Danny McGaw

It'd only be fair, since guys like Danny McGaw deserves to be on everybody's radar. A former pro soccer player, the Englishman found himself in Kansas City with some songs and a band. Wells the Traveler combines the plainspoken English folk we love so much with Midwestern rock. Think of a Frank Turner who isn't trying to impress us with his wordplay or, better yet, a Mumford and Sons with power and soul. - Adobe and Tear Drops

Multi-talented musician Danny McGaw came to the United States after being raised in Manchester, England. When he came to the United States, he brought with him a love for the Northern England form of Rock and Roll. It is that style of Rock and Roll that he combined with the American Folk music. With that musical combination, McGaw started creating music with the band Wells the Traveler. The rest of the band consists of guitarist/singer Chad Brothers, percussionist Jason Jones, bassist Dan Hines, and producer Mike West who helps complete the band’s sound. Together, the members of Wells the Traveler are currently promoting their new debut release entitled One for the Dreamers.
The new album from Wells the Traveler is a very strong Rock release. One thing that separates this album from many of the albums that are released each year is that Wells the Traveler created the album live in the studio. On this album, the band brings a bit of closeness to their music as the listener gets to experience what the band would most likely sound like live. It is that feel that makes the album that much more special.

One for the Dreamers by Wells the Traveler begins with the track “Can You Feel the Rain”. With a sound that brings to mind something from either U2 or the Welsh band The Alarm, the song “Can You Feel the Rain” contains a certain amount of beauty in the rock music that makes up the track. The track features simplistic lyrics that can easily grab the listener and have them singing along with the track before the first verse is over.
As a way of adding a bit of separation between the first track and the rest of the release, the track “Turkish Café” is a percussion-only track. The danceable groove created by the drums on this track is another instance where the band all but invites the listener to get up and dance.
With the track “Manchester,” the lyrics of the song create a more personal connection than the remainder of the album. On this track, Wells the Traveler creates a song that seems to find Danny McGaw reflecting on his homeland. The folk-rock feel of the track brings to mind American bands from the 1960’s like The Lovin’ Spoonful and the folk feel to the music gives the song a beauty that the listener will enjoy.
The fourth track on One for the Dreamers by Wells the Traveler is the title track of the album. With the makeup of the band, “One for the Dreamers” is one track that truly contains both the English influence from Danny McGaw and the American influence from the rest of the band. The song features a Beatles-era British Invasion Rock feel and also contains a generous amount of American folk feel with just enough twang to it to classify the track as Alt-Country. That combination creates one of the most interesting and strongest tracks on the album.
The track “Late Shift” continues that Alt-Country feeling on the album. One of the main reasons for that Alt-Country feeling is the fact that the track contains Hillbilly band Truckstop Honeymoon as part of the makeup of the group. Truckstop Honeymoon is One for the Dreamers producer Mike West and his wife Katie West. The combination of the sound of Wells the Traveler and the musical influence from Truckstop Honeymoon creates a track that feels like something that might have been created by Country artists back in the 1980’s.
One of the strongest tracks on the One for the Dreamers album from Wells the Traveler, as far as commercial value is concerned, is the song “Stand up Straight”. The track has a timeless rock feel to it and just like “Can You Feel the Rain” before it, “Stand up Straight” will grab the listener’s attention and not let go.  The track features lyrics about learning to move on. “Stand up Straight” contains enough familiarity to it that listeners will gravitate to the track.
While most of the One for the Dreamers album from Wells the Traveler features a lot of Rock feeling to go along with the Folk feeling that accompanies it, the track “Simply to Talk to You” finds the band taking their folk influence and bringing it to the forefront of the music. The band creates one of the most emotional tracks on the album with this song. The mandolin from producer Mike West helps to truly bring out the Folk feeling on the song.
The One for the Dreamers album from Wells the Traveler is a very strong album with many different facets to it that help give the release a lot of  variety to it. The release seems to have something for everyone in the 14 tracks contained within it. If you are looking for an album that features a lot of variety within its tracks, One for the Dreamers album from Wells the Traveler is a great place to look. - Rock and Roll Report

Musician Danny McGaw celebrates ‘Eccles Road’ and an accidental career
When an injury ended his career as an athlete, the door opened to music.
BY TIMOTHY FINN
The Kansas City Star

Danny McGaw

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An unfortunate change of destiny was a blessing in disguise for Danny McGaw. When an injury ended his dreams of life in professional soccer, he turned to music and hasn’t looked back.

