| Artist: Dan Bern |
Similar Artists:
Influenced By:
Followers:
Formal Connection With:
| Discography: Dan Bern |
| Wikipedia: Dan Bern |
| Dan Bern | |
|---|---|
 Bern in August 1999.
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dan Bern |
| Also known as | Bernstein |
| Born | July 27, 1965 Mount Vernon, Iowa, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Folk Rock Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, author, artist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, harmonica |
| Label(s) | Messenger Records Cooking Vinyl |
| Website | www.danbern.com |
Dan Bern (also known as Bernstein; born 27 July 1965) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, novelist and painter. His music is often compared to that of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Ochs and Elvis Costello.[1] [2] [3]
He is an extremely prolific composer, having written over 600 songs[citation needed]. He also wrote the novel Quitting Science (2004) under the pen name Cunliffe Merriwether and wrote the preface under his own name.
Contents |
Bern's song "Talkin' Woody, Bob, Bruce, and Dan Blues", from the album Smartie Mine, offers a joking take on this influence, presented in the style of a Guthrie or Dylan talking blues song, and containing a spoof of a Springsteen song as well. When asked about the similarity between himself and Dylan, he once quipped, "I guess Bob Dylan was sort of the Dan Bern of the '60's". Bernstein has also toured with Ani DiFranco. He is known for sardonic, literary lyrics, a range of musical styles, and a folk music style paired with rock instrumentation.
Although a vein of social and political humor runs though even his earliest work, Bern's songs became more explicitly political during the 2004 US presidential election campaign, with songs such as "Bush Must Be Defeated" and "President" highlighting his sometimes surreal political takes. His work also often deals with his Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, as in such songs as "Lithuania". The name Bernstein is a reference to this ancestry; on a trip to Lithuania, he learned it was his family's name before immigration to the United States.[4]Bern's songwriting skills were used in the biopic parody film Walk Hard where he helped write 16 songs for the movie. Many of these songs made the theatrical cut of the film including the Dylanesque "Royal Jelly", and the melodic "(Have You Heard the News) Dewey Cox Died".
Many of his tours and recordings between 1997 and 2003 featured a regular cast of backup musicians which he began calling the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy or IJBC. When asked why he chose that name, Bern said it was a tribute to the book Nigger by Dick Gregory.
New American Language, The Swastika EP, Fleeting Days and My Country II were all released under the "Dan Bern & the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy" name. The IJBC featured longtime Bern producer and collaborator Wil Masisak on keyboards, drums, guitar and [Bass (instrument)|bass]]; Eben "Eby Brown" Grace on guitar and pedal steel; Brian "Slim Nickel" Schey on bass and guitar; Paul Kuhn on cellocaster; Anna Phoebe on electric violin; and drummers Colin "Spanky" Mahoney and Jake Coffin.
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dan Bern |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
 | Zero Effect (1998 Album by Original Soundtrack) |
| Dan Bern (1997 Album by Dan Bern) |
| Smartie Mine (1999 Album by Dan Bern) |
Copyrights:
 |
 | Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dan Bern". Read more |
Mentioned in
|
