In this episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Sarah Wrightsman sit down with musician and artist Dan Blakeslee! Dan has been making music and art for the past 30 years — in fact, he performed at Laura’s college back in 2003! His music is largely about his life, but sometimes it’s about ghouls and vampires. His art, which we think pairs beautifully with his music, is whimsical and playful with visions of mermaids and other mystical sea things! In this episode, Dan regales us with magical tales, including the unofficial nominee for “most supportive boss in the universe”, his time spent busking in Boston, the challenges and triumphs of screenprinting, and that time he got lost and found himself in Sleepy Hollow! This episode will make you laugh until your cheeks hurt. Find more Dan online at www.DanBlakeslee.com and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/danblakesleemusic and Facebook at www.facebook.com/@DanBlakesleeAndTheCalabashClub. Listen to this episode wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Discord. If you love listening, consider making a donation to Creative Guts! Our budget is tiny, so donations of any size make a big difference. Learn more about us and make a tax deductible donation at www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. Thank you to our friends at Art Up Front Street Studios and Gallery in Exeter, NH and the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts in Rochester, NH for their support of the show! We’d also like to thank The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH for their support of our recent Tiny Art Exchange Zine; Red River Theatres in Concord, NH for collaborating with us on the Creative Guts Short Film Festival; and Creative Co Op as a sponsor of the film festival. We appreciate all the folks and organizations who give support to Creative Guts.
In this episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Sarah Wrightsman sit down with musician and artist Dan Blakeslee! Dan has been making music and art for the past 30 years — in fact, he performed at Laura’s college back in 2003! His music is largely about his life, but sometimes it’s about ghouls and vampires. His art, which we think pairs beautifully with his music, is whimsical and playful with visions of mermaids and other mystical sea things!
In this episode, Dan regales us with magical tales, including the unofficial nominee for “most supportive boss in the universe”, his time spent busking in Boston, the challenges and triumphs of screenprinting, and that time he got lost and found himself in Sleepy Hollow! This episode will make you laugh until your cheeks hurt.
Find more Dan online at www.DanBlakeslee.com and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/danblakesleemusic and Facebook at www.facebook.com/@DanBlakesleeAndTheCalabashClub.
Listen to this episode wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Discord.
If you love listening, consider making a donation to Creative Guts! Our budget is tiny, so donations of any size make a big difference. Learn more about us and make a tax deductible donation at www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com.
Thank you to our friends at Art Up Front Street Studios and Gallery in Exeter, NH and the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts in Rochester, NH for their support of the show! We’d also like to thank The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH for their support of our recent Tiny Art Exchange Zine; Red River Theatres in Concord, NH for collaborating with us on the Creative Guts Short Film Festival; and Creative Co Op as a sponsor of the film festival. We appreciate all the folks and organizations who give support to Creative Guts.
[INTRODUCTION]
[0:00:00] LHL: I'm Laura Harper Lake.
[0:00:01] SW: And I'm Sarah Wrightsman.
[0:00:02] HOSTS: And you're listening to Creative Guts.
[0:00:18] SW: Hello, friends. Thank you for tuning in to Creative Guts.
[0:00:20] LHL: On today's episode, we're talking with Dan Blakeslee, an artist, musician, and an amazing, epic storyteller. Dan is someone I was inspired by in the past, but I won't spoil the connection yet as you'll hear about it in just a moment.
[0:00:35] SW: We can't wait to talk with Dan. This was one of these episodes where we were smiling before we even started recording. So, let's just jump right into this episode of Creative Guts with Dan Blakeslee.
[0:00:45] LHL: Yay.
[EPISODE]
[0:00:50] LHL: Dan, thank you for being on the podcast.
[0:00:52] DB: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
[0:00:54] SW: We're super excited to talk with you.
[0:00:55] DB: Likewise.
[0:00:56] LHL: It's already been a pleasure chatting with you the last few minutes since you've arrived. I first heard you in 2003 when you played at my college, Chester College.
[0:01:05] DB: Yes.
[0:01:08] LHL: You not only played, but you also presented about your artwork, I think.
[0:01:13] DB: I did, yes.
[0:01:14] LHL: Yes. So, I remember looking up to you and thinking, "This is the ultimate creative. They're doing these two critical disciplines and interweaving them together." I just remember being like, my socks were totally blown off. I was like, "This guy is so cool."
[0:01:28] DB: Wow, thank you. That's so nice to hear.
[0:01:31] LHL: It's amazing to be able to talk to you now and I'm so glad you said yes.
[0:01:34] DB: Cool. Without question.
[0:01:34] SW: What year did you say?
[0:01:36] LHL: 2003, 2004.
[0:01:38] SW: Wow, okay.
[0:01:39] LHL: I was like a freshman, so that was when I was a freshman.
[0:01:42] SW: I'm very impressed that like you – this was clearly memorable. That was a long time ago.
[0:01:46] LHL: Yes.
[0:01:47] DB: Wow. Oh my goodness.
[0:01:48] SW: It was a big deal.
[0:01:49] LHL: Yeah, no, it really was. It was so great. It was someone who was local, who was doing their passion. You could see just the love that you had for art and music, and it just felt very important.
[0:02:00] DB: That's amazing, it's amazing to hear. Because you never know. I mean, I've done art lectures here and there and done performances at colleges or whatever. It's like, you never know until someone tells you.
[0:02:12] LHL: Yes.
[0:02:12] SW: Yes.
[0:02:13] DB: Sometimes you get the vibe. You're like, okay, all right. Like I feel like I'm getting to some people, but it's like, it's so nice to hear that.
[0:02:20] LHL: Oh, yes. Now I know. Then, before we hit record, we were talking about RPM. When I did RPM, I remember seeing your albums on the player and all that kind of stuff. So, I was just like, "Dan Blakeslee, ah." So, it's really nice.
[0:02:34] DB: Record production month.
[0:02:34] LHL: Yes, that's right. Oh my gosh, RPM was so great, but yes. So, to have you come on here full circle is really special to me. So, thank you for coming.
[0:02:44] DB: Yes, thanks for the invite.
[0:02:46] SW: So, for our listeners that don't know anything about you, will you just introduce
yourself a little bit and tell them a little bit about you as a creative?
[0:02:54] DB: Yes, my name is Dan Blakeslee, and I've been making artwork since I was a kid. But in slowly eventually getting into music starting when I was a kid too, and I've been doing both hand in hand as a career for 31 years. When I was a little kid, like we had a neighbor that did art lessons once in a while, an amazing artist. My parents knew that I was kind of a wild child, kind of a wild kid on the farm. But they knew as soon as I got art supplies in my hand, it's like, I'm like quiet. I'm working on artwork and everything. So, they gave me lessons through him and it really like sparked something in me.
[0:03:37] LHL: Wow.
[0:03:37] DB: It's like, I'm so thankful to my parents. When I was a little kid, they said, "You do whatever you want to do in life that makes you the most happy."
[0:03:45] SW: Oh, that's nice.
