Dan Reed

Logo Dan Reed

Dan Reed after a concert in Hamburg, December 3, 2019

Daniel Edward Reed (born February 17, 1963 in Portland , Oregon ) is an American musician and actor. In Europe , especially in Scandinavia and Great Britain , he is known for his work with the band named after him, the Dan Reed Network .

biography

After his mother met and married the owner of a ranch in South Dakota , Dan Reed spent his youth on the ranch as an only child. He listened to music by the Doobie Brothers , KISS , Cheap Trick and Van Halen , played the trumpet in his high school band and did Shōtōkan karate until he befriended a Japanese exchange student named Tsutomu Oki, who taught him to play the guitar. This is how Reed discovered the world of songwriting, moved back to Portland after graduating and played in various bands to try out himself.

In December 1985 he began his career with the Dan Reed Network. In the group named after him, which in addition to Dan Reed also included drummer Dan Pred, keyboardist Blake Sakamoto, bassist Melvin Brannon II and guitarist Brion James, he took over guitar and vocals. The band developed a large fan base in Portland and the surrounding area over the next two years and in 1987 signed a contract with PolyGram Records, which also included Def Leppard , Bon Jovi , Tears for Fears and KISS . Between 1988 and 1992 the group released three very successful and critically acclaimed albums, but it never reached the "top division" in the music business.

Nevertheless, the band got to know the world and was repeatedly booked as support for well-known groups such as Run DMC , Bon Jovi, UB40 and David Bowie . In 1991 Dan Reed Network was hired to support the Rolling Stones' Urban Jungle / Steel Wheels tour in Europe . It was around this time that Dan Reed took advantage of SPIN Magazine's offer to travel to India with Bob Guccione Jr. and conduct an interview with the Dalai Lama . This trip made a lasting impression on Dan Reed, and he thought about what life could offer him besides music. The album, The Heat , became the final release of the Dan Reed Network, and although the band never officially closed its doors, there were no other appearances thereafter until December 2012.

Dan Reed founded a small record company in Portland to provide a platform for local bands from the northwestern United States, while also taking acting classes. Hypedreamz , his record company, released four albums, all of which were produced by Dan Reed. He was part of the cast of several pieces and film and television projects, which motivated him to write himself. The Zigzag script came from this idea . The film was shot in 1997 by a Portland production company and Dan Reed played the lead role.

In 1999 Dan Reed bought into the blues and rock club Key Largo (31 NW 1st Ave) in Portland, where Dan Reed Network performed regularly in its early days and was discovered by Bill Graham . When it became clear that the electro scene met in warehouses and relied on special outdoor events and parties to celebrate and dance, Reed saw an opportunity to transform Key Largo into a "hybrid club" where from 21 Live bands would play until midnight and DJs would have the opportunity to let off steam from midnight to 4 a.m. Under the new name OHM Nightclub , the club became a center of attraction for everyone who liked new electronic music, but also for those who wanted to hear the classic rock bands play.

In 2004, Dan Reed left the nightclub after his father, Thomas Reed, died of cancer. He traveled to India again, stayed as a guest with Tibetan monks and traveled around the country. He met some Israeli musicians there and in 2006 decided to move to Jerusalem. After living and working there for some time, but above all making music, Dan Reed first returned to Portland to finish a new CD. In 2007 Chris Lausmann and Michael Voss from Germany produced and released the sampler "Voices of Rock MMVII", on which well-known singers from the rock business sang songs that Lausmann and Voss had written for them. Dan Reed sang the title Over And Done on the album .

Dan Reed lives in Prague today. In April 2010 a DVD was released showing Dan Reed with Rob Daiker in the studio. Together they present songs from the upcoming album, Dan Reed reports on the creation of the individual tracks. The DVD was filmed, edited and produced by Dan Pred's fellow Dan Reed Network.

On May 21, 2010, Dan Reed's album Coming Up For Air was released on Zero One Music, his first musical sign of life since the release of the EP Sharp Turn (2004). In May and June 2010 Dan Reed presented the album on a club tour in Great Britain , Sweden and Finland . He was supported as a tour band by Rob Daiker (guitar / vocals), Tommy Denander (guitar), Robert Ikiz (drums & percussion), Brooke Lizotte (keyboards) and Bengan Jonasson (bass).

In November 2010 Dan Reed released the black and white video Live at Last! his former band Dan Reed Network again, this time on DVD. In addition to the original version, there is now an audio commentary from Reed, on which he comments on the individual songs and the tours of the band; the image and sound material was processed and distribution was carried out via Dan Reed's website.

On December 31, 2012, Reed performed in Portland (Oregon) together with the other members of his old band Dan Reed Network, the occasion for the 25th anniversary of the group's most commercially successful line-up. The gig was so successful that Dan Reed Network planned another gig for October 2013 to take place in the UK. The group is expected to make further appearances in 2014.

Reed released his second solo album, Signal Fires, in February 2013. To celebrate the release, he had invited through his website to a party at the Palac Akropolis club in Prague on February 16, 2013 . He also celebrated his fiftieth birthday at this party.

In 2015 his third solo album, Transmission, followed within a few years. As on the previous albums, he recorded all guitars and keyboard parts himself.

On June 3, 2016, Frontiers Records released the first Dan Reed Network album since the reunion in 2012 with the title Fight Another Day .

Bands

Dan Reed played in the following groups and bands, among others:

• Nightwing (1979)
• Nimble Darts (1982-1984)
• Dan Reed Network (1984-1993, 2012-)

Solo projects

• Adrenaline Sky (1996-1998)
• G-13 (1998-2000)
• Odyssey (2000-2001)
• Dan Reed (2006-present)

Publications

with Dan Reed Network

• Breathless (1986) Nu Vision Records
• Dan Reed Network (1988), Mercury / Polygram Records, 834 309-2
• Slam (1989), Mercury / Polygram Records, 838 868-2
• The Heat (1991), Mercury / Polygram Records, 848 866-2
• Mixin 'It Up : The Best of the Dan Reed Network (1993), Phonogram Records, 514 979-2
• Mixin 'It Up: The Best of the Dan Reed Network (1993), Phonogram Music Video
• Live at Last! Halfway Around the World (1997), Video Media DRNCD1,2
• The Collection (2002) Spectrum / Polygram
• Dan Reed Network: Live at Last 1991 (DVD, 2010), direct sales * Anthology , 2014, Pledge Music
• Fight Another Day , 2016, Frontiers Records
• Origins , 2019, AOR Heaven / Soulfood

Solo releases

• Adrenaline Sky (1998), Videomedia DRAS-001
• Sharp Turn , EP (2004), Universal Music Group (was only available as download)
• An Evening With Dan Reed (2009), Townsend Records
• Studio Sessions , DVD, (2010), Zero One Music
• Coming Up for Air (2010), Zero One Music
• Signal Fire (2013)
• Transmission (2015)

Individual songs on compilations

• Welcome to The Real Life (Soundtrack "Excessive Force", 1993)
• Burn With Me (Soundtrack "Excessive Force", 1993)
• Over and Done (Voices of Rock MMVII, 2007, AOR Heaven 00030)

Movies

• Lake Consequence, 1993, US TV. German title: Mortal Sin
• Under Suspicion, 1996, TV series. German title: Under Suspicion (guest role)
• Zigzag, 1997 (as author, producer and leading actor)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Person entry in the Internet Movie Database
2. ↑ Film entry in the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB.com)
3. ↑ Dan Reed Network Reunion - 25 Year Anniversary  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Information about the reunion on danreed.com  
4. ^ Dan Reed Network to play one-off UK show (rock-zone.co.uk), accessed March 18, 2013
5. ↑ Facebook page of the band
6. ^ Dan Reed Network - Origins. AOR Heaven, accessed April 17, 2019 . 

Web links

• Dan Reed in the allmusic database
• Official website of Dan Reed
• English-language biography of Dan Reed
• Fanpage of Anthony Joseph Evans
• no longer up-to-date, but extensive fan page "Seven Sisters Road"
• Dan Reed in the Internet Movie Database (English)