Thank you to all those lovely folks at the gig last night. It was the 4th gig w. The Miserable Rich this year and they were great. Jake Flowers opened up the night and I was very happy to watch him after seeing his name around the circuit for so long. His songs are tender and delicate, and he has some really interesting arrangements happening within his band…need to go and listen to his CD to indulge further.

My next show is at Robin 2, Bilston Wolverhampton on December 9th, supporting ‘The Dylan Project’.

This band feature Steve Gibbons backed by Fairport Convention’s legendary rhythm section of Gerry Conway (drums) and Dave Pegg (bass), joined by current Gibbons Band keyboard wizard Phil Bond and ex-Gibbons alumnus of twenty years, PJ Wright, on slide and pedal steel guitars. So if you are a fan of Dylan songs (who isn’t?!) get a ticket and come and enjoy a great night of music.

Buy Tickets From The Robin 2 Site

Thank you

dan

March 13th: Joint Concert with The Brewood Singers at Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton

Allow yourself to be guided by voices at this unique musical collaboration, a ‘must see’ event for all devotees of passionate singing. The Brewood Singers are directed by David S Brookes, and Dan will be accompanied by John Large on Percussion and Tom Bounford on Violin. Both acts will perform separate sets before joining forces for a finale.

The Brewood Singers are a popular, forward looking choral group who were formed in 1973. The Singers are known for their wide repertoire of classic pop songs, show and film music, traditional and religious music. The variety of repertoire has enabled them to perform many different types of concerts throughout the Midlands and have seen them collaborate with several orchestras and ensembles.

We will perform separate sets before joining forces for a finale (which is the really exciting part!) Please book your tickets to guarantee a seat and don’t miss this ‘one-off’ event.

This is the first time I have ever collaborated with a choir and whilst I am sure there’ll be some nerves I am very excited and honoured that David Brookes accepted my request to be involved.

Buy Tickets Here

If you missed the song I wrote for Ray Gosling that was featured in BBC Inside Out Programme, you can watch it here

Take care,

Dan

Good afternoon,

Hope you have all thawed out after the recent big freeze – now keep warm and read my blog…

In addition to the regular activities of working, sleeping, and eating I have written a few new songs, ‘Holding My Head Under’ ‘ I Saw The End’ and ‘If I I Grow Old’ – I can’t explain the themes in one sentence; so don’t read too much into the titles! ( I am not depressed – honestly!) please come and see me play on January 31^st at Little Civic, Wolverhampton for the full story….

You can buy a ticket right now for only ?3, but it will be ?5 on the night

Click Here For Tickets

I also just checked my mail and received two reviews of ‘The Balloon EP’, and before you say anything NO I didn’t’ write them myself! It seems that some people like the music, and it is lovely to know that someone is listening, and receiving the right messages. This coming weekend I will be getting on my hands and knees and covered in paint producing the next batch of discs…Click Here to buy one of the few remaining copies of the first run.

“Very original, very very tasty and very very very unputdownable! ”

“Whitehouse writes beautifully poised songs that are both emotional and dramatic whilst still being somehow uplifting and magnetically compelling”

“I had listened to his tracks on MySpace a fair few times, and the richness of the CD is something else”

Scroll down to read the EP reviews in full.

I am looking forward to a full band rehearsal tommorow, and recording the final part of the EP trilogy ‘The Box’ has been booked for February.

Hope to see you at the Little Civic on Jan. 31st,

Take care,

Dan x

1.

Dan Whitehouse – The Balloon EP

Hey, this is pretty dramatic stuff from Wolverhampton singer songwriter Dan Whitehouse!! Very original, very very tasty and very very very unputdownable!   On the acoustic side dynamically but with oodles of big dramatic statements and a fantastic feel, ‘The Balloon EP’ is real top quality stuff -  a more than pleasant change from some of the more banal stuff out there at the moment, Whitehouse shows great all-round musical skill, educated and mature writing and a frightening ability to hold the listeners attention.

