Daniel Ferrari by Daniel Ferrari

However, it wasn't until the age of 8 that inspiration from none other than the great Elvis Presley drove Daniel to pick up a guitar and begin taking lessons through a program in grammar school. As his love for guitar deepened, Daniel found himself caught up in the alternative/ punk/ grunge movement pioneered by bands like Pearl Jam, Green Day and Bush while also developing a strong hankering toward R&B and hip-hop, particularly Boyz II Men and Mary J. Blige. High school found Daniel taking up the drums to fill the need of his brother's hard rock/ metal band called Thrush, a group heavily influenced by the Deftones. Thrush's success throughout high school enabled Daniel to expose himself to the songwriting process and develop a feel for the stage. However, Daniel discovered that his heart was with a different genre, namely pop rock.

During his time in high school, Daniel would encounter three of his favorite singer-songwriters who have continued to inspire him to this day: Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind, Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, and Brandon Boyd of Incubus. Daniel can remember picking up the guitar after Thrush's many basement concert sets were complete and performing songs of all three bands while most of the audience was still there. As Daniel explains, "I loved playing the drums with Thrush and it was a great experience for me, but when I'd take the guitar and sing for everyone, I would feel so comfortable like that's where I fit... and I knew I was meant for that role musically." Daniel would continue to be inspired by performers like Edwin McCain, Wanya Morris (Boyz II Men), Brian McKnight and Jason Mraz.

Ready to begin a new chapter in his life, Daniel completed his first original song "Relentless" during the summer before leaving for Loyola College in Maryland. He wrote the soft, heart-felt ballad for his girlfriend at the time to ensure her that their relationship would remain strong across the miles. Daniel remarks, "After finishing 'Relentless' I really started to understand the power that music has to communicate a feeling or a message." While at Loyola, Daniel quickly developed a fan base, performing regularly at the Thursday-night on-campus coffeehouse, regular concerts, talent showcases and fundraiser concerts, raising money for various needy causes, such as AIDS research and the CHOICE Mentoring program of Baltimore, an agency Daniel was heavily involved in throughout all 4 years of his college career. Community service became an integral part of who Daniel was and he spent much of his time coordinating the Choice program, serving at soup kitchens, leading retreats and visiting communities for mentally handicapped adults on two of his spring breaks. Daniel also became a member of the Loyola Chimes, Loyola's male a capella group, performing with them for three years.

Daniel's growing success and popularity on campus kept him motivated to continue writing and performing as much as possible. Towards the end of college, a rough demo that Daniel had recorded of some songs he had written got into the hands of Billboard's Gene Smith. Seeing potential in him, Smith decided to work with Daniel and have 6 of his songs arranged and produced by Ernie Savage. The new demo would include Daniel's most popular original hit, "To Know You're Safe," a deep, moving song with a powerfully catchy chorus. " To Know You're Safe" would go on to be the most requested song at Daniel's shows and fans quickly memorized the words and sang along. Daniel remarks, "Seeing other people relate on a lot of different levels to any of my songs... something I created... is probably the most rewarding thing for me right now as a songwriter."

Now, after graduating Loyola, Daniel will continue to strive to create moving, unique, relevant music and look to deliver that music to audiences though captivating, energetic performances as much as possible. His self-titled EP will be available at all shows and through his website www.danielferrari.com. Daniel Ferrari is truly an artist who will continue to take great pride in each lyric and melody of every song he writes, refusing to be anything but unique. Daniel will continue to share what has been in his heart throughout his life with audiences everywhere.

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