“I wrote my first song when I was 12 years old, but my main focus throughout childhood was football,” said McGaw, who was raised in a town called Swinton, just outside of Manchester, England.

“I left school at 16 to sign as an apprentice, as it was called back then, with a small pro club also just outside Manchester called Bury FC. I was there until I was 18, when I was injured for good, which in hindsight was a blessing as I wasn’t really cut out to be a pro athlete.

“But at the time this was a hard pill to swallow as up until that moment I and everyone I knew expected that I would make it in football.”

Instead, he focused on his other love.

“I packed a backpack and a guitar and went to the Isle of Jersey in the Channel Islands between France and England and proceeded to rebuild my life. All my focus turned to music. I started playing in bars and working as a bartender. Song writing became my diary.”

Thirteen years ago this month he moved to Santa Monica, where he started playing in clubs, bars and coffee shops and also along the Santa Monica Promenade, where he bumped into someone of prominence: producer Terry Melcher, known for his work with the Byrds and the Beach Boys (and the only child of Doris Day). Melcher would record some of McGaw’s music.

“His was the first real endorsement from the ‘industry’ I received,” McGaw said. “Sadly, he died shortly after but his faith in my potential lit a fire that only grows.”

For nearly eight years, McGaw played his music up and down the West Coast, “selling records and paying my bills.” He also met Rita DeLoach, an actress (and great-great niece of President Harry Truman) who would become his wife. In 2008, they moved to Kansas City. He started a recording studio and she went to graduate school to study marriage and family therapy.

“Kansas City has been very kind to me,” McGaw said. “I’ve been a full-time musician pretty much since my arrival, though I did work as a bartender for a short spell.”

He has since put together a band that includes bassist Dan Hines, formerly of the Lawrence band Paw, plus John Garofalo (guitar) and Jason Jones (drums).

The album, “Eccles Road,” was recorded in a few places over seven months with some help from his former drummer, Sam Platt, a sound engineer who now plays drums with the Kristie Stremel Band.

“Sam’s a great engineer,” McGaw said. “He helped me record the drums at my in-laws’ house for the high ceilings, and we recorded the electric guitars in an old farmhouse in Eudora. I recorded everything else at my house. I mixed and mastered it, too.”

The music is a rustic mix of rock, folk and soul.

“I tell people the music is modern folk music,” he said, “a unique blend of my ’90s Brit-pop roots of early Radiohead, David Gray, James, Stereophonics, the folk of the ’60s and ’70s — Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon — plus the blues of Robert Johnson and the soul of Otis Redding.”

Its 10 songs include one called “Kansas,” about a long, lone drive with his dog in the car and a U-haul in tow. “These Streets” is about Eccles Street, where he was raised and where his parents still live, and about reconciling with one’s past.

“The songs are glimpses of the diary I have been keeping on my journey to finding my place in the world as an artist,” he said.

Saturday night, McGaw and his band will officially release “Eccles Street” at Czar Bar, 1531 Grand Blvd., as part of a four-band bill.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/10/24/3881216/danny-mcgaw-will-celebrate-eccles.html#storylink=cpy - The Kansas City Star

Much of the music I hear is derivative of something else, so sometimes it feels like there is not very much new material out there. Often times I end up relating the albums I review to something that somebody already came up with (usually Robin Trower or Muddy Waters, strangely enough). Well, Danny McGaw has thrown me for a loop and put together a diverse crew to create something truly unique with his new band, Wells the Traveler.

