enjoy a beautiful
day. So that was really captivating. And I thought,
I've got to try to invite her to be on the show.
So thank you so much for being here today. How
are you doing today, Daniella? I'm doing great.
Thanks for saying all that. That was really sweet
of you. Hi, everyone. I'm Daniella, Danny for
short. And yeah, it's nice to hear that my music
is resonating in that way for you. Yeah, my favorite
thing about this project is it brings me out
of my own bubble. And, you know, I might not
ordinarily listen to an artist like Daniela Galasso.
I've always been open minded and I'm interested
in musicians, storytellers, songwriters. And
a couple of your songs we'll get to here in a
minute. really grabbed my attention. And so I'm
just so excited to dive into your story today.
I understand at a very young age, five years
old on a toy piano was kind of your first introduction
to music and realizing that you had an interest
in music. Yeah, that's right. I have some early
memories of being a little kid and just kind
of like figuring out the melody to songs. And
I honestly thought that was normal. Like everyone
did that. It kind of, I just had an actual ear
to pick out a melody. And so I did that a lot
as a kid and then was fortunate enough to have
a piano around growing up and then kind of took
from there, ended up playing the violin and getting
more exposure to the guitar and other instruments
and singing choir. So it's been quite a journey.
from when I was little all the way up to now
which is great because I feel like I've been
living and breathing music for quite some time
and that's definitely like helped me as a musician
having that foundation so young. In terms of
like my songwriting I mean that kind of happened
organically because I think naturally I was just
listening to a lot of singer -songwriters growing
up especially female artists and so at some point
you know I was just like sing along to their
songs and then kind of inspired me to start writing
my own songs. Yeah, I was reading that as an
adult or when you're in school, you realized
I can probably do this as well. You know, you've
got the artists that inspire you, you reference
Lenin, Stella, Taylor Swift, Lauren Mayberry
or some, your sound is similar to them, but some
of your influences, Swift, Ellie Golding, Maggie
Rogers, do you remember, was it one day, one
season where you thought I'm gonna make a push
here, I'm gonna get these, I don't know if you've
had notebooks of lyrics and how did that transformation
happen where you thought I'm going to market
myself, I wanna do this, I can do this? That's
a really good question. I would say before I
answer that, it has been a slow burn because
of what I was saying about basically being a
musician my whole life. And I definitely took
a stab at writing songs, I guess at a young adult
age. So I had been writing and it was mostly
like cathartic and just kind of like me getting
my feelings out and trying to like piece together
a song. And I had other friends that were songwriters
too that kind of inspired me. But after doing
that and doing the whole open mic thing in my
area and kind of doing it as I would say a hobby,
which there's nothing wrong with that, but it
just wasn't as serious at the time. And building
my musicianship along the way, I actually took
like a really big break from music and was just
focusing on my nine to five career. And then
I legitimately was just like, maybe this is not
like the thing I need to do and I just need to
work and focus on that. And then I just like
came back around to it and I was realizing like
I really miss doing this and having this part
of my life. And right around then I was also
just a lot more pragmatic about what do I really
want to do and what is it about this that I like.
And I kind of came back to the songwriting aspect
of it and got a rude awakening realizing that
I really needed to improve my songwriting craft
because I brought a song to a mentor at a music
conference, and she gave me nudges on how I could
improve the song. And just being at that conference
for the weekend, I kind of realized, okay, like,
I really need to put more work and care into
this. I can't just do it just kind of casually
if I want to see this take off in any big way.
And so I think I kind of made that decision.
and started to take myself more seriously, which
involved honestly an investment in my songwriting
craft and like getting more one -on -one work
with mentors that were professionals. And I think
then another thing that happened that really
kind of catapulted it to is the pandemic. I lost
my job in the beginning of 2020. And so I was
kind of in that group of people who lost their
jobs and were trying to, you know, get new jobs,
but no one was hiring for that beginning of 2020.
And so during that time, I was applying to jobs.
It just wasn't hearing back. And then I was like,
well, I might as well spend this time to get
better at songwriting. And so I got deeper into
just improving my skills and doing a variety
of things, joining groups and doing some online
retreats and things like that. And eventually
like I was seeing my writing get much better
and actually a pretty quick amount of time. And
it was like, wow, this is super cool. I actually
have like the brain space to work on this now.
And so it actually made me realize like, I can't
not do this anymore. And so I made a decision
to basically make more time, like make more creative
time for my songwriting and musicianship craft.
And then eventually I did, I did get rehired
back by my job, which was super great before,
but I was able to have flexibility and not go
back full time. And so that's kind of what I've
been doing since, which has been great because
I needed the time to nurture my, my skillset
and actually develop as a writer. You know, that's,
um, it's interesting that you tell that story.
I've heard similar stories about the pandemic
and nobody wants to go back to that time period,
but it was very transformational for some people.
Yeah, totally. And for me, I can be a social
butterfly, which I still am, but I've almost
like trained myself not to be because I actually
need the time to create. It's very time intensive.
people that don't do this kind of creative craft
don't realize how much time actually goes into
it. But I appreciated having the time to focus
during the pandemic, where I might have otherwise
just kind of like filled my calendar with fun
things to do with friends and family. So it was
it was kind of for me to almost hibernate a bit
and actually force myself into the discipline
of creating. Daniela, I just want to mention
I want to mention what Buzz Music had to say
about you as a songwriter. Dani's a storyteller
at heart using her significant musical prowess
to paint vivid pictures and stories of relationships
and love, personal struggles, and even ordinary
life, making her easy to relate to on the listener's
part. I think that's what I may have said it
in the beginning, but your music and your stories
in the songs are very relatable, where it could
bring in somebody that's not already plugged
into that genre. If they just happen to listen
to it because somebody else is playing it, or
with my situation here, they can find something
to hang on to. I want to jump here before we
get too deep into the episode, your brand new
single, Wait. This is a really powerful song.
To me, I kind of wrote some notes down here about
devotion, and maybe that word's not strong enough
because It's almost an everlasting type of devotion.
We can talk about the song, the music, the arrangements,
and the lyrics, and we're going to preview this
track for those of you listening. I can't wait
for you to hear it and make sure that you download
on your favorite music platform wherever you
stream new music, this single, and the rest of
Daniela Galasso's catalog. But let's talk about
the new single, Wait. and how that came together.
Yeah, I'd love to. This is a really special song
for me and my co -writer. So I ended up meeting
someone in one of my music programs and we wrote
a song together remotely during the pandemic.
And it started with just like a little guitar
riff that he sent over to me. And I kind of just
organically felt like the word weight was needed
and needed to be in the song. And so I came up
with some of the lyrics in the beginning of the
song. And it's really just centered around the
idea of, you were saying devotional, but I've
been explaining it as like unconditional love
and being there for people during hard times.
And the context that we kind of had in mind when
we were writing it was just this idea of when
you see your loved ones going through something,
whether it's a personal struggle or a mental
illness or just a hard time in general and kind
of being there as a pillar for them and that
constant reassurance and just like having the
patience that you need to have in that sort of
situation. And so, yeah, we really liked that
idea and the song came together rewriting and
you know, every song was rewritten. Don't let
anyone tell you that they're not. But no, it
did come together pretty organically and we both
really liked it. And then I was able to engage
a friend of mine who plays piano and he played
this really beautiful kind of drone chords to
it. And then I brought the song to another producer
that I've worked with in the past, and he built
the arrangement around that. And I love what
he did. I couldn't have imagined it turning out
like it actually turned out. I was really, really
pleased at the end of it. I like how your songs,
when you go from the first verse to the second,
the chorus, you introduce new arrangements that
maybe weren't there. I love on some of the songs
that will get into like the cover of Don't You
Forget About Me. when the drums come in and you're
not even expecting them about the two and a half
minute mark. In this song, I think that the drums
are introduced after the first, maybe after the
first verse. It's just a really, really nice
touch. It's funny that you noticed that because
I do like doing that. I can't fully take credit
for that because I do work with producers often
and they have great ideas. But yeah, I've done
it on quite a few songs and sometimes I'm telling
a producer to do that because I just think it's
so fun and it brings a lot of energy to the song
when you get to the second verse. I think it's
really great in this day and age when people
are focusing on seven different things at once
and they've maybe they're playing wait, they're
listening to it, they're liking it, but they're
cooking dinner, they're doing something. I love
the touch of something like that where it almost
I feel like it would stop somebody in their tracks
and think, oh, I need to push these two or three
or four things aside. I still got to, you know,
stir the noodles here. But wow, what's going
on with this song? But and I really like the
lyrics. It's it's very different situations,
might even be different people. Some of the lines
like I'll pave the way for you. I'll hold your
hand, look both ways. Like you said, it's. We
seem, you know, as a society, very, in a lot
of cases, very into ourselves, very self -centered,
and the focus is not so much on projecting that
love to someone very important to you. And this
is just really put on display in this song. Yeah,
totally. And I think that's why I really like
this song, too, because I definitely write a
lot of songs that are about me and how I feel,
but this one is obviously so much about the other
person. So it's like even refreshing to me to
be able to sing like such a caring song like
that, because it's like, you know, I hear enough
about myself. I don't want to hear more about
myself. Well, I love the songs that are introspective
and what we'll talk about here in a minute, some
of the relationship songs. Those are wonderful
as well. This one actually I played it for my
six -year -old son a little earlier today. He
loved it He loved it right from the start. I
Actually encouraged him to listen to some of
the parts. I think towards the end there This
might be the I don't know if this is the bridge
or the post chorus and we'll make it to the other
side But then there's some some layered vocals
in the background. Yeah. Yeah, we added some
vocalizations in there, too I love doing that
my music as well just adding vocal layers as
if they're another instrument. Also how do you
um how do you select the artwork for these singles?
Are you looking at two or three or four different
possibilities and then you say that's it? Do
you have someone that you're collaborating with?
Um so historically I've been making my own artwork
for the singles and I've kind of just like I
use this program called Canva which is user -friendly
if you're not a professional designer. And I
just kind of go on instinct. So for weight, I'm
sure you looked at the artwork already since
you're asking, but I don't remember what I actually
searched, but what I'll often do is I'll search
something in Canva. They'll feed me images or
artwork or something. And I think when I was
writing weight, I just really had this idea of
it being outside like the scene of the song just
it felt like an outdoor song so I think I probably
searched tree or something along the lines and
then this really beautiful image of this tree
came up and I was like wow this looks cool and
sometimes I actually just like make a quick artwork
as a temporary artwork and then later I'll go
make redo it like redo something else but this
one I actually didn't redo so I came back to
it And I just, I liked it. I thought it was cool,
even though it was like, I probably put it together
super fast as like a temporary one. And then
my partner is like, he's like the person who
I go to to be like, Oh, Hey, do you like, should
I really release it like this? Like he, he kind
of is my, he's like my second child on things.
