• Field Trip Music & Arts Festival
    May 14, 2013

    Excited to be joining the lineup for the Arts & Crafts’ 10th anniversary celebration Field Trip Music & Arts Festival June 8.

    Tickets and info here.


  • An Open Letter to Paul Lawton (the man behind the “SLAGGING OFF” blog)
    April 11, 2013

    AN OPEN LETTER TO PAUL LAWTON
    (The man behind the “SLAGGING OFF” blog)

    Hi Paul.

    I’m writing in regards to both your critique of FACTOR’s funding system and your recent interview published in VICE online.

    Based on what I can gather about you, I do agree with some aspects of your general beef. However, I think your frustration is misdirected.

    FACTOR doesn’t give money to bands to line their pockets. FACTOR gives money to 2-star hotels, shitty diners, toll-road attendees, gas stations, publicists, record stores, record distributors, record labels (including small “true” indies), van mechanics, guitar shops, camera operators, recording engineers, dingy basement recording studios, graphic designers, poster illustrators and a billion other variables in the world of a touring band. Bands don’t live off of FACTOR, they live off of the audiences that FACTOR helps bands to attain in a third party kind of way (hopefully).

    You’re pointing the finger at bands that you don’t like. Their success is frustrating because you find that their art isn’t in line with what you want to hear. It’s frustrating because they have large audiences, and other bands that you prefer have smaller audiences.

    Should there be a cap on funding? Perhaps. Should it be spread around as much as possible to facilitate as many poor, struggling and awesome bands as possible? Absolutely. Is it perfect? Nope. But nothing is perfect, you whiny, part-of-the-problem arse.

    What you’re mad at isn’t FACTOR, it’s fucking LIFE. Van Gogh was starving and unknown when he dissipated to his own death in the countryside. The masses always adopt what is palatable, and genuine artistic trailblazers are never appreciated until long after the sweat of their toils has dried.

    You seem like a genuinely smart guy. Your wits and talents and lust to critique the scads of endless bullshit that we face in modern society would be better suited toward a myriad of more deserving causes. The WORLD is full of things like patriarchy, nepotism, insider exclusion, old boy networks, suffering, unfair power systems, sexism, racism, blah blah blah.

    FACTOR should be the least of your worries. They exist within the world of human interaction, and therefor are just as flawed as any other public institution. I’ve met a handful of people there, and just like you, they’re doing everything they can to maybe make an impact for the better given the inherent institutional/societal boxes that surround them. Despite your keen understanding of culture, I actually seriously doubt that you could do a better job. FACTOR is juggling an endless political quagmire of public policy changes, cultural changes, and the need to rationalize its existence to the government based on track record (ie: “Look what we did with Metric! It’s working!”) whilst trying to continually invest in young unknown bands (ie: “They could be the next Metric!”)

    Is this really the biggest fish you can fry? Sometimes the world sucks, and you’ve chosen to shit all over the one fucking public institution that could help you broadcast your cultural frustrations. I’m assuming your general disdain for humanity makes its way into your music. I hope it does. Humanity’s foibles is one hell of a muse.

    You say there’s no heavy lifting when it comes to truly critiquing Canadian music. I agree that there is A LOT of fluff out there. There are endless shitty bands grinding out audio pablum and regurgitating boring ideas. But shitting on everyone is actually the easiest option, not the most daring. What would be daring is to actually walk the walk, make some amazing music and get out there, play a billion gigs and inspire people to find truth and honesty rather than settle for mediocrity.

    I get a lot more truth out of listening to The Constantines than reading about why Canadian music sucks. Action speaks a lot louder than words.

    You’re shitting on young bands for being bad (hoping to take them “off the road”, as you say), meanwhile claiming that big evil seasoned bands are eating up all the cake and leaving none for the young shitty bands. These shitty young bands are doing everything they can to make it work, and you’re cutting them off at the knees. Maybe some awesome bands will form out of the ashes of when these bands break up? Is the idea of a cultural community completely lost on you? Another interesting idea: I would wager that all of your favourite bands slogged through the mud of industry BS to come out the other side, finding popularity while maintaining creative integrity. That takes some real balls.

    You’re painting a picture where the ratty punk bars your band plays are the only places where truth can live. Sometimes it does live there. But for god sakes, man, open your eyes.

    As for FACTOR “insiders”, I’d like to tell you a story. It’s my story. This isn’t meant to be a “LOOK WHAT I DID” story, it’s meant to be a reality check on “knowing the right people”.

