I was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, USA on March 9, 1971. I mainly grew up in St. Louis Park (a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis that was also home to filmmakers the Coen Brothers, writer/comedian/political satirist Al Franken, Dan Wilson of Semisonic, and many others in the music and film businesses) except for a year spent in Chapel Hill, North Carolina when I was 5, while my dad went to school there for a year.

2. WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MUSICAL MEMORY?

Well, I'm really not sure at this point, but I have a vague memory of maybe hearing my dad play the Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" on the piano. He played it really beautifully, and it's still one of my all-time favorite songs.

3. WHAT WAS THE FIRST RECORD YOU OWNED?

I believe it was Billy Joel's "The Stranger". I was a big Billy Joel fan as a kid. That's probably not too cool to admit, but then again, when I was 7 years old, I didn't care about being cool. I just liked catchy melodies. And I hope I never lose that love of melody. It still drives me to create music now.

4. WHEN AND WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST PERFORMANCE?

Well, excluding piano recitals as a kid (yuck) my first real performance was at a strip mall in suburban Minneapolis with my first real band, the Big Madras. I played guitar, and sang on one song (Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK) and as I recall, the following songs were also in our set list: Louie Louie, California Sun, My Generation, Little Bit O' Soul, Rebel Rebel, and two really bad originals (with music written by yours > truly). There were other songs too, but I'm blanking on what they were.

5. WHO IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST MUSICAL INFLUENCE ON YOUR WORK?

I have to pick one? Sorry, can't do it. It's a tie, and it always has been. Dylan and the Beatles.

6. WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE CONCERT YOU'VE ATTENDED?

Probably the first real rock concert I ever went to. When I was 12 years old I saw the Kinks at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota. My friend and I got right up to the front row and Ray Davies actually bent down, aimed the microphone at us, and let us sing into the microphone on a song (don't remember which one). True story. Then later on in the show he tossed me one of his guitar picks. It was really an incredible first concert experience, and it had a big impact on me.

7. WHAT IS THE WORST JOB YOU'VE EVER HAD?

Probably working at McDonald's when I was 14. Without getting too graphic in my descriptions, let's just say that the sanitary habits of some of my co-workers has made it so I rarely eat at McDonald's to this day.

8. WHAT IS THE BEST JOB YOU'VE EVER HAD?

Hmmmm, really the only honest answer here would be playing music. I can't think of anything I enjoy more than getting on stage with my band the Cultivators. It's the only job I've ever really loved, since it doesn't feel like a job at all. As of now, I'm not yet able to do it for a living, and that is my career goal...to get to a point where I CAN play music for a living. That's really my dream.

9. WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST (ALL MEDIA)?

Well, it's gotta be a musician, since that's where it's all at for me. So you've made me do it...I can't run away from it. Bob Dylan. He's done what every songwriter strives to do: express himself articulately, passionately, and distinctively while creating songs that are also extremely interesting musically.

10. WHAT IS YOUR ALL-TIME FAVOURITE BOOK

I'd go with "Catcher in the Rye". It's one of the books that when you read it when you're young, you finally feel a little less alone in the world.

11. WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE INSTRUMENT?

Here's a surprise: the guitar. I know, shocking that I would say that, isn't it? But really, I love the guitar because it's so tactile...it just plain feels good to play.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG YOU'VE WRITTEN?

Right now, today, at this exact instant (it probably changes daily) it's "Overloaded" off my latest CD "Dan Who?". It's pretty much my rant against the world. In the song, I slam hipsters, salesmen, and hardened cynics with equal fury. It's a song that I'm glad I finally had the courage to write. It's not exactly smart to slam hipsters when you're in the music business, but I just decided that I didn't care anymore.

13. WHAT IS THE FAVOURITE SONG SOMEONE ELSE HAS WRITTEN?

Tough one, but lots of times I think maybe it's "Big Things" by Ted Hawkins off of his album "The Next Hundred Years". It's a really powerful song that has a strong impact on me.

14. HAVE YOU EVER COLLABORATED IN SONGWRITING?

Yes, with several people. I wrote a bunch of songs in my freshman year of college with a guy named Chuck Carey. I also co-wrote songs with my bandmate Brad Bouten in my first "real" band, One Town Horse. I've also co-written with a guy named Noel McKay in Austin, TX and with the Cultivators' former guitarist Tom Sampson.

15. CAN SONGWRITING BE TAUGHT OR IS IT A GOD-GIVEN TALENT?

A little of each. I think you need to be born with some innate ability to do it, but once you have that you can either hone your skills or let them atrophy.

16. WHAT SINGLE THING HAS HELPED YOU MOST IN YOUR CAREER?

My ability to belief in myself no matter how many rejections I get in the music business. I'm extremely persistent.

17. WHAT SINGLE THING HAS HINDERED YOUR CAREER?

My tendency to be bitter, negative, and hold grudges, rather than forgiving people, staying positively focused, and forgiving people again. That and my sometimes oversized ego.

18. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE DRINK?

Probably either a whiskey and Coke or a real strong margarita.

19. WHO'S YOUR FAVOURITE POLITICIAN?

I'd say Harry Truman. A man who had to make horribly agonizing decisions (dropping the A-bomb on Japan) and was never given credit for his many accomplishments (like recognizing the State of Israel, integrating the U.S. military, preventing a potential World War III in Korea), yet remained honest and loyal to his true friends to his dying day.

20. ( THE ADVERT) IN LESS THAN 100 WORDS DESCRIBE YOUR LATEST DISC.

My latest CD "Dan Who?" is a bare-bones, solo acoustic record that showcases Dan Israel (that's me) playing world-weary, from-the-heart songs. Before you start yawning, or groaning, at the thought of this, consider that the songs are also Beatlesque in their melodic approach, and that this CD has won rave reviews all over the world for its directness and honesty. No Depression magazine says "Damn, what a record - in fact, the most surprising, and welcome, singer-songwriter find since Tim Easton's Special 20" and Jim Walsh St. Paul Pioneer Press gave "Dan Who?" 4 out of 4 stars, saying "at the moment, I can't recall a more honest recording."