And so I asked him about it and he was like,
yeah, it's cool. It's cool that it's a tree.
And then we had this whole discussion about how
Trees like the tree kind of is a symbol for this
idea of waiting and like you can wait so long
For someone and be there for so long for them.
It was it kind of became even more symbolic This
is idea of like trees losing their leaves through
the seasons but like still being there and so
we both agreed that like it was appropriate to
Keep the the tree and the artwork for this one.
I Love it and I love the glow Over the tree kind
of a an amber orange flow Maybe symbolizing the
Sun coming up Yeah, totally and that's actually
probably what I looked I probably said something
like tree and Sun when I was trying to find this
image and Then the perfect one just landed in
my lock. I Really love this song folks. Please
check it out again I'll wait for you I'll be
here for you. You know, it's just this message.
A lot of people still feel alone out there, even
though they're trying their best and they're
thinking, speaking about the pandemic, it's been
three, four years. I can't talk about this anymore
because everybody else seems to be at a regular
pace. They seem to be over it. I'm not, you know,
people have these feelings of being alone. I
think it's a very comforting song, even for someone
who doesn't necessarily have somebody in their
life at this moment. who would say something
like that. But I just think you did a great job
on this track and really excited about it. Thanks.
Thanks so much. It wouldn't happen with my co
-writer, Dennis Martin. And one other thing,
and I'll probably will say this about some other
songs on your vocal tracks. This one in particular,
you do a really good job of not trying to do
too much. you've got a certain tone, it's been
described, or some of your songs have been described
as water -like, I guess, airy. And on this one,
you keep the delicacy in the song, and it doesn't
need anymore. It doesn't need to go in several
different places. So I really enjoyed that part
as well. Yeah, it's funny you say that because
I'm definitely, you know, ever growing I guess
and strengthening my voice as the days go on
but it's so weird with singing because sometimes
it's like when you try too hard it actually sounds
worse and I remember when I was trying to because
every time I record vocals for a song you know
I kind of plan it out and I experiment and play
around with how I'm going to sing it and I try
to do that preparation before the day I actually
record and I remember I was I was trying to sing
it with more umph And it wasn't even sounding
like it was just like, I don't know. It's a very
there's definitely an art to to singing. And
I find that sometimes when I just like don't
think about singing and just sing without orchestrating
it, like that's when it sounds the best. And
I think that's what I ended up doing this recording.
I could certainly see that. Now, I understand
that you're working on some new material. maybe
it's completed or nearly there. The last time
we were speaking, getting ready for the podcast,
you were targeting the spring of 2024 to release
some new songs. Yeah, that's right. So that's
still the goal. I need to put pen to paper and
actually make some decisions in the next few
weeks. But I basically have released a good handful
of singles and what's coming up is the first
album, which does contain some of the singles
that are already out in addition to some new
songs that aren't out yet. So I'm getting really
excited about that. I am one song away from it
being completed and the song is done. It's just
I need to finish the production and record the
final vocals. And it's the last song for the
project. And I've been sitting on this for a
while trying to I didn't really like. plan this
album out super methodically. It kind of, I just
wrote a lot of songs and started to pick the
ones that like felt like they went together,
which to an extent is what everyone does. But
since this is my first album, I kind of, I wasn't
really planning everything. I just started releasing
things. Then I kind of realized like, okay, I
need to release an album, like a few singles.
And so, but then I was very indecisive about
like, what the last songs are going to be. And
so it's been a journey trying to kind of piece
it together, but I'm really excited about it.
And all the songs kind of have this underlying
theme of beauty and vulnerability, which I'm
sure you've probably picked up from what you've
already heard. Right. And they're all like personal
to me and things that have kind of led me to
where I am in the past couple of years. So. it's
gonna be cool to have like a cumulative project
for that. And then also I'm like excited for
my next project already just cause like I've
also been writing for what's coming next and
it's gonna have a different flavor. So I'm looking
forward to kind of putting a book into this and
actually celebrating it and then making some
space for a little bit of a newer sound, I guess
you could say. Well, one of the songs that I'm
sure will be on the EP Yesterday's story and
this song along with embers Well, you won second
place in the pop category at the indie international
song competition 2022 for yesterday's story This
is a very deep song if you listen to it the first
time Spin it three or four five six seven times
and you might have a different understanding
I did I Honestly, I think this might be my favorite
song that you've recorded that I've heard. Oh
Really? Yeah, I I feel like with yesterday's
story you capture something that everybody of
a certain age Even if you're 16 or 17, you've
probably experienced some of this but certainly
at At my at my advanced age You know, it's it's
describing two people trying to find closure
You've got probably one party that is still throwing
some darts trying to get the other's attention
Say let's give this another chance And I feel
like you're expressing that we can keep going
back to yesterday's story, but it's never gonna
be today's story. It's never gonna be tomorrow's
story. The most beautiful part here, this might
be the bridge, is the line, believe me, I didn't
want the ending, you know, because nobody in
a relationship wants the way that it ended, usually.
