Duck into the Grog in Newburyport or the Press Room in Portsmouth on any given weekend night, and it’s possible that you’ll find Dan Blakeslee on stage with his trusty acoustic guitar in hand. For the past decade or so, Blakeslee has been a staple in venues up and down the New England coast.
Born and raised in South Berwick, a quaint southern Maine town nestled between Portland and Portsmouth, Blakeslee left the area in the early 1990s to study at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Since returning home in 1994, he’s bounced between Boston and various seacoast towns north of the city, quickly becoming an important part of the music scene at each location.
“Every place I’ve ever lived becomes a piece of the puzzle, and a real solid part of me,” Blakeslee says in an excited and welcoming tone uncharacteristic of many singer/songwriters. His latest residence in Newburyport has lasted two and a half years, and to Blakeslee, the town feels like home.
Blakeslee is also a recognized illustrator, using his unique style to create his own event posters and album artwork.
“It’s got this great art scene that keeps growing and growing,” he grins, noting that the early bedtime of most locals helps, too. “I’ve written so many songs just riding my bike around town late at night, because there’s no one on the street after midnight. It’s like the whole town is yours. I love it.”
More than just a folk artist, Blakeslee also writes vintage tongue-in-cheek horror songs as his alter ego, Doctor Gasp, and is a well-known visual artist. A few of his instantly recognizable concert posters are included in the hipster coffee table book Art of Modern Rock. “The songs and the posters kind of go hand in hand,” he explains. “Any time I’ve ever tried to concentrate on one more than the other, it hasn’t worked.”
Blakeslee’s latest album was released in the fall of 2007 on Peapod Recordings. It originated from a chance meeting with Ron Harrity, a music friend from his college years in Baltimore. After meeting on the street in Portsmouth for the first time since graduating a decade earlier, the two caught up and eventually made it up to Harrity’s studio in Portland to relive old times and cut a record together. The result was Lincoln Street Roughs, a beautifully fragile album of somber stories with a distinctly New England slant.
Over the course of eight songs, Blakeslee tells image-rich tales in a quivery voice set against a backdrop of sparse instrumentation, most of which he plays himself. Juliet Nelson of TigerSaw, another established Newburyport band, perfectly underscores the contemplative mood of the songs with her groaning cello.
Blakeslee is overjoyed with the album, and has already begun cutting a new one, teaming once again with Harrity. Release of the new endeavor is scheduled for later this year. In the meantime, Blakeslee has booked an unprecedented “Island Tour” for August 3-14 that will take him to various island venues along the seacoast between Rhode Island and Maine.
Musician Profile – Dan Blakeslee
Photos courtesy Dan Blakeslee
Duck into the Grog in Newburyport or the Press Room in Portsmouth on any given weekend night, and it’s possible that you’ll find Dan Blakeslee on stage with his trusty acoustic guitar in hand. For the past decade or so, Blakeslee has been a staple in venues up and down the New England coast.
Born and raised in South Berwick, a quaint southern Maine town nestled between Portland and Portsmouth, Blakeslee left the area in the early 1990s to study at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Since returning home in 1994, he’s bounced between Boston and various seacoast towns north of the city, quickly becoming an important part of the music scene at each location.
“Every place I’ve ever lived becomes a piece of the puzzle, and a real solid part of me,” Blakeslee says in an excited and welcoming tone uncharacteristic of many singer/songwriters. His latest residence in Newburyport has lasted two and a half years, and to Blakeslee, the town feels like home.
Blakeslee is also a recognized illustrator, using his unique style to create his own event posters and album artwork.
“It’s got this great art scene that keeps growing and growing,” he grins, noting that the early bedtime of most locals helps, too. “I’ve written so many songs just riding my bike around town late at night, because there’s no one on the street after midnight. It’s like the whole town is yours. I love it.”
More than just a folk artist, Blakeslee also writes vintage tongue-in-cheek horror songs as his alter ego, Doctor Gasp, and is a well-known visual artist. A few of his instantly recognizable concert posters are included in the hipster coffee table book Art of Modern Rock. “The songs and the posters kind of go hand in hand,” he explains. “Any time I’ve ever tried to concentrate on one more than the other, it hasn’t worked.”
Blakeslee’s latest album was released in the fall of 2007 on Peapod Recordings. It originated from a chance meeting with Ron Harrity, a music friend from his college years in Baltimore. After meeting on the street in Portsmouth for the first time since graduating a decade earlier, the two caught up and eventually made it up to Harrity’s studio in Portland to relive old times and cut a record together. The result was Lincoln Street Roughs, a beautifully fragile album of somber stories with a distinctly New England slant.
Over the course of eight songs, Blakeslee tells image-rich tales in a quivery voice set against a backdrop of sparse instrumentation, most of which he plays himself. Juliet Nelson of TigerSaw, another established Newburyport band, perfectly underscores the contemplative mood of the songs with her groaning cello.
Blakeslee is overjoyed with the album, and has already begun cutting a new one, teaming once again with Harrity. Release of the new endeavor is scheduled for later this year. In the meantime, Blakeslee has booked an unprecedented “Island Tour” for August 3-14 that will take him to various island venues along the seacoast between Rhode Island and Maine.
For full details about the island tour and more information on Dan Blakeslee, visit his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/danblakeslee or www.danblakeslee.com.