[0:03:46] LHL: That's really good to hear.
[0:03:47] DB: I know. I chose art and music. They've been with me the whole time, and nurturing me, and helping me out all along the way. I feel so grateful.
[0:03:56] SW: Yes. I've already read your like origin story on your website. So, I'm super excited to hear it and for our listeners to hear it. So like, what happened? Circa in
1995-ish.
[0:04:07] DB: Yes.
[0:04:09] SW: That was a leading question, folks.
[0:04:12] DB: Right. I had been working at this lobs restaurant in the Ogunquit, Maine, for probably like seven seasons through. I think I started there in eighth grade, ninth grade, and worked through when I was like maybe 21. When I was working there during – when I was going to art school in Baltimore, I would come back home to Maine, work there for the summer. And in 1993, I recorded an album at art school. I'd started getting into playing music because the amount of art that I had to do at art school was so beyond what I thought it was going to be. There was hardly any time to do anything. So, I was kind of like losing my mind. I'm like, "I need something else to like distract me from this." So, I started playing music.
By my sophomore year, I recorded an album her junior year, and then, gave it to my boss at work. I wasn't really playing out that summer. I was busking here and there on the street corners, whatever. Then. I graduated the following year, went back to my boss at the lobster restaurant and be like, "All right, I'm here to get my job back." He's like, "I can't give you your job back." I'm like, "What? What are you talking about?" Because I'm such a good worker. He knows it. He said to me, "You're supposed to be out there playing music." He said, "The only way I'm going to hire you back is if you book an entire summer's worth of shows and you can work in between your show dates."
[0:05:46] LHL: Wow.
[0:05:46] DB: I was like, that just blew my mind. It was like so kind, like the ultimate push. He was actually someone that – I had a guitar that was sort of like really kind of hard to play, my first guitar, though I'm thankful I had it. But it was like a really tough guitar to play at longer performances with. Then, I just found this guitar that just made me drop to my knees. I was thinking, "Man, there's no way I can get this, way out of my price range." I was telling my boss at work about it at Barnacle Billy's Lobs Restaurant. He said, "How much is it?" I told him the price, and it was like pretty high, and he takes out his wallet, and he goes, "Take the day off, go get the guitar."
[0:06:29] SW: Stop it.
[0:06:30] DB: "And you can pay me through the whole summer." So, I paid him off the whole summer. But then, I had this professional guitar. How cool, right?
[0:06:38] SW: That's like a patron.
[0:06:39] DB: Kurt Tower is his name, he's an amazing, amazing person.
[0:06:43] LHL: You're the world's most supportive boss ever.
[0:06:46] DB: I know, I know.
[0:06:48] SW: Oh my gosh.
[0:06:47] LHL: Fired you and bought you a guitar. I mean, the confidence he must have instilled in you as well. Like, he really believes in me. That's not just something you do cavalier.
[0:06:58] DB: Right, right, yes.
[0:07:00] LHL: So cool.
[0:07:01] SW: So, you went from working at a lobster restaurant to being a troubadour.
[0:07:04] DB: Yes, being a troubadour. At that time, I was still living in Maine, and then, I was busking on every street corner I could find if I wasn't playing shows. Then, a friend of mine that worked at Barnacle Billy's as well, he's a musician. He started living in Somerville, Massachusetts. He was like, "Man, you should move down here, busk in the subway, you make a rent." So, I moved down to Boston at the end of that summer, and I started busking the subways there every day, but it was an unhealthy way. I would busk for like seven hours, eight hours a day. I'd bring like a couple snacks and a bottle of water, but I was so depleted of energy by the end, that he found me passed out in the kitchen one night from – I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs. It was just from malnutrition.
I was on the floor and it was kind of crazy, because that night, I remember I was at this Copley Station in Boston. I'm playing in eastern traffic hour, so there's not that many people listening, but I'm having a fun time doing it. This one train was idling in the station for a long while. This woman came out with a cane, like she wasn't blind, but she's sight-impaired. She was like walking along, and then she came up to me, found my pocket, and stuffed something in my pocket, and then, went back on the train, and didn't say anything. I'm like, "Wow, that's kind of crazy."
[0:08:32] LHL: Weird.
[0:08:33] DB: I know.
[0:08:33] LHL: It was a spy dropping off some secret thing.
[0:08:36] DB: So, when I woke up, when my roommate woke me up from passing out, I was like emptying my pocket, and stuff, and I found that piece of paper. It was a hundred-dollar bill, and she said, "Thank you so much for doing what you do. Please send me all your recordings." I was like, "Man, this is enough to move back home. I'm going to move back, get better, and then approach it in a different way." So, I moved back home for about half a year that I moved back down.
[0:09:03] SW: That's incredible, wow.
[0:09:06] LHL: Also, you take starving artists too, and you level fair.
[0:09:09] DB: Right. I don't get $100 tips for every time I busk. Just so that everyone out there know it's a rarity, but you're welcome to do it.
[0:09:19] LHL: Do you still busk?
[0:09:21] DB: Oh, yes. I love it.
[0:09:22] LHL: Oh nice.
[0:09:23] DB: I love it because you never know who's going to hear you. I found that, from me doing so much busking, my shows are busier because those are people that heard me busking on the street, and they come to a show. Do you know the musician, Glen Hansard?
[0:09:39] LHL: Yes, I love him.
[0:09:41] DB: Oh my God, he is amazing.
[0:09:42] LHL: This well season, like I just saw them a year and a half ago. Once, like the film broke my heart into a thousand pieces.
[0:09:52] DB: Absolutely. Exactly.
[0:09:55] LHL: I was going to say, you have notes of him, like your vibe. I would have click you too.
[0:09:59] DB: Oh, that's cool. Because it's kind of crazy, I had this – so, the busking thing, another busker friend of mine named Steven Bacon, who's absolutely amazing. I think he lives in Alaska now, but he would do the thing where he would busk while people are waiting in line to get to a venue, like a big venue. So, he went to the Orpheum in Boston. Glen Hansard was playing, he was like, "I'm just going to busk." Then, Glen Hansard heard him and he's like, "Will you come play on stage, do a set?" So, my friend was able to play to a sold-out room.
[0:10:31] LHL: Wow.
[0:10:32] DB: All those people were like, who is this Steven Bacon guy? You know what I mean?
[0:10:36] SW: That's incredible.
[0:10:37] DB: So, it's like – I mean, you never know what's going to happen. Another thing, these friends of mine, this is another kind of crazy thing called Vermont Joy Parade from Burlington. They were on tour in Europe and they were in these 50-capacity rooms, like beautiful rooms. They were like really happy doing it. They said, "Okay, every single day we're not playing the show, let's busk." So, they would busk at this flea market or wherever. So, they were in Berlin, busking at the flea market.
Then, the actor, Jared Lado hears them, and is like, "Oh my God. Will you open up for me on my tour?" So, they were going from playing to 50 people playing to 2,500, 5,000 people per show. They were kind of like, it was like scary in a good way. But just from them busking.
