Daniel Vee Lewis (musician)
Encyclopedia
Daniel Vee Lewis is an American musician and bass player, perhaps best known as the bassist for the Santa Cruz, California
-based group World Entertainment War
. His current projects include Dreambeach, with cofounder & vocalist, Pipa Piñon, and performance work with Solcircle, The Joint Chiefs, and The Al James Band.
. He was raised in Los Angeles
and later moved to Santa Cruz, California
. He started playing drums in rock bands at 12 years old and took some formal training on drums before he switched to the bass guitar, which he taught himself to play well by the age of 16. He finished high school in Santa Cruz, California and then enrolled in jazz improvisation courses at Cabrillo College
, where one of his instructors was trumpet player Ray Brown
of the Stan Kenten Band.
Lewis played in Tao Chemical with Rob Brezsny
.
From 1988 until their disbandment in 1993, he was the bass guitarist for World Entertainment War, playing with vocalists Rob Brezsny
and Darby Gould
, drummer Anthony Guess, and keyboardist Amy Excolere on two albums, one on MCA Records
. Bill Graham, World Entertainment War's manager, once said of Lewis, backstage at one of their shows, "I love your bass style. You've got that animal/juju thing going on."
He and Guess went on after that to play old-school funk and disco music in Jivehounds, another Santa Cruz-based band that also featured vocalist Dante Dark.
He currently plays bass guitar for the Santa Cruz-based band Solcircle, which he helped form in the early 1980s, then as Special Fun, and which currently consists also of wind instumentalist Gary Regina, percussionists Michael Horne and Gary Kehoe, and guitarist and videographer Bob von Elgg. Solcircle released a self-titled CD album on August 31, 2002 on Audio Amigos Records. Adam Cotton of the Metro Santa Cruz newspaper called them, "One of the most visionary bands in the history of the Santa Cruz music scene."
Since 2003, Lewis has also played bass guitar for The Joint Chiefs, a funk
, acid jazz
and classic rhythm & blues band that started in 1990 and plays regularly in the Northern California and San Francisco Bay areas. The Joint Chiefs consists of Lewis with bandleader, composer, and guitarist Don Caruth, saxophonist Bob Biala, and drummer Don Thomas.
Other fruitful collaborations during his thirty-plus-year musical career have included Free Wheelin', Unknown Jeromes, Aligator and his Zydeco Swamp Band, Tranceport
, Tao Chemical, Mic Overman and the Maniacs, Johnny Fabulous, Delta 9
, Ariel Thierman, Cosmic Flash, Laura Valatis, Greg Chansky, and Soulbabies.
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
-based group World Entertainment War
World Entertainment War
World Entertainment War is an American funk rock band, formed in 1986, noted for its memorable costumes, props, and antics, both on and off-stage and for songs containing intricate lyrics of a political and often humorous nature...
. His current projects include Dreambeach, with cofounder & vocalist, Pipa Piñon, and performance work with Solcircle, The Joint Chiefs, and The Al James Band.
Biography
Daniel Vee Lewis was born on July 15, 1959, in Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. He was raised in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and later moved to Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
. He started playing drums in rock bands at 12 years old and took some formal training on drums before he switched to the bass guitar, which he taught himself to play well by the age of 16. He finished high school in Santa Cruz, California and then enrolled in jazz improvisation courses at Cabrillo College
Cabrillo College
Cabrillo College is a public community college offering associate degrees and certificates in more than 70 fields of study such as: engineering, computer science, allied health , public safety, marine biology and the visual and performing arts. The college itself is named after the explorer Juan...
, where one of his instructors was trumpet player Ray Brown
Ray Brown (musician)
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
of the Stan Kenten Band.
Lewis played in Tao Chemical with Rob Brezsny
Rob Brezsny
Rob Brezsny is an American astrologer, writer, poet, and musician. His weekly horoscope column Free Will Astrology , has been published for more than 28 years, runs in 120 periodicals, and can be subscribed to for free via email.- Career :Brezsny is the first well-known horoscope columnist...
.
From 1988 until their disbandment in 1993, he was the bass guitarist for World Entertainment War, playing with vocalists Rob Brezsny
Rob Brezsny
Rob Brezsny is an American astrologer, writer, poet, and musician. His weekly horoscope column Free Will Astrology , has been published for more than 28 years, runs in 120 periodicals, and can be subscribed to for free via email.- Career :Brezsny is the first well-known horoscope columnist...
and Darby Gould
Darby Gould
Darby Marie Gould is an American vocalist best known for her work with Jefferson Starship and World Entertainment War. Over the years she has developed a loyal following based on her passionate, soulful vocals and intense stage presence....
, drummer Anthony Guess, and keyboardist Amy Excolere on two albums, one on MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
. Bill Graham, World Entertainment War's manager, once said of Lewis, backstage at one of their shows, "I love your bass style. You've got that animal/juju thing going on."
He and Guess went on after that to play old-school funk and disco music in Jivehounds, another Santa Cruz-based band that also featured vocalist Dante Dark.
He currently plays bass guitar for the Santa Cruz-based band Solcircle, which he helped form in the early 1980s, then as Special Fun, and which currently consists also of wind instumentalist Gary Regina, percussionists Michael Horne and Gary Kehoe, and guitarist and videographer Bob von Elgg. Solcircle released a self-titled CD album on August 31, 2002 on Audio Amigos Records. Adam Cotton of the Metro Santa Cruz newspaper called them, "One of the most visionary bands in the history of the Santa Cruz music scene."
Since 2003, Lewis has also played bass guitar for The Joint Chiefs, a funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, acid jazz
Acid jazz
Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...
and classic rhythm & blues band that started in 1990 and plays regularly in the Northern California and San Francisco Bay areas. The Joint Chiefs consists of Lewis with bandleader, composer, and guitarist Don Caruth, saxophonist Bob Biala, and drummer Don Thomas.
Other fruitful collaborations during his thirty-plus-year musical career have included Free Wheelin', Unknown Jeromes, Aligator and his Zydeco Swamp Band, Tranceport
Tranceport
Tranceport is a trance music DJ mix album series. The series debuted in November 1998 with Paul Oakenfold's Tranceport, released on Kinetic Records...
, Tao Chemical, Mic Overman and the Maniacs, Johnny Fabulous, Delta 9
Delta 9
Dave Rodgers, better known as Delta 9, is a hardcore techno DJ/producer from Chicago.The name "Delta 9" comes from delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol , the main psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant....
, Ariel Thierman, Cosmic Flash, Laura Valatis, Greg Chansky, and Soulbabies.