Lady Danville
By Alicia in Musicians on Oct 28, 2009
Michael Garner, Dan Chang and Matthew Frankel make up this fun, energetic group called Lady Danville who has been pumping out acoustic rock for the last few years. Mike and Dan formed Lady Danville, initially going by the name of Mikey G and Dan from Danville. Having grown up together, they knew exactly what one another was looking for in their musical styles. When they wanted to expand the group’s possibilities they decided to add Matt to the group and change their name to Lady Danville and for that we say thank you (mainly for the addition of Matt, but Lady Danville is a much better name too!). I have no doubt that Mike and Dan sounded great as a twosome, but the combination of all three voices is a perfect harmony that you won’t find in too many groups now a days. The guys say "they have no solo aspirations" and where I can imagine that they would sound great as solo artists; I think their voices sound best as a group. Lady Danville is just fun. A lot of musicians, bands in general, take themselves too seriously and that doesn’t seem to be the case with Lady Danville. That doesn’t mean they aren’t serious about their craft, far from it, but they are also having fun in the process.
If you are looking for a radio hit, one that sounds just like every other song on the radio, one that was written by a random person and forced upon a not so talented singer, you won’t find it on Lady Danville’s self titled EP. What you will find are 5 songs that make you want to laugh out loud and dance at the same time. Try listening to these songs and not start tapping your foot or swaying to the beat. If you don’t believe me listen to the song in the audio player above.
Lady Danville took their talents at guitar, piano and cajon and mixed it all with an array of impressive lyrics to create their debut album. Tired Musician is the best song on the EP so it is no surprise that this song won a competition on 98.7 Star Lounge and was featured as a bonus track on the Star Lounge 98.7 Compilation CD in 2007. Other artists included Daughtry, Mat Kearney and The Wreckers. The guys are "very proud" of this accomplishment, as they should be. When listening to the whole EP, I keep coming back to this one song. It seems to be the strongest showing for Lady Danville, a great representation of their voices. Love to Love was a great song that for song reason reminded me of summertime. I felt that David was the weakest song, but still good. It has a great melody but the lyrics were lacking a bit in my opinion. This song didn’t grab me like the rest; I have heard much better songs from them and have no doubt they will make up for it on their new album.
Lady Danville has not ventured on any countrywide tours yet, they stick mainly on the West Coast. They do have quite a few performances under their belt at this point though and have found just the right technique to get their audiences energized, they say the key for them is to "play mellow music to start out and then lead into their more upbeat sounds". Based on video of recent shows, this technique works quite well. As much as the band loves fans to interact with them during a show, they look for that interaction just as much afterwards. They love to hear what their fans have to say, "come up to us after shows and let us know what you thought of us and feel free to offer constructive criticism." Even though they know how to keep their audiences entertained, things haven’t always gone off without a hitch. "One night Mike’s microphone malfunctioned and he had to share with Dan. We have also had guitars tuned improperly, causing songs to be completely out of rhythm. And there was the time when the keyboard cord wouldn’t reach the outlet; we were left wondering where the nearest Radio Shack was." Not to worry guys, this is something that every musician has faced at one point or another…it will probably happen many more times in the future as well, at least now you know how to handle yourselves.
During a live performance you will not only hear songs from their EP and new songs they have been working on, but also a few cover songs thrown in here and there. As with all artists there is understandably a level of stress when performing cover songs. Many people try to duplicate the original while others put their own spin on things. Lady Danville chooses to "do both". Check out their version of Miley Cyrus’s See You Again or Lilly Allen’s Everything’s Just Wonderful on their YouTube Channel. You only need to watch a couple videos on YouTube, whether they be live performances or ones in their living room, to see that these guys love what they do and thoroughly enjoy being around one another.
Like many other musicians trying to get their footing in this cut throat industry, the guys admit that "making mistakes is part of this process and they still make mistakes", but from my standpoint it doesn’t seem like they are making too many. They know they are still learning and are ok with it. I for one can’t wait to continue the journey with them and see where their 'mistakes' take them over the next few years. Not many people in this business afford instant success and Lady Danville knows that and is willing to work hard for a career they believe in.
The guys are coming off of a mini tour and are hard at work on their next EP. You can check out everything about Lady Danville on their new, revamped MySpace. This site is just another way they are having fun with their career.
