We got the chance to chat with British singer-songwriter, Dan Croll, about video games, starring contests and making music.
Check it out and don’t miss out on his show at The Casbah on May 3rd. You can buy tickets here: http://bit.ly/1iVDDpy
At the age of 17 you decided that you would make music your career. What fears did you face? At what point did you realize you were making the right decision?
Dan Croll: I think with being 17 I didn’t really have any fears, thats a relatively early age and I was excited by the risk and thought of an adventure within the music industry. As it was coming to the end of my time at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts there was a slight feeling of nerves, In those three years I had heard a lot of music business stories/nightmares (and also read Ann Harrison’s ‘Music the business’).
I became confident with my decision around two years ago, once I’d got my gigging experience under my belt and seen how the first couple of singles had been received.
You’ve played music with several other bands, what made you decide to go solo?
Dan Croll: I’ve always been a solo artist, and as I moved to Liverpool for my studies I thought I’d set myself two years aside to drop the solo music and experiment with playing in a few bands. So thats what I did, it was an incredible experience and I learnt a lot from each band as well as made some excellent friends/contacts. After that, I thought I’d head back to being a solo artist and put what I had learnt in to action in my music.
You play multiple instruments, what’s your favorite instrument to play and why?
Dan Croll: Definitely drums, as well as being good for letting out a bit of aggression I’m also fascinated by how important they are to a song and its foundations.
In your music video, From Nowhere, the premise seems to be an intense staring contest. If you could pick anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would you like to have a staring contest with?
Dan Croll: Erm, Snoop Dogg
Your music has been features in Grand Theft Auto 5 and FIFA 2014. What was your favorite video game growing up?
Dan Croll: Ironically, Grand Theft Auto.
If you could collaborate with any current artist, who would it be?
Dan Croll: I’d love to work with anyone like Tune-Yards, Little Dragon, Grizzly Bear.