The Serpent is a fiery psychedelic folk song that asks the listener to consider what kind of community we could be building together if we weren’t being forced to live in the divisions of class, race, sex and anything else the powers that be can throw our way to keep us apart. Dan Graul speaks to the worship of money and the selfishness that plague our society and surmises that our future can be anything we want it to be, but we must choose to actively participate in the creation of that future.
The Serpent is out 9/29/23 across all streaming platforms.
Times We Had is a nostalgic and dreamy piece of psychedelic folk pop that was written standing on my front porch when I had just moved to Los Angeles. I was staring at a blank sky with all the stars drowned out by vast amounts of light pollution. It was like a metaphor for what was going on inside me as I took my first steps along my journey to who I have become since then – still living in Los Angeles but much more confident in self, and again seeing the stars on a much more regular basis.
The Sky At Night EP contains Constellations and Times We Had. These two songs have always felt like sister songs to me. Constellations was written on my Mom’s back porch in Missouri at a time when I was about to move away and feeling empowered and emboldened, as if the universe was presenting itself to me. Times We Had as written from a much more uncertain perspective but was born from a similar place.
Constellations is a folk pop musical meditation inspired by an evening of stargazing in rural Missouri. Dan Graul wrote the song on a clear Summer night, sitting on his Mother’s back porch in some time at home between gigs. The song lacks traditional verse chorus structure, instead opting for a stream of consciousness style lyric that winds it’s way into a playful acoustic instrumental that soars off into a universe of reverse guitar feedback. Check out Constellations on all music streaming services on 2/17/23.
You can live a lie or you can live YOUR life. Dan Graul’s new single Miles And Miles follows the emotional journey of questioning the status quo and making the choice to forge your own path. For Dan, love was the only possible starting point of that journey. Now he’s bringing positive vibes and radical ideas to your ears; and asking you to choose love and human connection. The psychedelic Americana track blends a folky retro rock aesthetic with a modern attitude and bite.
Celebrate the unknowable questions! Our existential dread is not good or bad, the Mountain tells us that it simply IS. And it is something we can all share together. Dan and Rebecca Graul spread the gospel of the Mountain through a folky stomp groove on their new single. Mountain Song (Ay-Yo Ay-Yo) wraps heavy subject matter in a joyful, raucous arrangement that includes notes of rock, country/folk, psychedelia and pop.
Once upon a psychedelic day in the Morongo Valley near Joshua Tree CA, Dan and Rebecca found themselves face to face with a mountain on fire. They looked out over the smoky landscape and wondered if this mountain, which they called Captain Larry, could fear something like fire. To their surprise, the mountain answered back with the dry wisdom only an ancient perspective could bring. “The fires come, the fires go. That song is old.” Captain Larry shared thoughts on question after question with a sing-song tag of “Ay-Yo Ay-Yo,” as if it were, and always had been, all so simple. By the time sunset arrived, the smoke had cleared away to reveal the mountain in full majesty. The real life picture in front of Dan and Rebecca’s eyes, as well as the murky illusions inside their own minds, had gained much clarity and focus.
Connect to your wildness within! Trust your animal instincts! With his new single Dan Graul reminds you to tap into your primal love warrior and find your place as a part of the world.
We Are Wild was originally featured on Dan Graul’s solo debut Make America Love Again, released at the end of 2020. For this new incarnation of the track, Dan was able to bring back together most of the original lineup of his band Northern Strangers. Rebecca Graul collaborated on the songwriting for the track and is also featured on keys and backing vocals. Lee Harcourt smashes the drums and Will Norris lays down the bass. The rhythmic duo drive the track with a funky, melodic groove. The band cut their teeth playing Pink Floyd albums live around Los Angeles in the 2010’s and We Are Wild finds them riding their psychedelic influences forward into the modern indie rock sphere.
Dan Graul has some personal thoughts on his latest single Everything Has Changed. “This song was written in the wake of losing my Mother very suddenly leukemia. My entire world was upside down, everything changed when she went into the hospital, everything changed every time I received an update. When I arrived to be with her, everything changed from day to day until she passed within a week. I wrote this song about a month after she died, as an attempt to deal with what I was feeling and try to find some acceptance in the situation. I had no idea how appropriate this song would be going into the year 2020.”
Dan’s wife, Rebecca, came up with the concept for the duo’s new music video for Everything Has Changed – out 2/12/21. The pair are big fans of Halloween, so much so that they held their wedding on October 31, 2015 and officially dubbed the day as “Grauloween.” After indulging in a glut of spooky monster movies during the quarantine version of Grauloween season of 2020, Rebecca had the thought to turn Everything Has Changed into a story about newly changed vampires for the music video. Follow along as two fresh vampires wake up and find that everything has changed, and maybe it’s not such a bad thing.
Click below to set a reminder for the video premiere on 2/12/21 at Noon (PST)
I wrote Beautiful Animal as a wedding surprise for my wife Rebecca. We agreed to make each other wedding gifts instead of buying something and I had never written a song about her, so I decided that’s what I would do. After a few iterations, the song came to be Beautiful Animal. I sent the song out to a bunch of my musician friends, who I knew would be attending the wedding and asked them to learn it. As the one big surprise part of the day, that Rebecca hadn’t planned or been aware of, I assembled my merry band and we played the song for Rebecca. I hope others will find encouragement in this tune, as we are all beautiful animals perched and ready to unfurl our wings, we all have the power to be anything and do anything with our lives. We are resilient, amazing animals.
Dan Graul is set to release his solo debut album, “Make America Love Again” for Halloween 2020. The second single “Pioneers” is out 10/16/20, along with a music video for the track. “Pioneers” brings to mind the challenges that early immigrants faced as they navigated the Oregon Trail to find a better life for their families. This willingness of immigrants to sacrifice and make a life is mirrored even today. As we move into the future and advance technologically, we should always remember the perseverance and determination of our ancestors; and heed their mistakes and lessons. We must be pioneers in our own rite and create a world that makes space for others who struggle and strive for more.
Dan Graul is set to release his solo debut 7 track album, “Make America Love Again” for Halloween 2020. The first single “The Serpent” is out 10/2/20, along with a music video for the track. The socio-politically charged track speaks to the worship of money and selfishness that plague our society. The track sums up that our future can be anything we want it to be, but we must choose to actively participate in the creation of that future and “fight for what’s right.”
