One of my favorite conversations of this podcast,
Coming Your Way, a great guy, a great songwriter
who knows just how to speak to everyday human
emotions. Uh, you're getting a new Dan today
to add to your music collection. Dan Zlotnik,
Z -L -O -T -N -I -C -K. If you're a fan of rock
and roll music, that's all I'll say. If you're
a fan of rock and roll written from the heart,
played from the heart, sung from the heart, you
are in the right place, my friend. We're going
to preview one of Dan's latest songs, Treasure
Treasure, right before the start of this episode.
And if you stick around for the entire conversation,
which I hope you will, Dan brings out his acoustic
guitar for the first ever Dan Time Live Performance,
a three song set featuring a few of his live
set standards. You can find Dan Zlotnick's music
wherever you download music. He's also featured
on the Christine Chanel single, Happier. And
finally, Dan wrote the theme song for the acclaimed
New York Yankees podcast, Talkin' Yanks, featuring
John Boy and Talkin' Jake. They recap every series,
break down every roster move. If you call yourself
a Yankee fan, this is a must add to your podcast
rotation. All right. Let's check it out, treasure
treasure, and then get to the conversation, folks.
It is Dan Zlotnik time. Air Force said I'll report
in about a year So I aimed my bike at the Florida
Keys and I revved it into gear Treasure, treasure,
you can't hide I'll find treasure in a twenty
hour ride Fisher said there's sunken treasure
here. It's the Spanish Bodatocha, and I can't
help him die. I'm not sure that I believe him,
but it might be worth a try. Treasure, treasure,
you can't hide. I'll find treasure in slice key
lime. Okay everybody, welcome once again to another
episode of the Dan Time podcast. I'm your host,
Dan McCardle. We have reached episode number
30. Number 30, there was a time not too long
ago, where does the time go? I was just on episode
three, now we're at 30, and this thing is still
plugging along. I appreciate all of you dedicated
long time Dan Time listeners. you are in for
a special episode tonight. When I created this
podcast on the hosting platform, you have to
excuse me, I'm getting over a cold tonight, but
I had to select a couple categories of how I
wanted to promote the episode, some some tag
words. And so I picked music interviews and baseball.
And I thought, well, you know, maybe maybe one
time we'll line up those two perfectly and Today
we kind of have this is like a dream episode
for me To have someone representing both backgrounds
and also I want to emphasize One of the purposes
of this podcast is to hopefully be an algorithm
buster For some of you people who are always
looking to discover new music But you're just
kind of being led down the same road. I mean
some of the stuff Like on Spotify where it's
if you like this artist you're gonna love this
artist or these groups of artists That that's
all good, but I always like Just getting a surprise
Recommendation from a friend or something like
that. So here's what we're doing tonight First
of all, if you listen the past two weeks That
was some silly season. Maybe that was much needed
But we're back on the dance and I could not be
happier to introduce to you tonight Westchester
County, New York based singer songwriter, Dan
Zlotnik. Dan, how are you doing tonight, man?
Thanks for being here. I'm very excited to be
a part of this. I've been a Dan my whole life
and I'm excited to be another participant on
this podcast. Thanks for having me. Well, first
of all, folks, I always like plugging other people
and what they're doing. Please check out the
Sisters in Song podcast for kind of a really
good general background on Dan Zlotnik. Sisters
in Song. Wherever you download podcasts, you
can pull that up. I thoroughly enjoyed it. That's
Bethany and Carolyn. And they put on a really
good production there. But how did I find Dan?
That was a question that he asked me. And rightfully
so. I've been asked a few times, you know, thanks
for the invitation. Oh, by the way, where did
you find me? And this is actually a new technique,
Dan. I have not employed this until now. I used
to just Google songwriters and Dan and then very,
you know, different Danny's and Daniella and
so forth. And I thought, well, why don't I just
get on my music platform and start searching
Dan and then the first letter, you know, there's
only 26 chances or you could. So I got to the
Z's and again, even though I find a Dan, cause
there's plenty, there's some. You can find a
bunch of them that way. I got to kind of find
something with the music that, that grabs a hold
of me. And then I go from there. So that's how
I discovered Dan Slotnick searching Dan and the
letter Z. And then I was one song in to DZB 2023.
And I said, that's it. I got to get, I got to
get these fingers tapping and send him an email.
Another thing, if you're listening to this show
and I have reached out to you and you're thinking,
what is this? Who is this guy? What is this email?
