Dan Treanor & African Wind

"Treanor straddles the fine line between old and modern blues; he walks it, talks it, and plays it with ease." PopMatters Music Review Born in 1947 and raised in Pueblo, Colorado, Dan Treanor began playing guitar at the age of fifteen. Discovering the Blues and R&B through a local radio station - KAPI - he developed a life long passion for the root of all popular American Music - THE BLUES. When a typical teenager might have been found listening to the latest top 40 AM hit, Dan, a self taught musician who plays by ear, would spend hours listening to the likes of Ray Charles, B.B. King, Jimmy Reed and Slim Harpo, trying to emulate their playing style. He was also heavily influenced by the music of Bob Dylan and Hank Williams. By the age of sixteen, with his Silvertone guitar, he was playing in his first band - "The Marauders". "I was raised in an multi cultural neighborhood where Blues, R&B and Mexican music was the accepted norm. That's what I thought everyone listened to." In 1969, while serving as an infantryman in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam, he was taught to play the harp by a fellow soldier and musician, Bernie Willer. He's never put it down. "Bernie showed me how to blow that harp and it's been stuck inside me ever since" Returning to the States, he began a life long quest to master the art and soul of American Blues. He used his GI Bill to earn a Masters in American History, where he unraveled the truth behind the evoluation of the blues - from Africa to America. In his career he has shared the stage with Son Seals, Frankie Lee, Louisiana Red, Jimmy Carl Black, Corey Harris, George "Boogie Woogie" Daniels, Bob Margolin and Guitar Junior to mention a few icons. He is considered one of the top harp players in the business. He has played harp, guitar and dobro on over 100 45s, LPs, CDs and motion picture sound tracks. In 1994 he was named a Hohner Harmonica endorsee. He has toured Europe twice and represented the Grand County Blues Society two times at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. He is a charter member of the Colorado Blues Society and the Blues Foundation. He has received several awards from various Blues Societies in recognation of his Blues In The Schools contributions. He is the recipient of the 2012 KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE award from the Blues Foundation. In 2004 he was signed by the internationally respected independent label - Northern Blues. Teaming with R&B vocal legend Frankie Lee, of Duke/Peacock fame, he released the critically accalimed CD - "African Wind". The CD was named by many critics as one of the top blues releases of the year and was nominated as Blues Album of the Year by the Independent Music Awards. "African Wind is one of the most innovative blues releases in a long time" - Tim Holek, Living Blues The title track - "African Wind" - was named one of the top eight blues songs of the year by the International Songwriting Competition. The CD features Dan's handmade African string instruments. He began to make the instruments to use in his Blues In The Schools presentations to demonstrate the origins of the blues in African cultural music. They soon became an intergral part of his live show and the Afrosippi Blues was born. African and World beats, Delta, Chicago and Hill Country Blues, R&B, Funk and Soul - the Afrosippi Sound. "If you are looking for something fresh and new but that still combines traditions as old as the hills ... give this recording a whirl." - Beardo, BluesWax Since then Dan has released five more critically acclaimed CDs - "Mercy" - also nominated for an Independent Music Award, "Brothers Blood & Bone", "The Best Of Afrosippi Blues" "American Primative" and his newest release "Bad Neighborhood" Dan continues to play festivals, club gigs and special shows with his group - The Afrosippi Band - he also preforms as a solo artist. He does 25/30 Blues In The Schools presentations a year. He will be the recipient of the Blues Foundations 2012 - Keeping The Blues Alive - award. Bandleader, solo artist, BIS presenter, songwriter, producer, African instrument maker - BLUESMAN Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.