It’s a common story. Adam Burnett, lead singer and guitarist of Dangermaker, used to write and record music with a collection of cheap instruments and a four-track cassette recorder in the closet of his creaky old San Francisco apartment. It was a way for him to remain connected to his passion for music, something to keep his mind off of life’s drudgery. Music for Adam went from pastime to obsession. He needed to make music to conquer the void, he needed a band.

What he could not have imagin...