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Lessons with Danny James Music

Danny is available for piano lessons. Whether you want to play classical, jazz, pop, funk or everything inbetween, Danny teaches it all.

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Phoenix

October 7, 2007 1:45 pm

Hello everyone,

I have been in Phoenix for the past week and a half and have been having a great time.  Weather has been warm(obviously), I got to have Rosati's Pizza again for the 1st time in ten years(chicago-area pizza chain), and played canasta just about every day(too bad we lost every time).  Just about the only thing that was a bummer was going to the Diamondbacks game and seeing them beat my beloved Chicago Cubs.  :(  I did have a good time at the game though, razzing the Arizona fans.  Anyway, I get back in calgary tonight and then it will be business as usual.

 

Take care,

Danny

Lessons

August 24, 2007 1:45 pm

Hello once again,

I have been for the past couple of weeks preparing for the new year of music lessons.  Finalizing schedules, confirming students, etc.  I was driving home this afternoon and for some reason, I was thinking to myself, 'if someone were to ask me what the most important attribute for an aspiring musician to have, what would it be?' 

Now that is a loaded question!  One might say talent is a definate requirement.  Another might say perseverence.  What might YOU say? 

My answer is this:  the most important attribute a budding musician should have is a never-ending curiosity about the world in which we live.  I believe if you are curious about how , why, when something  is what it is, that will in turn feed and nourish your perseverence.  You've just GOT to find out!!!

 

Till next time,

Danny

End of Summer

August 15, 2007 10:59 am

Hello all,

I hope everyone has had a most relaxing summer.  I know I have!!!  I had a great time camping on Vancouver Island and seeing old friends in the city of Vancouver.  I am in the process of recording and hopefully will have it mixed and available in a couple of months.

 

Cheers,

Danny

End of year

June 19, 2007 2:26 pm

Hello everyone,

Wow, I have been so busy lately.  The end of the year is coming up for my piano students.  The recital is on June 24th at the Irish Cultural Society in Bowness.  It starts at 1pm.  What else is new?  I think I finally have gotten the whole 'spam' thing worked out.  What's happening now is that they are going to my inbox first. Anyway, hope everyone has a good summer and keep checking back for updates.

 

Danny

Spam/Misc.

June 9, 2007 6:34 am

Hello Everyone,

Wow, what a busy week it has been since I've been back from Mexico.  On Monday, June 4, I played at the Jack Singer Hall for the Big Rock 'Eddie' Awards Show.  For those of you not in the know, Big Rock is a local brewing company that sponsers this awards show.  Anyway, I had a very good time and the crowd was quite eccentric.  Everyone was dressed up in costumes, from Marilyn Monroe to Austin Powers. 

I have also been really busy this week with doing makeup lessons I missed when I was in Mexico.  Hopefully, I'll be done with them by Christmas!

Plans are coming along nicely for recording.  I have gotten in touch with a friend that does songwriting and is part owner of a recording studio here in town.  We are planning on doing some songwriting this summer, once my schedule dies down a bit.  I am really excited about this and am really looking forward to it.  The other bit of news is I finally have a band in place and our first rehearsal is scheduled for this Sunday.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. 

One last note... if you(the reader) have looked around this website, you may have noticed some odd postings(spam) in the guestbook and in the comments.  I want to assure you, the reader, that I am currently getting this looked at and hopefully it will not continue. 

Thanks for reading,

Danny

Mexico

May 29, 2007 12:37 pm

Hello all,

Sorry it has been a couple of weeks since the last blog.  It seems like I start out every blog by saying that.  I WILL get better about this.  Anyway, I just got back from Mexico last night.  I was down there for a week having a guys week with some high school friends that I have not seen in about 8 years.  I had a blast!!!  The favorite part for me, and I think I have touched on this in past blogs, is even with not having seen them in 8 years we just picked up where we left off.  There was no awkwardness or anything.  I LOVE that!  So, if you haven't talked to a good friend for awhile or seen a good friend in awhile, call them today and ask them how life is treating them.  \

 

Peace,

Danny

By the way, shout out to Jennie on the plane.  Nice talking to you and Sarah.  Good luck with everything.

What's in a Name?

