Danny Chaimson grew up in Chicago and started playing the piano at the age of 4, started writing his own music at the age of 10, started his first band at 12, and didn't realize he should sing his own songs until his late 20's. Better late than never I guess. Luckily, he finally came to this realization 5 years into his newfound life in Los Angeles, after numerous tours as a sideman with bands that you totally know, and the end of his ambitious and highly respected indie rock band, The Southland. Danny has long been regarded as a top-tier keyboard player by the likes of Keyboard magazine, who in their feature on him noted how he "brings an impressive variety of influences...with a unique vibe created through the diversity of his playing style. He skillfully meshes both his technical and experimental stylings". (his guitar skills ain't bad either) But it wasn't until halfway through his stint in LA and his ridiculous dealings with the music industry that he began to write honest songs about life, that finally found a voice when he literally found his voice while performing with his famed LA funk band, The Greasy Beats. An allstar group of musicians with nary a vocalist, Danny (who had sung backup in all his other projects for years) took the reigns as a singer and was pleasantly surprised to find not only that he wasn't bad, but that people were totally diggin' it. He took his newfound vocal confidence into the studio with a bunch of the best players in town. These were top-dog guys who he had befriended through his various other projects (who incidentally have performed and recorded for everyone from Cake and Emilianna Tourinni to De La Soul and Alicia Keys), and who shared a mutual respect for one another. They took an old-school approach coming up with parts on the fly, letting the various players in their scene lay down tracks as they swung by the studio- recording straight to tape with old mics, amps, keyboards...if it wasn't old they didn't use it. The result is a truly impressive collection of songs that can only be described in words too often lacking from today's music. Words like "believable" "real" "extremely competent" "fun" and "awesome" come to mind. The album will be completed by the end of the fall, and there will be a lot of people anxious to hear it when it is. In the meantime, Danny and his band have begun playing around LA to unanimous praise- a throwback of sorts to a time where top musicians from a particular scene got together to perform great music and great songs in smoky whisky drenched clubs (you have to imagine the smoke in clubs in LA) When people watch Danny Chaimson play now, they see a guy from Chicago who can't shake the soul from his voice and the talent from his fingers- and they usually leave feelin' pretty good themselves.