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The 'Dan Reed Network' is a funk rock/funk metal band formed by Dan Reed in Portland, Oregon, United States, in 1984.

Contents

Career

Current

Discography

External links

Sources

Career

Dan Reed (born 17 February 1963, Portland, Oregon) met Dan Pred in high school in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and after growing up there, the pair returned to Portland and formed the Dan Reed Network in 1984. In 1986, they made their first recording, a six-track EP called ''Breathless'' which spawned a #1 single, "Steal Me," on Z-100 in Portland, Oregon.
The lineup at this point was Dan Reed on vocals and guitar, Brion James on guitar, Melvin Brannon II on bass guitar, Dan Pred on drums, and Rick DiGiarllonado on keyboards. The band's diverse ethnic and musical backgrounds were reflected in the music, which, though discernibly hard rock, was blended with soul, funk, and jazz arrangements. DiGiarllonado was soon replaced by Portlander Blake Sakamoto on keyboards; Sakamoto had returned from Los Angeles where he was playing with future Atlantic Recording artists, Dear Mr. President.
The Dan Reed Network made a name for itself with the live performances. The Washington Post described the band in one performance as "easily charming its ... audience with an unlikely brand of heavy metal-ish rock sharpened by junk funk and plenty of rock 'n' roll theatrics," and that "the Network's strength lies in its infectious temperament."
The band signed to Mercury Records with the aid of Derek Schulman, (who was enjoying huge success with Bon Jovi and Cinderella (band)), and were managed by legendary concert promoter Bill Graham (promoter). In March 1988, the group released an eponymous debut album which was produced by Bruce Fairbairn (who had worked with Bon Jovi) and was engineered by Mike Fraser at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver. The first single "Ritual" cracked the Billboard Top 40 and was in heavy rotation on MTV.
The album received some positive reviews (four stars from Rolling Stone magazine), though many music critics faulted Fairbairn's sterile and formulaic production, saying that it minimized the band's funk grooves and heavy rock guitar. People Magazine called the album "polished to a brassy sheen," and Newsday (New York) said "the songs don't stand up to repeated listenings due to Bruce Fairbairn's absurdly pristine production ... Fairbairn, best known for recordings by Loverboy, Aerosmith, and Bon Jovi, is a master at neutering hard rock and rendering it antiseptic." In comparing the Dan Reed Network's debut album to its live performances, the Washington Post said "[n]umbers such as 'Get to You,' irritatingly synth-heavy on the record, were played with enough soul and engagingly invidious guitar to redeem them."
The poor promotion of the Dan Reed Network's debut album impeded the band's traction in the United States market. Def Leppard's "Hysteria" was having disappointing sales at Mercury/Polygram and the label was pulling support from new artists to focus on saving the British rock band's return to the scene. Ironically, it would be Def Leppard's managers Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch who would offer the Dan Reed Network the final leg of the "Hysteria" tour in the U.S.A. if they would switch to their management company, Q Prime. The band declined, remaining with Bill Graham. At the beginning of 1989, the band eventually replaced Bill Graham with Q Prime and enjoyed its greatest success.
While at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in January of 1989, Dan Reed met up with Nile Rodgers. The second album, "Slam," produced by Nile Rodgers, better represented the Dan Reed Network's live sound and consolidated the band's growing status in Europe. However, "Slam" did less well in North America, due to internal problems at Mercury/Polygram.
The band toured Europe and the U.K. in the winter of 1989/1990 to support Bon Jovi. The success of this tour led to the Rolling Stones selecting the band as their main support for their first tour in almost 10 years. The "Urban Jungle/Steel Wheels" tour of Europe and the U.K., in the summer of 1990, had the band playing to tens of thousands nightly in stadiums, where their showmanship and musicianship fired up the crowd in anticipation of the Rolling Stones.
The Dan Reed Network's third album, "The Heat" (1991), was their biggest success in the UK, but their American record label still hadn't figured out how to promote the band. The band soldiered on without tour support from Mercury/Polygram, including supporting the Baby Animals in Australia, and what would be their final tour through Europe and the U.K. in the summer of 1993. In October of 1993, the band members were starting to take different paths in their lives, and agreed to go on a hiatus and not officially break up.
A live album called "Live at Last" was released in 1997. This album was compiled from hundreds of hours of tapes from keyboardist Blake Sakamoto. He and drummer Dan Pred auditioned several versions of each song to comprise a comprehensive 2-CD live set. A companion video, filmed live on New Year's Eve of 1991, also called "Live at Last" was released as well.

Current

Dan Reed released an EP called "Sharp Turn" in 2005, available through Apple Computer's iTunes and MSN Music. This four-track EP is in an "electronica" style, a sharp contrast from the music of the Dan Reed Network. Reed is currently living in Israel and working on more experimental music with some eastern influences, including collaborations with Jerusalem based SONY loop artist Bradley Fish.

Discography

★ ''Breathless'' (1986) Nu Vision Records

★ ''Dan Reed Network ''(1987) Mercury/Polygram Records

★ ''Slam'' (1989) Mercury/Polygram Records

★ ''The Heat'' (1991) Mercury/Polygram Records

★ ''Mixin' It Up: The Best of the Dan Reed Network'' (1993) Phonogram Records

★ ''Mixin' It Up: The Best of the Dan Reed Network'' (1993) Phonogram Music Video

★ ''Live At Last! Halfway Around The World'' (1997) Video Media

External links

★ Rockdetector article

★ Band fan site

Sources

★ ''Picks and Pans'', People Magazine, April 4, 1988.

★ Wayne Robins, ''On the Reed Network'', Newsday (New York), May 14, 1988.

★ Alona Wartofsky, ''The Dan Reed Network'', the Washington Post May 27, 1988.

★ Kim Neely, ''Album Reviews: Dan Reed Network'', Rolling Stone, August 11, 1988.