Danny!

My formative 80’s experiences span from a breakdance exhibition in front of Ms. Walls’ 6th grade class to being peer-pressured by my cousins to do the Madonna “Like a Virgin” floor routine on the side of a highway to cutting out Robert Smith’s mouth from a magazine picture and recording lip-sync videos of songs by The Cure.

It wasn’t until 1988 that I purchased my first acoustic guitar. It was a right-handed guitar that I had to restring upside down. I eventually upgraded to electric guitars and taught myself to play. In high school I started playing in punk and indie bands and spent some time touring the country. For the last fifteen years, I’ve played in a band called The Not-Its! that plays punk rock for children and families. The Not-Its! have performed all over the world, in China and India, and have played notable festivals and stages at Lollapalooza, SXSW, Levitt Pavilion, The Getty Museum, and more.

For me, playing 80’s music started as a bit of a gimmick as someone had an 80’s party and asked us to play. Over time, that grew into more and more show requests. Now that the band has morphed into the current lineup known as “The Scrunchies”, it’s more fun than I imagined. Playing this many hit songs that everyone knows every word to is a live experience that is RAD beyond belief!