[0:11:26] LHL: That's incredible.
[0:11:27] SW: Wow. I think busking is so cool, because it's like a public service, like the town or city should be paying you. You're creating a vibe in their community, like bringing vibrancy, and atmosphere. and people just do it.
[0:11:45] LHL: Oh my gosh. I wonder how many folks got their big break from, you know, someone happened to see them.
[0:11:50] DB: I'm pretty sure Glen Hansard did. I feel like that.
[0:11:53] LHL: I mean, that's kind of what Once is about, you know, in a way, like you
don't have to see that movie if you haven't.
[0:11:58] SW: I will see it.
[0:11:59] LHL: It'll break your heart, listener. So, it'll break your heart.
[0:12:03] SW: I can't wait.
[0:12:03] DB: Oh, it's the most heartwarming, beautiful film.
[0:12:06] LHL: It really is.
[0:12:07] DB: A friend of mine, when they told me about, they go, "You might not want to watch it. It hits too close to home." I'm like, "What? What are you talking about?" I watch them, like, "Okay, I get it. Yes, I get it now, but in a good way." It made me feel like I want to write song that night as soon as the movie was done
[0:12:24] LHL: Yes, that's how live music always makes me feel. When I see someone perform, I want to go home and play. I always feel that. When I go to a museum, I want to go home and make art. I feel like that's just such like lightning in a bottle.
[0:12:37] DB: Also, another thing with Glen Hansard is that, I was at New Port Folk Festival, maybe it was probably like 10 years ago or something like that. The festival ended, and I didn't want it to be over. I was like, "Oh my God. I never wanted it to be over. It's so amazing." I was like, "Man, there's no more music. I'm so inspired right now. I just want to like play on the docks." There was no one in sight, and I was thinking, okay, everyone already wrapped up, and left because it was 9:00 at night. I'm sitting there playing on the dock, just to myself, and the moonlight, and the seagulls, and whatever.
All of a sudden, I hear an entourage coming, and it's a bunch of the performers, the main performers from the festival, and they're all getting into a boat to get them downtown, and they were on the dock across from me. But still, we could like see each other, they could hear me, and whatever. If you looked over, and nodded, and then, I see this one person stand at the end of the dock and like listen intently. Then, the people on the boat are like, "Come on Glen, come on, we're going to go down." Then he goes, "No, no, no. No, I want to listen." That was the most profound thing.
[0:13:44] SW: It was Glen.
[0:13:45] DB: Right, it was Glen. Yes. Someone, one of the other musicians took a photo of his head.
[0:13:52] LHL: Oh my gosh.
[0:13:53] DB: His big hairdo looking at me like playing on the other dock.
[0:13:57] LHL: Oh, I just got goosebumps.
[0:13:58] DB: It was the most beautiful moment. I just thought it was so cool.
[0:14:03] LHL: That's so magical. It's like you never know where the universe is going to line you up.
[0:14:07] SW: Right. Okay, this is too fun already. Let's back up a little bit. You play guitar, you write songs. Do you play other instruments?
[0:14:17] DB: I do. I'm real passionate about drums. I love playing drums. Oh, yeah. And I love playing bass too. But I'm not as – not that I'm saying I'm skilled at drums, but I'm not as skilled at bass. I feel like I can get it if I really listen to something for a long time. On a friend's tour, I played bass, but it was like such a challenge because I'm just not used to it.
[0:14:40] LHL: Right. It's funny because I have this theory, my husband plays everything, kind of. He grew up playing violin, but I still have this theory that he could pick up any instrument and be better at it faster than I could who've never played any instrument. So, you're probably better than you think you are, like not professional level, but still way better than the way better than the average person.
[0:15:01] DB: But you don't know. You should pick up some instruments that he has lying around when he's at work.
[0:15:03] LHL: I should. No, I would be bad, I know it.
[0:15:05] DB: And just be like, ace it.
[0:15:07] SW: Just have fun with it.
[0:15:08] DB: Do it for a year. Do it for a whole year and just be like, "Hey, guess what?"
[0:15:11] SW: Surprise him.
[0:15:13] LHL: Do you know how bad the violin sounds when it's being played by somebody who doesn't know how to play it? It's so bad.
[0:15:17] DB: It is horrible. Same with accordion. I play accordion.
[0:15:20] SW: I play accordion too.
[0:15:22] LHL: That's cool.
[0:15:21] DB: Quote unquote.
[0:15:22] SW: Yes, exactly. Same thing. My main instrument is electric ukulele.
[0:15:26] DB: That's amazing.
[0:15:28] LHL: That is cool.
[0:15:28] SW: Yes, but I used to play synth in a band, and I'd sing and stuff. But definitely play a lot of like melodica, and I have a theremin now that I goof around with. I'm a collector of instruments that I collect, and then don't learn truly, but I just fuck around with.
[0:15:46] DB: Whatever, you're unfounded.
[0:15:46] LHL: Oh, wicked, yeah.
[0:15:47] DB: Who wouldn't want a theremin?
[0:15:49] SW: We just bought a cello on Craigslist. We had to drive to some guy's house in Farmington. I didn't know that people still bought stuff and sold stuff on Craigslist.
[0:15:58] DB: Oh my goodness.
[0:15:58] SW: But we drove to Farmington and bought a cello.
[0:16:02] DB: Oh my God.
[0:16:02] LHL: Wow. Does Aaron know how to play it yet or he's just tinkering?
[0:16:04] SW: Kind of, yes.
[0:16:05] LHL: That's so cool, kind of. Good for him.
[0:16:09] SW: Do you mostly make music alone or do you collaborate with other musicians?
[0:16:13] DB: I tend to make music alone. Like not that I'm against that because I love collaborating with other people. But I tend to find that most of my songwriting, I don't write generally about fictional stuff. I write about real-life experiences. Whenever it hits me, it hits me, it'll be five in the morning, I'll wake up and be like, "Oh my God, I got to get this out."
[0:16:38] SW: That's brilliant.
[0:16:40] DB: Or like driving back from a gig and I have the radio off. I always do that, radio off on the way back.
[0:16:45] SW: Yes, that's when I write songs too.
[0:16:47] DB: I listen.
[0:16:47] SW: Yes, there's something.
[0:16:48] LHL: Interesting.
[0:16:48] DB: I listen to the sound of the road. If it was a good gig, still like living off that high, or if it was a bad gig, being like, "Okay, man." What are you going to do different?
[0:17:01] LHL: You're going to have a talk with yourself.
[0:17:03] DB: Time to write a song.
[0:17:11] LHL: We're going to dive into art in a minute, but who is Doctor Gasp and what is his deal?
[0:17:16] DB: Oh yeah. Well, so Doctor Gasp started in York, Maine. I was living in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and a friend of mine, York Maine, asked me to be part of his haunted house. He was having a haunted house for people of all ages, little kids, elderly folks, whatever age, it didn't matter. But the deal is, he invited a bunch of friends of his to like, you get this corner of the basement, be spooky, but don't be terrifying. So, I dressed as a ghost cowboy, a skull mask, cowboy hat, white rocking shirt, cobwebs on me. I was playing disjointed cowboy-sounding songs that were like dirge in a minor key, just like really slow and moaning. I did it for about three, four hours.
