Dan Wallace is a composer based in Chicago, IL. Since the release of his 2006 album Neon and Gold, of which Mark Suppanz of The Big Takeover said: “It’s hard not to fall for this intoxicating and expertly-crafted LP”, Wallace has been steadily establishing himself as one of the more adventurous voices in indie rock. Music reviewer Michael Mee of Americana UK had this to say about Wallace’s 2007 follow-up to Neon and Gold : “Put simply, Culture Of Self is about daring to be different, and the magic that comes when you do.” His newest release is Reattachment. He is joined by George Lawler on drums, and the album art is by Vesna Jovanovic.

A sampling of Wallace’s past projects include fronting the indie rock band The Pindrops, scoring music for theatre and film, serving as co-Director of the Chicago Chamber Music Collective (who also premiered his first chamber works in Chicago), and organizing critically acclaimed concert series of contemporary classical music. He is also a CAAP Grant recipient.

Background
Wallace was born in Philadelphia, and moved around every few years to places as diverse as a small village in Germany and a trailer park in Mississippi. He made his way to Chicago in 1993, where he has been ever since.

Wallace began playing guitar at age 14, when he learned to play the chords to “Raising Hell” by Run-DMC. Less than a year later he was playing along with Frank Zappa, Randy Rhoads, and Charlie Parker records. It also wasn’t long before he was inspired by the likes of J.S. Bach, Conlon Nancarrow and Dmitri Shostakovich to begin composing chamber works, which would be his focus until he discovered Caetano Veloso in his mid-20’s and began writing songs.

Influences

Randy Rhoads, Frank Zappa, Cacophony, Dmitri Shostakovich, Caetano Veloso

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