Musicadium Blog

This week, Musicadium is profiling a young artist putting his all into his music.

Dan Webb is a 19 year-old alternative rock musician on a mission, bringing the beloved board back into the limelight with his triumphant debut EP “Capitulation“.

The self-produced release was recorded and mixed with engineer Matt Voigt (Powderfinger, The Living End) at Sing Sing Recording Studios in Melbourne, and mastered by Adam Nunn (Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand) at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.

Little more than a year out of high school, Dan has headlined iconic rock venues such as Northcote Social Club, The Tote and The Evelyn. Armed with keyboards, microphones and effects pedals, and accompanied by Josiah Bradshaw on drums and Luke Ebert on bass, Dan’s stellar set features frenetic energy and addictive tunes.

Sarah and Roxy caught up with Dan!

You’re only 19, when did you start playing music and how did you get into it?

I started learning classical piano when I was four and a half. For some reason I wanted to learn trombone, but my parents pushed me towards piano instead. I stuck with it all the way through school, and luckily I was taught by some great teachers in high school. At this point I gotta send a shout out to Michael Davis (he told me to!). Participating in school stage bands and the Kool Skools project got me thinking about the possibility of recording an EP.

You produced your EP yourself, do you see yourself producing more in the future?

Yeah, for sure! I’m planning to record another EP sometime between March and July next year, and I’ll likely be taking on that role again then. Partly cos I like to be in control of the direction of my music, but mostly cos I can’t afford anyone else!

Your music has so much energy, what can we expect from a live show?

Ah, each show has been different so far. I like to interact with the audience, and I feed off their energy. The guys in my band (Josiah Bradshaw on drums, Luke Ebert on bass) are really talented, so it allows room for improvisation. Sometimes I’ll tip my organ over, sometimes I’ll spontaneously break out with a tambourine solo. At the end of the set you can expect to be covered in sweat. Everyone has fun.

What was it like working with Matt Voigt?

I really enjoyed working with Matt, he’s a great engineer. It really helped having someone onboard with so much experience. It was also kinda fun just hanging out with him in the studio in between takes, cos he would entertain us with stories about eccentric artists he’s worked with. We also watched a fair bit of Robot Chicken together…as well as quoting South Park and discussing the state of footy teams. I’d love to work with him again!

What is your most memorable gig so far and why?

I’d have to say my EP launch at Northcote Social Club in March this year, just cos it was the culmination and celebration of so many hundreds of hours of work (I started planning the EP at the end of 2007). I went crazy on stage, and got through about six bottles of water. I was trying to play one of my keyboards with my foot at one stage. The crowd really dug it!

What have you got planned for the next 6 months?

My drummer is overseas at the moment, living it up in America. So in the meantime I’m writing some new music… and trying to pry myself away from eBay. It’s harder than it sounds!

Dan’s EP is available on right now and his tunes can be found at http://www.myspace.com/danwebbmusic!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 1:30 pm and is filed under Featured Artist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.