Yeah, I totally. But we can't be stirring up
old feelings. When they are yesterday's story
and you're just basically saying this we're clearly
We've got a chapter here and we just can't go
back to it Yeah, I totally I like how you really
like listen to it several times and saw the the
evolution there, right? but yeah, this this is
a This is definitely one of those like we've
all been their songs It was also the first single
I released as part of this project. And I, I
kind of was like, man, I'm really starting off
with this like bummer of a song. It's kind of
a sad song. But at the same time, I was like,
it needs to be said. Cause I think like, even
though it's a sad song, like I feel like it's
kind of an empowering song in a way. Cause if
you really like listen to it, it's like, the
speaker is admitting that this sucks but they're
also making the decision to like leave it alone
which for me like considering it is on the sadder
side was kind of like really the message i want
wanted to put out there and yeah i'm super proud
of it i was very very excited when i got that
award and I think just because of what we talked
about before, which I was talking about all the
work I was putting into my songwriting craft.
So it was very just like giving the award after
having put that work in was very satisfying and
surprising. And it was a nice, it was a nice
boost for me. I think that yesterday's story
really shows off your vocal range as well. You
know, the opening, like you said, it starts out
kind of dreary. And then as we go to the first
verse, you know, we had the wires crossed. And
please, folks, don't compare my speaking voice
to how Daniela sings this. And I'm reading it
very verbatim. And we got it wrong. And the promises,
they were pretend. But as you kind of weave through
the song, you get to some tender places. It really
starts to escalate. But no matter what I do,
you find a way to bring me bring me to our familiar
place. There's usually a partner that can do
that. You can break me with hello. Everyone knows,
you know, a partner that as long as you just
don't run into them again and they don't call
and you just go on your way, go to work, go to
school, you're going to be fine. But when you
see them or when you hear their voice, it just,
you know, it's a weak spot. But yeah, once you
reach the chorus, I just I like where you kind
of show off your vocal range there. And you can
just tell a lot of work went into this particular
song. So congratulations. Thank you. Yeah, it's
funny because I actually recorded this song a
while ago now. And when I did, I was not like
I've become a better vocalist since I recorded
it. So like when I when I recorded it, not only
was it like a triumph to just like get it get
it down, but the trials and tribulations of recording
it were. the long haul. And I actually, fun fact,
I recorded the whole thing on a new microphone
at one point. And then I decided I didn't like
it because the microphone I bought was kind of
this like warm, like it's beautiful microphone,
but it just didn't, it didn't capture my voice
in the same like vulnerable way. And so after
going through like the laborious recording of
it all, and I was producing myself and then I
was like, you know what? and I had some people
tell me they were like oh we like the demo vocal
better the way that the microphone is and so
I went back and redid it. I can't believe by
the time I was like done with the song I was
like this song is yesterday's story like I need
to respond. Well the way that you sing it you
again speaking to vulnerability you express that
I feel like by the end of the song you've gained
control gained control of your thoughts and your
purpose And it's really that's that part is beautifully
done where you show how someone can Just about
fall apart just about give in to those feelings
and then just say no wait a second I'm here that
was there and Yet folks again add this one as
a single and you'll see it on the new EP again
my favorite my favorite track out of your catalog
if I had to pick one and there's not a lot of
daylight between my favorite and a least favorite,
which there's not really a least favorite. And
then I like comparing these. We had an outline
here. Yesterday's story. And then the next song
I had to mention was Sway. And these are kind
of polar opposites just about. But it's still
Daniella Galasso. You could tell you're getting
the same product here. This is a real foot tapping
song. Some great guitar work. That's my producer
and he did a fabulous job. So I gave him a demo
of this and he just like blew it out of the water
and just kind of redid the whole thing. But yeah,
he did an incredible job and it was a fun thing
to work on with him too because he pushed me
vocally and he was like, oh, let's add more harmonies
and more harmonies and more harmonies. And so
we added like a lot of vocal stacks. the post
-chorus and it just became very angelic. But
you totally hit it on the nose. It's a polar
opposite of Yesterday's Story and I kind of like
that. I like the contrast of it and I've intentionally
included both of these on the album because there's
a bit of an innocence to this one and then there's
a bit of a growing up on the Yesterday's Story
track and I like having that kind of duality
together. Yeah this track I Would say if anybody
listening to this podcast episode and you've
always got it locked to one genre let's just
say that you always listen to pop country music
and Maybe some variation, but that's kind of
that's your bread and butter Play this track.
It's I'm not saying that it's a country song
but I'm saying that the emotion that you That
you may get out of some of the biggest hits right
now you're going to find it here, especially
when the chorus kicks in, I think, at about 20
or 30 seconds. It hits you right away and you
realize, okay, I'm either ready to be off work
or I'm ready to start the weekend. I love it.
This is a repeat song. I don't want to sound
cheesy here, but like it says in the chorus,
we'll sway to the beat of our favorite song.
