In 2014 Daniel J. Logan completed his first Percussion Tour of the UK, culminating in a performance with the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Emily Maguire.

Dan, who has over 10 years professional experience including having played on record and in concert with artists including Thea Gilmore, Jackie Trent and Rod Clements (of Lindesfarne) as well as emerging artists Alx Green and the multi-award-winning Ashley Fayth (+ many more) is once again making preparations to go on the road…

What is The Percussion Tour…?

Rather than the conventional idea of a tour where a band or artist plays a series of venues around the country across a number of dates, the Percussion Tour has Dan playing not only a different venue each night but also with a different artist as well – It’s far more complicated fun that way…!?

Dan’s percussion is perfect for solo singer/songwriters and fits in great with full bands too!

And the best news is…for reasons explained later… he’s willing to do this for minimal or (eek!) even NO FEE! – the scoundrel!

No Fee..? Now I’m Interested… How Does it All Work…?

An artist who would like the Percussion Tour to join them sends a list of possible dates over (dates they are already playing) and based on the dates from other artists, Mari (Dan’s ‘patience of a saint’ Tour Manager) agrees what date Dan will join each artist. As the dates are confirmed the tour takes shape. Hopefully something like as follows…:

Artist 1 – 26th February – Manchester

Artist 2 – 27th February – Liverpool

Artist 3 – 29th February – London

Artist 4 – 2nd March  – Southampton

Etc….

Importantly  – It doesn’t have to be an entire set that Dan plays. As long as he plays on stage with an artist during their set, that counts as a gig and is on the tour.

Ok, so… why little or no fee, I thought he was a professional…?

Yes, Dan is a professional (and he has the credits, the PPL statements and the overdraft to prove it!). However, there are two reasons why Dan is reluctant to charge a fee for Percussion Tour performances.

Firstly, the whole thing relies not only on artists’ goodwill in the first place, but also on them having already got a date booked. This mostly means that their own fee has already been thrashed out with their promoter, manager, venue, label etc. and so adding a new person to the list would upset all of this (and frankly if someone is good enough to offer the date in the first place, the last thing Dan wants to do cause a hullabaloo)

Secondly, The Percussion Tour is a one off event (well this is the second one, but you get the idea) in Dan’s calendar and is a brilliant promotional aid for him (both in terms of press for the event itself, and the chance to meet and work with new musicians) so although it costs him petrol, accommodation and time (the stuff we usually all charge for) in this rare exception, the benefits outweigh the costs.

Obviously, if there is a bit of spare cash about then he’ll not say no to it!

Ok, I Get The Gist… It Sounds Bonkers! (Oh, And What About Rehearsals)…?

Indeed, there is a fine line between genius and madness. A line that Dan treads daily…however, don’t forget that this is the second time he’s done it and it worked great before.

So rehearsals…

Perfectly understandably, some artists may ask for a rehearsal before the performance. This is absolutely not a problem and Dan and Mari are happy to liaise as appropriate.

However, if schedules are tight; Dan has built his career heavily on his ability to improvise, and with this being percussion, he has an advantage over other instruments in this regard. To that end some artists may choose to send over songs to learn beforehand and leave it at that. There have been many occasions throughout his career where Dan has met the other musicians he’s playing with for the first time that night at soundcheck.

And Remember  – It doesn’t have to be an entire set that Dan plays. It could be one or two songs (maybe the more straightforward ones in the set)

Well This All Sounds Excellent.. But I Could Do With A Little More Convincing…

Understandable: A bloke you don’t know asks if he can hop onto your stage, play your songs and then disappear into the night to do the same thing the following day with the next person.

Firstly, this is obviously a big deal for Dan who’s reputation relies on him consistently performing at the highest level. The Percussion Tour is not ventured into lightly and if he didn’t think he could do it, he wouldn’t.

Secondly, take a look around Dan’s full website to see and hear some of his previous work.

Thirdly, Dan has the backing of Percussion Plus (who’s Sonix brand of drumsticks and brushes he endorses) as well as Orchard Recording Studios.

And Most Importantly, don’t take his word for it: here’s what some of the people who Dan has played for before have to say:

“I stumbled upon Dan by chance. My good friends Skeet Williams and Oscar South recommended him as they thought my music would benefit from his unique way of being able to fit in with any style; and they were not wrong.

Without a rehearsal, he improvised the entire set and was so good he was booked to play on my album ‘The Cabinet Maker’.

A total professional from start to finish I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this excellent musician who takes pride in mastering his craft.”  – Gary Edward Jones 

“Dan thanks so much…you played a blinder!” – Scott Ralph (Robbie Williams/Holly Johnson/Sessions) 

“I love touring with Dan!”  – Thea Gilmore

By Jove, He’s Done It! Where Do I Sign Up…?

Fantastic! If you would be kind enough to allow Dan to join you on stage and become part of The Percussion Tour 2017 please get in touch via email:

dan@orchardstudios.co.uk

marilia.larkamp@gmail.com

Or telephone:

01270 262000 (Orchard Studios – where Dan is based)

See you on tour….!