Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Hardin.
Daniel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I began playing guitar when I was around eight years old. I started playing with a bluegrass guitar teacher named Jason Kenney. I developed a great foundation with him; however as I approached my early teen years, I began to be interested in blues and rock. I started playing a little louder and listening to artists like Joe Bonamassa and Led Zeppelin. I soon discovered my love for songwriting and began to make and record music as I went through high school. John Mayer, Collective Soul, and The Black Keys quickly became new influences on my playing and writing. During my high school years, I also began to build guitars in my dad’s workshop in our basement. I finished building my first guitar during my freshman year of high school and kept making different types of guitars when I wasn’t making music. Currently, I can use almost all acoustic and electric guitars that I have built myself, in both a live setting and during the recording process, which has been a very fun process to work up to.
I released my first album in 2016 during my senior year of high school, and soon after I began playing live. My first real headlining show was at The Velvet Note in Milton. It sold out, and I continued to do full band and solo acoustic shows around Atlanta. I moved to Athens to attend UGA and expanded to playing shows around Athens in addition to Atlanta. I released a six-song EP and several singles during 2018 and 2019 and kept trying to be as active as I could while completing a degree. Currently, I am scheduled to graduate in May of this year, and I am releasing my second album on April 10th. I invested a lot of time and money into this album and I am super excited for it to be released. It’s an eclectic mix of funk, rock, jazz, and Americana titled “Spice Cabinet.” It features a bunch of different musicians that I have long looked up to such as Aaron Sterling (drummer for John Mayer), Mark Lettieri (Snarky Puppy, Fearless Flyers), Ariel Posen (The Bros Landreth), Jesus Molina, Misnomer (local Athens band), and Atlanta Jazz drumming legend Emrah Kotan (formerly with India.Arie). The first single will be out on March 6th- so look out for it!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The main obstacles I’ve faced have almost all been related to the sheer number of artists that are active today. The music itself is not a competition. However, there are only so many weekend spots at a venue, and there are only so many emails one venue booker can answer in a day. It is also a challenge to differentiate yourself from how you present your music. Technology has made making music so much more accessible and affordable, which is a fantastic thing. The flip side of that is, everyone who wants to has the capability to release music, so convincing other people that my music is worth their time is an obstacle that I think about often. Thankfully, people tend to like it once they here what I have going on and dive into it, but there’s a lot of people doing a lot of promotion just like me. At the same time, I’m super grateful that it is what I get to do. I love that there are more people making music, because that means that the world of music, in general, is expanding, which means there are more opportunities and resources available. Just like anything, it has its pros and cons.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Daniel Hardin story.
Over the past few years, I’ve gotten to be known for my guitar playing, especially on my Instagram and Facebook page. I’ve been lucky enough to have acquired a following that enjoys all the little guitar videos and 1-2 minute jams I create. They then check out my music and get to hear my more serious creative projects. As they listen more, they get to know me more for my songwriting, which is my main goal.
The guitar building thing has also been a fun way to stand out, especially with people that are familiar with guitar gear and interested in that side of music. They come to a show or see a video and don’t recognize what kind of guitar I’m playing, and they always love to ask about the process. I have a lot of fun talking about it, and I try and encourage people to give it a try if they have the means to. Then they see the show or listen to the actual music, and it adds to the whole story of me as an artist.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I feel extremely blessed to have the means and the ability to do what I do as an artist. There are so many things out of my control that I see it as, taking what I have been given, developing it as much as I can, and doing as much as I can with it. Whether things happen for me that lead me to have a massively successful career or not, I am just grateful that God has allowed me to have the ability to make music and use it to pay for my lunch at the same time. I just want to bring glory to Him and make people happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: DanielHardin.com
- Email: danielhardinmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielhardinmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanielHardinMusic
Image Credit:
Rosie Albenice, Molly Ewing
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