We'll hit repeat as we're dancing on. It sounds
like you had fun recording this song. I'm sure
with any of these tracks, when you're in the
studio, it's a lot of work and the end result
sounds great, but it maybe wasn't a blast every
step of the way doing it. But this just sounds
like such a fun track to piece together. Yeah,
the energy was definitely high with this one.
It was a really fun one to record. And then,
again, Sway, I had it down here that you won
an award for this track. Yeah, this one is ISC
so international songwriting competition and
They're massive. So Sway was chosen to be a semi
-finalist which is still like pretty like awesome
recognition and then I got cut out after that
because Other songs like rose to the top, but
it was still very exciting. I made it that far
and Here's a question. Do you feel like With
having an award -winning song or having a hundred
thousand streams Does networking have a lot to
do with it because I hear songs Some of the guests
that I've had on this podcast I'm thinking this
is just as good if not better than some of the
top performers is it I don't it's so cliche to
say it's who you know, but How much of that do
you think goes into it to just pushing a song
up the charts? I think saying it's who you know
is a little bit too simple. Cause it's not just
who you know, especially like in general, I mean,
the digital streaming world and just marketing
music in general is very complicated. And it's
not just the streaming, like how do you get on
playlist and blah, blah, blah. It's also like,
are you, playing live shows and utilizing social
media to get your music out. There's so many
different variables that come into play when
it comes to putting your music out there. So
I feel like it's too simple to say it's just
who you know. And I think that there's tons of
incredible songs that don't get the airplay that
they should get. But also there's tons of incredible
indie artists that don't know how to market their
music. And I'm not going to pretend like I have
it all figured out. But they're honestly two
different things. It's like the craft of something
is one thing, and then being able to find the
audience for it and market it and create some
momentum is a completely different thing. Yeah,
probably the average music fan doesn't realize,
like you said, how much work you've got to put
into this. And if you have a full -time job,
this is your nights and weekends. In a lot of
cases, you've got Your music, but you've also
got your image. You've got all your socials You've
got events that you need to get to probably performing
live. I could see some people that have a lot
of talent that Just after a year of giving it.
They're all say I'm Just I'm done with this or
I'm not done, but it sounds like it could maybe
discourage some folks who don't have a five year
dedication to it. I don't know how many years
you put out there and as a goal. I definitely
think that if you don't have a really strong
passion and it will say even interest in in doing
something like this, it's hard to hang on because
you like the actual work required. It's just
like everyone says, it's like it's all about
the journey. And like when I decided to take
this seriously, I was like, am I going to enjoy
songwriting by myself in a room? Because if I
can't enjoy that, then or even practicing vocals
or anything like related to what I have to do
to prepare. Like if I'm not going to like that
part, then this isn't going to work. So yeah,
that that's super important. And then, I mean,
it costs money to like production and lessons
and marketing and photo shoots and all this stuff.
Like it's not like it's free. So there's a really,
really big investment that comes in the upfront
and you don't necessarily money right away. Or
if you do, you're not necessarily making back
what you invested. So I feel like you have to
really be in it for like the right reasons. And
there's a lot of people that have to have another
job included in myself to fund doing it. I would
love to get to a point where I'm making more
money than I'm investing into it. I'm not quite
there yet. But it's yeah, if you don't have that
passion, it's it's hard to hang on because there's
so many people that do have that passion, I think.
How is it when, you know, you're still working
hard like we've just described here and the days
are long but you get feedback from someone that
says this song has really inspired me or this
song reminded me of something that brought me
a smile like or that just kind of makes you lean
back and say hey that part of what I do is fulfilling
yeah absolutely especially because you know sometimes
people think these things but they don't say
them so when someone actually takes the time
to say something like that to me I'm like, wow,
not only did you say that to me, but you were
actually really listening. And so it's super
meaningful to me. I had a show over the past
weekend and I had some family and friends come,
which is amazing. And then there were some strangers.
It was at a winery right by me and some strangers
stayed back and wanted to have pictures with
me, which has never happened to me before. And
they were talking to me and one person said,
basically just thanked me for doing what I do
and creating art. And it was awesome because
I didn't know these people and they stayed for
the whole show and they were really watching
me and looked me up and things like that. And
I could tell they really resonated with the songs.
So it's super cool when that happens because
I mean, I kind of have a mentality of set it
and forget it. try to pull a lot of care into
what I do and then release things and like hope
that people like listening to it. But I don't
like I try not to like overthink what people
actually how they're resonating with things.
So when they kind of come back to me and say
something, I'm like, oh, wow, like they're listening.
It's like a surprise to me because I don't want
to like, you know, prescribe how people are going
to react to things. I kind of just like want
to see what happens. That's good that you're
Also, like you said, you're probably not writing
material and thinking, oh, man, I hope they like
it. I hope this goes over. Well, you're not obsessing
so much. You just this is your art. This is your
craft and you're putting it out there. Yeah,
it's like it's kind of like a fine balance to
you because when I am writing, I do think about
how is a listener going to like think about this
song? So because if I didn't want to entertain
someone else. then I wouldn't release the song.
