Dan Zimmerman

Dan Zimmerman, an indie folk singer and songwriter linked to Daniel Smith of Danielson and the Sounds Familyre imprint, entered the world in 1948 as the child of a Methodist preacher whose church environment left a lasting mark. Guitar studies commenced for him in 1957, followed by enrollment at the Syracuse School of Art. Core inspirations stemmed from the mid- to late 1950s and early 1960s, encompassing the Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan. A series of late-1960s events—the divorce of his parents, the Vietnam War, and the drug outbreak—prompted disillusionment that led him to abandon formal education at the close of the decade and journey westward in a van toward Portland, OR, completing the trip by hitchhiking. Early in the 1970s he wed his college sweetheart and relocated to Washington state, where the couple established a yoga community amid the forest. Mid-decade employment with the government forestry service placed him near Mount St. Helens. By the close of the 1970s he had returned to Portland and devoted himself to family responsibilities. Co-founding the band Subterranean Café in 1984 produced three albums across the ensuing five years. Relocation to New Jersey occurred in 1995, after which he connected with Daniel Smith of the indie outfit Danielson (also known as Danielson Famile). Decades of songwriting and live performance culminated in his first recording, the 2001 release Great Small, issued by Smith through Sounds Familyre. The self-released follow-up Northwest Years appeared in 2003. A third full-length, Cosmic Patriot (2009), again paired him with Smith, who handled production and placed the album on Sounds Familyre.