May 12, 2007 2:47 pm

Hello everyone,

Well, I've finally decided to do it.  I have finally decided to go full speed ahead and go with the name 'Danny James'.  It took me a while to get my head wrapped around the idea and such, but I've finally come around and decided to go by 'Danny James'.  Yes, I went through the usual questions that come up when someone decides to make a change as drastic as this.  "Don't you feel like you're selling out?" is the first question that comes to mind.  I rationalize it like this.  First, technically I have NOT changed my name.  'Danny' is shorthand for my given name Daniel, and 'James' is my middle name.  So, technically 'Danny James' is still my name.  It's not like I one day decided to start calling myself 'Bob Smith' (no offense to Bob Smith, whoever you may be).  Second, I decided to go all out with this because it fits in with a broader, as-of-yet unrevealed marketing strategy.  In English, 'Danny James' is easier to pronounce and remember than my OTHER name. 

But don't fret.  If I see you in a restaurant and you call me by my OTHER name, it's not like I won't say hi and not acknowledge you.  Just, at the moment, this makes better sense for me professionally...

By the way, sorry I have not updated the blog in a bit.  I will try to be better about it.  In fact, I already have a topic for my next blog.  I will write again in a couple of days.

 

Peace,

Danny

Old Friends

April 23, 2007 10:31 am

There's nothing like meeting up and seeing old frineds that you haven't seen in awhile, is there? To me, that is one of the finest things in life. Kinda reminds you of your roots and keeps you grounded. It also in a way keeps you true to yourself. The past 2-3 weeks, I have visited old friends that I have not seen in the past 1-3 years. First, there was meeting Carey and Brian in Okotoks for dinner. They were nice enough to humor me while I talked about how 'great' my business plan is. I really enjoyed seeing them and catching up on life. More recently, I was up in Edmonton this past weekend, where I stayed with Ryan and his gal Jen. They have a new place and I had a great time chatting about 'gun control' until 2 in the morning(I think). Also, I saw Bram and the Leftovers in what was their farewell show, as they are moving to Toronto this week. I went to school with Bram and everyone else in the band. I had a blast seeing them and seeing what they are up to. Along with the band, there were numerous other friends from school that were there, and it was great seeing all of them. I wish there were more hours in a day, because I would have liked to hang out and catch up with everybody there. Regardless, it was really nice seeing everyone. So, the "moral" of this story is this: if there is a friend out there that you've been putting off calling or seeing because 'life' is getting too busy, do yourself a favor and call that person today. Special shout out to Chloe and Jesse: you guys were GREAT! Thanks for reading, Dan

Back to work

April 10, 2007 12:44 pm

Hello again everyone, I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. I had a really nice Easter. It was very rejuvinating. But, alas, it is back to work again. I feel good though. Ready to dive back in again and refocus. The 'branding' is coming along nicely. Some people have asked when I am going to be coming out with something new. I can assure you , it will be soon. I am still in the middle of this branding thing, and setting up my business, but when this gets a little further along, then I will be going in to record and releasing some new material. Cheers, Dan

Week off

April 3, 2007 12:13 pm

Hello again, So I am really excited about this week because guess what? I am not teaching any piano lessons this week, because it is spring break. Whoo-hoo!!! Well, let me clarify that. I am not teaching any regularly scheduled lessons this week. I still have a couple of lessons that I still have to makeup from when I was in California last month. But, it's only about 3 or 4 lessons. Piece of cake! So, I am really looking forward to getting some work done this week. My goal is to write a couple of more songs this week for the upcoming album. I have a date in mind when I would like to have enough songs, record them, and release them. So keep checking back. You never know when it will be finished and done with. Have a good week. Peace, Dan

What a month!

March 27, 2007 12:21 pm

Hello everyone, I must first apologize for not updating this blog sooner. I usually HATE it when web pages become outdated, so 'I'm sorry'. What a busy month this has been. I was out to California twice, as my uncle passed away. He had been battling pancreatic cancer since November and lost the fight on March 4. It was a very sad ending. If there is a silver lining, I did enjoy being able to spend some time with family members that I have not seen in awhile. The rest of the month consisted of me making up all of the piano lessons for my students that I had to cancel when I was away. Add in some performances that I had with the Calgary/Bow Valley Fiddlers and you don't have much time for anything else. Anyway, now that the lessons are almost all made up, I can focus on other things, like keeping my website up to date! :) I will write more in a couple of days(I promise). Peace, Dan

In Memoriam

March 4, 2007 9:15 pm

Marvin Ecklund 1937-2007 RIP

Welcome

March 3, 2007 10:41 am

Welcome everybody to my new website. I will be updating the home page hopefully once a week. But, for now, feel free to browse the different sections and please don't forget to leave a comment and /or sign the guestbook. Peace, Dan