These are not AI generated emails. I actually
sit down and personally invite you. So Dan, I'm
talking way too much. This is your hour. This
is your moment. Let's talk real quick about DZB
2023. I want to tell you something, man. It is
so cool. to hear a live album from a new artist
that you've never heard before and your introduction
to him is a live record. How'd you decide to
do that? Well that's really cool. I'm glad that
you like it and I really appreciate it. It came
from the fact that I really feel like my band
and I are a live band. The majority of my income,
the majority of my time is spent performing and
we have so much fun live and we also have created
such a great community of fans and friends and
family that come out to see us. So I said, why
don't we celebrate this and kind of capture these
moments? So the album, the first idea that I
had for the album was to take our show at Darrell's
House Club in Pauling, New York and just release
that show. And then it kind of occurred to me
that sometimes we play as a trio, sometimes we
play as a four piece band. And what if we captured
uh show when we were playing as a four -piece
band and so we played this outdoor summer concert
series actually it was in the fall at uh lasdin
park in katona with my four -piece band and i
figured let's put this together it's a real snapshot
of what this band is in the year of 2023 and
so it's 23 tracks split down the middle from
those two shows and um you know it was a fun
way to share songs that We had recorded in more
of the acoustic demo way and you know, we play
it live with electric guitars and drums and that
sort of thing. So it was just a fun exercise
and seeing how we could present these songs.
You know what I really like and what kind of
grabbed me right away was for me, it took me
back about 20 years and not so much in like the
song or the songs. It's not like the songs sound
like they're from the 90s. It's kind of my personal
connection to it of Growing up downtown Birmingham,
coming of age, Five Points South was the district,
kind of the entertainment district back then
that I would see some live acts. And it just
reminded me of stuff like Brother Kane, Government
Mule, Warren Haynes, I think some of his playing
from the Allman Brothers. I can hear it. And
it also reminded me of being, well, actually
back to like 17, 18, 19. and going on a road
trip with some friends or driving down to the
coast. And back then I would put on once I grabbed
like a handful of CDs. I wouldn't take the whole
case logic. I would say, all right, I will grab
six CDs in the jewel case. And this is going
to be the this is going to be for this trip.
And Dan, I'm speaking to my listeners, too. Folks,
DZB 2023, if you hit play on last train and you're
heading somewhere this weekend. For a couple
hours. You're gonna be on the road. This is a
road trip Album, man. I love it. It's like thank
you, you know if you're It's monday as we're
recording this if you're you got a 45 minute
drive to work Uh, you got some stuff going on
some things in on your mind It's been a difficult
time for you put this on and you'll be in a great
mood right away uh Dan I love uh when songwriters
can infuse their own Brand of humor into their
songwriting karaoke in Koreatown Some of the
lines here. I mean out of tune cocoon just hilarious
if you've Been to one karaoke bar one night You've
been to a mall. I don't know. It's it's a lot
of a lot of times It's the same scene if you
jumped in on it yourself You know exactly what
he's talking about and I love that stuff. So
some instant favorites for me last train, of
course The guitar work on there is just incredible,
Dan. Thank you. Power Lines was the one that
took me back to how it felt for me being 24 years
old watching a band play live in those years.
It's just got a great classic rock, kind of mid
90s groove to it. And on something like Power
Lines, or is it the first 10 or 11 tracks where
you guys were a three piece? Or is that with?
Yes, and that was actually Power Lines was one
of the songs that We even playing it live. We
knew that we were recording the show, but you
were playing it live. And I kind of look at my
drummer, James, who is really big into those
nineties, all rock bands. And we were in a band
in high school that played a ton of Pearl Jam
and Red Hot Chili Peppers and that sort of stuff.
And so we finished Power Lines and we kind of
look at each other and we go, well, that was
pretty good. Maybe we should release this. And
then after the show, we had some friends that
were like that version of Power Lines. You got
to get that out there. And so. It was kind of
fun to have that, you know kind of spark that
idea to to really release everything And again
if you're Look sometimes people just like to
put a playlist together and they want to put
on like two or three Dan zlotnik songs to the
playlist I would i'd really love for you to hear
all 23 of them folks in a row Uh, you'll you'll
get a lot of bang for your buck there because
the further you get along You're gonna hit us
hit a song like feeling it, too Man, I love feeling
it, too Uh, the concept behind it, the four friends
on the, on the couch. How did that one come together?
Uh, I think on sisters in song, they may have
already asked you, you know, did the lyrics come
first? Is the melody come to you? What a special
song, man. Thank you. Yeah. That, that song was,
uh, it's a very personal song for me and my wife
and our two friends, Eric and Mallory, who we
kind of have these. bi -weekly or sometimes it
means monthly it's because of our schedules kind
of dinner dates and we all just kind of hang
out and we would tend to get past like the pleasantries
and the how's everything going oh everything's
good and you know in reality for pretty much
everyone it's not all good and so you know we
would have these nice talks after dinner about
how's everything going and pretty much everything
in the song is directly from a conversation that
we've had so it was one of those where I had
this idea and it was actually one of the very
few songs where I wrote on the piano even though
I don't consider myself a piano player but I
started with this kind of you know it almost
became kind of like I shall be released this
chord progression very kind of melodic and slow
and grooving And then I transferred it over to
the guitar and made it a little more complicated
than I could do on the piano. But yeah, that
idea of, you know, we're all going through stuff.
We don't have to solve every problem in the world.
