From his dad's interest in Johnny Cash and the Grand Ole Opry to his mom's fondness for The Jackson Five and American Bandstand, Dan Schwartz from an early age has been surrounded by a wide variety of great music. This early influnce still shows in the range of music he performs in his solo concerts and with his two groups: New Roots Duo (Ben Woolman - acoustic guitar) and The Neighborhood Trio (Steve Roehm - vibraphone, Brian Roessler - upright bass).
Dan has written and released seven CDs including two independent releases from his label Peacefire Productions, and has been featured on several acoustic guitar compilations. His work as a producer and sideman has grown to over a dozen recordings.
With Distribution spreading over ten countries, Dan's music is receiving a growing amount of International interest. He has received frequent airplay on Italian and Korean radio. He was featured in the Italian magazine New Age Music and New Sounds. His composition "Sad Little Girl" has been used throughout Japan as a television theme song.
Dan is at the forefront of developments in the transcription, notation and editing of finger-style guitar music. His work as a part of the Milwaukee Foundation for Guitar Studies, and Stropes Editions, Ltd. has been published in Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar, Fingerstyle Guitar the Italian guitar magazine Chitarre and Michael Hedges/Rhythm, Sonority, Silence, published by Stropes Editions Ltd.
Dan and Ben Woolman are currently recording their debut CD as New Roots finger-style guitar duo which features Dan on lap steel guitar and Ben on baritone guitar. This new collection of original instrumental compositions will be released in the fall of 2007.
Other Credits:
-Wisconsin Conservatory of Music American Finger-Style Guitar scholarship competition. - First place (1994)
- Member of Universal Recording artist Angel Grant's Band with Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Michael Bland (Prince), and Libby Turner (Sounds of Blackness) performing shows with such artists as N-Sync, The Roots and LL Cool J. (1998)
- Guitar Center/VH-1 "Guitarmageddon" national guitar competition.
- first place, Minneapolis finals (2000)
- runner-up, Midwest regional finals (2000)
- Featured artist which included Leo Kottke, Eric Johnson and Billy McLaughlin on the Narada Productions compilations Masters of Acoustic Guitar (1997) and Guitar-Fingerstyle II (2001).
- Toured throughout U.S. as a sideman for folk singer-songwriter Peter Mayer. (2004-2005)
- "Cameo critic" in the Minneapolis Star/Tribune discussing essential finger-style guitar recordings.
- "Guest DJ" on Minnesota Public Radio's "The Morning Show".