Album Notes

Daniel Morones’ LP “The Upside to Downtime” and his all star trio are gathering both momentum and fans.

Orange County, CA – Daniel Morones’ December 2007 LP release entitled “The Upside to Downtime” and its single “Candle Song” have been picking up steam and gathering both momentum and fans as listeners discover Morones’ deep and diverse songwriting style. Born and raised in Orange County, CA the superficial capital to some, this singer/songwriter surpasses the confides of the Orange Curtain and brings a wide and eclectic variety of musical styles ranging from acoustic indie-folk, reggae, Latin pop, melodic hard rock, and contemporary pop. With strong lead vocals and warm backgrounds all sung by Daniel Morones, the richness in his voice adds a sincerity and emotion to the likeness of Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith. Daniel Morones’ sound is vast in scope and full of rich melodies, captivating guitar work and textures, linked with intelligent and insightful lyrics. With top of the line production and musicianship, “The Upside to Downtime” is a complete and unique package worthy of fans from all walks of life.

The first single “Candle Song” finds Daniel in his more acoustic-oriented mode. Its low-key almost naked and unassuming intro doesn’t immediately hit a listener as hit single material. However with its dark and intimate lyrical content combined with lush and warm harmonizing backgrounds, you find yourself pulled in to the song’s desperate charm and are eager to find out of what will become of our distraught and broken lead lamenting through song. With well placed tasteful guitar lines, a rock steady rhythm section that effortlessly creeps in and powerful lyrics sung with a soulful sincerity that is so often missing in today’s market, the song fuses these elements together to demonstrate Daniel’s true gift in being able to write and convincingly perform a great song.

“The song is basically about feeling like you’re burning at both ends and all alone,” Daniel explains. “It sounds kind of depressing but it’s actually an optimistic song. It’s about that moment when a person realizes that they’re in a place that probably can’t get much worse and that they have to make some immediate changes because they can only go up from where they are. ” And therein lays a clue to the emotional complexity Daniel Morones is capable of bringing to his music.

Daniel Morones currently performs out live with his power trio consisting of two session players from the Los Angeles area. Richard Fultineer on drums/percussions and backgrounds and Austin Nicholson on bass/stand-up and background are two musicians who are well known in the studio and club community in and around LA. Here Daniel tells us on how his trio came to be. “Ritchie and Austin are two guys I met while being a session guy myself, we just became friends and when I approached them about what I was doing they didn’t even hesitate to say yes. It was like when can we start rehearsing? That meant a lot to me cause these guys are busy pros who are always recording or performing or jumping on a flight to be in some studio or gig somewhere around the world. For them to take time out of their busy schedules to make this thing a reality is something really special to me.” In describing their live sound versus his studio album Daniel tells us, “Well in the studio you’re options are pretty much limitless in regards to what you can put on a song. I’ve always gone though with the philosophy of just giving the song what it needs, nothing more nothing less. You don’t have to utilize all 90 something tracks or whatever or bring in swelling strings or dive bombing guitars just cause it’s at your disposal. Sometimes all a song needs is a tambourine or a simple piano part. For our live show it’s a bit of a different approach since obviously we are limited by the fact that there are only three of us on stage. It’s a bit of a challenge if not impossible to recreate a studio sound with three guys, so we arrange things as more of a power trio in the likes of The John Mayer Trio, Sublime, or The Police. As a band we just want it to groove, to be dynamic, and to have strong vocal harmonies. Its then up to me to bring a believable performance and bring it all together. It’s a lot of fun and when we have other musician friends sit it on a song or a set, it makes a show all the more special. What I want people to experience when they come to a Daniel Morones show is simply to be moved and entertained. I want the audience to have just as much fun as we’re having on stage. Ya know, it’s great when you play with top guys who know how to keep things tight as well as fun and loose”


Some accolades worth noting about Daniel Morones is that he earned himself a full scholarship to attend Chapman University, where he studied classical guitar. He has performed in front of audiences over 10,000 strong with bills that have included Sublime, No Doubt, and Jimmy Eat World. He also has written and recorded with Platinum selling and Grammy-nominated producers and artists and as well as had his material placed on E Television network and independent films. Currently, Daniel is working with A&R Select, the world’s leading independent artist development firm, based out of Los Angeles, CA.