And sometimes just getting it out there is what
feels nice. And I think that's why sometimes
if you listen to sad songs, it makes you feel
better because it's just it's that feeling of
community and being a part of the couch. Yeah,
you have a way with your lyrics of putting people
in a room that they're familiar with in a place
I mean even in like karaoke in Koreatown the
lasagna that's frozen in the middle. I mean it's
Or in this song in particular the TV's been stuck
on the menu all night as the heart I may be reading
this wrong as the heart pumps the pain out your
mouth Yeah, that's right Would you have a real
relatable delivery? And I guess when people see
it live also too, they can follow along with
you. Well, thank you. Yeah, that's actually one
of the most important things to me when I'm writing
a song is that I want people to get something
out of it on the first listen. So it might not
be the whole story that they're taking from it
or it might not be the entire thing that I was
coming up with. But, you know, I grew up listening
to Led Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers and Pink
Floyd and these things that just kind of sounded
so out of the ordinary. And I was really intimidated
to write lyrics until I started listening to
John Prine and the Avett Brothers and the Lumineers
and Amos Lee and all these people who used fairly
simple digestible language that you could really
on the first time you listen to it kind of get
the gist of the song. So that's something I try
to do in my own writing for sure. Yeah, it's
it's really inviting and I think that a songwriter
it's I've only been introduced to you I guess
in the past couple weeks and so I don't know
the full package, but It's one thing to be a
good songwriter and to record Music that connects
with people, but you're a performer like I think
you you really enjoy Getting out there and connecting
with your audience, right? I mean do you see
the looks on people's faces? Do you ever play
a song? I didn't really think to ask of this
beforehand, but do you ever play some of those
songs that are pretty touching and you actually
see a tear rolling down someone's cheek? And
how does that make you feel? It's really amazing
because I know that there's songs that do that
to me and you know that other people have written
so to know that I have connected with an audience
member like that is really it's like a privilege
to be able to do it and then to share that moment
with people and I've had songs that I've kind
of written that feel like I'm the only person
who would ever get this and then I'll go perform
it and people come up to me after the show and
they talk about how it reminded them of their
sister or their mother or you know there's that
kind of deeper level of connection that is hard
to do without performing them live in front of
people so I definitely do Call myself a performer.
I love getting out there and playing for people
and and having those, you know person to person
moments And I understand you and your bass player
Al Himberger have he recorded your first studio
record. Is that right? Yes He's recorded a bunch
more too. So we've done my first EP together
he did the bumpers album day three we recorded
at a studio called prep sound in Queens, New
York. But Al mixed it. And then a bunch of other
stuff, singles here and there. And Al has come
to my little home studio here and has helped
me out here. So he's been a great, great engineer,
great mentor, great friend, all the above. And
bass player, of course. And we'll get into that
also. You do a great cover of Hooked on a Feeling.
That one I actually I played back -to -back today.
I was like I gotta do it again Yeah, it's fun
to get al involved with the uga shockers. He's
yeah Gotta put them to work, you know I could
talk about every track on here one last one I
want to mention just because I've got a baby
girl and I was gonna ask I know you're a new
dad to a relatively new dad the bottom line I
Think this is one of the better tracks and it's
on the bottom the bottom quarter of the album
i think it's like number 20 maybe the bottom
line welcome to the world baby girl be kind to
yourself it's hard to do that's probably one
of my favorite lines thank you i remember my
oldest son we had to take him to a behavioral
list a couple years ago for uh just kind of get
some understanding of things he was going through
and acting out and uh the therapist asked me
well What are your goals for your son? You know,
what do you want going forward? A few years,
I guess. And I said, you know, I just want him
to have a positive self image. I started to say,
I want you to be, I want him to be friendly and
be nice to other people and be confident. And
I was thinking, wait a second, where does that
start from? It starts from a positive self image.
And, um, that's so important with a kid. And
I just, when you sang that line, I was like,
that's it. That's perfect. Thank you. I feel
like we had very similar thought processes on
that and for different reasons, but yeah, I wrote
that song my daughter Cora is about eight and
a half months old now and About eight months
ago. We were sitting on the porch and I was playing
that song and I kind of that was I think there
was maybe the last line that I wrote from that
song I was like there needs to be something else
here and you know you can Because the line before
that is be good to others be good to others and
let them be good to you But I think one thing
that people forget is to be good to yourself,
too So it's snuck in there, and I'm pretty proud
of that line Yeah, and just adding in the second
part. It's hard to do and you know that as an
adult There are some times it is hard to be good
to yourself I just want to read this other lyric
the birds won't always sing like they do now
That is just beautiful stuff Dan and people often
turn the sunshine down How often have we seen
that you you're having a good day? and then you
get around just you know a curmudgeon type or
someone who's always the e or of the room, but
There's room for everybody. But sometimes yeah
that that happens and you find that out in life
You'll tire yourself out trying to know why?
But I think you go on to say just remember the
bottom line So that I thought I had my favorite
picked out with power lines. I'm probably gonna
bounce around the bottom line is just phenomenal
Thank you. I really appreciate that It's become
part of our bedtime routine that song has been
played many times in the last eight and a half
months to an audience of one Well, congratulations
on being a dad. Thank you I know from obviously
from experience that brings on a set of challenges.