Danny is from Manchester, England where his professional football career was cut short by injury at the age of 18. This is when he started his music career in earnest, eventually moving to the U.S. with a stop in Santa Monica where he played shows and sold his own CDs, and then on to his final destination of Kansas City about five years ago. He started his own studio there and over time has managed to thrive as a full-time musician, which is a tough road to follow.

Wells the Traveler includes five like-minded souls, including Dan Hines on bass, Chad Brothers on guitar, Jason Jones on drums (and guitars, accordion, keys, and sax), and Mike West (also from Manchester) on banjo, mandolin and guitars. Besides contributing his fine picking, West also took on the role of producer for this project. McGaw contributes guitars, piano, and percussion. He also takes on the primary vocal role, although it looks like everybody contributes their voices throughout their debut album, One for the Dreamers.

One for the Dreamers includes 14 original tracks, all written by Danny McGaw. These songs were recorded live at Mike West’s 9th Ward Pickin’ Parlor studio in Lawrence, Kansas. As these are polished musicians, the material is not as raw as you might think, and it is mastered well so it sounds good while still capturing the energy and feeling of their live show.

“Can You Feel the Rain” is the opening track, and it starts out with pretty acoustic guitar and mandolin picking with a little kick drum and toms thrown in. From there, it builds as the lyrics enter and the vocal harmonies combine with electric guitars to make for a neat roots/rock song. There is a complex texture to this music, and the musicians have the ability to pull it off. The lyrics are very personal, and Danny’s voice has the emotion to captivate and pull the listener in.

The thing that strikes me most about this track (and all the others, too) is the maturity of McGaw’s songwriting. His choice of words is poetic, and the imagery he uses completes a complex picture in every song while still maintaining a very personal and intimate feel. Danny has recorded and released nine other CDs, so I should expect this, but his material really stands out, particularly when it is held up against much of the other new music I listen to.

The next track up is a neat bridge, “Turkish Café,” which is a half minute of percussion. I don’t know for sure, but this sounds like a soundbite that came up during the recording sessions, and they decided to put it into the album to help maintain the vibe. There is a second interlude, “Jones’ Lament” about half way through the album which is 30 seconds of piano that fills the gap between “Thursday Afternoon” and “Stand Up Straight.”

“Thursday Afternoon” is a folk rock song with a jazz break – this sounds weird when I put it down on paper, but it works when you listen to it. Jones’ drums and the percussion hold all of this together as the mood and tempo change throughout. “Stand Up Straight” uses its anthemic chorus and harder electric guitar sounds to help describe the feelings of a man who is trying to get his act back together again -- “I gotta find a way to be myself again.“ Amen, brother.

There is not enough space hear to describe all of the songs on the disc, but believe me when I say that each of them has its own sound and voice. The album finishes up with “I Wish You Well,” which has a lot going for it. Its message is a great sentiment that contrasts the heaviness of daily life with hope for the future. Musically it also has a multitude of neat components, including some country picking, doubled horn / whistling lines, and a driving beat with some slick tempo changes. This is a strong track and was a great choice to bring this project to a close.

This is a very good album with not a single clunker to be found. This hybrid of English rock and American folk music has a unique sound and feel, and you really have to give it a listen.

The One for the Dreamers release party will be on Friday, August 23 at the Brick in Kansas City, Missouri. The album will be available for sale in early September directly from their website as a download, or they can mail you a copy. Also, if you are in the Kansas City Area, be sure to check out Wells the Traveler’s website or Facebook page so you check out their schedule. As you will find out from this album, their live show is not to be missed! - Rex and The Bass

