MEET THE BAND: Dan Miraldi(guitar, vocals)
MANY MUSICAL INTERESTS: Singer-guitarist Dan Miraldi has a wide range of musical interests that range from Paul McCartney and the White Stripes to Fall Out Boy and Bob Dylan. A Northeast Ohio native, he originally started out listening to Elvis Presley and the Beatles, but eventually gravitated toward modern rock when he was in high school. He began playing pop-punk with Exit Suburbia.
after that he formed the Cherry Flavored Elevator. A few years later, Miraldi started yet another project, but this time he simply deemed it a solo project, issuing his solo debut, Thirsty, in 2009. He's released solo albums ever since.
A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: A couple of years ago, Miraldi moved to New York to get his Master's degree in music business at New York University. After graduating, he hit the road with local rockers Welshly Arms and worked as their tour manager. He also started recording another record about living in New York, but after the presidential election, it seemed "inappropriate." "The record is still half finished," says Miraldi. After scrapping those plans, he channeled his outrage at the election results into his new EP, Love Under Fire.
WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR HIM: "The Sweet Sound of Protest," the rousing opening number on Love Under Fire, features distorted guitars and parched vocals as Miraldi beckons, "Give it to me now." He wrote the song just after the election; he was on tour with Welshly Arms at the time. "Everyone felt so defeated," he says. "I have a diverse group of friends who are of different religions and different sexual orientations, and they had a sense of fear. Music can be such a powerful sense of encouragement and a means of strength. I wanted to write a song about not being afraid." He recorded the track locally at Welshly Arms' studio in Avon Lake, and they back him on the song. Other highlights include the EP's title track, which has a Beatles feel to it, and the Stones-y "Name of Love." "One of the big inspirations for the EP was 1960s protest music, but I didn't want to make songs that just sound like that," says Miraldi. "I also drew from a lot of different influences."
WHERE YOU CAN HEAR HIM: danmiraldi.com.
WHERE YOU CAN SEE HIM: Dan Miraldi & the Albino Winos perform with Good Morning Valentine, Uptight Suga and Mike Uva at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 27, at the Beachland Tavern.