It changes your routine a little bit. How has
being a father with a baby affected the way that
you write and schedule your creative time? Yeah,
so it's has been surprising to me because My
wife is a teacher so she's gone from seven to
three or so and I play music and I coach baseball
after school. So I'm home with Cora all day and
I really thought off the bat that my writing
time would be completely gone because there's
so much to do for booking, for scheduling, for
social media, for my website. maintenance, all
of the administrative stuff that independent
musicians go through. And I thought that writing
would be the thing that got just totally wiped
out. But because Cora and I are hanging out in
the living room all day, I pull down a guitar
from the wall or I sit at the piano and I sing
and we play music together and I'm singing to
her and she's crawling over to me and crawling
up the guitar. And so I've actually been writing
more than I ever have. Just because I'm forced
to be creative and I'm forced to sit there and
and be a dad and not do the business stuff So
the ideas have been coming some of them are kids
songs. Some of them are not kids songs some of
them are somewhere in the middle of You know
children's music parent music and it's just been
a lot of fun to be able to do that But it's uh,
I'm very lucky to have that time with her and
I'm lucky that she's interested in music too
because it keeps me singing Wow what special
memories and special bond that you're building
with your daughter Yeah, one of the best pieces
of advice I heard from my my dad was he said
son your your children when they're at that age
eight months old or A year and a half or even
two or three. They're not gonna remember all
these moments, but all this time you're putting
in with them Is kind of built into their subconscious
It's going to pay off and so don't snooze on
the opportunities To bond with them and it sounds
like you're really enjoying that part of it totally
and I know there's also you know not to be You
know negative but there is the flip side of eventually
when she's older and wants to hang out with me
on a Friday night That's usually my work time.
So we're always having conversations about what
those weekends might look like. But the family
time, being able to be dad during the day and
have family time early in the week for sure is
really amazing. Now, you mentioned writing some
children's music and I heard that on the Sisters
in Song episode. Do you have plans for like releasing
some materials some songs for kids? No concrete
plans right now, but I am definitely collecting
songs and and trying to See what might work if
there if there's an album there if there's an
EP there if they're singles but yeah, it's a
Early last year about this time last year. I
signed a publishing deal with TRO Essex music
group and they have the publishing for Woody
Guthrie and Pete Seeger and Leadbelly and these
people that Oscar brand that have great children's
music. So I've definitely been inspired by listening
to that, that stuff. And, um, you know, I'm,
I'm, I feel like I'm writing a new children's
song every day just to like, you know, get the
carrot puree in Cora's mouth during lunchtime
or whatever it is. So there's, you know, it's,
it's this constant flow of things. And I'm kind
of, as you probably can tell from my Spotify,
I'm not one to hold on to things that I'm recording
or ideas that I'm coming up with. So I'm sure
that I'll have something soon, but nothing concrete
yet. But yeah. Well, you have a real approachable
vibe about you. I can kind of picture if you
were to pull out an acoustic guitar sitting around
a park fountain or something that kids would
just naturally be drawn to you. You've got Great
big smile. You just seem like a really warm guy
and thank you. So Yeah, and I've even noticed
that at bars and restaurants that I play that
kids are it doesn't matter if you're playing
kids songs They just love music and that's one
of the things that I've been toying with is this
idea that It doesn't necessarily have to be just
a kids album or just an adult album that there's
there's just music and there's different things
to sing about and some of it is brushing your
teeth and some of it is you know more uh more
serious things but it's all good so you so you
coach baseball and you give private baseball
lessons instruction right yes for the most part
there's some small groups sometimes i'll work
with teams here and there but that's uh that's
my side gig my side gig Now you played all the
way to the collegiate level and some independent
league baseball I of course never got that far
but Dan When you've got baseball in the blood
is it do you ever are you always still thinking
about baseball? You love the game? How do you
balance that with music? I mean, I'm not gonna
ask you. Well, which one do you love more? I
mean, I love the game of baseball. I think about
it all the time. I love watching it love going
to the ball games and Yeah, how does oh I like
all the time I'm thinking about baseball especially,
you know And I'm not really a football fan But
I'll watch the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl
and then when the Super Bowl is over it is straight
up spring training time and that is my my focus
even before then I'm thinking about what deals
are being made in the offseason You know, you're
just watching old highlights even and it's it's
an exciting time of year for me Now I gotta ask
you also so During your playing days at Marist.
Do you remember games? Like I was reading over
some stats and so your career summary Do you
remember stuff today like the Delaware State
performance the 10 strikeouts? Can you still
put yourself on the mound in like the fifth inning
of that game? Like do you remember things like
that? Totally. I remember that mound there was
it was a weird visual on that mound at Delaware
State like the mound was super high but there
was a divot between the mound and home plate
so it but then it came back up so it actually
was level and my first like Six warm -up pitches
from that game were like a spiked fastballs I
could not figure out how to throw it to home
plate and then I think I threw like seven and
a third No -hit innings or something like that.