Then, I started writing a song in my head. So, when I got back home, I wrote a song, and then I said to myself, "All right, I'm playing the press room a couple nights before Halloween this week. So, I think I'm going to unleash this song." I played the song on stage, and I apologized to the audience, and I was like, "That is the worst song I've ever written in my life." I will never do that again. Then, someone shouted out from the back of the room, "I want to put that out on vinyl next year." So, it came out on vinyl the next year and I would have thrown away if it hadn't been for them. Then, what happened was, a bunch of friends of mine in the Portsmouth area that were working at Bull Moose started a record label to put out the album.
[0:18:56] LHL: My God.
[0:18:56] SW: That's so cool.
[0:18:56] DB: Spider Bite Records.
[0:18:59] SW: Is that still a thing?
[0:19:00] DB: I don't think so, but it's Chase, Murray, Walker, and the Whites. That's all their last names, and I wrote a song called Chase, Murray, Walker, and the Whites. Brian and Dave White. It sort of like explains the story of Doctor Gasp. But the first year I did it, I probably had three songs written, and I did an album release party at this place called the Tiki Bar in Portsmouth. It's not there anymore, but oh my God, it was so amazing. Very retro, like rockabilly kind of vibe, punk spot. and I only had three songs. So, it was the shortest album release party because I couldn't play my regular music. Of course, I did Monster Mash because it's one of my top favorites.
[0:19:46] LHL: Oh, yes.
[0:19:47] DB: Oh, yes. But then, I started writing more and more, and then, I came out with a full album, I think the following year, I was like hooked, still am.
[0:19:59] LHL: So cool.
[0:20:00] DB: It's so much fun.
[0:20:00] SW: It's just such a great name.
[0:20:02] DB: Thank you. It's kind of like, if I was describing the music, I'd say, "Tom Waits meets Monster Mash," but not in a dark alley, in a weird alley or something.
[0:20:14] LHL: That is so cool. Very descriptive.
[0:20:17] SW: So, it's really like a way to create different music and like separate it from your other music. You need an alter ego.
[0:20:22] DB: Yes. All right. When I was growing up, so my dad is a jazz musician. So, I grew up listening to jazz when I was a little kid. Then, my older brother introduced me to hip-hop in fifth, sixth grade. So, I was a little break dancer. Then, my dad was in a country band playing drums. He's a multi-instrumentalist, and so, he's playing drums. Then, I got into country. Then, my brother, my older brother, Jonathan introduced me to punk rock in eighth grade, and it floored me. So, all through high school and college, I'd be writing these songs, but no one knows that the makeup of me. I don't quite wear it on my sleeve. But when I started doing Doctor Gasp, it's like that's when all that kind of pent-up energy all year comes out, when I'm chucking candy corner at the audience.
[0:21:21] LHL: That is so cool, I love that.
[0:21:23] DB: Yes.
[0:21:24] SW: It's amazing.
[0:21:27] LHL: So, the perfect pairing with your music whether it be spooky or normal. Never mind, well we have a little spook coming along.
[0:21:32] DB: Oh, I love the train.
[0:21:36] LHL: Maybe we'll leave this in this time, but sometimes, we have to pause because the train likes to speak its piece as well.
[0:21:42] DB: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
[0:21:45] LHL: But your music pairs excellent with your art.
[0:21:48] DB: Amazing, thank you.
[0:21:49] SW: It does, they go together.
[0:21:50] DB: Appreciate it.
[0:21:51] LHL: They go together so perfectly. The genre of your music and the style of your art is just, of course, it's meant to be. So, you went to school for art, and you've been doing it since you were a child. So, do you want to speak a bit about what mediums and subject matter that you're drawn to?
[0:22:07] DB: Sure, yes. When I was a little kid, my teacher would, we would do a lot of like pastel and charcoal. So, that was my first introduction really. Well, okay, finger paints.
[0:22:20] LHL: Obviously.
[0:22:22] DB: Yes, that was earlier. Anyway, I don't do finger paints anymore. But anyway, so in high school, I got into silk screening. My art teacher, I would go there after classes just to do more art, and just experiment with different things like oil paint, and different materials, colored pencil, whatnot. But I really loved silk-screening. I would silkscreen my favorite bands. I would make a design and sell the t-shirts at school.
Then, fast forward a number of years, I was at art school, and I was a freshman. They go, "Okay, what's your major going to be?" I'm like, "I don't know. I don't want – I want to do everything."
[0:23:04] SW: I haven't done it yet.
[0:23:04] DB: "Is there everything? "You know, option." So, they said, there is, general fine arts. So, I was able to take photography classes, so I can learn how to take pictures of my artwork. I did woodworking so I could be able to make like a lightbox or frames, and then, drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking, everything. So, I feel like by the end of school, I was sort of like mishmash mutt of a bunch of different things. But I got really into color pencil, and it wasn't until a little later that I got back into silk screening. When I was trying to make – I'd always love silkscreen posters, like a huge fan of them. I recorded an album for my family as a Christmas gift, because I didn't have any money to get anyone gifts. I'm like, "Hey, I'm going to record this thing, and make some artwork, and make a little booklet."
[0:23:57] LHL: That is the best gift.
[0:23:58] SW: I would love that gift, yes.
[0:24:00] DB: You're awesome. So, at that time I was living in Somerville, Massachusetts, and I really wanted to silkscreen the CD covers, like hand silkscreen them. But I didn't know how to do it. It had been since high school. So, I bought one of the screen-printing kits, and that's a good introduction. I'm not certainly not saying that's a bad thing. It's an amazing tool. But there were so many hiccups that I couldn't figure out what's going on. There was a big long line at this art store and I just stood in the middle of all the lines. I said, "Does anyone know how to silkscreen? Anyone?" And it happens to be, the guy behind me said, "Oh my god. That's what I do for a living. What's your issue?" So, he was able to help me troubleshoot within five minutes.
[0:24:47] SW: Oh my gosh.
[0:24:48] DB: Then, I went home and I silkscreened it, and I was like, "Oh my God, here we go." Now, I'm off. Then, a couple months later, someone – like I had made a few prints and I had him in a portfolio at my show. So, when I'm playing a show, I have a portfolio of my prints. This guy's looking through them, and he's like, "Did I meet you at an art store?" I'm like, "Oh my God, you're the guy." James Weinberg, he's amazing.
[0:25:15] LHL: Oh my goodness.
[0:25:17] SW: So, I'm guessing you would not describe yourself as shy.
[0:25:20] DB: I am, somewhat. It depends on the situation. I was desperate though. It was like December 23rd.
