SEAN P. FEENY
‘Off The Grid’ in New Orleans
Donegal singer/songwriter
recently put the finishing
touches to his debut album
recorded with a top producer
in Los Angeles.
Danny Burns, originally from
Ballyshannon, will later this year release
his debut album Off The Grid
in Ireland and The United Kingdom.
The son of Brendan and Mary
Burns got the opportunity to work
with LA based English producer and
composer Warren Huart who has
worked with high profile artists such
as The Fray, James Blunt and American
Idol winner Kris Allen.
Danny, who lives New Orleans
with his wife, Chicago native Katie
Smith, has been touring since he was
19 and before making the permanent
move Stateside in 2004 had already
spent time in America.
In 2000 the singer went to in New
York where he worked and performed
in the famous Manhattan bar,
Rocky Sullivan’s where he became
good friends another Irish singer
looking to make it in the industry,
one Damien Dempsey.
“Rocky Sullivan’s is a very famous
bar and was known to be the haunt
of The Pogues and so when they
were making a documentary about
The Fairytale Of New York, the owner
Chris Byrne, whose family also
hail from Donegal, was interviewed
and the also did a little interview
with myself and filmed while I was
performing.
“I then moved to Washington DC
in 2004 where I played guitar and
mandolin with a folk group, but soon
after I was offered my own solo residency
in New Orleans.
“Performing in O’Flaherty’s six
days a week, it gave me a great opportunity
to work on my own material
and try out songs with the public,”
said Danny.
By chance, Danny was offered a
steady gig in Chicago and so he
packed up and left New Orleans - just
a week before Hurricane Katrina hit
in August 2005.
“I got offered to put a band together
and we moved up to Chicago just a
week before Katrina hit New Orleans,
we were very lucky.
“Some time after I was back down
and went to where our house was
and it was completely demolished,
we could have lost everything like so
many people.”
The couple moved back to New Orleans
three years ago and Danny began
to gather his demo recordings to
send off to various producers.
“I had recorded demos in New Orleans,
Chicago and at home in Donegal
with my good friend Johnny Boxtie
Gallagher who has always been
very encouraging and after several
song-writing workshops in Nashville
my songs were tweaked and ready.”
Danny knew he wanted a more
contemporary pop rock sound for his
album and so he set out to find someone
who really knew what they were
doing in a studio.
And so the Ballyshannon man flew
out to LA where he spent a full
month recording his album with
Warren who brought in top class musicians
to play on Danny’s tracks.
The Grammy-nominated record
producer brought in musicians who
have worked with everyone from
Shakira, Avril Lavigne to Roger Daltrey.
“Ben Wysocki from The Fray also
came in and played on three songs, it
was amazing to have so many talented
and renowned musicians playing
on my tracks,” he said.
Danny’s influences not only come
from his traditional upbringing, but
also from legendary singer/songwriters
such as John Martyn, Van Morrison,
Richard Thompson, and Christy
Moore. He comes from a very artistic
family with his grandmother Mary
Kelly a dance teacher, and mother
Mary teaching music to many students,
including Boxtie Gallagher.
Living in New Orleans, Danny has
also recorded and performed with
legendary New Orleans musicians
George Porter, Jr. (The Meters) and
Mean Willie Green (Neville Brothers
Band, Bob Dylan).
The singer is going to release Off
The Grid in America to coincide with
nation-wide tour in September and
October, before he releases a single
EP in Ireland and the UK to promote
the subsequent album release and
tour in February. [less]