It was something crazy But yeah, I'm glad you
picked that game because there are plenty of
other games that you could have picked. I remember
the old Dominion game when I came in and walked
four guys straight and then came out. So that,
you know, I can definitely put myself in those
situations again. And now your freshman season
at Marist, if I'm getting this correct, you got
you got a win in your first appearance. Five
five innings. Was it George Washington? Was it
George Washington? George Mason? My first actually
that game Against George Mason. I was playing
right field. I think I was the leadoff hitter
and playing right field my freshman year I don't
remember my first I think my first pitching outing
was at UNC Charlotte and I gave up a couple runs
So I don't think I got the win Yeah, so I I saw
that you pitched you bat bat left South Paul
Bats left throws left. I always like when you
go to like baseball reference calm and you can
look up like a guy from the 1800s or the 1920s
and it still says bats Plural like he's still
around throws That's very funny only a baseball
see that I love it. So you man the outfield positions
Did you play all three outfield positions? I
think at some point I played In high school I
was definitely a center fielder, but when I got
to college they moved me all around. When I played
professionally, I didn't play any outfield, but
I loved taking batting practice in the outfield.
I still had that, I loved shag and fly balls
and running them down, getting my sprints in
that way. When you played and going back to being
seven or eight years old, Did you have did you
think okay? I my dream is to be a major league
baseball player like were you one of those little
kids where that's what you definitely wanted
to do because I did but I was like that quickly
found out what that that's not the cards for
you buddy, but Yeah, I definitely had that dream.
I didn't I don't think I ever realized how Good
I actually was which is kind of a weird thing
to say until I started getting recruited by colleges
and there's the date I think it was july 1st
of your junior year, when college coaches can
reach out to you. And I had a bunch of division
one schools interested in bringing me on as a
pitcher. And that was kind of like, oh, like,
wow, I'm and this is all the way through high
school. And, you know, it was like, I didn't
I don't think I really understood that I had
a shot at making money playing baseball until
then. And, you know, after that, I definitely
put a lot more pressure on myself. And, you know,
it There were periods where it wasn't as fun
because of that, but it was also really, really
fun for most of it. So I, um, yeah, that was
pretty much the story of it. Well, when you were,
uh, this is kind of jumping around a little bit,
but still keeping it on baseball. You're at the
right place, the right time at Yankee stadium
at 2017. You managed to snag Aaron judges 50th
home run ball. And I was like, when I saw that,
I was like, wow, he was a rookie in 2017 and
he's already put up the kind of numbers he's
put up. Tell me about that experience. And also
I kind of say, uh, last August, I went to see
the Braves and the Yankees in Atlanta and saw
Aaron judge relatively up close. From like the
mezzanine level. I'm like this. That is a large
human being You just don't see like a guy like
that walking around Costco. Yeah What was it
like just the spirit just take me through? Getting
the ball and then meeting Aaron judge. Yeah,
so it was it was a random like makeup day on
a Sun or a Monday afternoon game at the end of
the season and my friend Steve and I from Marist
we're going to see our ex -teammate and friend
Kevin McCarthy who is a reliever for the Royals.
So we're sitting by him in the bullpen and there's
not a lot of people at the game because it's
a Monday afternoon in September I think and the
ball bounces 50 million ways. It ends up in my
hands. And this is like, I've never even caught
a foul ball at a Yankee game or any major league
game. So this is just insane. And then Steve
and I had been talking throughout the game knowing
that Judge was near the record and he actually
tied the record earlier in the game. So we started
thinking, OK, what would happen if we got the
ball? And we decided that we would give it back
to him, which now that I. My wife and I are paying
for house projects. I kind of wish that I hadn't
given it back to him. No, but it was the right
thing to do. But house projects are expensive.
So security surrounded me immediately and basically
said, if you give us the ball back. we'll take
you down after the game, you'll get to meet him,
you'll go on the field, all this stuff. So that's
exactly what we did. We got to see the clubhouse.
We got to sit in the dugout. We got to go behind
home plate at Yankee Stadium, which is just super
cool. And it was great to meet Aaron Judge too,
who is just enormous. And I'm not, you know,
I'm not a small guy for a baseball player. I'm
a little bit on the smaller side. I'm about 5
'10". And he just like he made me look like a
little boy and it's just you know, he was so
nice and so Gracious and appreciative. But yeah,
he's he's one of the biggest people I think I've
ever seen in my life Isn't it pretty cool? Like
I think I was reading the story where you guys
were Spending some time talking to him and if
you played baseball up it to you know a certain
level and You're talking to a guy like you're
in judge you still have like those what six degrees
of separation from uh of kevin bacon or whatever
where you can name drop some guys and he's like
oh yeah i know that i know steve or i play with
him exactly and then and so steve at the time
was in the Baltimore Orioles system and in the
minor leagues. So, you know, he knew people there
that would run into judge and say, you know,
hey, I know one of the guys who caught your ball.
And so, you know, they were like, you know, this
weird baseball ties. It becomes a very small
world when you play at a high level and even
with the major leagues, which is really cool
to watch those guys and go, hey, I know someone
who knows that guy or I know that guy or I played
with that guy or, you know, that sort of thing.
I could keep asking questions about baseball
and your playing career. Did you get nervous
before a start when you were pitching? Did you
get nervous when you're up to bat and you're
facing a guy and you're like, I've seen this
guy before. He always throws it high and tight.
