Happy New Year! When 2020 started, I hadn’t touched my guitars since 2017; when the pandemic started, I wasn’t completely sure that I didn’t want it to kill me. However, during what was a truly frightful year in many respects, with the help of my family and closest friends, I came back to life, reconnected with friends, started off in a new direction, and reaffirmed my passion for studying and making music. Smart Barker released several new singles in the second half of 2020. Currently, I’m deep into making a new Smart Barker album with Mark Graybill and Tommy Traddles, featuring significant contributions from Pat Manley and a few guest musicians. I’m also working on a professional certificate in music production from Berklee Online, having just started my second course. I bought a new guitar and a new fretless bass. And now I’m hoping to avoid COVID-19 altogether, to get healthy again and to stay that way.
While we’re working on the new Smart Barker album, I’m releasing some new music as DR. This solo project will consist of songs, mostly covers, that the band doesn’t want to do and that are 100% performed and produced by me.
Here is the first DR release: my cover of John Lennon’s “Oh My Love,” available exclusively on our Soundcloud page.
Daniel Robinson