We recently connected with Dan Switalski and have shared our conversation below.
Dan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I’ve always really struggled in formal teaching settings. The “record, memorize, recite” pattern that still feels very prevalent in traditional western education has always felt so far removed from my actual goals that I’ve always found it difficult to be enthusiastic about.
I’ve been fortunate to have worked with many great educators throughout my life, from my first guitar teacher Evan Haller, to my current industry mentor Michael Schulze, to many others both inside and outside of the music world. That said, the most important things I picked up from the positive influences in my life were not the things that I know, but rather how to react when presented with things that I don’t. These mentors passed on to me a sense of flexibility and willingness to improvise, as well as a sense of humbleness which has helped me to learn on the fly and gain insight from sources that may be overlooked by others.
In the past, I’ve spent a lot of time stressing about how much further along I could be if I had played my cards differently growing up. I’ve taken a very different path than most, dropping out of high school, continuing on to study music production at the University of Denver, and most recently placing my degree path on hold to work as an audio engineer for that same school.
It’s a difficult thing to remove yourself from a path that most of your peers are continuing down without feeling “lesser-than”. I’ve always wondered where I would be if I was able to power through the gen-ed classes, the hours of homework, and the exams full of questions that I couldn’t seem to relate to the realities of what I was studying.
With that said, I try to find peace in the fact that I really couldn’t see myself getting where I am today in any other way. As far as I’m concerned, the fundamental nature of learning is changing: In a world where just about any information you need is a google search away, the “record, memorize, recite” standard that has been the foundation western education is quickly losing value. With this in mind, I continue to place my energy into developing what I consider a much more valuable skill set – the abilities to collaborate, to ask the right questions, to draw relationships between fields and facets that aren’t immediately apparent. While it can feel like a gamble to move all in on my convictions in a world that’s evolving so rapidly, I can’t see any other option but to push forward with my beliefs in the only way that I know how.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Sure thing! I’m a freelance musician currently operating out of Denver, Colorado, as well as an audio engineer for the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. I pride myself on being a jack of all trades with the dexterity to fit in wherever a client may need me, ranging from guitar and bass playing, to mixing and running recording sessions, to band management and show booking. In addition to all of this, I offer teaching services in the form of both weekly lessons and as-needed consultations, where I take a multifaceted approach using my above experiences to help people of all ages and skill levels reach their goals.
My true personal musical interests lie in the more technically oriented modern prog and fusion scenes, with players such as Guthrie Govan, Tim Henson and Feodor Dosumov being some of my biggest guitar influences. However, 10 years of guitar playing and a lifelong love of music have prepared me to work within many different genres with a common goal of pushing whatever project I’m a part of in new and unexpected directions.
Since my move to Denver from the greater Boston area in 2019, I’ve been privileged to work with many talented groups and artists in various capacities: I currently have roles as bassist, social media manager, booker and fund manager in post-punk trio Antibroth, have written, and recorded and performed as a guitarist with up and coming jazz-fusion group BunniBunne, and have been involved with groups such as Bleak Mystique and Lu Lagoon as a hired gigging bassist. I’ve also acted as recording/mixing engineer and session guitarist for solo artist Rachel Winnick, as well as session and gigging guitarist for Aaliyah Shambe.
I place a lot of emphasis on building positive connections with clients and coworkers – core to my values both in the industry and in life is the belief that positive experiences lead to positive products. With that in mind, I try to balance a business minded sense of respect and professionalism with the creation of strong personal connections and lifelong friends. Ultimately I want to be known as someone who creates good times and better music!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding part of what I do is to be able to watch one of my projects develop from the ground up. I’m someone who takes a lot of encouragement from the little things, so whether it’s a group I play or played a role in putting out its first album, getting its first few hundred streams, or scoring its first big show, these glimmers of potential push me to work even harder on what comes next.
This enjoyment is of course not limited to projects that I take part in either – to watch your friends and colleagues succeed in the things that are important to them can be even more gratifying, and more often than not, growth and success in a supportive creative ecosystem is contagious. While advancing on your own is great, there’s something special about feeling like a part of a larger community snowballing into something much greater than the sum of its parts.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
A large portion of the music that I really enjoy playing and listening to lies far outside the realm of the mainstream. In a world where people both in and outside creative fields are influenced to view art as a means to achieve wealth and fame, it can be difficult for many to wrap their heads around the fact that I choose to place so much of my energy into the more esoteric corners of the music world, giving my all to projects that realistically have much lower ceilings, at least when it comes to ideas of traditional success.
While they’ll certainly be nice bonuses if I’m ever lucky enough to fall into them, my goals don’t lie in extreme wealth or fame. Ultimately what I am looking for is respect – to have a small group of people who I feel truly hears and connects with what I’m trying to say through my art is infinitely more valuable to me than a mass of faces with only a surface level understanding of who I am. That said, I of course hope to one day find a happy medium between these things – to build a career that allows me to give back to my family while making my own art (as well as facilitating and encouraging the creation of others’) would of course be a dream scenario. But in my mind, it all starts with respect.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: dswitalski1
- Other: Email: danswitalskibooking@gmail.
com
Image Credits
Elise Black, Elijah Patchen, Jason Evans and Michael Sutherland