[0:25:30] SW: I was just thinking in my head, what a magical life. But then I was thinking, what a great storyteller to show the magic of your life. Then, I was thinking, "Well, no, there is magic, but there's also guts, and tenacity, and obviously, your creativity, that's given, and desperation.
[0:25:46] LHL: And desperation/
[0:25:48] SW: Sprinkle desperation. But it seems like there's been these magical moments that you're taking us across this journey. But at the heart of it is you having the gumption to go for something, to ask the questions, to meet the right people, to put yourself out there. I think that is such a brilliant little seed to latch on to for others to do.
[0:26:09] DB: Yes. No, without question. I mean, I've definitely gotten guidance in so many different ways. It never hurts to ask anyone for advice or for help.
[0:26:21] SW: And we talked about this really recently in an episode that like artists are really kind of willing to share. Like you ask for help and an artist is like, "Yes, I'll help you." There's not competitive and gatekeeping. Yes, it's really good.
[0:26:34] DB: I had this friend that really wanted to learn how to silkscreen. He goes, "Do you mind if I just come there and like watch you or whatever?" I said, "No, it's totally fine." I said, "It takes a long time. I said, "It's so tedious and I'm going to swear a lot." But I said, "Bring like something to film with just so you can know all the different steps, because it's so complex." I'm so glad that he did it because it's sort reminding me what goes into it, all the stuff into making this print.
[0:27:07] LHL: It's amazing. It reaffirms your journey of where you're at now.
[0:27:11] DB: Yeah. Or like, wow, why not show them that way? I think, I mean, everyone's got their own way of doing things. It's like, I have some silkscreen printer friends that they do it completely different way, but they get the same end result. You know what I mean? This printed, beautiful screen print.
[0:27:32] SW: Yes. Did you make the shirt you're wearing right now?
[0:27:33] DB: No.
[0:27:35] LHL: That's Sam Paolini.
[0:27:35] DB: Sam Paolini, and I'm trying to remember the other artists, she paired up. I love Sam, she's amazing.
[0:27:42] LHL: Sam is amazing. We love Sam.
[0:27:43] SW: Sam, I live in Newmarket. So, Sam is so famous in Newmarket because of the bathroom at Crackskulls. Like everyone in Newmarket knows the name.
[CROSSTALK 0:27:52]
[0:27:56] LHL: We also have some of Sam's work in our – we have a tiny little zine library in my studio out back. So, we've got some Sam Paolini zines back there.
[0:28:04] SW: I love that, I didn't know that.
[0:28:05] LHL: I'll show them to you when we're done because they're great.
[0:28:07] DB: Wow. Great.
[0:28:09] LHL: I know, yes. Sam is amazing.
[0:28:10] DB: Treasured, treasured human right there.
[0:28:16] LHL: Okay. So, we just touched upon mediums subject matter in your art. I'd love to hear about that because it's such a great – I love your work.
[0:28:24] DB: Oh, thank you. I've always been drawn to aquatic things. I grew up on a farm in Maine, so I'm drawn to rural scenes. But also, I grew up like 20 minutes from the ocean, something like that. So, we as a family, we would always go to the beach, and go sailing, or fishing, or whatever. So, I got really into like mystical sea creatures, mermaids, like crazy. I think it started from the movie, Splash. I'll be honest with you.
[0:28:59] LHL: That's awesome.
[0:29:03] DB: Not really. I mean, it probably wasn't that, it was before that.
[0:29:03] SW: And you watch it every year, right?
[0:29:05] DB: Yeah, I do. Splash holds up.
[0:29:07] LHL: It does.
[0:29:07] DB: Anyone out there listening, check it out. That's a good one.
[0:29:11] SW: I'm going to have to do a rewatch. It's been a decade or two. It's been a while.
[0:29:15] DB: Yes. So, and that, an octopi, or octopuses. I've been a huge fan of them ever since I saw this in four – I think it was fourth, fifth grade. They had the class sit down and watch nature videos or all kinds of different – what's it called? I'm trying to think, what would they call that at school? It's like a required, everyone – okay, everyone's sitting down to watch these videos on –
[0:29:42] LHL: PBS?
[0:29:43] DB: Yes, it was like –
[0:29:43] SW: Or like a marine documentary?
[0:29:45] DB: Yes, it was like a marine documentary thing, but it was also like this time where you learn about things happening that have happened in the world and, but it was like a required thing.
[0:29:55] SW: I don't know.
[0:29:56] DB: I don't even know what it would be called.
[0:29:58] SW: They roll in the TV on the cart, and you watch it?
[0:30:00] DB: Yes, exactly.
[0:30:01] LHL: I think that's a give a teacher a break day.
[0:30:02] DB: I think that's what it is.
[0:30:04] LHL: For sure.
[0:30:05] DB: But I remember this one film in particular where there's two fish tanks and they're connected with a hole that's about an inch big. Then, there's a big octopus in one tank, and it squishes itself through the hole into the other tank.
[0:30:22] SW: Holy shit.
[0:30:22] DB: And that just blew my mind. Oh my God.
[0:30:29] SW: You never know what's going to hit, and it'll like stick with you.
[0:30:31] DB: I know, yes.
[0:30:35] LHL: Because I don't think everyone in your class is necessarily painting octopi.
[0:30:40] DB: Right, this is true, this is very true.
[0:30:45] LHL: That's so cool.
[0:30:46] DB: Yeah, and of course, I love drawing anything Halloween-related. Headless Horseman, for whatever reason, was one of my favorite stories ever since I was a little kid. To this day, it's just like, it is terrifying and the most fascinating story.
[0:31:01] SW: It's classic, yes.
[0:31:02] DB: It's so classic. And I've listened to every Sleepy Hollow recording out there, I think, probably not. Also, I've watched every single Sleepy Hollow, like stop animation, or like cartoon, or live action film. I'm just like obsessed.
[0:31:21] LHL: That's so cool.
[0:31:23] DB: I remember one time during my Doctor Gasp tour, driving to play a show down in New Jersey. As I'm driving down there, I just stop off and get gas at the Jersey turnpike. It was a super foggy night. By mistake, I ended up going the wrong direction. Somehow, I went inside whatever road stop to get some food. Then, I got turned around, and I wasn't using GPS. So, I started heading and I was heading north. Just only by little bit when I realized that I was like, wait a minute, wait a minute. I'm going to pull over. So, I pull over. I just get off at whatever exit, and it says, "Welcome to Sleepy Hollow." I was like, "What?" I see this giant sign, welcome to Sleepy Hollow. I was like, "This place exists." I had no idea.
So, I'm away back. I stopped in Sleepy Hollow and drove on all the old backcountry roads, all the roads I could find. By the way, I think there's three old Sleepy Hollow roads in Sleepy Hollow, it's a little confusing. If you go there and visit, go to the one at the very top of the hill, way past the mile-long graveyard? That's the one. That's the good one.
[0:32:36] SW: I'm sure they lean into it.
[0:32:38] DB: Oh, yes. It's really like beautiful farmlands, and twisty roads, and big hanging trees.
[0:32:46] LHL: Have you ever been the headless horseman for Halloween?
