Daily Inspiration: Meet Dan Wilson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Wilson.

Hi Dan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My story really started at five years old, Christmas morning when I got my first drum set. I had a natural inclination towards instruments from a young age and decent rhythm and used to want to be a professional drummer. That was the initial dream. Fast forward to 8th grade, and dad’s old ovation guitar from an old case in the attic changed all that. He taught me a couple of chords and I became enamored with learning Alan Jackson songs and any other tunes I could get my hands on. The summer before high school, we are on a family vacation in St. Augustine Florida, out to eat at some seafood shack, and there’s a local musician playing songs he wrote there in the corner, and I’m saying to myself, “I know those chords!”

It was the first light bulb of inspiration that helped me see that maybe I could write my own songs. So at 13 or 14 years old I started writing my own songs and knew then that I wanted to move to Music City and try to figure out how to make it as a songwriter. After college, I made the trek and moved into a little duplex out near the Nashville Airport, got a gig valeting cars, and started chasing the songs. By kind providence, I found myself in a songwriting mentor group led by Hall of Fame songwriter Tom Douglas who taught me so much about the writing process and how to craft a great song. So I married myself to the craft and chased it wherever it took me. For 8 years, I followed the songs with two great friends of mine in a trio called MAMADEAR. We played over 1000 shows together, toured all over the world, were highlighted in Rolling Stone and Billboard magazine, and opened up for many of our musical heroes, including Charlie Daniels, Martina McBride, Sting, John Legend, and more. We grind and worked really hard to make a name for ourselves as a new trio on the rise. During this journey though, my desire to write for the sake of writing and with other artists/writers took me up and down music row chasing the songs with whoever I could.

By more kind providence and after 3 to 4 years of writing outside the band context, I finally signed my first publishing deal in April of this year at Black River Music Publishing! So that first goal of becoming a professional songwriter has been reached and I’m living my dream every day. Whenever it’s a tough day, I remind myself, “dude, your job is to write songs… you’re pretty lucky.”

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. If you are a songwriter or an artist, you are basically signing up for a job where 99% of the time you are going to hear the word “no.” Rejection is par for the course, but if you stay focused on your craft and finding your ultimate joy in creating, the inevitable ups and downs of the business become part of the ride and not the determining factor on whether you have a good day or not. No amount of money or success compares to the feeling you get when you write a great song and feel that in the room, so I try to stay focused on that process and it helps focus me so that the end result of the matter doesn’t taunt me as much.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I always tell people my job is, to tell the truth in three minutes or less. My job is to write songs, to tell the stories of the human experience in all its glory and tragedy. To my, the guy on the barstool feel something, raise his glass, call his buddy, chase the one he loves, move on from the one that left.

Ultimately the goal is to get my songs recorded by major recording artists, so as far as the nuts and bolts go, I write the songs, turn them into my publisher, and then they cast the song and try to get it recorded by artists. Hopefully, I’m known for serving the song, and serving my co-writers, and trying to create the best songs that I can. I do think one thing that sets me apart is I know the artist side so well, and so when I write with artists, I know what they are going through, and hopefully can provide a comfortable and inspiring environment for them to be able to say something honest.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
So, growing up in the summer, I swam competitively and was actually 10th in the state one year in breaststroke for my age group! Olympics here I come! Actually… they would laugh me out of Tokyo.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: theotherdanwilson