I can't catch up to him. This is not fun. Did
you have experiences like that or were you always
thinking, I got it? I mean, you've seen my baseball
reference pretty much every... Every start every
at -bat was was pretty nerve -wracking for me.
No, but there were more memorable would be the
times where I felt like Either like I totally
have no idea where the ball is going when I'm
pitching Or I can put this ball wherever I want
and no one's ever gonna touch me So there were
there were definitely it was a there was very
little in the middle for my career But I definitely
remember like my first at -bat Was against george
mason in college and i'm a freshman leading off
the season And their pitcher is like six seven
and he wasn't throwing in crazy hard But it was
just to see a george mason uniform and you go.
Wow. That's like a real that's like a real college
And he's you know, he's 60 feet away, but he's
six seven So he looks like he's you know right
on top of you and um, I remember those feelings
and then you know times where you're in the bullpen
warming up to pitch and Everything just is working
right and you go alright I'm gonna go out there
and and this is gonna be fun You know those were
those were really fun feelings that you know
I do miss a little bit, but not too much to go
back and try to play again When you're speaking
of the bullpen when you're getting loosened up
Maybe this is different everywhere, but do you
pretty much know I could okay. I'm definitely
going in the next inning or after this after
he records this next out or were there times
where you got up and you're you're kind of getting
getting yourself psyched for it and then they
say all right sit back down we're gonna wait
another couple innings and you're like you know
what's that experience like did you go through
that all the time yeah and and a lot of the time
you do have a pretty good idea of it um for the
teams that i played for we didn't have a dedicated
bullpen coach but the pitching coach and the
head coach were usually in pretty good communication
about, you know, what situation you might go
in. I remember my senior year, I transferred
to the University of Tampa and it was, I hadn't
gotten into any games yet. And the coach said,
if we go up by four, you'll go in and get some
work. And we were up by two, we were up by two.
And then with two outs, my teammate hit a two
run home run. And so they go, all right, Dan,
go get hot. And so, you know, you have like,
you know, 10 seconds to warm up and that outing
went great. And, you know, it's like, there's
the being a relief pitcher. You're always ready
to be up and down. You're always ready to go
in when you think it's. You know when it makes
sense for you to go face the lefty or whatever?
and then there are those times where you're just
getting pulled off the bench out of nowhere and
you got to go real quick and You know next thing,
you know, you're in a game. So always ready So
like after some of these games and you're you're
back on the bus or you're traveling to the game
or traveling back Do you have a guitar at this
time? Are you are you writing songs? In college
no, but then when I went to Trinidad Colorado
for my first stint in independent minor league
ball I had a little it was I guess not quite
a toy guitar but a pretty cheap nylon string
guitar that I would take on these bus trips when
we were going from Colorado to Alpine Texas that
are it's like a 10 -hour bus ride and so that
that was kind of fun to have The guitar with
me and there were there's always teammates, you
know, there's this weird connection like you
were saying with music and baseball and I've
always had teammates that also played guitar
or other instruments. So, you know, I had a teammate
on that team, John Sullivan, who's still a singer
songwriter, still playing in North Carolina and
we link up every so often and it's kind of cool
to have, you know, have the teammate that didn't
mind me playing guitar on the bus. That must
have been fun though, just being around the group
of guys for whatever team that you're on. And
people probably imagine that some ballplayers,
that's just, that's what they do. That's all
they do. That's all there is to them. And I'm
sure you probably met some other guys that had
some unique interests besides just playing baseball.
They just happened to be super talented. They
belonged there, but they were, you know, they
loved painting or something like that. Totally
and that and yeah, right. I've connected always
with like the other musicians on the team but
you know, they're really good writers and people
that have become photographers or other creative
Endeavors that don't necessarily you wouldn't
necessarily assume that a jock baseball player
would be interested in And you know, you always
hear that. What is it baseball players want to
be? Rock stars and rock stars want to be ballplayers
or something like that It makes sense. Yeah,
I do a little bit of both. Yeah. Yeah Do you
have a favorite movie a favorite baseball movie?
Of all time or do you do you watch those or you
do really get into those? Oh, yeah I mean I I
have to say the Sam lot because i think that's
like just how baseball should be played but i
also have always loved the rookie with dennis
quaid that was and now that i'm coaching i tell
all my my clients to go watch the rookie and
you know let them know that i still got it a
little bit oh man the rookie is fantastic yeah
on netflix now i think it's called the hill with
dennis quaid i don't know that one highly My
gosh highly recommend it get the box of tissues
out It's gonna be waterfalls Yeah Probably some
good sad songs in that movie too. Yeah. Yeah,
I love the Sandlot I think was there a sequel
to that. There's a Sandlot 2 and there was but
I don't know if I've ever even seen it I don't
think I bother try to you know live up to the
same Okay, going back to music, do you remember
your first concert or maybe your first concert
or favorite concert memory as a kid, a teenager,
that sort of thing? Well, speaking of, so DZB
2023, that was my first concert, but in the second
half of the album, we have the keyboard player
John Cobert playing. And John has been touring
with Tom Chapin. who is a great singer songwriter
who also has a bunch of children's music for
like 35 years. And my parents took me to see
Tom Chapin when I was probably six or seven years
old. And there's a good chance that John Cobert,
my now current keys player was playing at that
concert when I was just a little boy, which is
kind of cool. So my parents were very involved.