Like I would just write it for myself. But I
think because I did a good amount of that for
several years for myself, I kind of crossed the
chasm and I was like, well, I might as well make
this interesting for someone else. And I think
that that's actually what makes you a better
songwriter is when you can tap into that. And
so it's kind of like a little game that I play
with myself when I'm writing. I'm like, oh, I
could do this, or I could do this. And I change
a lyric, or I change a melody. And then I kind
of imagine, I'm like, is this kind of delighting
me? Because if it's delighting me, it's probably
going to delight someone else. So I do keep that
idea front and center when I'm writing. But once
I'm done with the song, then I'm not over analyzing
it. Then it's just done. Because you have to
Like at some point you just have to draw that
line and you can't sit there and like feel bad
about what you wrote three months ago Like you
just have to like say that's what happened then
and it's out and that's what it is Well you do
you go back and listen to some of your recorded
music Probably not just for pleasure like oh,
I let me put on this track. I've been Writing
it and recording it for months and years and
let me hear it again But do you ever go back
and listen to something like embers? Or the new
the new single wait, or are you do you have the
mindset of like you said once it's released and
it's out there I'm promoting it and I hope everyone
loves it, but I'm still creating and I'm in kind
of in this area now um, I would say like when
when a song comes out I definitely listen to
it like the day it comes out and then also like
people I know are listening to it, so I kind
of hear it secondhand and then I'm also still
singing my songs because like from performing
and practicing them and stuff so in that sense
I'm kind of they're always in my brain but I
wouldn't say like I go out of my way to listen
to them but I in the like case of my album that
I'm putting together I'm still kind of going
back to listen to them because I was figuring
out like the order of the songs and so I'm like
wait does this go good into the next song so
I think like when I'm going back to listen it's
more of just Because there's a reason behind
it for whatever reason I don't necessarily put
myself on and listen to myself during the day
though Right. I do I've always been fascinated
with how artists come up with a track listing
and Decide okay. This is gonna be number two.
This would be number four. I Asked a previous
guest that he said oh I used to do that myself
and now I have people that help me with that
and it's It's a it's a big deal that I don't
have to sweat Um, yeah, it's really stressful
actually. And like, I've had to do a similar
thing where I had to get a second opinion because
you just drive yourself crazy trying to figure
out the right, the right order and the right
songs. And it's hard when you're not really,
I mean, cause I'm, I'm biased as to what I'm
hearing in my own songs at this point. So having
that second opinion is just so helpful. Now.
I mentioned Embers. This track, you've got the
radio edit and an acoustic version. Let's talk
about Embers. How did that song come together?
This song came together also during the pandemic.
It was very much a product of being stuck indoors
in that long winter. And I wrote it from a songwriting
challenge where I had, I think, a bank of 10
words that we were supposed to use in a song.
I used all 10 words. So I think, I don't remember
even what the words are. It's been so long, but
I just remember I was like, can I make this work?
And then it did work. And I was like, oh, this
is kind of interesting. And I liked this idea
of it feeling very woodsy and like campfire sort
of thing. And then I ended up going on a trip
with some friends to Tahoe here in California,
which like we stayed in a cabin, played it for
them. for the first time in that setting and
they, they really liked it. And then I eventually,
it was a song that rose to the top. So I got
it produced, but when I got it produced, I kind
of always knew I wanted an acoustic version because
just like the way that the song is and like this
memory of being with my friends at the cabin.
So I decided to just produce both. And actually
I produced the acoustic version myself, which
I was super proud of. So it's the first. release
that I've produced entirely on my own. Whereas
a lot of my other songs, like I've produced a
demo and then worked with producers and then
they like elevated and really kind of catapult
into the stratosphere. But this one was all me.
Well, the end result is great. I like how you
reach that higher end of your vocal range. The
chorus, I'm going to keep you warm, but it chills
me to the bone how I can't see myself without
you. Going back to something like yesterday's
story, I think this is very relatable. Whether
you're your current love or a past love, you
may have had that feeling before where you just
realize, wow, I'm in deep. I'm thrilled about
it, but I'm a little scared. Yeah, totally exciting.
But yeah, I just love that chills me to the bone.
I can't see myself without you. Yeah, and then
and like you said, there's two different versions
speaking of production I want to put a plug kind
of mid episode here and I'll probably I'll mention
it as well in the show notes, but Everybody listening
if you go to sounds like Danny Dan I calm the
work with me tab You do production work songwriting
for other artists vocals if someone's looking
for a vocalist or vocal producer You do a lot
more than Just write your own material. Yeah.
So I have a little home studio that I'm sitting
in right now and a setup. So it's actually where
I record most of my vocals and over the years
have picked up production skills as well. And
try to do as much as I can at home within reason,
because at some point you just have to involve
other people. But yeah, I love, I love working
out of this little space. Okay. I am. Super excited
that we've gotten to this question. I hope you
are too The cover of don't you forget about me
is Again, it's hard for me to pick a favorite.
I already disclosed yesterday's story is but
this could very well be it I was playing this
song in the car with my wife and Daniella we
were about four seconds in if that and she said
oh, this is great I mean she turned and looked
at me like this kind of real jerky to the side
just whoa, this is this is cool and It's has
a very your version has a real transcendent feel
to it There's a lot of experimentation it it
kind of sounds like when you're in the studio
there You had the mindset let's have fun with
this and let's just try some different things
here. Let's make it Make it your own. It's very
ambient in the beginning. I like the soft percussion
Yeah, how did this song come together? Was this
a personal favorite of yours? So this was like
Such a happy accident. I actually can't take
credit for the production though. It was another
friend of mine named Christopher Christopher
Thomas and He's someone I met through. I don't
even remember where but local musician and He
had me in mind. He was he kind of just created
this the track and he needed vocals for it and
he sent it over to me. And I had a similar knee
jerk reaction in a positive way of, wow, this
sounds really cool. And I've always liked this
song. I don't know if you know the movie, The
Breakfast Club, but it's like the lead track.
