For an artist willing to let inspiration in, music can write itself through you. Our new friend Dan Baeffel has been a part of several successful music projects. After his last band Cisco Rose fell apart, Dan took the break he needed. Music would not let him rest for too long though. He is now back with a solo career and a hot new single “Outlaw”. We had the chance to sit down and get into his story. Enjoy the interview here:
What first drew you to start creating music?
I love that you mentioned create, honestly music wasn’t something I grew up learning or playing from a young age, I was really a sports guy and kinda liked the acting side of performance, from that I kinda fell into playing music with my best mate and started writing and creating our own songs as we didn’t like playing other peoples that much.
It seems like you took a break from music after being in bands. What lead to that?
I tell this story at my live shows but its simple, I just wanted to do something else.
I give everything I have to music and I had done that with varying levels of success for a while, I played a show close to my hometown, it was great, super fun, intimate but I don’t know, I jumped in my car and while I was cruising down the highway a feeling came over me that I didn’t want to play or write music anymore.
Nothing negative just wanted to try some other things.
I travelled through Europe, Lived Overseas and moved up to Queensland, that where the music found me once again.
The new Dan Baeffel solo project begins with the single “Outlaw.” Tell us how that came to be?
Well after years off of playing music I found myself in Central Queensland
While in Rockhampton I meet “lady outlaw” and she changed my life
We had a super deep but also volatile on and off relationship that one Christmas left me alone and staying at my father’s house
I don’t know if it was the loneliness, how quiet it is out there or the bottles of red I drank that night but by 3am I had 3 new songs one of them was Outlaw.
It’s basically the song that rekindled my passion for music.
How would you describe your music?
Me describing my music would be a lot different to someone else describing my music, I guess I hear traditional classic rock, country, and pop ( i love a pop song or two )
Outlaw maybe not be the best example of this but if Hall & Oates, Ryan Adams, Fall Out Boy, Drake and Waylon Jennings created a musical love child I still wouldn’t sound like that, but I wish I would.
How does 3 Chords and the truth sound, ha ha
What other artists influenced this Dan Baeffel sound?
All the Artist Above, a lot of Modern R&B like PARTYNEXTDOOR and Hip-hop like Kanye West, all you classic rock / Singer-songwriter stuff Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Stones and the Beach Boys and honestly many of my talented muso friends who I had had the pleasure of playing with over the years
Amazing “Outlaw” music video by Dan Baeffel
Tell us about the impressive music video you made for “Outlaw?” Quite a story.
Story ? Ha well sometimes life imitates art, I had the idea for the video for a long time but I never thought I would make it as I was quite all over the place, that wasn’t until I connected with director Gareth McGilvray who really brought my Madness to life, casting the right Actress was a big factor also as I had a vision of “ the Girlfriend “ and really it wouldn’t of worked without someone as talented as Sienna.
I feel I caught a break with working with those two.
What advice would you have for other creative artists?
I feel me giving advice on anything in life is silly but hey while I’m here ha ha
Look do what you want, don’t box yourself in and focus your passion into music and releasing as much as you can and that feels right to you.
Life is a mess and if you flow with it will give you so much to write about don’t force it.
And with the social media side ask yourself this, do you want to be a musician or a social media star i think we all at some stage have get this twisted.
What is next for Dan Baeffel?
Really as above, release as much music as I can, singles, remixes, demos, outtakes, phone recordings whatever and focus on that, rather than some of the other BS that steals our time and passion.
I am bloody excited.
Cheers Legends
Keep up with more by Dan on his socials and hear more music on Spotify
https://www.facebook.com/danbaeffel/
https://www.youtube.com/user/CiscoRoseMusic
https://www.instagram.com/danbaeffel/