[0:32:49] DB: No. Hey, cool.
[0:32:55] LHL: It's the ultimate. In Chester New Hampshire, because I went there, they were big on Halloween, and there was someone who always had a horse and carriage.
[0:33:03] DB: Did a reenactment?
[0:33:03] LHL: And he was always the headless horseman every year. And Chester College did like a haunted house in the backyard, and I was like a dead bride who was completely getting her head crushed in every time, stuff like that, it was so fun.
[0:33:17] DB: Oh my God, that's crazy.
[0:33:18] LHL: Yes, it was such a big thing. So yes, I feel your love for Halloween.
[0:33:22] DB: Totally.
[0:33:23] SW: I love that you have haunted houses in common.
[0:33:26] LHL: I know, yeah.
[0:33:27] DB: Oh, yeah.
[0:33:29] LHL: I know, I haven't done that in a long time, but those were good old days.
[0:33:32] DB: Yes, totally.
[0:33:34] LHL: Okay. Maybe my first theory was correct that you do have a magical life, because that's pretty magical to get off in an exit to be like, I'm turned around. Then, you go to the place that you love.
[0:33:44] SW: Yes, that is magic.
[0:33:45] DB: Right.
[0:33:47] SW: Yes.
[0:33:47] LHL: Some spooky Halloween magic.
[0:33:49] DB: Exactly.
[0:33:51] SW: So, everything's feeling real rosy with you. What are some challenges? Do you get imposter syndrome? What other challenges are you facing as a creative?
[0:33:59] DB: Oh no, I mean, believe me.
[0:34:01] SW: Yeah, I'm sure.
[0:34:02] DB: There's hiccups every day. Even on like – I had the most magical, wonderful tour across U.S. that I spent so long booking, and it was like, not every show was amazing. But I'm doing it. Oh my God, I'm actually doing it. When I got to the edge of Austin, Texas, that was the farthest I've been at that point in 2016. I looked out on this field, and I'm like, "I'm leaving the shire. I am leaving the shire. This is scariest as heck."
So, as I'm going along, I feel like the universe is taking care of me. I mean, there's definitely hiccups, like I fell down a cliff in California. First time I saw the Pacific Ocean, I needed to touch it right then, and I did.
[0:34:51] LHL: Were you okay after?
[0:34:53] DB: I was okay, but it was crazy, it was that big surf, and I was looking at this vista spot. It was the most beautiful, epic thing. I'd never seen the Pacific. I'm like, I absolutely got to touch it right now. So, I started walking down, there was an embankment. There was somewhat, and then the trail kind of stopped, like definitely stopped, 100 feet before the ocean. I'm like, I have to touch it. Then, I saw a couple tufts of grass and things in the sand, sandy bank, and I put my boot down, and the thing gave way. So, I slid down about a hundred feet on my back.
[0:35:28] SW: Oh my gosh.
[0:35:29] DB: Luckily, I didn't tumble, or else, we wouldn't be talking today. You know what I mean?
[0:35:34] SW: Oh, geez.
[0:35:35] DB: And it was so crazy. When I got down to the bottom I said, "Well, touch the ocean number one." So, I touched the ocean and I just sat there for like 40 minutes, and I'm like, "Oh my God, I am still here."
[0:35:47] LHL: I'm still alive.
[0:35:48] DB: How the hell am I going to get back up. I knocked all the stuff.
[0:35:51] SW: And you were alone?
[0:35:51] DB: I was alone. So, I wish there was someone filming me because I was using every bit of strength in my body I could do to pull myself up. The area that I knocked all the rocks down. So, it was like grabbing clumps of sand, and dirt, pulling myself for like 400 feet, at least 500 feet. When I got to the top, I was just a mess, my shirt was all bloody in the back, like I was disheveled. I see this couple with their kids and they gotten off with binoculars looking at the scene. I'm like, "Whatever you do, don't go over the side of it." Then they got in their car and took off, and I'm like, "Okay, I get it."
Then, a mile down the road, I got some tacos, and I just sat there looking at my food for an hour and a half. Just like, "Oh my God." Looking at my hands and they were thumping. thumping, thumping. And I'm like, "Okay." But then, stupidly, the next day, I'm driving along the Route 1A coastline. That's what I do the whole time. I stop at another vista, and I see these beautiful raspberries. About 75 feet down over this banking. I put my foot over the railing, and I'm like, "Do you go to the farmer's market, someone's in the farmer's market? But yeah, there's hiccups. There's hiccups along the way.
[0:37:12] LHL: Don't even tell me, you fell down a second cliff.
[0:37:15] DB: No. No.
[0:37:18] SW: Wow, oh my God.
[0:37:18] LHL: Did you illustrate it or write a song about it?
[0:37:21] DB: I did.
[0:37:22] LHL: You did, okay. Good. It's got to be memorialized.
[0:37:25] DB: Absolutely.
[0:37:26] LHL: I mean, it is on the podcast now, but my gosh, that's very entertaining.
[0:37:30] SW: I couldn't even remember what the question was.
[0:37:32] DB: Right.
[0:37:33] SW: Hardships and challenges.
[0:37:36] LHL: And it's called gravity, that's the hardship.
[0:37:40] DB: Yes. I mean, there's definitely like a lot of challenges doing art music for a living. Number one is the financial thing. How the heck are you going to get either people to the show or people that are opening, or people to check your stuff online to support it, to like make that happen. I'm my own booking agent, and manager, and I'm my own record label guy. I'm my press agent. I've been doing it for years. There's been a couple people that have come out through the mist to help me out, that were my agent for three months, and then something happened, and boom, they have to leave.
They had this one guy, he elevated my career within two months, like 10 rungs on the stairs. It was crazy. He said, "Just to let you know, I'm doing this for free. But before I met you, I had put in a job offer. If I get this job, I absolutely have to take it." I was like, "I get that, totally." So, we meet every Monday, and things are going amazing, and he's like, "I got the job." I was like, "Oh, no." "Yes, I'm the right-hand man to Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts." I'm like, "Do that. I think, yes, that's a good career move."
[0:38:58] SW: How do you strike a balance between art and music? Because you're like all in on both, how are you doing that?
[0:39:04] DB: I don't know. It's like I was talking to a couple different people earlier today about it, like that asked me, and it's really tough to pull off. Because right now, I owe seven pieces of art before the end of May. One of them I finished but I still have to scan it in, and digitize it, and everything. The other ones aren't even started, and I have seven gigs between now and in the next week. You know what I mean? A lot of them, I'm driving, like it's a gig in Rhode Island-Connecticut border. So, I have to drive three and a half hours. So, I can't draw while I'm driving. So, it's been really tough because I don't want to say no to projects that I really want to do, but sometimes, I have to, and sometimes, I need to.
I should say no a little more because I feel like I end up working 15 hours a day. There was one year that I realized, I'm like, "Okay, this is where you got to stop and really reassess everything." I only took eight days off in a whole year. That was so stupid. But I was at a point where I had student loan, I had a car loan, I had this loan. I'm like, "You know what? I'm going to pay back every single person or corporation I owe money to by the end of the year," and I did it.