And so I've known it for a while and like, it
just was such a cool spin on it. And I was like,
yeah, I definitely want to do vocals on this.
And I really like how he blended the kind of
acoustic instruments, but it still sounds super
modern and like electronic and like kind of psychedelic
at times. Right. So I was all about it and I
just was trying to figure out a way to make it
kind of like keep the cool energy of it. And
so I did a lot of like vocal stacks, layers all
over the place, especially in the chorus. And
I don't know if you heard it, but it's like in
the background vocals of the chorus. there's
kind of like these vocals are just saying don't
in the background. It's like a texture in a way.
Yeah. Yeah. I really wanted to make the chorus
sound a little different. So I kind of like,
it's a slower, we slowed the song down. So I
wanted to make sure that energy was still fun.
And so I added those extra layers in the chorus,
which I think like just kind of doubled down
on the whole psychedelic ambient vibe. Yeah,
and I think it really it finishes very strong
with the La la la la it's What the drums kick
in and it just kind of locks you in for the rest
of the ride This is another repeat track. I think
Yeah, this was a really fun one to release and
it was actually a really successful release.
And I think like it was fun for me because usually
I'm releasing and seeing people react to my songs.
And this was like, it's obviously a song almost
everyone knows. So it was more like they were
reacting to our version of the song, which was
super fun. And like, I think people gravitated
towards it immediately because they already knew
the song and that helps. Now when you perform
live like like you did yesterday as for recording
this What are some other songs that you like
to play that are they're not originals? do you
have some that you really enjoy and they really
go over well and Maybe you're not gonna record
them But maybe so do you have any songs that
you just love to play? Yeah, I kind of them all
over the place. I try to make my life set a little
bit I have variety, you know, slow songs, upbeat
songs. Currently mostly it's just an acoustic
set with me and a piano player. So we try to
like do interesting stuff if we can, just the
two of us. But like one I've been singing recently
that's been really fun is the song, Crazy by
Norolds Barkley. That one's been really fun.
I recently added the Billie Eilish song, What
Was I Made For to my set. which is from the Barbie
movie. So kind of average and continuing to add.
I mean, there's always like Taylor Swift songs,
just still a huge inspiration. I try to like
add like songs that I like, artists that I like,
but also popular songs because, you know, having
people know the songs is always exciting. And
while we were talking about Embers and then the
cover of Don't You Forget About Me, I did mean
to mention Vince Magazine described Ember's as...
Which I really like. That's my commentary. And
then the reimagined modern and edgy cover of
Don't You Forget About Me. where she brings a
surprising new wave cinematic twist in her classically
angelic vocals. There's a descriptor I didn't
use, but angelic. That's lofty praise, and I
can't disagree with it. I would put, you know,
your style is in that realm. It's just, you know,
you go back to like we were talking about the
new single Wait. It's at times very reassuring,
I think, for a listener, for someone that needs
to hear something like that. surprise people,
I think, the more they listen to your music,
where you take them to different ends of the
spectrum. Thanks. Yeah, it is fun. It's fun for
me, too, to see the like sometimes I'm so focused
on like the one song I'm working on that day.
But when I reflect back, I'm like, oh, yeah,
I did do a lot of different things. It's fun
to push. It's also fun to push myself. I think
it would be super boring if I was just doing
same thing all the time. I can't wait to see
the evolution of your sound because I'm a fan
now. I really like what you're doing and I'll
continue to follow it as well. I've got a few
just general questions for fun. I always like
to plug in some here at the end. Sure. We mentioned
some of your influences. Do you have some artists
right now that you like? And it could be some
that are right now as well as some that you've
been listening to for 10 or more years and just
love everything they do. Yeah, of course. Well,
Taylor Swift is definitely up there and I've
been following her 10 plus years, Mark, especially
for the songwriting inspiration because she's
just a wizard. So I'm always listening to her.
And then there's another artist that I really
love that I've liked for a long time. He's more
of a DJ producer kind of in the EDM realm. But
he has a new album out called Existential Dance
Music. Highly recommend checking his music out.
It's super calming I mean, there's some upbeat
stuff in there too, but it's really nice to listen
to and Are you a fan of films documentaries?
Is there stuff that where you say? Okay, it's
1045 at night. I gotta go to bed in about 20
minutes. I Gotta stop. I gotta watch something
for me. I gotta have some me time. Is there Something
that you're watching or digging right now Yeah,
there's this show that me and my partner are
watching called The Fall right now. It's on,
I think it's on Amazon Prime. But it's not like
the best show to watch at night because it's
like a murder mystery type thing. But it's interesting
because we went to Ireland last year and it takes
place in Belfast. And so when we came back, we're
like, oh, let's try to watch something that's
like on Irish TV. But it's, yeah, it's one of
those kind of thrillery type things. And we've
been having a blast watching that many things.