I think I can. Faintly remember going to see
a raffy concert. There was the Tom Chapin show
and then my first big Stadium show was Bruce
Springsteen at Giant Stadium on the I think it
was 2003 on the rising tour and that was a pretty
Hard to forget that That's a feeling. Yeah How
about a favorite song? That you loved it was
like all right. This is my song when you were
say 16 That you still like and you listen to
today or maybe you perform it still I was just
talking to a friend of mine about this the acoustic
version of growing up by Bruce Springsteen was
on the 18 tracks CD and that was one of my first
Bruce Springsteen CDs that was mine and I was
like the first song on the album First time I
heard that song and I just played it the other
night at my gig I was like this is a song I haven't
played in a while but I've been playing it forever
and it's just such a great story about growing
up and being a kid and trying to prove yourself
and There's some great guitar work in it, which
makes it a lot of fun to play Any music movies
or documentaries? Um, this is spinal tap is like
right up my alley in terms of sense of humor
and you know, it kind of checks off both It's
a movie and a documentary a mockumentary a rockumentary
Yeah, dan, this has been so much fun. Gosh, we
could talk for another 30 45 minutes or an hour
If you'd let me what's something? All right.
So you do have a baby girl What is something
that you guys the three of you like to do when?
It's just family time and you're you're out somewhere
to are you taking her to the restaurants yet
and sticking her in the high chair with her little
legs sticking out and she barely fits in the
thing and you can't you buckle her in but does
it matter because she's doesn't Yeah, not we
haven't done that a ton um, but we we really
enjoyed when it's nice out like going on walks
and and going to see friends and just spending
as much time outside as possible. It's February
in New York, so it's not always so easy, but
we'll bundle her up and bring her out in the
snow. There's a rye beach, which is where the...
I think it's Zoltar from the movie Big. That's
where that was, that boardwalk there. In the
winter, it turns into a dog beach. So we took
our dog there and had the whole family outing
there. So anytime we can spend some quality time
outside is what we like to do. Man, I love every
bit of it. Cheers to that little girl and...
They everybody's right when they say they see
you with your little baby and they say oh, she's
so sweet. She's so cute. Hey dad It's gonna get
it's gonna go by fast So make sure you you know
everything that they're telling you the old folks
that you pass by they're right It took me a minute
to figure that out. Oh, thank you I appreciate
it and it's fun to be able to have that advice
coming in and Making sure that I am appreciating
every moment that I have with her Now I'm not
gonna put you on the spot, but I understand you
might have your guitar nearby I could put in
a request, but I'm just gonna Let you surprise
us here with the song. All right. Well, so I
I didn't know what I was gonna play either But
but just talking about I could put one in but
yeah, right. Well, maybe I'll do too What's your
request if you have one? Oh gosh, I would say
hmm. How about she's a little bit She's a little
bit cool man. I think that's if I had to pick
a hit I think that that's got to go over pretty
well with your audience. Yeah, I like she's a
little bit or You know me the bottom line. So
Yeah, let's go. She's a little bit and then uh
And then I'll play the one that I was thinking
of from our baseball talk, but yeah, she's alright.
Here we go She's a little bit just a second She's
a little bit All day long She's a little bit
always right She's a little bit never wrong She's
a little bit conversation She's a little don't
talk to me She's a little bit who I dream of
She's the only one I see She's a little okay,
now look She's a rooftop, dancing twilight She's
a kiss Just herself! Thank you. Thank you. But
yeah, I'll do one more if that's cool. Is that
all right? Absolutely. Yeah. So this one is a
song that I wrote. I wrote the music on the bus.
So I had that little guitar and I was out in,
you know, somewhere in the Southwest, not pitching
well. And I wanted I wanted to come home and
just be with my friends and family. And I didn't
write the lyrics till I got home, but. Yeah,
it was one of those times where I was like, you
know, I just got this riff that keeps repeating
and repeating and repeating. And I know there's
something there, so I'm going to let it marinate.
And the time was right to write the lyrics. So
this is a song called Coming Home. See the world
they say, regret it if you stay Go out and find
yourself, so I'm on my way My whole life I had
so much I haven't seen Time is on my side, chasing
my dreams Or so it seems There's no place I could
go No mountain or open road Countryside or Broadway
show I've seen the city lights, slept under stars
at night. I swam the clearest ocean and drank
the finest wine. But I'm just passing time. The
moon is following me through a bus window. Thank
you so much. Thank you. Man, I gotta throw a
5, a 10, or a 20 in your guitar case if I could.
That would be a far throw from where you are
to where I am. Have you played that? Have you
played Coming Home? Have you performed that live
yet? Yeah, a million times. That one's on my
album Day 3. And I've actually released another
live version of that this year. So I didn't think
we needed another one on DZB 2023. But yeah,
that's that's a favorite of mine to play live.
