Diary Of A Groupie: The Danny Diaries

Dear Diary, I have found an amazing musician to adore, follow and support. His name is Danny Click and he plays a mean blues lick with his guitars and he is kinda cool beyond belief. He hails from Texas but now makes his home amid the rolling hills of Marin County, CA, my beloved home as well.  Oh Diary, don't get your panties in a wad, as this is strictly a Platonic Musical Love Affair; but a love based on music is just as valid as a love based on physical lust. My journey began a few months ago.... 

May 12, 2011
Sleeping Lady Cafe:

Every now and then I stumble upon something or someone so spectacular that it makes my eyes water with joy. Sometimes I stumble upon things that give me perspective in my life and help me understand myself a bit better. Sometimes there are moments in my life when a healthy dose of hard blues riffs and the sweltering chords of the South come into my world and fill my whole being with a reason to go on living.

Sometimes magic happens.....

Danny Click: Texan songwriter and blues guitar master. His blues, his playing and his songs all played a role in helping my demons stay away a little bit longer, if only for one night.

His band rocked hard with a little help from his musical friends that included the amazing singer Tracy Blackman with Bonnie Hayes on additional vocals, drummer Kevin Hayes, bassist Don Bassey, guitarists Dave Sampson and Mark Goldenberg and amazing violin lady Adrienne Biggs.

With his original songs and a few awesome blues covers, Danny Click has been making headway in the Marin music scene as someone to be reckoned with. He takes magic and channels it into music that is so pure and so real it fills any room up with a sound that can carry one to another realm of reality. That is why music is so powerful. That's why music is so healing.

June 30, 2011
Sleeping Lady Cafe:

Danny Click has more guitars than I have ever seen a musician have at any one particular gig, trading and swapping out 6-string electrics like I change my boots. Each guitar has it's own personality and sound which creates the moods and feeling appropriate to each of his sweltering blues licks.

He and his band of solid professional musicians bring in their own sound and personality as well, creating a whole pile of magic the swells and blooms with each performance of Danny's that I see.

Danny Click's band has it's regular members that includes Don Bassey on bass, Tracy Blackman on acoustic guitar and vocals and and ever rotating posee of guests that can include Bonnie Hayes on vocals, Dave Burn or Kevin Hayes drums, Adrienne Biggs's violin and many other season music makers.

Texas/Southern-tinged blues is what comes out of such a group of fine folks that will always put a smile of your face and a song in your heart...

July 9, 2011
142 Throckmorton Theater:

Intimacy can be thought of as a connection between two or more people sharing an experience that brings them closer together.

Music can be thought of as a type of conduit to intimacy, as can sharing song, rhythm and the creative spirit, since they are all ways that bring us closer together and have the potential to form a bond that is as deep as the relationships between lovers and friends.

Danny Click and his band of merry music makers all have the qualities of those that can form intimate relationships to the sonic love that is created by a band. Each musician that is part of the band inspires us to think about the world and all the inhabits the heart; the good and the bad. With song, with lyric, with harmony and with cohesion of instrument and voice, Danny Click brings his music alive and makes us lovers to each and every single note that is sung or played.

In his recent intimate show at the beautiful 142 Throckmorton in Mill Valley, Ca, he and his band created deep love of song. Danny's blazing blues guitars, Tracy Blackman's soulful vocals, Don Bassey's blasting bass and Dave Sampson's sweet rhythm guitar all add up to Danny's main band of players. Add to that Adrienne Biggs of violin, Rebecca Roudman on cello, Billy Johnson on drums and the exceptional vibe of Bonnie Hayes on keys.

Love abounds from the stage at a Danny Click show. The truth of the music shines through for all of us to bask in all it's glory.

August 18, 2011
Sleeping Lady Cafe

Dear Mr. Danny Click,

I am writing to you today to let you know how much I love your music. I just might be one of your biggest fans, but I bet everyone tells you that, as your guitar playing is above astronomical and your songs bring joy to my ears.

It seems to me, Mr. Click, that every time I see you play with your searing and off-the-hook licks and shreds on those many guitars of yours, there is an uplifting of my soul that not a lot of other bands give me, and trust me, I see a lot of live music and know a lot of bands, oh but Mr. Click, you are something special.


I can’t quite put my finger on why you are so amazing, but maybe it is your skill, maybe it is your humor and warmth up on the stage, maybe it’s your general realness that you amplify while blowing out your amps. Or maybe it’s just the fact that it is all of those elements combined that make you so incredible as a human and a musician.

I also love your band. Not just the regulars like Tracy Blackman’s vocals and Don Bassey’s thumping bass, but the ongoing posse of stellar performers and music makers that shine a light on your music with their talents like Bonnie Hayes’ singing; Kevin Hayes’ awesome drumming; Tommy Odetto’s and Ian Lamson’s mind boggling guitar playing and Adrienne Biggs and her sweetly singing violin. With folks like that respecting and loving you and your music, no one can doubt your Star Quality.

So, Mr. Click, I want to thank you for all you do for my heart and soul. I want to thank you for the music you give me. I want to let you know that you make a difference in my life. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Moonmama

September 22, 2011

Sleeping Lady Cafe:

Danny, Danny, Danny....how fast your star is rising on the scene, guiding us all in the history of your ascent to the heavens of the cosmic stratosphere of killer rock and roll blues.

You work so hard, play so amazingly and climb & climb so steadily in order for more and more people know about you and your music.

You deserve to be known, you deserve to be honored, you deserve the accolades you are receiving for all your time and energy you put into making yourself into that star you are becoming.

I watch from below as you stream across the sky of sonic sound, your trail of shreds and wails on your guitars perpetuating your velocity to shine.

October 14, 2011

George's Nightclub

What can I say about Danny Click and his band that I have not already said?

Sometimes I am just speechless when it comes to bands I love and follow, and that is how it is often for me when watching Danny perform his music again and again...jaw dropping disbelief at the whole package he delivers from the stage. As his music, his musicianship and his amazing backing players give me such joy, I honor them in return with words of gratitude.

Danny Click: Guitars and Vocals

Danny, I said this to you the other night, and I will say it again...And so I quote myself, "I saw ignition engines fire up under your shoes the other night. Fasten your seatbelt, Mr Click, you are about to take off into the heavens above..." I thank you for the music.

Don Bassey: Bass & Vocals

Mr. Bassey, your smile so brightens any room and the joy that is emitted from your being as you blast out those killer bass lines makes me smile and emit joy as well. I thank you for the music.

Tracy Blackman: Guitar and Vocals

Tracy, Tracy, Tracy, you know how much I adore you. Aside from being such an amazing singer and songwriter in your own right, you add such soul and depth to all of Danny's music. I thank you for the music.

Adrienne Biggs: Violin

Your sweet, sweet violin adds so much emotion to the music: Sorrow, joy, longing, desire, all from wood and strings. I thanks you for the music.

Kevin Hayes: Drums

Ok, dude....you rock! There is such a solid presence with you behind the drums, almost like you are creating the cauldron for the music to be mixed and boiled in. I kinda request that you play with Danny forever....I thank you for the music.

Bonnie Hayes: Keyboards & Vocals

Bonnie, I give you honor for your spunk and your sass. You are a pint sized maven of energy and I think you are the coolest thing since prizes in cereals. I thank you for the music.

To the whole band, to all the folks who step in and play this music. I thank you.

All photos Copyright 2011

Carolyn McCoy

Moonmama says, "Hell YEAH!"