Chicago's Dan Raab released his first full length album in August 2001.
Titled, Release, the album was developed over a period of about a year and recorded with several Minneapolis area musicians and produced by David Howell and John Fett of LamePolly productions.
The long months of train trips and car-rides between the Windy City and the Twin Cities paid off in an album that has drawn comparisons to Elvis Costello, Pete Yorn, Nick Drake and R.E.M.
Musically, the album has a variety of styles from the 50's country feel of "The Last Girl", the trippy "The Youth of Today," to the folky "Days Like These" and "Irish Names." Lyrically, Dan's themes center on spiritual longing, relationships, hope and catharsis.
Dan's musical history began in high school where he began recording original songs with the help of Eric Pavlack and Jeremy Zmuda.
He continued at Indiana University where he fronted the band the Fontanelles in which he played with Eric Pavlack, John Pavlack, Grant Pershing and Ryan Pershing.
The band's repetoire included songs still on Dan's playlist including "Bell Tower," "The Youth of Today," and "Free Diana." Dan's strong songwriting and the excellent musicianship of the Fontanelles delighted the group's friends and fans.
After college, Dan has continued to play primarily as an acoustic performer.
He has been a featured act at many popular Chicago clubs such as the Abbey and Subterranean.
Dan has won critical acclaim particularly for his lyrics but he also sports an excellent use of melody and sound crafting.
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