Dan was the foundation bass player for Econoline Crush. He stayed with the band throughout its career, leaving briefly to join punk/rock act Bif Naked.
Much of Dan's work for EC goes un-noticed. He co-wrote a large majority of the songs with Trevor and Robbie, including most of the tracks on The Devil You Know, which was performed in his absence. He programmed on a fair few of those tracks throughout the time also.
On Brand New History he took a much more central role in the overall sound of the band in the absence of Robbie Morfitt. It was something he handled with relative ease.
Questions in YELLOW
Answers in GREEN
The interview was done in person on July 29th 2005 by Will De Conto.
How did you go about joining EC?
That was through a mutual friend of named Glenn, who Trevor and I had. Trevor and Tom Ferris, that were the two original guys, were going to do some shows around town. There wasn�t going to be any touring, maybe put out a few singles. People like it, so the ball kept rolling.
What did it feel like to be recognized as a member of EC?
Oh yeah, but not often. Bass players (laughs)
Are you proud of what you brought to the band?
Yeah, 100%. Done somethings at the end I probably would have wanted to do differently but I think back at the day it we had some pretty good stuff. Contributed. We wanted to have fun and we wanted to play some good tunes.
Would you like to see EC reform for a final goodbye since we didn't get a last show for EC. Almost somekind of closure for the band and fans?
Yeah, I would actually. Like I said, it kinda ended in a kinda weird way and I think we were better than that. It would be nice to go out on a high point. Rob and Trevor and I were talking about that a year and a half ago and Trevor got busy. We all got busy, so it never came together.
Was it difficult to write Brand New History and wonder if it would live up to fans expectations, with Devil You Know being such a phenominal success?
Yeah, only because there was a lot of time between the records. And I think the people we were working with at the time wanted to have more of a pop record. I�m not into doing that and I can�t personally write a pop song. So it really suffered that record. There is a couple of good songs on there. I don�t think it was a good record at all. It was tough for me to get behind it and go on tour just because I really didn�t believe in it.
Was it the reason it flopped?
Oh yeah totally. I think it was a horrible record actually to tell you the truth. Having written on most of the songs, I think I have a right to say that.
Was that the general consensus among the band?
Yeah, pretty much. It just wasn�t done properly. Rob (Morfitt) wasn�t in the band. I think if you look back that most of the good was me, Rob and Trevor put it together. Ziggy contributed too but you know. I really wanted to go back to the beginning. I really felt contrived with Brand New History to me.
Since you were listed as a songwriter on The Devil You Know, but you didn�t play on the album. Were the songs written before you left?
Everything was pretty much done. The demos are pretty much exactly what turned out to be on the record. All the basslines were virtually the ones I played in demo sessions. I found some of the old demos the other day. Yeah, they were pretty good. Couple of them are better demo wise than they were on the record.
Which ones?
Home had alittle different groove that was a little more stripped down, laid back. There was a lot of programming on Brand New History, but I think those songs didn�t need too much.
It pretty much sounded like a straight down rock record.
Yeah. I�m really big into programming. It all fits the songs.
Do you think it's great to see that the band still has a great following after all these years?
Yeah, well we did a lot of work. A lot of that stuff is still current, if you listen to some of the new bands. We had a song on Afflcition called Close, that I probably think could be released today by any number of bands. Bravery, The Killers but we did a lot of work and we tried to be nice people. People remember you.
Would you like to see the music videos and rarities be released? as Muchmusic doesn't play EC anymore.
100% Yeah. We�ve never had anything like that, it would be cool maybe put something out. With our singles and some rare tracks that were never released. Maybe a DVD with the videos on it. Good idea, Will.
Thanks, There�s been quite a lot of interest in it.
There was some positive feedback about that. It�s tough trying to get it released. EMI isn�t our label anymore, I don�t think. And the guy, we were working with there isn�t there anymore. It�s tough these days. It would be cool if we could do it ourselves and put it out. But everyone�s pretty busy.
Do you guys own the rights to the music?
That�s one thing, we own all our own publishing. Which was a smart idea, because that something you�ll always own, you�ll always have it. You never know one day someone maybe want to use a song. It�s your song and it�s not something you sold to somebody else. It�s a good thing.
Are you still in contact with any of the members of the band?
Rob Morfitt, we were roommates for three years and he just moved to California with his girlfriend. I talk to Trevor all the time. Ziggy and I talk to John Haro a lot. I saw Bob Wagner Canada Day.
What is your favourite Econoline Crush song and why?
That�s a toughie.
What your favorite song to play?
I like Cruel World. It spoke about some pretty heavy stuff and it was a dark song. I like dark songs. Started with the bass, it had a cool bass line.
What is the one moment that you will always remember about your time playing with EC?
A moment I never thought would happen. Looking over and seeing Gene Simmons� bass amp next to me and touring with those guys for 6 weeks that was pretty cool And going to Europe. That was fun, never thought it would happen.
When you took a hiatus from the band, was it to work with Bif Naked specifically or you needed to take a break from the band?
Yeah, I kinda needed a break from EC at the time and Bif is a good friend of mine so...kinda a combo of both.
One question everyone wants to know, what led to the breakup of the band. I read Trevor saying that he wanted to pursue a different style of music. With little info on it, I thought that you might be able to shine some light on this as you were there from the beginning?
Trevor probably wanted to do something differently. And judging by Brand New History and the direction he wanted to go in. I don�t think we had the people in the band at the time to go that way. And me and Trevor kinda butted heads over that kinda thing.
I like Trevor a lot and really respect him a lot and I�ve known him for a long time. We�re friends but it was just time. I got to play in DOA and do all kinds of good stuff so you never know, we might get back together.
Where are they Now?: Dan has returned to Bif Naked to play bass once again. He had before been playing with punk legends, DOA.