Dan Cunningham
Morgantown, West Virginia, United States | Established. Jan 01, 1999
Music
Press
Not only does Dan have a master's touch, but the melodies weaving out of all these tree-cut instruments are gifted bags of highly intelligent music. When listening to the 6 minutes of 'Loose Dawg' see if you aren't moved to a higher sense of awareness. See if you don't stop - whatever you're doing - and just listen.
I'll fully recommend this album to all those who enjoy the Sound of the guitar. What delightful moods it can make just based on the work of the hands, not the cleverness of the studio technician or the able ability of He Who Works The Distortion.
Beautiful. Lovely to look at. Best to keep. - Music Dish - Ben Ohmart
The guitar is outstanding! I’m talking great technique, great emotion and inventive playing. This CD has an interesting mix of folk, classical and jazz influences.
My over all feeling about the disc is that I respect it as a work of art and as a study in recording and performance technique, but, I don't think I'll listen to it often. - South Of Mainstream
Tons of charisma … well written, well produced, well recorded … ready for much bigger and better things other than being an independent artist. Go online and get your copy now before some big label company grabs Dan Cunningham and then we will be paying big bucks for this fantastic CD.
- MusicReviewz.com
There is a friendliness at work on all the tracks and an unassuming sense of ease. I can't imagine anyone who loves acoustic guitar recordings would do anything but embrace this CD. I liked it from the very first listen and look forward to enjoying for a lot more playings to come. - Wind And Wire
Discography
INTO THE FLOW 2001
I THINK OF HOME 2004
WAYFARING STRANGER 2006
BACK TO MORGANTOWN 2008
RIVER FLOW 2011
APPALACHIAN SONG 2013
COUNTRY ROADS
LIVE AT BLACK BEAR
SIMPLE GIFTS
CHRISTMAS GUITAR
Photos
Bio
Joni Mitchell in a coonskin cap? (with a gap-tooth grin?) The Appalachian tradition is alive and vibrant in the hands of this accomplished guitarist. Wit and whimsy merge to form a rewarding lyrical and musical journey. This “New Appalachian” music is as natural as the mountains while drawing on a diverse vocabulary of styles
With the strains of live old-time music in his ears at an early age, Dan often listened in wonder to the only recordings at hand: one 45 rpm single each of Eddie Arnold and Fats Domino, and the 78's of Dinah Shore and Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony. The imprint on an impressionable young mind was profound, and you might say he never recovered.
Drifting from rock, to country to jazz; to blues, Bach and back again, Dan's own music failed to develop. And then, one late night laying awake in a fleabag motel, Dan saw the light. It turned out to the flickering neon sign from "Murph's Café" next door. As fate would have it, the very next day as Dan was dining at that same café, savoring the only item on the menu he could afford; a small order of chili-cheese fries. His eyes were drawn to the Elvis portraits in black velvet, and just below, a small smeared blackboard with the lunch special, "Murph's Bologna Burger". At that moment, inspiration struck and would have knocked Dan's socks off, had he been wearing any. The central question was clear....why top your burger with bologna and not chili? It was time to play real music, music that tops off the meaty taste of life like chili on a flame grilled hamburger still dripping with the satisfying essence of fullness. It was from this point the distinct and varied music he called "New Appalachian" began to come forth. (As along as he stayed away from the fifth).
Over the years, years Dan performed/recorded with Phil Keaggy (Grammy nominee and Dove award winner), Robin Kessinger (1985 National Flatpicking Champion), Nedra Talley Ross (Ronettes), Phil Madeira (Nashville songwriter, recording artist) and others.
Dan’s first solo CD, INTO THE FLOW, received glowing reviews and was a “Viewer’s Choice” award winner on Kweevak.com.
His second CD, I THINK OF HOME, built on this musical vision, expanding the range of expression for Appalachian music. The songs received recognition in several songwriting competitions.
Dan's third CD, WAYFARING STRANGER (2006) placed third in Kweevak's Listener's Choice Awards. One tune, "Big Gene", won Honorable Mention in the SONG OF THE MONTH contest. Traditional storytelling is mixed with a measured touch of contemporary sounds.
BACK TO MORGANTOWN (2008), is all acoustic. It features
his bone-janglin', brain twistin', finger-picking guitar in original tunes plus a few traditional favorites.
In 2010, Dan released the single "Out Of My Mind", a tragic tale set in the 1920's coalfields of West Virginia. Dan made the regional finals of the Mountain Stage/New Song Contest on the strength of this song.
The Dominion Post has described Dan's playing as "guitar genius" and by Ben Ohmart of Music Dish as "luscious."
“The guitar is outstanding! I’m talking great technique, great emotion and inventive playing.”
-South Of Mainstream
"Dan Cunningham plays his guitar the way a man loves a woman---with heart and caring and affection." -Richard Fuller
More info/music at www.myspace.com/pickndawg
Links
