View source for Dan Bern

{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}
{{distinguish|Dan Burn}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Dan Bern
| image             = Dan Bern 1.JPG
| caption           = Bern in August 1999.
| image_size        = 
| birth_name        = Daniel Bern
| alias             = Bernstein<br />Cunliffe Merriwether
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1965|7|27}}
| birth_place       = [[Mount Vernon, Iowa]], U.S.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
| origin            = 
| instrument        = Vocals, guitar, harmonica
| genre             = [[Folk music|Folk]], [[Rock music|rock]], [[Pop music|pop]]
| occupation        = Musician, songwriter, author, [[visual artist]]
| years_active      = 1996-present
| label             = [[Messenger Records|Messenger]], [[Cooking Vinyl]], [[Work Records|Work]]
| website           = {{URL|danbern.com}}
}}

'''Dan Bern''' (also known as '''Bernstein'''; born July 27, 1965) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, novelist, and painter. His music has been compared to that of [[Bob Dylan]], [[Woody Guthrie]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[Phil Ochs]] and [[Elvis Costello]].<ref name=all>Brett Hartenbach [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-bern-mn0000951825/biography Dan Bern - Biography], [[AllMusic]]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://folkmusic.about.com/od/artistspotlight/p/DanBern_profile.htm|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051018141737/http://folkmusic.about.com/od/artistspotlight/p/DanBern_profile.htm|archive-date = October 18, 2005|title = Folk Singer Joan Baez's 10 Best Songs}}</ref><ref>[http://www.carnegiehall.org/textSite/box_office/events/evt_7009.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524211905/http://www.carnegiehall.org/textSite/box_office/events/evt_7009.html|date=May 24, 2006}}</ref>

He is a prolific composer, having written over one thousand songs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://home.earthlink.net/~usablues/archive/archive.html|title=The Official Dan Bern Lyric Archive|website=eArthlink.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://danbern.redacorn.net/lyrics/|title=Dan Bern Song Lyrics|website=Danbern.redacorn.net}}</ref> He wrote the novel ''Quitting Science'' (2004) under the pen name '''Cunliffe Merriwether''' and wrote the preface under his own name.

Bern describes his music as "[u]ndefinable by genre, crossing over and through folk, [[Rock music|rock]], [[singer-songwriter]], and [[Children's music|kids music]]" with sardonic, literary lyrics.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} He has toured with [[Ani DiFranco]], [[The Who]], and [[Roger Daltrey]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dan Bern |url=https://danbern.com/bio/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Dan Bern was born in [[Mount Vernon, Iowa]].{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
He is of [[Lithuanian Jewish]] ancestry; on a trip to Lithuania, he learned Bernstein was his family's name before immigration to the United States.<ref name=achorage>{{cite web |url=http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives/documentee59.html |title=Press: One Thing Real |website=www.anchoragepress.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030522175559/http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives/documentee59.html |archive-date=22 May 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bern learned to play cello at age six, and the guitar at 14<ref name=post>Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli, [http://poststar.com/lifestyles/the-artistic-genius-of-dan-bern/article_b678735d-3e70-5433-9118-cfaf3a57aed3.html The artistic genius of Dan Bern] The Poststar. April 2, 2017</ref> or 16, after he heard his first Bob Dylan songs.<ref name=salon>Dan Bern [https://www.salon.com/2015/10/07/bob_dylan_called_me_a_scurrilous_little_wretch_with_a_hard_on_for_comedy/Bob Dylan called me a “scurrilous little wretch with a hard-on for comedy] Salon.com 10.08.2015</ref>

After college, he played seven open mics a week in Chicago and started to be invited to Chicago folk clubs such as The Earl of Old Town, Holstein's and The No Exit.<ref name=salon/>

==Career and themes==
[[File:Dan Bern at Hopmonk Tavern in Novato California.jpg|thumb|Dan Bern at Hopmonk Tavern in Novato, California.]]
[[File:Marquee at Hopmonk Tavern in Novato California.jpg|thumb|Marquee advertises a Dan Bern performance.]]

Between 1997 and 2003, many of his tours and recordings featured a regular cast of backup musicians which he began calling the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy or IJBC, which Bern said was a tribute to the book ''[[Nigger (1964 book)|Nigger]]'' by [[Dick Gregory]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/scars-on-45s-new-video-an_b_910481.html |title=Scars On 45's New Video and Download, Plus Chatting with Vanessa Carlton, Dan Bern and David Bromberg |last=Ragogna |first=Mike |date=2011-07-27 |website=Huffington Post |language=en-US |access-date=2017-07-08}}</ref>

Although a vein of social and political humor runs through even his earliest work, Bern's songs became more explicitly political during the [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004 US presidential election]] campaign, with songs such as "Bush Must Be Defeated" and "President" highlighting his sometimes surreal political takes. His work often deals with his [[Lithuanian Jewish]] ancestry, as in songs like "Lithuania." The name Bernstein is a reference to this ancestry; on a trip to Lithuania, he learned it was his family's name before immigration to the United States.<ref name=achorage/> In 2004, Bern published the novel ''Quitting Science'' and, in 2012, ''Cleaver the Gronk'' under the pen name Cunliffe Merriwether.