[0:40:23] LHL: Wow.
[0:40:23] SW: Wow.
[0:40:24] DB: I couldn't believe it. Then, the next year, I was like, "Treat yourself better." So, I took 30 days off, but most people take 90. That's the normal. So, I'm trying to, really try to figure out how to take more time off. Or just have more concentrated quality time in this one thing, instead of like – I feel like every day, I wake up in the morning, my favorite thing to do, sit with coffee, and listen to a side of a LP. Then, I just kind of maybe, I'll look at art books, maybe I just won't, maybe I'll go on the porch in the backyard, like whatever.
Then, it's like, "Okay, you got to get going." Then, it's like, "Okay, I got to answer a couple e-mails." Just do whatever. Then, I go, "Oh, that's right. I'm going to make a sketch so I can draw it later at a cafe." So, I always get my cafe time, that's my favorite.
[0:41:10] SW: Oh, yeah.
[0:41:12] DB: So then, I realized that halfway in between doing the sketch and saying, "Oh, there's laundry. That's right. I got to finish the laundry. Oh my God, I remember I got to unload the car from last night's gig to put in new stuff for tonight's gig." So, there's not like an incredible amount of concentrated time to work on one single thing. Because also, getting texts all the time, and "Oh, I need to promote my four shows this week, so I got to promote each one."
[0:41:41] LHL: Social media.
[0:41:43] DB: Four times before the gig each show. Each post takes 20 minutes, at least. That's so much time I just spent doing that stuff. I'm like, I can't wait to just draw, or just write songs, or play the show. I can't wait till I get on that stage after spending 17 hours promoting this gig, between booking it, making the poster, sending the poster, sending it to radio, sending it to media, like promoting it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, like, whatever. Then, texting friends, and then doing a Facebook invite, then driving to the gig, then setting up the equipment, playing three hours.
[0:42:25] LHL: Taking photos, videos, making sure you document that content.
[0:42:29] DB: So, it's wild, it's crazy, but I've never felt more fulfilled. Like in all my life, I feel, there's always going to be bumps, but there's so much beauty to experience. I feel very lucky that I've chosen this road.
[0:42:48] LHL: Add to that list coming on podcast that you get invited to for all your to-dos.
[0:42:53] DB: Yes. I'm sorry. I mean to say that –
[0:42:54] SW: Thanks for taking the time.
[0:42:56] DB: Absolutely.
[0:42:57] LHL: I feel so bad now. You're so busy.
[0:42:59] DB: I just finished a sketch at the Thai restaurant downtown, I was like doing some artwork there at the Thai restaurant. I'm like eating food, like drawing. and I'm like, "Oh my God, I can finish this. This is a poster for someone."
[0:43:15] LHL: Well, I think it's time to wind down the interview with rapid fire questions. So, this is a little segment, just how it sounds. Quick questions, quick answers, hopefully.
[0:43:26] DB: I'm ready.
[0:43:28] LHL: What other artist has influenced you the most?
[0:43:31] DB: I would say, Rockwell Kent. He is an incredible artist that sort of lived in different spots all around the world and really experiencing the art that he's drawing. He was also an author, and he, he was one that drew Moby Dick in the thirties.
[0:43:50] LHL: Wow.
[0:43:50] DB: He has this book about him sailing, being a captain of a ship and drawing all the illustrations for the book, but also going to Greenland, not New Hampshire. Greenland, the country. Getting to know the native people, and drawing them, and getting that experience, like really profound illustrator.
[0:44:14] LHL: That's so cool.
[0:44:14] SW: That's so cool. What's your favorite venue you've played?
[0:44:19] DB: Oh, wow, that's a tough one.
[0:44:20] SW: I know.
[0:44:21] LHL: It is tough, I know.
[0:44:22] DB: That one's really tough. I'm going to tell you a couple just off the bat. Word Barn right here next to this. It is amazing.
[0:44:29] LHL: We interviewed Sarah Anderson on the podcast, sure did.
[0:44:32] DB: Oh my gosh. Then, Radio Bean in Burlington, Vermont. That's another.
[0:44:37] LHL: I like the name.
[0:44:37] DB: I could go on. I could go on.
[0:44:41] LHL: What is your favorite color?
[0:44:44] DB: There's three.
[0:44:46] LHL: Let's hear them.
[0:44:48] DB: Okay. Deep purple, pumpkin orange, and turquoise.
[0:44:52] LHL: Really good.
[0:44:54] SW: Really good colors also like together.
[0:44:56] LHL: Yes.
[0:44:56] DB: Yes, I think that's my thing. Yes.
[0:45:00] LHL: Also very Halloweeny.
[0:45:01] DB: Yes, candy.
[0:45:03] LHL: It is.
[0:45:08] SW: We have one in common, because orange is like way up there for me. So my three are mustard yellow, any sort of like rich yellow. I love a pumpkin orange or like a good deep orange. Then, green, but it's got to be something cool, like a foresty, like emerald kind of situation.
[0:45:26] DB: Oh, yes, like emerald.
[0:45:29] LHL: Not Kermit the Frog green?
[0:45:29] SW: Not Kermit the Frog. I'm so sorry, Kermit.
[0:45:33] LHL: How dare you?
[0:45:36] DB: Wait. What's yours?
[0:45:37] LHL: Blue to be easy and quick, but I love iridescent, like purple, and teal, turquoise all shimmering together.
[0:45:44] DB: Bioluminescence.
[0:45:45] LHL: Yes.
[0:45:46] SW: Yes.
[0:45:46] LHL: I love that. I'm very, very drawn to that.
[0:45:50] DB: Cool.
[0:45:52] SW: What's your favorite scent?
[0:45:54] DB: Oh, wow. See, there's two. I would say around the holidays, nice, like spruce, like Douglas fir kind of thing. And this time of year, we're in May, lilacs, big time.
[0:46:10] LHL: Such a good – it makes me think of my mom, she loves lilacs.
[0:46:12] DB: Big time.
[0:46:14] LHL: So good. All right, this could be –
[0:46:16] DB: Pumpkin spice, okay.
[0:46:20] LHL: This one might be a tough one. What is your favorite sound?
[0:46:25] DB: Wow, that's interesting.
[0:46:26] LHL: Is it –
[0:46:30] DB: It is – wow, favorite sound, peepers.
[0:46:34] SW: Yes.
[0:46:35] LHL: Peepers is a great sound.
[0:46:36] SW: It's a really good sound. It's like refreshing and cozy at the same time.
[0:46:41] DB: Right, and it lets you know, spring is here.
[0:46:44] LHL: Yes.
[0:46:47] SW: Favorite texture to touch.
[0:46:49] DB: Velvet.
[0:46:49] SW: That's a really good one.
[0:46:50] LHL: Yes. Most inspiring location you've traveled to?
