Dan Dodson is 25 and from Enfield, North London. He used to be a drummer in a band but last May decided to embark on a solo acoustic project. Currently he’s midway through recording a full band album. We had a chance to catch up with Dan and ask him a few questions.
Give us the Daniel Dodson story in 25 words or less!
I was born, raised and still live in Enfield, North London/Middlesex whatever it comes under these days. I never actually got into playing music until I was about 20; I’m nearly 26 now. My first musical fixation came after my Sunday football team won the league and we had “We Are The Champions” by Queen played at our presentation night, I was only 9 but I couldn’t stop listening to it, my old man had it on 7″ vinyl. I was completely mesmerized by Roger Taylor and that’s what led me into guitar music. Though from the age of 14/15 I was really into the house and techno scene and all that comes with it, but by the time I was 22, after spending a summer in Ibiza and a good 5 years off my rocker for the duration, I couldn’t be arsed with it anymore and decided to join a band as a drummer.
What are your musical influences?
As I said Queen were the band that originally got me into rock and roll music but the year I left school in 2005 I think, you had The Arctic Monkeys bursting onto the scene, Pete Doherty’s new band Babyshambles and Oasis all bringing out new albums that year. So by the time I’d done my research and listened to a few of their older stuff, and finding out their influences like The Stone Roses and The Beatles, my record collection started to vary a bit, but like many, many people what changed everything for me was Oasis’s first album “Definitely Maybe”.
 If you were inclined to collaboration, who would be your dream collab and why?
 One band to do collaboration with? Now you’ve got me! There’s so many so I guess it would have to be the Beatles. For the simple fact when you walk out on stage there’d be thousands upon thousands of women hitting the deck at the sight of you!
 You’ve played as a drummer in a band before, what made you decide to go solo with a guitar?
 Drums were my first love but I wanted to get more from music, I thought if I can write a few tunes that make other people feel the way I do about certain songs then surely that would be best you can get from music. So I bought an acoustic guitar, a mate lent me an Oasis chord book and that was it, once I learned a few chords I tried to write a song and the first tune I finished was a song called “The Devil’s Silhouette”, which is going to be on my forthcoming album. Most people’s first song is shit isn’t it? But I’ve written a lot worse songs since and people tell me that’s their favourite, so I hit the ground running with that one! Also I never intended to be a singer, I always hoped to form a band with me as the songwriter but I couldn’t find the right band mates, so it was either keep searching which could take forever or just have a crack at being a singer.
What does the future hold for you?
What does the future hold? A lifetime in musical employment and a shit load of money hopefully! I’ve got my first full band album coming out in the spring, hopefully the right ears listen to it, or at the very least build me a fan base. I’m still in my first year having gone solo so I’m still establishing myself. But hopefully the future I can see in my mind becomes the one I can see with my eyes.
 Check out Dan singing “The Devil’s Silhouette”:
