Dan Patlansky : Man On A Mission
Interview by The Dedicated Rocker Society
Photos by Nanette Grebe
South African guitar virtuoso Dan Patlansky has been the support act for Joe Satriani’s last twenty five dates of this European Tour.
He was selected by the legendary Satriani as special guest on the European and UK legs of his Shockwave Tour 2015 taking in twenty five shows across ten countries from 9 October to 10 November 2015.
Amidst ave reviews from European music press on the back of this tour, his 2015 UK album release ‘Dear Silence Thieves’, and 2012 album ’20 Stones’ both also reached the UK ITunes Top Twenty Blues Albums in the first week of November 2015.
He has also confirmed headline performances at London’s renowned venue The Borderline, as well as at the Planet Rockstock Festival in Wales in December 2015. An eight-show joint tour with British blues rockers King King in May 2016 as well as a further eighteen European shows in June 2016 are confirmed as part of the European launch of his new album ‘INTRO-VERTIGO’ which is being released worldwide in May 2016.
We caught up with the man himself. Asked him about Opening up for "The Boss", touring and his latest release, 'Introvertigo'. Here's what Dan kindly shared with us.
Q: It wasn't till your 7th album “Dear Silence Thieves” became the No 1 Blues Rock album for 2014 and you opened for Springsteen that people became aware of you. How did this change your life and what did The Boss think?
Dan Patlansky: It was certainly a life changing happening! It really set up everything for us regarding the UK. Peter Noble contacted us shortly after the 2014 best albums were released and from there he put a team together for us. Since then the UK has been fantastic to us . Playing with the Boss also open many doors, it was a tough show because Bruce watched the whole show from the wings of the stage, which added a lot of pressure, but it turned out to be great. Bruce seemed to really dig the show.
Q: You opened for Joe Satriani as well. What was that experience like?
Dan Patlansky: That for me was the best experience I’ve ever had. Been listening to Joe since I was a kid, and it was unreal benign on tour with him. I learnt a great deal from him. He is the most consistencally brilliant performer and an all-round awesome bloke. That was a massive mile stone moment for me.
Q: The new album, 'Intovertigo', where did the title come from? How did you approach this album, as far as musical direction, versus, 'Dear Silence Thieves”?
Dan Patlansky: I came across the title while surfing the web last year. I found the word on the Urban dictionary . It really made sense to me because Ive experienced that feeling a lot over the years. Because Ive written all the songs, I see it as life through the eyes of an introvert. As far as the approach for the album, it was a very similar one to the last album. Song was king! That was the main focus through out. Inly after we had that down did we worry about the rest (Performance, guitar playing etc…). I really like working like that, and will find it tough to work any other way.
Q: There are ten songs on the album. How many songs did you actually write for the album?
Dan Patlansky: I know it sounds crazy but thats the way it worked out. I would write a tune and scrap it very early on if it wasn’t going in the right direction . So when we arrived at the studio I had only 10 and we had to make those 10 work. Pressure! That something I've always done.
Q: What' s the music scene like in South Africa? Who are your influences?
Dan Patlansky: Its a lot smaller than the UK specially in the scene I fall under, but saying that its a growing market with tons of very loyal fans. I believe the talent level is off the chart down here. The SA music scene still has many miles to travel, but is certainly on track for greatness. My influences are quite broad. I love guys like SRV, Hendrix, BB King , Beck, Ray Charles, Steven Wilson, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin , Oscar Peterson, Weather Report, Jaco Pastorious.
Q: How do you rank your favorite guitar players?
Dan Patlansky: That's a tough one because no art form has a yard stick to measure these things. I rank my favourite players are ranked on what they do for me when they play. The one thing in common is they move me in an undesirable
way.
Q: Speaking of guitar players, you will be touring the UK with King King featuring Alan Nimmo. Are looking forward to that tour?
Dan Patlansky: Very much so!!! Im a big fan of King King! And have been for years, also they are a great bunch of blokes! They also stake me as a band that focus’s heavily on songs. I also think because they have such a great following it will be a fantastic chance for me to expose myself to different audiences . Can not wait!!!
Q: You, at one point toured a few months in New Orleans in 2005. While there you able to build up a strong following, but the tour was cut short due to Hurricane Katrina. What was that experience like?
Dan Patlansky: It was heavy to say the least. Coming from SA where the only natural disaster would be the way the government runs the country, a real hurricane was eye opening. It was real petty indeed, because we had great momentum built up. The hurricane its self was a horrifying beast, seeing that force of nature take hold of a unprepared city was shocking. I didn’t have to make to lose because I had only been there for a month or 2, but the poor people that lived there there whole lives got hit hard. Very painful to see.
Q: Are there any plans on returning and touring in America? Who would you like to tour with, if that becomes reality?
Dan Patlansky: I think we might look at some touring that side in 2017. We are currently focusing are efforts on the UK and Europe. I would really love to Tour with Rival sons as Im a big fan of what they do! But the reality is that there are hundreds of act I would kill to tour with.
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