''New American Language'', ''The Swastika EP'', ''Fleeting Days'' and ''My Country II'' were all released under the "Dan Bern & the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy" name. The IJBC featured longtime Bern producer and collaborator Wil Masisak on keyboards, drums, guitar, and [[Bass (instrument)|bass]]; Eben "Eby Brown" Grace on guitar and [[Pedal steel guitar|pedal steel]]; Brian "Slim Nickel" Schey on bass and guitar; Paul Kuhn on cellocaster; Anna Phoebe on electric violin; and drummers Colin "Spanky" Mahoney and Jake Coffin.

In early 2007, Bern's ''Breathe'' won in The 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/jukebox2007.asp|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501181807/http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/jukebox2007.asp|url-status=dead|title=Independent Music Awards – 6th Annual Winners|archivedate=May 1, 2009}}</ref>

Bern's songwriting skills were used in the 2007 biopic parody film ''[[Walk Hard]]'' where he helped write 16 songs for the movie. Many of these songs made the theatrical cut of the film including the Dylanesque "Royal Jelly," and the melodic "(Have You Heard the News) Dewey Cox Died." He continues to write songs for films, including ''[[Get Him to the Greek]]'' and ''Father's Day''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.syfy.com/tags/horror|title=Horror|website=Syfy.com|date=May 18, 2023 }}</ref>

In 2009, 2010, and 2012, Bern played with ''[[Common Rotation]]'' from Los Angeles, California which consists of vocals, guitar, banjo, trumpet, saxophone, and other instruments. Their concert in September 2009 at the M Bar in Los Angeles, was released as a live album in the spring of 2010 called "Live in Los Angeles" with about half the songs Bern playing solo and the other half including Common Rotation.

Bern's song "One Dance" was also included in Kasdan's first film, ''[[Zero Effect]]''. Bern wrote "Swing Set," a duet with [[Emmylou Harris]], for the off Broadway production of ''Family Week'' (directed by [[Jonathan Demme]]), and wrote the title song for Demme's documentary ''Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains''.

In 2012, Bern released two studio recordings of American roots music: ''Drifter,'' featuring a duet with Emmylou Harris, and ''Doubleheader,'' an 18-song tribute to baseball culled from close to 30 years of songwriting and recorded at Bob Weir's TRI Studios in Marin County. ''Doubleheader'' features the song "Johnny Sylvester Comes Back to Visit the Babe", in which he put words and music to the story of [[Babe Ruth]] and [[Johnny Sylvester]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Poekel, Charlie |title=Babe and the Kid: The Legendary Story of Babe Ruth and Johnny Sylvester |date=2007 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-1-59629-267-3 |page=140}}</ref>

Bern has created two podcasts: ''10,000 Crappy Songs: A Musical Detective Story'', a fictional radio drama featuring original music from Bern;<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-18 |title=10,000 Crappy Songs: A Musical Detective Story by Dan Bern on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/10-000-crappy-songs-a-musical-detective-story-by-dan-bern/id1454898619 |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-US}}</ref> and ''Hunkered in the Bunker'', a series of free-form shows produced during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-10 |title=Hunkered In The Bunker |url=https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/hunkered-in-the-bunker-dan-bern-8WcLBGeEz3Z/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Listen Notes |language=en}}</ref> He also produces an internet radio station, ''Radio Free Bernsteinn.''

In 2020, Bern created the song "Never-To-Be-Forgotten Kinda Year" to soundtrack [[Reddit]]'s 2020 "Year in Review" video.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-08 |title=Reddit's 2020 Year in Review - Upvoted |url=https://www.redditinc.com/blog/reddits-2020-year-in-review/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=www.redditinc.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Influence===
Bern's song "Talkin' Woody, Bob, Bruce, and Dan Blues," from the album ''Smartie Mine'', offers a joking take on the influence of Dylan and Guthrie, presented in the style of a Guthrie or Dylan [[talking blues]] song, and containing a spoof of a Springsteen song as well. When asked about the similarity between himself and Dylan, he once quipped, "I guess Bob Dylan was sort of the Dan Bern of the '60's." {{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

