Minneapolis folk rocker Dan Israel releases his new album, See the Morning Light, this Friday with all kinds of pomp and circumstance.
This week we had the opportunity to chat with Dan about hip-hop, genres and and Muncie, Indiana…
Hi Dan. What’s new with you? I mean, really really new? And no cop-out answers.
Hi Greg. Well, what’s new is that it’s Passover, and I’m going to try not to eat any leavened bread for a week or so. It’s difficult. What’s also new is that I’m in the middle of the worst time of my year at my job at the Minnesota Legislature (Office of the Revisor of Statutes). It’s hell right now, but I’ll survive, just as I always do. What’s also new is that my son Isaac is 3-1/2 and is as cute and sweet as he is challenging. My baby daughter Susie is 9 months old and has cheeks that you’d want to feast on. Delicious.
Your new album, See the Morning Light, is your 10th solo album and comes out this Friday. First off, what’s with all the solo stuff? What do you have against working with other people?
It’s not really my 10th solo album. A little mistake there, no biggie. It’s my 10th album. First one was “Esperanto” with my band in Austin, TX, Potter’s Field, in 1993. Then I made 9 albums since I moved back to Minnesota in 1995. Only 3 of them are solo acoustic – 2000′s “Dan Who?”, 2002′s “Cedar Lake,” and the new one, “See the Morning Light.” A couple are billed as “Dan Israel and the Cultivators” – one is billed as “The Cultivators.” And the other so-called solo albums, aside from 2005′s self-titled album, are collaborative efforts. My previous album to this one, 2007′s “Turning,” had about 17 musical guests on it, including members of the Jayhawks, Son Volt, Foo Fighters, and Semisonic. So I don’t have anything against working with other people, and I don’t mean to sound defensive about it. But with this album, I just decided to keep it sparse and simple and truly solo.
Knowing your past work, it’s no surprise STML is full of rife with souful yearning, answer-seeking, heart breaking folk songs. Where is Dan Israel’s fount of inspiration?
My fount of inspiration is in Muncie, Indiana. No, just kidding, I’ve never been there. I write about life – my life, mostly. It’s all there in the songs – the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, the experimentation with many forms of natural and artificial chemicals. OK, let’s not emphasize that last part.
Have you ever thought about recording a completely anti-Dan Israel album under a pseudonym? If so, what would you call yourself?
Yes, I want to do a hip-hop album with an alter ego name, but I don’t know what I’d call it. I have several fake or “wish list” band names I probably will never use. One is the Dan Israel Lobby. I can’t remember the others right now.
Tom Hallett recently called you the “folk-rock spokesman for the Twin Cities.” What do you have to say for yourself.
Folk-rock spokesman? Well, I’ve been called worse. I do like the folk-rock. It gets a bad rap. Really, the term came into popular usage when the Byrds started covering Dylan songs and when they put a rhythm track onto the previously acoustic “Sounds of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel. I got nothin’ against folk-rock. Nothin’.
Tell us about your CD Release Show on Friday.
The CD release is Friday, April 10 at the Acadia Cafe at the corner of Cedar and Riverside in Minneapolis. 9 pm music, no cover. The Porchlights, featuring Martin Devaney and the Get-Up Johns’ Jake Hyer go on first, then Molly Maher, then me at 11 pm. I’m gonna play a bunch of new songs and then delve deep into the Dan Israel back catalog. Bring your requests. The Acadia has a great beer menu too. Live it up, and folkin’ rock out, dude.
And then?
I am literally having discussions with a major local talk radio station about hosting a show, at least on a part-time or fill-in basis. It’ll probably never happen, but it’s completely wacky that it’s even being discussed seriously. This is not an April Fool’s joke.
