Dan Wallace is a Chicago based composer who is as at home with an orchestra as he is with an electric guitar. Since the release of his 2006 album NEON AND GOLD, of which Mark Suppanz of The Big Takeover said: "It's hard not to fall for this intoxicating and expertly-crafted LP," Wallace has been steadily establishing himself as one of the more adventurous voices in indie rock. He is especially recognized for his sophisticated song-craft, inventive arrangements, and colorful lyrics. Of Wallace's 2007 follow-up, Michael Mee of Americana UK said, "Put simply, CULTURE OF SELF is about daring to be different, and the magic that comes when you do."
In 2008, Wallace released REATTACHMENT, of which Jon Worley at Aiding & Abetting said, "He not only blenderizes just about every song on this album, he does so with a style and grace that is almost unthinkable." Two songs from REATTACHMENT were also included in the acclaimed documentary "American Artifact: The Rise of American Rock Poster Art." His latest album, DEN OF MANIACS, was released in March 2010.
Past projects include scoring music for theatre and film (most recently 2010's "Damn Dirty Hippies"), serving as co-Director of the Chicago Chamber Music Collective (who premiered his first chamber works in Chicago), and organizing critically acclaimed concert series of contemporary classical music. He is also a CAAP Grant recipient.
Wallace was born in Philadelphia and moved around every few years to places as diverse as a small village in Germany and a trailer park in Mississippi. He began playing guitar at age 14, when he learned the chords to "Raising Hell" by Run-DMC. Within a few months he was playing along with Frank Zappa, Randy Rhoads, and Charlie Parker records. It also wasn't long before he was inspired by the likes of J.S. Bach, Conlon Nancarrow, and Dmitri Shostakovich to begin composing chamber works, which would be his focus until he discovered Caetano Veloso in his mid-20′s and began writing songs.
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