[0:46:54] DB: Monhegan Island in Maine.
[0:46:55] SW: Nice.
[0:46:56] LHL: Cool.
[0:46:56] SW: I knew that one.
[0:46:57] LHL: Very cool.
[0:46:58] SW: What is the last new thing you've learned?
[0:47:01] DB: Last new thing? Wow. About this weird, crazy bug called – it walked in on stage, I have to look up the name of it real quick, but it walked in on stage while I was doing a performance. And it is called the – oh my gosh, wait. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to do that thing where you find the picture in your phone and then it tells you what it is. It is called –
[0:47:30] LHL: A really weird bug.
[0:47:32] DB: – something like Eastern dobson fly, and it's as big as your finger.
[0:47:38] LHL: Oh my God, that's that big? Folks, look it up and be terrified of the size because that is scary. We will not be posting it on our Instagram.
[0:47:48] DB: Yes, it was pouring rain, and like absolute downpour and I was playing in Wilton, New Hampshire. Then, all of a sudden, these things start crawling on stage. It was the most bizarre thing. Wow, during an interplanetary song.
[0:48:06] LHL: Whoa.
[0:48:06] SW: Freaky. That feels like –
[0:48:08] DB: Space Oddity by David Bowie.
[0:48:09] LHL: One of my favorite songs.
[0:48:11] DB: Mine too.
[0:48:11] LHL: Oh my gosh. Dan Blakeslee, we're so in sync. Everything that you're saying is magic. God dang it. You're a kindred spirit. You're a kindred spirit.
[0:48:22] DB: You too. Yes.
[0:48:25] LHL: All right, clincher question. If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
[0:48:30] DB: Take more time off.
[0:48:32] SW: Yeah.
[0:48:33] LHL: Well deserved, yes.
[0:48:35] SW: That's a good one.
[0:48:37] DB: Yes. We're going to start right now.
[0:48:40] LHL: Well, we're just about wrapping up, so perfect timing.
[0:48:41] DB: It's time off.
[0:48:43] SW: Yes, you can have the rest of the night off.
[0:48:46] DB: I wish, no.
[0:48:48] LHL: Dan, thank you so much for being on the Creative Guts podcast.
[0:48:51] DB: Absolutely, it's been a – what a wonderful pleasure.
[0:48:54] LHL: It was amazing.
[0:48:54] DB: Thank you both.
[0:48:55] SW: It's been quite the joy.
[0:48:58] LHL: Thank you again Dan, and with that.
[0:49:00] EVERYONE: Show us your creative guts.
[END OF INTERVIEW]
[0:49:07] SW: Another huge thank you to Dan Blakeslee for taking the time and joining us on Creative Guts.
[0:49:13] LHL: Holy guacamole, that is such an amazing human being.
[0:49:18] SW: I have to admit that my initial reaction to this is that, I'm a little bit mad at you for not bringing him to me like five years ago.
[0:49:26] LHL: Well, yes, that's right. He was on our list in the beginning, but I think I, much like a few other guests of ours, I felt this person is going to be too busy to deal with little old Creative Guts. They're too awesome, they're too out there in the world.
[0:49:44] SW: Too famous, too cool for us.
[0:49:45] LHL: Yes, kind of. That's kind of what I thought. But he literally has been on the list since the very beginning because, as I mentioned, he really did inspire me when I was in college. Like I was just blown away by someone who was pursuing a passion in both music and art at the same time. He gave a great presentation about it and his art was just so refreshing and cool. Coming to art school and just like not quite knowing how you're supposed to be an artist, and what real art is, and real artists. Like seeing someone doing it for a living and like living their dream quite literally.
And you know, if you didn't notice folks, he has a charming, funny, sweet personality, natural storyteller, and he really came through as that. So, it just was this authentic person talking to little Laura, and all the other little artists.
[0:50:37] SW: That was so beautiful.
[0:50:40] LHL: I guess I didn't realize at the time, but it really made a big impact. So, having him come here now, yes, it really just brings me around, and it makes me want to double down on doing inspiring creative things in my life. He makes me want to push even harder in my own pursuits.
[0:50:54] SW: Yes, he brought so much joy into this room when he got here. Like we were sort of smiling and laughing and handing it off like before we even hit record, which is always when you know like, "Oh, this is going to be a really good episode." We were both saying like, this might be like one of our favorites of this season. He was just so unbelievable. I'm so glad that we made this happened and met him.
[0:51:16] LHL: I know. I just reached out to him on Instagram, I think, and said, "Hey, I know you from way back when. We have a podcast. Do you want to come on?" He was like, "Oh, yeah, of course."
[0:51:28] SW: Yes, he was amazing. I would never be able to describe him if I needed to describe him. He just has his own vibe, and atmosphere, and vibrancy that he brings, and it was really amazing. The other thing that I loved is the second he walked in the door, I was like, "I wonder if he made that t-shirt or if it's a Sam Paolini?"
[0:51:49] LHL: Yes, I know.
[0:51:52] SW: Well, they can have – I think their styles are different, but they can have similar like line weight quality. I'm really impressed by his humble ambition. He is so driven and there has got to be some confidence level in that, but he's also kind of like, "It's just what I do." I don't think he thinks super highly of himself. He's just living his authentic self, and it's freaking amazing. Like, he's not afraid to ask for help, but also goes for what he wants and like has some level of confidence to be willing to do that, and is really gutsy, and like really amazing. It was great. It was really great.
[0:52:28] LHL: I mean, I guess we're gushing at this point.
[0:52:30] SW: We are.
[0:52:30] LHL: But It's just lovely to meet you, Dan, and thank you again for being on the show. If you've been living under a rock and you don't know Dan Blakeslee, get on it, folks. Head to danblakeslee.com or on Instagram, Dan Blakeslee Music or on Facebook, Dan Blakeslee and the Calabash Club. As always, find those links and more in the episode description and on our website Creative Guts podcast.
[0:52:56] SW: You can also find us, Creative Guts podcast on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Discord. If you're not on social media and any of those platforms and you want to stay in the know about what we're doing. You can join our newsletter list. We are officially on Substack, and you can find the link to that on our website.
[0:53:12] LHL: This episode is sponsored in part by the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts. Thank you to our friends in Rochester for their support of the show.
[0:53:19] SW: A big thank you to Art Up Front Street for providing a space where Creative Guts can record.
[0:53:24] LHL: We'd like to thank the Currier Museum of Art for their support in making the Tiny Art Exchange and Zine Companion in 2025 possible. We'd also like to give a big thank you to Creative Coop for their support in helping make the 2025 Creative Guts Short Film Festival possible, which we are doing in partnership with Red River Theaters. All of those folks, check them out on our website and links in the description.
[0:53:50] SW: If you love listening and want to support Creative Guts, you can make a donation, leave us a review, interact with our content on social media, purchase a merch, whatever you're able to do. We love and appreciate you.
[0:54:00] LHL: Thank you for tuning in. We'll be back next Wednesday with another
episode of Creative Guts.
[END]