==Personal life==

In 1991, he lived in Hollywood, taught tennis in Encino to make a living as a songwriter. The junior scouts from the major record companies “were coming around".<ref name=salon/>
Bern is married to Danielle Lesniewski. They have a daughter, Lulu, who Bern listed as a collaborator and later the lead artist on several of his children's albums. The family lived in Los Angeles until 2016 before moving eastward for family reasons.<ref name=post/> They now{{when|date=September 2024}} reside in New Mexico.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

An avid fan of sports and baseball in particular, Bern has written and recorded a number of sports-focused albums and songs, such as the tennis-centered ''Jack Kramer Wood Racket'' and the baseball albums ''Doubleheader, Rivalry,'' and ''Elly De La Cruz & Other Stories'', the latter of which was created "especially for [[Cincinnati Reds|Reds]] fans."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elly De La Cruz & Other Stories, by Dan Bern |url=https://danbern.bandcamp.com/album/elly-de-la-cruz-other-stories |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Dan Bern |language=en}}</ref> Bern also listens to the sports podcast ''[[The Tony Kornheiser Show]]'' "religiously" and began submitting his sports songs for the show to use on-air. After running through his existing library, he began writing songs specifically for the show; these are compiled in his ''Songs for Mr. Tony'' records.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Songs for Mr. Tony (vol. 1), by Dan Bern |url=https://danbern.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-mr-tony-vol-1-2 |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Dan Bern |language=en}}</ref>

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
* ''[[Dan Bern (album)|Dan Bern]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Fifty Eggs (album)|Fifty Eggs]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Smartie Mine]]'' (double album; 1998)
* ''[[New American Language (album)|New American Language]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Fleeting Days]]'' (2003)
* ''Breathe'' (2006)
* ''Moving Home'' (2008)
* ''2 Feet Tall'' (2009)
* ''Drifter'' (2012)
* ''Doubleheader'' (2012)
* ''Wilderness Song'' (2012)
* ''Hanukkah Songs'' (2013)
* ''3 Feet Tall'' (2015)
* ''Hoody'' (2015)
* ''Adderal Holiday'' (2016)
* ''Regent Street'' (2019)
* ''Ivan's Barbershop'' (2020)
* ''Quarantine Me'' (2020)
* ''Rivalry'' (2020)
* ''4 Feet Tall and Rising'' (2021) (credited to "Lulu Bern ft. Dan Bern")
* ''Needlequake'' (2023) (with Orit Shimoni, Paul Kuhn, and Adam Busch, as "The Needles Pop Group")
* ''Starting Over'' (Mar 1, 2024) (backed by Jane's Great Dane) <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-15 |title=LISTEN: Dan Bern Shares Title Cut to New LP Starting Over - Rock and Roll Globe |url=https://rockandrollglobe.com/rock/listen-dan-bern-shares-title-cut-to-new-lp-starting-over/ |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=rockandrollglobe.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== EPs ===

* ''Dog Boy Van'' (1996)
* ''World Cup'' (2002)
* ''The Swastika EP'' (2002)
* ''Anthems'' (2004)
* ''[[My Country II]]'' (2004)
* ''Breathe Easy'' (2006)
* ''Shining'' (2020)

=== Live recordings ===

*''Live in Los Angeles'' (2010)
* ''Live in New York'' (2011)

===Digital-only releases===

* ''Divine and Conquer'' (1994; released 2007)
* ''The Burbank Tapes'' (1998; released in 2007)
* ''Macaroni Cola'' (2000–2001; released in 2007)
* ''Songs of Fall'' (2014)
* ''Hashtag 800cc'' (EP; 2020)
* "Never-To-Be-Forgotten Kinda Year" (single track; 2020)
* ''Jack Kramer Wood Racket'' (2021)
* ''The Last Days of Trump: The Opera'' (2021) (with Jonathan Flaugher)
* ''Songs for Mr. Tony, vol. 1'' (2022)
* ''Songs for Mr. Tony, vol. 2'' (2022)
* ''Songs for Mr. Tony, vol. 3'' (2023)
* ''Elly De La Cruz & Other Stories'' (EP; 2023)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Dan Bern}}
* [http://danbern.com/ Dan Bern's website]
* [http://messengerrecords.com/dan_bern.php Messenger Records Dan Bern website]
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p27213|label=Dan Bern}}
* [https://archive.org/details/DanBern Dan Bern collection] at the [[Internet Archive]]'s live music archive

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bern, Dan}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:21st-century American male singers]]
[[Category:American folk singers]]
[[Category:American male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Cooking Vinyl artists]]
[[Category:Fast Folk artists]]
[[Category:Independent Music Awards winners]]
[[Category:Jewish American artists]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:Jewish folk singers]]
[[Category:People from Mount Vernon, Iowa]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Iowa]]