composer bio

Dan McNamara 

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Dan McNamara began his musical studies on the piano at age seven and began drum lessons at the age of nine. He played with his school bands, including marching, jazz and concert bands up through his senior year of high school, at which time he played orchestral percussion with the Erie Junior Philharmonic Orchestra.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Pittsburgh, Dan toured with the Younger Bros. Band for two years, after which he moved to Los Angeles.

Playing professionally since the age of fourteen, Dan has recorded and/or performed with The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Stephen Bishop, Phil Collins, Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones, the Indigo Girls, Jan and Dean, The Coasters, Leslie Gore, Mark Lindsay, The Cowsills, Papa Doo Run Run and others. He has appeared on numerous T.V. shows, movies and commercials including Cheers, Baywatch, The Bold and the Beautiful and Dick Tracy.

Dan has toured extensively as a performer throughout the United States as well as many European countries and Puerto Rico. In 1988, he was a personal guest of Leonard Bernstein at a performance of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, N.Y.C.

As a songwriter and composer, Dan has written numerous songs, jingles and themes for radio and television. He is the founder of The Jingle Factory, a commercial music production company.

about the project

When I commissioned Dan for this project I knew what the final results would be, as Dan and I go back four and a bit decades to our high school era where we performed together in various bands and stage shows in our home town of Erie, Pennsylvania (USA). Dan was an accomplished drummer and percussionist back then and I have always wanted to find a vehicle to utilize his talents in a film or television project. I am so very proud of this release and admire Dan’s musicality, professionalism, musicianship, technical ability and our deep friendship….  with the greatest respect to Dan – THIS PROJECT SOARS!

Quote from Dan:

“While composing each percussion track in this collection, I was always thinking cinematically. I had a specific vision for each track, but I kept in mind that these tracks could be used across multiple genres. With ‘Whitewater Terror’ for example, I envisioned a rough ride down the Zambezi River rapids in Africa, but knowing it could be used for any extreme sport footage.

I mainly constructed the tracks so that individual sections could be sliced and diced as stand-alone grooves.” (McNamara / 2021)

personnel credits

Composer & Performer: Dan McNamara (BMI)
Executive Producer: Art Phillips
Mixing & Mastering: Kathy Naunton, dB Mastering
Drums and Percussion: Dan McNamara
Metadata: Bev Klingsick & Art Phillips
Music Teaser: created and edited by Art Phillips / 101 Music Studios
Marketing and Communications Consultant: Bev Klingsick
Album Artwork & Video Animations: Pete White, Twin Pete’s Creative
Website Design: Dylan Prior, Unified Business Solutions

Thank you to all my global sub-publishers for your continued support of the 101 Music Pty Ltd® catalogue.

Regards,

Art Phillips
owner | director, 101 Music Pty Ltd®

June 14, 2021