Dan Tedesco has been working in music for about 14 years. One of his favorite songs, “Symphony in the City,” was inspired by the noises he heard on the streets of Chicago.
Dan Tedesco’s younger self has been grieving these past two weeks. As a teenager, Tedesco idolized Eddie Van Halen, the legendary guitarist who died on Oct. 6, and credits much of his interest in music to the rock star. Tedesco eventually took that love of music and made it a full-time career nearly 14 years ago, moving to Des Moines with his wife in 2014.
He’s learned plenty along the way, he recalled on the latest dsm CultureCast podcast. Tedesco’s sound is a mix of folk and rock, reminiscent of his idols Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. His approach to songwriting draws inspiration from those and his other musical idols as well.
“There’s a magical thing that happens when creation [songwriting] occurs,” Tedsco said about his creative process. He laughed and said it’s hard to figure out: “If you try to understand it too much, I don’t really think you get there.”
Tedesco used the example of one of his favorite songs, “Symphony in the City,” which drew from his experiences living in Chicago. He heard sounds in the city—the clacking of the trains, the sirens ricocheting off the skyscrapers—and thought it could make a pretty good melody. He ran home and wrote the music with some lyrics that popped into his mind.
“I was walking down the sidewalk after I had gone into the city, and I walked underneath the L-track (a train track in Chicago),” Tedesco said. “Something about that moment just clicked in my head.”
Tedesco has been working on an online platform over the past several months. The Dan Tedesco Music Channel features exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes looks, films and videos, live performances, artwork, and more, for $100 per year. Tedesco launched the platform in July and said he’s received positive feedback so far.
Listen to the full podcast here. You can subscribe to find more interviews like this at Apple Podcast, Google Play Music, Spotify and more.
He’s learned plenty along the way, he recalled on the latest dsm CultureCast podcast. Tedesco’s sound is a mix of folk and rock, reminiscent of his idols Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. His approach to songwriting draws inspiration from those and his other musical idols as well.
“There’s a magical thing that happens when creation [songwriting] occurs,” Tedsco said about his creative process. He laughed and said it’s hard to figure out: “If you try to understand it too much, I don’t really think you get there.”
Tedesco used the example of one of his favorite songs, “Symphony in the City,” which drew from his experiences living in Chicago. He heard sounds in the city—the clacking of the trains, the sirens ricocheting off the skyscrapers—and thought it could make a pretty good melody. He ran home and wrote the music with some lyrics that popped into his mind.
“I was walking down the sidewalk after I had gone into the city, and I walked underneath the L-track (a train track in Chicago),” Tedesco said. “Something about that moment just clicked in my head.”
Tedesco has been working on an online platform over the past several months. The Dan Tedesco Music Channel features exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes looks, films and videos, live performances, artwork, and more, for $100 per year. Tedesco launched the platform in July and said he’s received positive feedback so far.
Listen to the full podcast here. You can subscribe to find more interviews like this at Apple Podcast, Google Play Music, Spotify and more.
