New CD finds Danny Cohen at his primal, analytical best

Originally published Jan. 11, 2007 in The Buzz

Musician Danny Cohen wants you to meet his many alter egos and see the shades of Dorian Gray.

Cohen, who resides in Paradise, has different personas that take care of different aspects of his music, he said. There is one entity that writes the songs, one that performs them, one that produces them and another that does the artwork. Each entity has different qualities that are essential for making a solid album.

The performer is primal, the producer is analytical, while the writer is intuitive, Cohen said. When trying to create a unique sound, it is important for the writer to rely on intuition and not worry about rules of music theory.

Unique is an understatement when describing Cohen's new album titled "Shades of Dorian Gray," schedule for a Feb. 6 release on ANTI-Records.

The layering sounds and sense of character development throughout the album is not surprising, considering Cohen was an English literature major. The themes are complex, yet organic. Even the title of the record is drawn from literature, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde.

The story line in Wilde's novel is similar to the mood of the album, Cohen said. The music evokes shades of gray and absorbs time as in the novel where the picture ages rather than the artist.

"The music seemed to be old sounding, like it had cobwebs," he said.

The album was recorded on different formats in order to evoke the different moods, Cohen said. Some songs were recorded on Alesis digital audio tape with half-inch reel to reel to give a warm sound. Other songs were recorded straight to a computer at Chico's Humboldt Studios to give a dense sound.

Cohen, who grew up in Hollywood during the 1950s, describes his music as '60s British invasion pop music with classical, jazz and folk influence. He wrote most of the album on a keyboard similar to a theater organ. The process was a change from writing songs on a guitar, which explains the more gothic aound on the album.

"It is kind of like 'Phantom of the Opera,'" Cohen said.

Cohen's record label, ANTI-Records, was not expecting the more organ-based music, he said. The label, home to artist such as Neko Case, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Tom Waits, prefers simple three-chord songs that are more blues based.

However, Cohen was not afraid to write complex songs when he saw that his listeners enjoyed that more.

"Shades of Dorian Gray" will be Cohen's third release on ANTI-Records, but he has also released three albums on a smaller label, called Tzadik. The number of releases is impressive considering Cohen decided to make music his career only eight years ago.

Cohen started playing guitar at age 9 and was in his first band at age 11, but it was always just for fun, he said. His band, Charleston Grotto, never took its career very seriously. His mother played the classical guitar; therefore, he learned to play the guitar simply for the fact that there was a guitar in his house while growing up.

Cohen is content with just playing music with friends in a garage, which he often does, he said. "Shades of Dorian Gray" features a wide array of Butte County musicians who have been playing with Cohen for seven years. The album is dedicated to John LaPado who played lap steel guitar on the record, but recently passed away.

Cohen describes his bohemian outlook on his music career as a Catch-22. Lables usually lose more money than make money when releasing music like Cohen's. However, labels still release it because they truly enjoy the music and have confidence in the artist.

In the spring, Cohen hopes to do a tour in Europe, he said. In additions, Charleston Grotto is planning a reunion in Los Angeles in February.

As for the release of "Shades of Dorian Gray," Cohen wants to play at small venues in San Francisco and Los Angeles, he said. One of this favorite places to perform is the Theatre of Note in Los Angeles, which has a 46-person capacity.

In the meantime, Cohen is happy playing music with his friends, regardless if anyone is willing to listen.