Well, and I was telling you before the episode
started, there's a really special song that you
play at the end of the Sisters in Song episode.
I won't ask you to play it here. I mean, unless
you want unless you want to play one more. But
that had a really deep meaning. I've had a guest
on this show, Dan Cabelka. from Chatham Kent,
Ontario, Canada. And he's a two time heart transplant
recipient. And he shared a special story when
he was last on the podcast about meeting his
donor's mother, I believe, one of his first donor's
mother, after about 30 years. And it was a really
special experience. And then they, Formed a friendship
separate from that connection They were able
to kind of get past that and form a friendship
But anyway when I heard you heard that song today
on on that episode It was very moving for me,
and I can't wait for my friend Dan to hear it
as well Yeah, well, that's that's amazing and
what a story and what? brave way to share that
too on a podcast because that's a really intimate
moment and when I first wrote this song it was
the same story I had seen from a friend of mine
in college and you know I was like I wrote this
song but it's okay if you don't want me to ever
share it and I understand if that's too much
for you and she and her family listened to it
and they're like nope go play it go do it and
you know it's that I change names and that sort
of thing but yeah this is that moment of a recipient
of a heart transplant meeting the mother of the
donor which is just unimaginable so I'll play
it you know why not right I've got my guitar
I'm on Dan time you know this is here we go this
is called I'm Not Leaving She felt her son's
heart beating In the chest of another man The
accident took Jackson And gave his man a second
chance She bowed her head a moment The weight
of the memory The last thing Jackson told her
As he faded soft and sweet I'm not leaving you
behind up slowly can I ask a favor of you can
you go to see the Badlands Jackson always wanted
to he said ma 'am I would be honored To Dakota
Ten years later, the man said his goodbyes and
his body turned to soil, sending roses to the
sky. her best friend with a note in her best
cursive. Thank you so much. Dan, do you have
a PO box where I can send you my receipt for
the box of Kleenex? Do I get reimbursed? Do I
scan and email that to you and you just send
me? That was so powerful. Thank you. Everybody
that just heard that performance, you took it
in your own special way. I just love the way
it ends and how commitment to someone is passed
on. How you how the how you tell that story?
Thank you incredible on that note Dan. I'm probably
getting the hook here from my wife As as we're
recording this it's coming up on nine o 'clock
our time I have so enjoyed this conversation
with you. I hope you have as well same to you.
Yes. This has been great. Thanks so much Dan
and Everybody listening be sure to I really should
even have to tell you now you've heard the man
perform. What more do you need to hear? Go out
there and add this music to your catalog again
You got a trip planned for spring break coming
up. You're driving somewhere for a few hours
Play DZB 2023 you're gonna have four or five
people in the car Even if it's not your cup of
tea, which how could it not be? Someone's gonna
just say hey, who is this? What is this? Who
are you listening to dad? Or whatever and add
this to your catalog and and Dan's also got day
three bumpers some other material out there for
download Check it out. If you're in the tri -state
area Dan's performing something like half the
year anyway, right? Good chance you could see
him live Thank you. Yeah. No, I know all my stuffs
at Dan's lotnick .com and shows there's music
there's videos ways to reach out get in touch
and and uh you know love love to meet people
all over the world so come say hi wherever you
are and amazingly enough there is a another dan
zlotnik musician so be sure to throw that c in
the ck at the end or you'll land on a different
avenue maybe a future dan time guest All right,
connect with Dan on social media. This will be
in the show notes too, but where do they find
you on those channels? Again, just if you search
Dan Zlotnik, that's pretty much, it's nice having
a name like that, Z -L -O -T -N -I -C -K, and
I'm pretty easy to find on Instagram, YouTube,
Facebook. I've been trying out TikTok a little
bit, but those first three are the main ones,
Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Okay, Dan,
best to you in 2024 as we move through the year
here. Can't wait to hear what you got coming
up next. And I got to ask, would you make a return
visit to the Dan Time podcast sometime next year?
Absolutely. Yeah, if my name is still Dan, I'm
happy to do it. No, but seriously, I really it's
been a pleasure talking to you. I appreciate
the research you've done on my music and the
kind words. It means a lot. So thank you. It's
been a blast. Okay, folks, and remember a couple
things here. This episode is a great reminder.
If you're feeling down, you're feeling low, you're
grieving, you lost somebody and get out there.
Seek out people. There are people that are going
through similar experiences and they're there
for you. And even if you just need some more
time, you're not ready to get around to someone
or talk about it. Listen to Dan Zlotnick. Listen
to some of his songs. It'll bring it'll it'll
put a smile on your face. And I think he did
that today on this appearance. So be good to
each other. And just remember, be kind to yourself.
Even though it's hard to do, be kind to yourself.
That's it for this episode of Dan Time. We'll
see you next Sunday on the Dan Time podcast.
Thank you, Dan Zlotnick. Take care of my friend.
You too. Thank you so much. Treasure, treasure,
don't you know I'll find treasure everywhere
I go Treasure, treasure, can't you see All this
time, the treasure chest was me