Album Notes

The name Dan'l was a suggested stage name offered up by a friend in the early 70's since Dan's last name (McILhenny), was so hard for folks to pronounce. It has stuck with him ever since. Dan'l is an Acoustic Storyteller at heart who penned one of his first songs while serving in Vietnam with the Air Force. It wasn’t long before he had a passel of originals; ballads, story songs and humorous array of witty tunes. To listen to him is like a flashback to another time and another place but amazingly fresh and unique at the same time. He's retro inspired by life and a little zaney too! As a seasoned songwriter, Dan'l enjoyed commercial success with the long running "Sports Anyone?" jingle, which aired on radio and television. In 1997, two of his songs, "High Sierra" & "You Can, You Can" became music videos exhibited exclusively at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show in Las Vegas.

Since the fall of '98, Dan'l has dedicated most of his spare time to producing, writing and entertaining with Mother Nature as his mentor. For example, the John Muir - Tribute CD was a collaborative effort of Jill Harcke and Dan McILhenny. Produced in 1999, it has sold ever since as a fund raiser for the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, CA. The Tribute CD has been featured on BBC Radio, Scotland, KVMR, Nevada City and Bay Area Backroads, Channel 4, San Francisco.

The summers of 2001 through 2004 found him busy entertaining in the beautiful venues of Yosemite and Sequoia / Kings Canyon National Parks. Dan’l was the featured musical guest for the Centennial Celebration at Le Conte Memorial Lodge hosted by the Sierra Club. He also sang for the Sequoia Natural History Society as part of their Tribute to Naturalist John Muir. The program was held at the Historic Fox Theatre in Visalia, CA and was honored with a national award.

These days Dan’l is learning what life is like in Oregon. He and his wife Val have settled in the Pacific Northwest near Portland. In his spare time, he pitches in as a Board member with the Portland Songwriters Association and Artichoke Community Music. In 2007 he released "High Sierra" an independently produced retrospective of his early songs from the 70’s and 80’s. Right on the heels of “High Sierra” (Folk/Americana), comes a companion Pop album called “Blissphemy” due out in 2008. “It’s a very exciting time,” says Dan’l, who plans to be back in the studio this year to begin work on a new album.