Daniel Graham of Metro-ATL/Northeast Georgia on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Daniel Graham and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Daniel, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What battle are you avoiding?
Laundry. Always laundry. I’ve got three kids, so naturally it piles up quickly.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey there! I’m Daniel Graham from Great Wide Nothing.

We’re a progressive punk rock band based in the Atlanta area coming up on our ninth year together. We’re completely independent, and in addition to playing bass and singing in the band, I write our lyrics, book our shows/tours, design our graphics, run our website, manage our socials and mailing list, and a whole number of other things (when you’re doing this stuff DIY, you wear a lot of hats).

We released our fourth studio album, “A Shout Into The Void”, in May of this year, and promoted it with an east coast tour that took us to New York and back over the summer.

We’ve got what I believe is a really interesting and unique sound. We have no guitarist – just keyboards, bass and drums (though sometimes I’ll switch over to guitar for a song or two when it seems necessary) – and blend a lot of eclectic influences: everything from Steely Dan to Bad Religion to Rush to Daft Punk to Ben Folds to Coheed and Cambria to Coldplay to Dream Theater and so on.

Our songs are often socially and politically-minded, and we’re deeply invested in using our art as a means of promoting ideals rooted in compassion and justice, encouraging the building of community, and hopefully helping people who are struggling to cope and heal.

We love connecting with other artists, and are proud to be part of the Atlanta music scene.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Misunderstanding breaks the bonds between people, generally.

Everyone fundamentally just wants to be happy, and most people have good intentions at heart. But we often get locked into our own narrow, limited views (of ourselves, other people, what’s good for us and how to get it) and relate from a place of ego rather than empathy. We forget how to really communicate, and that everyone’s human. Sometimes we assume the worst and act out of fear or aggression. We get defensive of our notion of who we are, our place in the world, and how things should work.

Humility, patience, and compassion are the cure.

Once you realize that everyone is to some extent a product of circumstance – from brain chemistry to upbringing to education/access to information and socio-economic class – you stop thinking you’re inherently special or better for thinking and believing a certain way. You’re able to see people, rather than just the worldview they’ve constructed, and realize everyone’s confused and ignorant to some extent or another, including yourself. That opens the door to having compassion for them. And when you speak and act from that sort of motivation, you can’t go wrong.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I’ve nearly given up more times than I can count.

And in every instance I found it was because I was measuring my own worth and the worth of what I was doing by how much external validation I was getting, or how much material gain I was receiving.

I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t entrust your happiness or satisfaction with your life to circumstances outside your control. It’s a recipe for (perceived) failure and bitterness.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I think everyone “masks” to some extent – we all try to put our best foot forward and present an idealized version of who we are to others, because we fear vulnerability.

But I’m trying hard at this point in my life not to do that (or at least keep my indulgence in that tendency to a minimum).
I want to be consistent and have nothing to hide or suppress or feel embarrassed about, and not waste time and energy trying to uphold some constructed idea of who I am (or am “supposed to be”).

So is the public version of me the real me? Yes. At least for the most part, I hope.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I cared about others, that I did my best to be true to the values I hold, that I did all I could do to make the little bit of the world I have influence in a better place; kinder, happier, more fair…

I hope people can look at my life and not find a shred of cruelty or hypocrisy, or any mistake that I haven’t owned up to and made right to the best of my ability.

I want to be known chiefly as a good dad, a good friend, and someone with integrity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://greatwidenothing.neocities.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatwidenothingatl/
• Twitter: https://x.com/gwnatl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatwidenothingatl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@greatwidenothingatl

Image Credits
Katie Barton