And in San Francisco, in the Bay Area, do you
have places, like if someone hasn't been there,
I haven't been there in a long time, but I have
been to San Francisco, places that you really
like or a plug for a restaurant or something
that you recommend? Ooh, that's a hard one. I'm
a total foodie, but I really have trouble with
favorites. Well, I'm in the East Bay in Hayward,
and... I recently moved here, but there's a lot
of really good Mexican food in Hayward. So even
just down the street, I honestly go to the Mexican
grocery store and just get burrito there because
they have a taqueria in there. It's called Chavez.
And that's like one of my favorite spots to go
to. Nice. But I mean, there's a lot of good food
all over the Bay Area. It just kind of depends
on on what you want and where I would say where
you are. OK. You'll have to forgive me on this
question, because I haven't pulled this one out
of the bag in a few months. If you want to take
a pass on it, that's OK. But if you could be
a bird or a fish for just one day, and there's
a chance, there's some danger there of you choose
one and something catches you, something eats
you, and then that's it. Which one would you
go with? I think I would go with a bird, which
is weird because I'm kind of a water person,
but I think I just want to fly, so I would go
with a bird. Yeah, I have dreams about flying.
Those are some of the most fun. I don't know.
I have them, I would say regularly, but when
they happen, I'm like, oh, this is great. Do
you ever have dreams where you think, oh, this
is everyone who dreams, sometimes you have boring
dreams or dreams that make absolutely no sense.
And then you have the ones that are not. a lot
of fun for whatever reason but the flight dreams
I'm just when it happens I vividly check into
it and think oh wow here we go I've been waiting
to have this dream again yeah totally I mean
sometimes I have those dreams and then I wake
up and then I know I'm dreaming but I just go
back to dreaming anyways because I'm like I want
to go back to flying well this has been so much
fun and I'm just so excited to promote you your
music, your catalog. I just realized we didn't
cover Sirens, the collaboration that you did
with Orleans. I mean, that one's definitely a
fun one. That was actually my first single. And
it was really fun to do that with someone else
because I was still figuring everything out at
the time. But he basically sent me the track
without any lyrics or vocals or anything. It
was just the production. And then I basically
wrote the vocal like the whole top line and saying
it and we kind of went back and forth a little
bit but it was really cool it was one of my first
times doing that where someone kind of sent me
a track and then I just figured out what the
lyrics were going to be and had a lot of fun
doing it I mean I'm into a lot of electronic
music and so it was cool to have a producer who
actually knew how to make that because I don't
really know how to make that kind of music And
then just kind of try to write something that
made sense to the music that was already existing
Well that that's one that I think it was one
of the first songs I listened to and Everyone
listening here We're promoting wait, please.
Try that one out. I think you're gonna like everything
you really could just pick one and even if you're
listening to my show and You're just some hardened
dude that likes Dan time and you've got you know,
whatever music that you're not going to break
from. You've got your partner, you've got somebody
in your family, somebody you work with. I want
you to tell them about Daniela Galasso. But I
really do try to open up people's minds and show
to them that what's being presented to you, what's
coming across your peripheral, it's not everything.
There's stuff out there that you'll be surprised
how much it speaks to you and how much you want
to put it on repeat. Also want to put in a plug
here. Daniela has appeared on the podcast, Right
On Track, a songwriting podcast on the June 12th,
2022 episode, Cultivating the Artist's Voice.
Give that one a listen. And Daniela's music is
available on all platforms. And please visit
her website as well. sign up for her newsletter,
follow her on the socials. If they're on Instagram
and YouTube, how do they find you? Yeah. So my
Instagram is just sounds like Danny and that's
D -A -N -I. And then, um, otherwise pretty much
everything else is under my full name. So Daniela
Galasso, one L and both names. And that's how
you can find my music or my YouTube channel.
Well, this has been so much fun. I I hope that
you've enjoyed it as much as I have Yeah, thank
you. This was fun and Remember everybody if you
go go out to Danny's website the new EP is exploring
the idea of beauty and vulnerability And that's
be that's for everybody There's some people who
do not like to embrace those feelings and allow
themselves to be vulnerable, but I'm telling
you It's one of the better things you can do
really at any point in your life. And tap into
the Daniela Glosso sound and follow her on socials.
Anything else you want to plug before we wrap
it up here? No, I think we covered a lot. It
was so great chatting with you and I look forward
to seeing what else you bring onto the show.
Absolutely. And if I ask this question, it means
that I really I think that there's some value
here in bringing you back. Would you, this time
next year, come back to the Dan Time podcast
to talk about what you're working on at that
time? Yeah, sure. I'd love to. All right, folks.
Well, have a great rest of the week. Make sure
to check into your well -being, your mental health.
If you need help, it's out there. I'm only putting
that plug in because and I don't ever talk about
this But I've had somebody reach out to me in
the past week who's really struggling and it's
it's a little bit over my head and if you've
got somebody like that or if if you're going
through some stuff there are resources for you
out there, but check out Danielle Colasso and
enlighten yourself and if you're looking for
a vocal producer or songwriter please contact
Daniella on that end as well. Thanks everybody.
We'll see you next week on the Dan Time Podcast.
Thank you so much, Daniella. Thank you.