Singer/songwriter Dan Torres returns to UP this Friday to play songs off his album
By Jessie Hethcoat
Dan Torres will be performing in Saint Mary's tomorrow at 10 p.m. Friday is one of two coffeehouse performances that the Campus Program Board hosts per semester. A quick phone interview with the singer/songwriter at 2 p.m. gave a glimpse into the kind of life that he leads. As he talked about Led Zepplin, Halloween and New York City, Torres waited in line for the ATM and started his walk to what he describes as a very fancy haircut. "I live in the brightest, most ridiculous place in the world," Torres said. Torres has been writing music since he was a teenager, but it was not until January of 2005 that he had his first performance on stage. Having produced the entire album by himself, Torres is a uniquely hard-working talent. Today, he has a full album titled "Where I Stand". His music is classified as Indie/Rock/Alternative. The album is a slowed-down rock and pretty promising to make for a great, live acoustic show. Torres describes his music as "moody" rock. Junior Tarra McCurdy, Campus Program Board director, invited Torres to come to UP and perform. "He came last spring with Derek James," McCurdy said. After their performance, students were impressed with Dan and requested for him to return to UP. He has different vocal and instrumental influences, mostly because these two parts of performing came in very different points of Torres' life."I'm really influenced by Led Zepplin and Tonic," Torres said. "As for vocal influences, Chris Cornell is a big one. So are Robert Plant, Jeff Buckley, and right now, Brandi Carlile." Torres never thought of himself as a singer; he actually wanted to separate the two and be purely a writer of music until he realized his vocal talent. It's difficult for Torres to pick out his favorite song of all the ones he has written. He claims his favorite is always the most recently written song. "Right now, my favorite of my songs hasn't even been recorded yet, but if I had to choose one off my album, I would choose You Don't Even Wanna Know My Name," Torres said. Freshman Ellen Farber agrees that this is a stand-out track on the album. "You Don't Even Wanna Know My Name" has such a raw feeling to it. It showcases Dan Torres' vocal power, and it's just a really great song," Farber said. The coffeehouse performance this Friday will be sure to help release some youthful angst for Torres and all students who come out to hear him play.