    It’s about a musician from Vancouver (approx. 4,381km away from the FACTOR office) who applied twice to FACTOR for support on his first album, and was denied both times. That same musician applied for touring support at the time and was denied. That same musician spent four years flogging that shitty first album to anyone who would listen.

    This musician wasn’t very good at the time. But he played hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS of gigs, trying to become a better writer, a better performer, a better person, a better singer and a better guitar player. Then he applied two more times for support on his second album, and was denied. Magically, on his third attempt, he got a grant for about $10K, which was a lot of money. It was well timed, also, because he was about $35K in debt at this point, having racked up various credit cards and bank loans on the costs of touring, recording, etc. over the span of about four years. It was the beginning of the tipping point, and once that second album was released, this musician’s audience started to grow and he now has a reasonably stable career in music.

    For whatever reason, I had so much blind, naïve optimism in those early days that I was able to look past my well-acknowledged limitations and keep trying despite the fact that the odds were stacked against me. I’m not special, Paul. I didn’t have insider connections. What I did have was a large serving of gratitude for the opportunities that came my way, and an appetite to become a better musician. I wanted (and want) a life in music – to work tirelessly at a thoughtful and relevant body of work, and to assume that it could always grow and be better.

    Since my second album was released, FACTOR has been wonderfully supportive. I wasn’t in your top ten hit list of FACTOR recipients, but had you continued, I probably would have been in the top twenty. Do you know why? Because I kept fucking applying and I showed them that I was serious and worth investing in.

    Getting FACTOR funding is HARD. That’s frustrating to young bands. But in a miracle measure of karma, generally by the time a band has played enough gigs to stop being so shitty, they’ve probably gotten their ducks in a row enough to properly fill out a stupid application. There should be a Chinese proverb about delusional young bands who think they’re the god-damned Sex Pistols.

    It’s probably worth mentioning that I was referred to pejoratively by the dudette who interviewed you for VICE. In all honestly, it might have been the proverbial straw that encouraged me to write this letter.

    VICE used to be awesome. About a half-decade ago, they cut through a lot of societal BS and gave a seemingly backwardly moral message based in unabashed starkness and “we don’t give a shit-ness”. They were like the Adbusters of youth culture. Unfortunately, VICE is now nothing more than another fashionably and vapidly self-loathing ad-merchant attempting to stay relevant by trying to be the loudest and most annoying asshole in a pack of online assholes. VICE jumped the shark of pop culture long ago and are now repeating a more hollow, more thoughtless and less insightful version of their previously creative brand of apathy. I’m not surprised that they jumped on your controversial story like ambulance-chasing predatory lawyers on a car accident.

    I hope I get to meet you some time, Paul. I actually think we’d probably get along, and even though you’re probably receiving a lot of flack for your recent musings, I actually don’t think you’re entirely wrong. I just think that you’re fighting the wrong battle. And now that you’ve gotten some attention for it, I fear that the fodder will invigorate you to wave the flag even more vehemently.

    Canada has hit above its weight for as long as FACTOR has existed. Our system is not perfect, I promise. Neither is the Polaris Music Prize. But if you really want to make a difference, cultivate a scene of thoughtful, truth-seeking musicians who give a shit and go ahead and make incredible music. I promise it will make you happier than sitting around refreshing your twitter feed, waiting defensively to refute all the venom you no doubt are now affronted by.

    You just might catch more flies with honey than vinegar, my man.

    Drop me a line any time. And when The Ketamines come to Vancouver, I’ll come see the show. I’ll even let you copy my successful FACTOR applications.

    Yours,

    Dan Mangan


  • Squamish Valley Music Festival
    March 2, 2013

    Also happy to announce we’ll be performing at Squamish Valley Music Festival August 9/10!

    Lots more information HERE.


  • Gentlemen Of The Road Festival, Simcoe Stopover
    March 2, 2013

    Happy to announce we’ll be playing Gentlemen Of The Road festival curated by Mumford & Sons on their Simcoe, Ontario Stopover August 23/24. To find out what a “stopover” is, and the philosophy behind the entire run of GOTR festivals, have a looksee HERE.

    Full Lineup:

    Mumford & Sons • Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros • Dan Mangan • Old Crow Medicine Show • The Vaccines • Hey Rosetta! • Willy Mason • Bear’s Den 


  • Guelph, Oct 26 / 2012
    November 14, 2012

    Photo Credit: Chris Tiessen


  • RADICALS
    October 17, 2012

    It’s here!