If I had to make comparisons I’d have to point you in the general direction of Damien Rice; Whitehouse’s wonderfully easy vocal delivery is quite similar, his emotionally charged songs are not unlike Rice’s and his general appeal will probably be with Rice followers. Saying that, Dan Whitehouse isn’t trying to emulate the great man, it’s just that there are similarities – and hey, that aint a bad thing anyway!!  Actually, Whitehouse is possibly more commercial than Rice; his music is possibly more expansive and more all-encompassing but less morose and generally somewhat ‘lighter’ in feel!

Whitehouse writes beautifully poised songs that are both emotional and dramatic whilst still being somehow uplifting and magnetically compelling. Whitehouse’s press pack outlines his musical pedigree and it’s pretty impressive so he’s already earned the right to whatever plaudits he may now get. Certainly I like Dan Whitehouse’s music; it’s mature but not too challenging, it’s different without being self-indulgent and it’s got masses of commercial tendencies.  Whitehouse builds on a theme, what might start out mellow and haunting often opens up to be something that’s breathtakingly robust, anthemic and pretty tangible and real.

Although Whitehouse is putting this out as an EP, with seven quite stunning tracks it’s more of a mini-album – great value for money and a pretty full-on look into Whitehouse’s eclectic and diverse musical world. This guy has talent by the shed-load and ‘The Balloon EP’ is a fantastic chance to experience the man and his music.  Go on, seek him out and give Dan Whitehouse a try – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!  ‘The Ballon EP’ by Dan Whitehouse is the absolute mutt’s nuts!

Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (www.toxicpete.co.uk)

2. Mr Dan Whitehouse’s new Balloon EP arrived in the post today,

=)

The modest Ink Refill Man envelope and 100% recycled cardboard CD sleeve, containing a CD whose production values are far more epic, symphonic, orchestral, and beautifully rich and lush sounding than the modest packaging or indeed, accoustic Balcony TV appearences, and tinny MySpace recordings, imply. The packaging is terribly endearing however, with a free Balloon gift sticking out the top, and an inside sleeve that looks sweetly hand drawn in marker pen on the one side, and yet boasts a detailed black and white photo of band members on the other, with text that reads: “This music was lovingly nutured by a group of passionate and talented musicians.”

What to expect?

Think singer/songwriter guitar pop with ambient electric guitar, complimentary and momentum-building piano, choruses of strings, crescendo-building drums, and Dan’s trademark vocals. You’ll get an idea of his sound at http://www.myspace.com/mrdanwhitehouse but I had listened to his tracks on MySpace a fair few times, and the richness of the CD is something else (or it might just be that I bothered to plug in the satellite speakers and sub woofer for this one, ^_^). I had been worried where production would go now that (genius) Tom Greenwood (Dan’s old production partner during the Sonara days) is stateside, but I find myself listening to what Dan and his new band have done, and trying to figure out how to achieve such a good sound, as opposed to finding any faults to highlight.

The lyrics give plenty to identify with and read into, although the CD only just arrived in the post this morning, so I haven’t had it all sink in yet, but the mood is in keeping with Dan’s themes of containment – balloons, bubbles, boxes, etc, as implied by titles such as “It’s Good to Getaway”, and lyrics like “here’s hoping you don’t get tied down to the Carousel”.

I’ll be able to elaborate on lyrics once I’ve listened to it a bit more.

In fact, I’m probably writing prematurely here. So I’ll go listen some more, and let my opinions properly formulate.

For now, I just wanted to share my excitement, and urge you all to support Dan’s effort.

The EP is for sale on his MySpace page for about £7.

click here.

Apparently the bar sold out of beer, so we are welcome back anytime. Thank you for drinking!

I hope to do another event there around June sometime, I’ll keep you posted.

Wednesday’s gig at the Glee was great too, full of glee in fact (sorry). I supported a truly fantastic artist with a real neil young esque guitar player, you must go and have a listen to Sarabeth Tucek.

I’m really enjoying playing with Jun on Piano and John on Kohn, it feels like a sort of growth spurt time, and I am excited as to how tall we’ll get.

See you soon,

Dan

Doors open at 7:30pm and entry is free.