I'm sending the following letter around to various friends/acquaintances who may have a way to help me get to that proverbial "next level"....it's probably a bit too revealing, but that's OK, I don't think I've ever had a surplus of shame when it comes to promoting myself, and I'm not about to start now. Feel free to share it with anyone who might be interested - thank you!
Hi there-
I’m going to try to make this
as quick and to-the-point as I can. I
know you are a busy person. I know you
must get tons of notes like this. So
please, if you would, just take a couple minutes and read this if you don’t
mind.
My name is Dan Israel. I’m a reasonably well-known singer-songwriter
in the Twin Cities – I wouldn’t say a “household name” but most people in the
Minnesota music scene have at least “heard” of me at some point. I grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of St.
Louis Park, which is also where the Coen Brothers, Al Franken, and NY Times
columnist Tom Friedman hail from, along with musicians such as Peter Himmelman,
Dan Wilson, Marc Perlman (Jayhawks), classical guitarist Sharon Isbin, and
others. Pretty good list for a little
inner-ring suburb.
I’ve been playing music since
I was a kid – first forced to play piano, then fell in love with guitar. After high school, I went to college in
Chicago and started playing my own music in clubs in Chicago in the late ‘80s. After graduating, I moved to Austin, TX and
played there for 3 years, putting out my first CD with my band Potter’s Field.
I moved back to Minneapolis
in 1995, got married, had 2 kids, and formed “Dan Israel and the Cultivators” –
released 12 more albums (some full-band, some solo) to pretty widespread
acclaim. My 2007 album “Turning”, which
featured members of the Jayhawks, Semisonic, Son Volt, and the Honeydogs, got a
4-star review in the UK’s Uncut, with favorable comparisons made to Tom Petty
and Paul Westerberg. In 1995, I was
named one of Austin’s top 15 songwriters in the annual Austin Chronicle music
poll. I was named Songwriter of the Year
in the 2006 Minnesota Music Awards. Local weekly City Pages named me “Best
Acoustic Performer” in 2005, though I play out with a kickin’ 4-piece band too.
I played South by Southwest multiple times.
I play 80 live shows a year and have a full-time day job (for the last
20 years) working for the Minnesota Legislature, so I can feed my kids and pay
my bills. I work my freakin’ butt off,
to be honest.
I’ve gotten to open for a lot of great artists over the years...here’s the
updated list, which might help you understand me a bit more, musically:
Steve Miller Band, Morrissey, Marshall Crenshaw,
Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, Rick Springfield, Loudon
Wainwright III, the Tragically Hip, Todd Snider, Iris Dement, Kevin Costner and
Modern West, Tommy Keene, Slim Dunlap, Soul Asylum, the Gear Daddies, Peter
Himmelman, Fastball, the Silos, Martin Sexton, Steve Poltz, Jon Dee Graham,
Mary Lou Lord, Susan Cowsill, Amy Rigby, Mason Jennings, Martin Zellar, Honeydogs,
Chris Koza, Trampled by Turtles, the Rev. Horton Heat, Ben Weaver, Yael Naim,
Spoon, Chuck Prophet, Ol' Yeller, Ike Reilly, Joe Ely, Lucy Kaplansky, and
Paula Cole
My latest album, simply
called “Dan,” really got a nice response.
It’s a divorce album, for lack of a better term. It got great reviews in No Depression and
Paste, and it charted on both European Americana charts (reaching #15 and #18).
I’ve been compared to Randy
Newman, Elvis Costello, Wilco, Paul Westerberg, Tom Petty, Neil Young, and of
course, Bob Dylan – with a strong Beatles/Stones/Who influence as well.
and here:
And this is a page we set up
for pitching songs for TV/Film placements and licensing opportunities:
Oh, and WHY am I writing to
you, exactly?
Because I’ve just never, yet, had that “big break.” Or even that exposure that just gets my music
out to a lot more people, via mass media.
And I’m ready for it. I’ve put
out 13 albums, earned the respect of my peers in a VERY strong music scene in
the Twin Cities, built up a nice little devoted fanbase (I raised several
thousand bucks from my fans in 2013 in order to release a 2-LP vinyl “best of
Dan Israel” compilation called, fittingly, “Danthology” – would love to get you
a copy of that as well)....but I need some help to get to that next level.
That’s why I’m writing to you
today. Because maybe, just maybe, you
can help somehow. So please, watch a
video or two, listen to a song or two, and if you like what you hear, let me
know. I truly appreciate it. Maybe you know a music supervisor who might
like it. Or someone at a label. Or someone who might know someone. Maybe I could go on tour with another
artist? Write a song for a movie? Write a jingle? Collaborate with another songwriter? The possibilities are endless. My goal here is just to get to that next level,
if possible. Try to make it so someday I
can quit the day job and make a living off of music (I can hear you laughing
all the way over here – I know how tough it’s gotten to do that, I know how the
business itself is in shambles, in many ways, and yet...I still think there’s a
place and a need for good new music).
Here’s how to contact me if
you’re interested in talking further...first, you can follow me on Twitter
@danisraelmusic
or, just reach out:
ph. 612-280-8902
From the bottom of my heart,
thank you
Sincerely,
Dan Israel