    - Available on DIGITAL // iTunes
    - Available by MAIL ORDER // GalleryAC
    - Available to STREAM here

    Radicals is a 7-inch vinyl release. The artwork is by Robyn Kotyk. Notice the two girls are similar, but wearing opposite dresses. We’re all on one side or another of the same coin.

    I feel like “RADICAL” is the most overused word in social/political fodder these days – people of extreme political leanings calling moderately opposite people “radical” to justify their own opinions or make themselves appear more “moderate”.. This pushes the public conception of where the political middle is for manipulative means. Most often, it’s the pot calling the kettle black. It’s frustrating. I’m letting go of some of this frustration by adorning this release with the title. Once we’ve over-saturated the word, it will lose its meaning, and people will hopefully get over it. Pretty rad, hey?

    ~~SIDE A~~ We Want To Be Pleasantly Surprised, Not Expectedly Let Down
    We weren’t quite sure what to do with this tune. We recorded it when we made Oh Fortune. We liked it, but it didn’t suit the rest of the record, and would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Apparently, I had a hankering for long-winded song titles at the time. The song is about the constant battle between our desire/need to have hope and optimism for humanity and the reality that we have a tendency to fall short in civil compassion.

    ~~SIDE B~~ Stairway
    I had a late night insomnia-inspired notion that I could cover a Yukon Blonde song and do it justice. If you don’t know Yukon Blonde, they recently released an LP called Tiger Talk that is jam-packed with hits. They’re one of my favourite Canadian bands and just a couple of weeks ago, I convinced them to be my wedding band (yep! I tied the knot). I danced my ass off. They absolutely destroyed. Incredible. Anyhow, I recorded the song really quickly with one take of each instrument (notice the shaky vocals) and then whipped up a little youtube video to go with it. I hope you like it (it’s in the post below this one).


  • Stairway
    October 6, 2012


  • Radicals 7″ / WCMA wins / ECHO Songwriting Prize / CBC Doc / Canada-USA-Europe
    October 2, 2012

    Hello Love,

    My, oh me, there is a lot to tell you in this letter, so just to sum it up in a quick little table of contents:
    - we’re releasing a new 7″ single called Radicals
    - we were overwhelmed with 3 West Coast Music Awards
    - we’re nominated for the ECHO Songwriting Prize
    - the CBC-produced documentary about us called “What Happens Next” will be broadcast nationally in Canada and streamed online on October 20th
    - we’re heading on tour across Canada/USA with The Rural Alberta Advantage and throughout Europe with Jason Collett


    RADICALS
    I feel like “RADICAL” is the most overused word in social/political fodder these days – people of extreme political leanings calling moderately opposite people “radical” to justify their own opinions or make themselves appear more “moderate”.. This pushes the public conception of where the political middle is for manipulative means. Most often, it’s the pot calling the kettle black. It’s frustrating. I’m letting go of some of this frustration by adorning this release with the title. Once we’ve over-saturated the word, it will lose its meaning, and people will hopefully get over it. Pretty rad, hey?

    Radicals is a 7-inch vinyl release. The artwork is by Robyn Kotyk. Notice the two girls are similar, but wearing opposite dresses. We’re all on one side or another of the same coin. We’ll have physical copies to sell on our upcoming shows in Canada and the United States, but of course, as it is the digital age, you’ll also be able to get it online. You can stream it here also.



    ~~SIDE A~~ We Want To Be Pleasantly Surprised, Not Expectedly Let Down
    We weren’t quite sure what to do with this tune. We recorded it when we made Oh Fortune. We liked it, but it didn’t suit the rest of the record, and would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Apparently, I had a hankering for long-winded song titles at the time. The song is about the constant battle between our desire/need to have hope and optimism for humanity and the reality that we have a tendency to fall short in civil compassion.

    ~~SIDE B~~ Stairway
    I had a late night insomnia-inspired notion that I could cover a Yukon Blonde song and do it justice. If you don’t know Yukon Blonde, they recently released an LP called Tiger Talk that is jam-packed with hits. They’re one of my favourite Canadian bands and just a couple of weeks ago, I convinced them to be my wedding band (yep! I tied the knot). I danced my ass off. They absolutely destroyed. Incredible. Anyhow, I recorded the song really quickly with one take of each instrument (notice the shaky vocals) and then whipped up a little youtube video to go with it. I hope you like it.




    WCMAs
    Well holy crap, we just won three nods at the Western Canadian Music Awards! Independent Album, Rock Album and Songwriter Of The Year for Oh Fortune. We had a jolly ol’ time in Regina, MB. Back in 2010, we received another three WCMA’s for Nice, Nice, Very, Nice. So, yeah. Thanks to people for all that kindness. We’re swimming in a bowlful of gratitude.




