Dan The Bard - Biography
Dan the Bard writes, performs and records songs about Dungeons and Dragons! Dan is an accomplished musician and storyteller. He plays Renaissance Lute, Egyptian Oud, Elizabethan Cittern, Medieval Gittern, Puerto Rican Cuatro, Turkish Laouta, and Gnomish Banjo. He also plays recorder, tin whistle, bodhran and the Elvish Ocarina.
The music of Dan the Bard is a combination of original and period pieces, heavily influenced by folk music and the humor of filk music. He combines Medieval tunes, Renaissance ballads, Celtic Jigs, and his own compositions with songs about rangers and wizards, bards and barbarians, manticores...and owlbears! He performs at various gaming conventions, including but not limited to GENCON in Indiana, CODCON in Glen Ellyn, and GARYCON in Lake Geneva.
Dan has four CD’s:
- To Walk the Land: Songs and Stories with Renaissance Lute (2001)
- Manticores and Owlbears: Songs about Dragons and the Dungeons in which the dwell! (2009)
- Grimm’s Grimmest: The Darker Side of Fairy Tales (2010)All of these CD’s are available at the Phoenixlore website.
AND!
Other original commission edition songs for your enjoyment.
Dan has performed at schools, libraries, community centers, museums, colleges, and
private engagements throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. He is the Music
Director of the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin, and performs there as Dan the Bard. He is a founding member of The Whiskey Brothers Irish Band. Dan performs with Judith Heineman, Master Storyteller, on a regular basis throughout the midwest.
Dan has the degrees of Bachelor of Music from Illinois Wesleyan University, and a Master of Music (Renaissance and Medieval Musicology) from Florida State University. He uses his ridiculous amount of academic education to bring you original songs about D&D, using authentic instruments and period melodies.
Dan has been playing D&D for 25 years. He still plays with his friends from high school and college every week!