SHOWTIME: 8 P.M. FRIDAY n WHERE: EMENS n TICKETS: $10
Dane Clark's high school yearbook picture said he wanted to be a backup drummer for The Who. Twenty years later he was on stage with the band at Madison Square Garden.
"Everybody kind of knew that I was into Keith Moon and I would have loved to have done that," he said. "So it was kind of neat."
Since he was a teenager growing up in Anderson, Clark has collaborated with a number of artists, most recently Steve Earle and John Mellencamp. On Friday he will bring his own band for the Muncie Symphony Orchestra's presentation of "Rock the House" at Emens Auditorium.
The program will feature several musicians from the MSO to add a slight touch of classical music to Clark's performance.
"It's a bridge to dispel the myth that classical music is stuffy," MSO executive director Judith Kirkwood said.
Weaned on the stylings of such artists as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, as well as beat poet Jack Kerouac, Clark describes his music as "Americana with roots in the British invasion."
"I try to write music for adults," he said. "I'm not writing bubble gum music. I mean it's pop music. It's not so serious that you can't dance to it and have fun with it. My stuff has kind of a contemporary edge to it. I got a few drum loops going. But at the same time I'm not really kidding anyone. It's 60s-influenced rock with modern elements."
Clark got his start playing in clubs around Central Indiana. He still remembers his first gig at an Eagles Lodge when he was 16.
"It was the first time I got paid, and I felt I'd hit the big time," he said. "If you stick with music as a career you don't have too many options. I'd originally thought I'd get in some big rock band and be a millionaire off the bat."
His first few bands didn't make him rich. After playing with a local group called Tangent, he attended Ball State for a year. He eventually graduated from Anderson University, where he taught percussion for 10 years.
In 1996 Clark joined Mellencamp's band as a drummer. Though he enjoys the experience, he's careful about drawing any comparisons between his own group and the Seymour musician.
"I love playing in that (Mellencamp's) band and I feel it's one of the best straight-ahead rock 'n' roll bands in the world," he said. "I take great pride in being part of it, but I think that my band is also one of Indiana's finest."
Clark released a self-titled solo album last year, but a lion's share of his work still comes from studio recordings. Most of his career has been spent performing in studios in Indianapolis, Nashville and New York. His work can be heard on dozens of albums as well as on commercials for Coca-Cola, Meijer and Phar-Mor.
"When I was young I wish I'd been more aware of some of the different ways you can make a living in music without being the next Matchbox 20," he said.
Though his favorite music comes out of the 60s and 70s (an era, Clark said, when music changed history), he still enjoys listening to an eclectic mix of young artists, such as John Mayer, Avril Lavigne and Norah Jones.
"My daughters make me listen to stuff when I make them listen to Abby Road," he said. "We kind of go back and forth. There's still a lot of good stuff out there."
In spite of the pride he takes in his aging influences, he's coy about revealing his age.
"I'm shopping around this record right now," he said. "We'll let the record company decide how old I am."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