    SOCAN’s “ECHO SONGWRITING PRIZE”
    Very excited to say that we’ve been nominated against some heavy hitting Canadian talent for the ECHO Songwriting Prize. “Post-War Blues” is up against choice cuts from Kathleen Edwards, Sloan, John K Samson and Japandroids. The winner is decided by online voting and folks can vote every day up until October 10th. Feel free to drop by the Echo Prize website to tell the entire internet what your opinion is of the five songs.

    WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
    Huge kudos to director/producer team Brent Hodge and Jon Siddall for finding enough material on our lil’ ol’ band to piece together a finely crafted documentary. Big thanks to the CBC for putting this to air. “What Happens Next” was first broadcast in BC last month, and now it will be getting a national (Canadian) broadcast at 12pm EST / 9am PST on October 20th! Once it’s gone to air, it should also be up online in case folks want to watch it on the interweb. More info HERE .



    NORTH AMERICAN SHOWS
    Oct 19 | Halifax, NS | Halifax Pop Explosion (duo w/ Symphony Nova Scotia | SOLD OUT
    Oct 20 | Fredericton, NB | Wilmot United Church (duo) | Tickets
    Oct 21 | St John’s, NL | Gower St. United Church (duo) | Tickets
    Oct 23 | Montreal, QC | Théâtre Corona w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets
    Oct 24 | Kingston, ON | Sydenham United Church w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets
    Oct 25 | Toronto, ON | Danforth Music Hall w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets
    Oct 26 | Guelph, ON | Peter Clark Hall (U of Guelph) w/ Rural Alberta Advantage (JUST ANNOUNCED!) | Tickets
    Oct 27 | London, ON | London Music Hall w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets
    Oct 29 | Chicago, IL | Schubas Tavern w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | SOLD OUT
    Oct 30 | Minneapolis, MN | 7th Street Entry w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | SOLD OUT
    Nov 1 | Winnipeg, MB | Burton Cummings Theatre w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets
    Nov 2 | Regina, SK | Knox Met w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets
    Nov 3 | Saskatoon, SK | The Odeon Events Centre w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets
    Nov 4 | Calgary, AB | Jack Singer Concert Hall w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | SOLD OUT
    Nov 5 | Edmonton, AB | Winspear Centre w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | SOLD OUT
    Nov 7 | Nelson, BC | The Royal w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | SOLD OUT
    Nov 8 | Kelowna, BC | Kelowna Community Theatre w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets
    Nov 9 | Vancouver, BC | Queen Elizabeth Theatre w/ Rural Alberta Advantage | Tickets

    EUROPEAN SHOWS
    Nov 25 | Glasgow, UK | Oran Mor w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Nov 26 | Leeds, UK | Brudenell Social Club w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Nov 27 | London, UK | Scala w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Nov 28 | Manchester, UK | Deaf Institute w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Nov 29 | Brighton, UK | The Haunt w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Nov 30 | Paris, FR | L’international w/ Jason Collett | Tickets Soon!
    Dec 3 | Amsterdam, NL | Melweg w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Dec 4 | Brussels, BE | Le Botanique w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Dec 5 | Bochum, DE | Bahnhof Langendreer w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Dec 6 | Hamburg, DE | Uebel and Gefaehrlich w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Dec 7 | Dresden, DE | Beatpol w/ Jason Collett | Tickets
    Dec 8 | Zürich, CH | Exil w/ Jason Collett | Tickets Soon!
    Dec 9 | Lausanne, CH | D Club w/ Jason Collett | Tickets

    Wow. That was a long one. If you’re reading this, you belong in the band Trooper. Because you’re a trooper.

    Best,

    Dan

    DanManganMusic.com | Twitter | Facebook

    ps. like youtube? check it.
    "Post-War Blues" Music Video     /// "About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All" Music Video /// "Rows Of Houses" Music Video /// "Sold" Music Video ///
    "Robots" Music Video /// "Road Regrets" Music Video /// "The Indie Queens Are Waiting" Music Video


  • Mosaic Magazine
    September 27, 2012

    Dan had a nice chat with Grady Mitchell over at Mosaic whilst in Victoria for Rifflandia recently. Have a read HERE


  • “What Happens Next” gets national (Canadian) premier!
    September 17, 2012

    We’re excited to announce that the CBC Documentary “What Happens Next” about Dan and the band will be premiering nationally on CBC on October 20th @ Noon EST / 9AM PST!

    More information HERE

    Watch the trailer below!