There are many reasons to get excited about a new band, but for me when an solo artist you’ve been following for some time suddenly says “Hey, I’ve got this band now. Check ‘em out!” it tends to get my attention. This is what happened with Wells The Traveler. I had been following the career of singer/guitarist Danny McGaw for some time (I first heard him on MySpace so that gives you some idea of timescale) and was delighted when he released his debut record Eccles Road in October 2012. In April of this year he announced the formation of Wells The Traveler and my ears immediately pricked up and upon hearing their debut record ‘One For The Dreamers’ record I am very happy to report it continues the tradition of Danny’s emotional folk and combines it with Americana to wondrous effect. Mike West is the band’s multi-instrumentalist who also produced the record and he was kind enough to answer a few questions about how the band came to be.
MFD: First of all can you tell me how the band came together?
MIKE: Jason and Dan backed up Danny at a monthly bar gig in Kansas City. They worked well together, though the bar eventually did fire them. Then Danny met Chad through the K.C. underground club scene and their musical chemistry was instant. Chad encouraged Danny to come to a Bluegrass Festival in Winfield Kansas (Chad’s home town) and that’s where I saw them play for the first time. I was taken with Danny’s relaxed yet intense delivery at a campground stage. I approached him after his show and discovered that he was from my old home town, Manchester England. I told him to to call me and he did. He took me on as a producer and as we worked together it became obvious that I just needed to join the band. And so it all began.
MFD: Danny has been playing as a solo artist for some years now and is the main songwriter in the band. The songs on the album definitely have his signature on them but are also very different to his solo work. Would you consider the songs intentionally different or a natural evolution in his songwriting?
MIKE: As a solo performer, Danny has great emotional range in his music, from intimate folk songs to all out Rock’n’Roll. Wells the Traveler are able to express and heighten this range with sophisticated arrangements and musicianship: stark and vulnerable at one moment, charged with electricity the next. With Wells the Traveler, Danny is able to write songs with greater dynamic, power and contrast than ever before.

MFD: The album was recorded live in Mike’s studio. Was this done to capture a certain feel or were there other reasons?
MIKE: As producer of “One for the Dreamers”, I wanted to capture spontaneous, emotive performances of carefully thought-out arrangements. The making of the album involved several weeks of rehearsal to fine tune the arrangements and dynamics of the songs. But when we came into the studio, the focus was on capturing powerful, honest, sometimes even raw performances. I wanted Danny to take risks as a singer, to express emotion as he so often does live.
MFD: The band boasts a host of respected musicians, you were in late eighties indie band Man From Delmonte, Dan Hines was in Paw and Jason and Chad are also well known on the Kansas music scene. Is it likely that any new songs will be more of a band effort?
MIKE: It is definitely a strength of Wells the Traveler that it’s individual members are strong, independent creative forces. Everyone in the band is a singer and a writer. Undoubtedly, Danny’s writing is the focus of the band, but he has started to co-write with Jason and Chad, and of course all the musical arrangements are created by the band as a whole.
MFD: With your debut album under your belt I’m guessing touring would be the next thing on the agenda, what else have Wells The Traveler got planned for this year?
MIKE: Wells the Dreamer are committed to promoting “One for the Dreamers” for the rest of this year. We are playing more regional shows and planning tours through the Midwest and Mid-South. And we have already started work on material for the next album.
MFD: With the entire band being veterans on the Kansas scene and the underground music scene in general, are their any up and coming bands we should be looking out for?
MIKE:Check out 40 Watt Dreams… Danny and I back up Katie West (of Truckstop Honeymoon) in a rocking five piece band with three part harmonies. Also Betse Ellis (of The Wilders) has put out an amazing solo CD, “New Moon Order”, combining influences of Old-Time, Punk and Pop with great songs.
MFD: Finally can you give me two albums that in your opinion everyone should own.
MIKE: Well, here is one favorite album from every member of the band:
Danny: Nick Drake “Pink Moon”
Jason: Squeeze “Argybargy”
Dan: The Who “Live at Leeds”
Chad: John Hartford “Areoplane”
Mike: Diana Ross “Diana”
- MUSICAL FREE DUMB