(Pickering, ON) – Many young musicians spend countless hours dreaming they are playing live with their favorite bands. For drummer Dan Todd, that was no exception. During the mid 80s, listening to Platinum Blonde, he inserted himself into the drummer role. Little did he know that 28 years later his dream would come true. In 2011 Todd officially joined Platinum Blonde.
After nearly 20 years on break, in November 2008, the seed was planted to reunite. The resurgence of Platinum Blonde came on the heals of Kenny Macleans death. Hours before he passed away from a heart attack , Maclean finally convinced Mark Holmes to agree to a reunion. But as faith would have it, the reunion was delayed.
Fast forward to 2010, Platinum Blonde played their first reunion show at the Mod Club in Toronto, Ontario. The line up included all the original members, Mark Holmes, Sergio Galli and Chris Steffler.
In 2011, due to developing the auditory affliction tinnitus, drummer Chris Steffler left the band. Dan Todd was later recruited and is now a part of the current line up.
This Kitchener Ontario natives interest in the drums, was influenced early on, by his fathers ability to hit the skins. “I started with a pad and sticks at probably 6 years of age. My dad showed me single stroke rolls, double stroke rolls, all the para diddles.” claims Todd. Was the talent inherited I asked? “I do feel from years of teaching I had a lot of natural ability when I started. But I did have a lot to learn and I’m still learning today.”
Like any artist, Todd has a large list of people who’ve influenced his musical path, he explains, “As far as drummers, this list is honestly growing. My father Jim Todd, Atom Wilard, Morgan Rose, Mike Terrana, Jeff Pocaro. I could just go on and have something so special to me to say about each drummer.”
During Todds 20+ years as a professional drummer, he has been associated with the likes of Alannah Myles, Honeymoon Suite, Alan Frew (Glass Tiger), Gordon Deppe (Spoons), Russ Dwarf (Killer Dwarfs), Fludd, Nick Walsh (Famous Underground, Slik Toxik) and Kenny Maclean (Platinum Blonde) just to name a few. When asked who his first encounter was with, Todd says, “What a great question. I don’t remember the 1st encounter off this list, but I could tell you a great story about each of them. I will say I grew up listening to them all and I can now call them all friends.”
Although he’s played with some of the top names in Canada’s music industry, Todd, who has strong family values, list his son as his biggest accomplishment to date. “Becoming a father to the most wonderful son on the planet. But as far as drums, every band I’ve played in has been an accomplishment to me. Even when I play a pub in the Beaches in Toronto, but I’m truly humbled being a member of Platinum Blonde.”
When asked which one band/artist from past that you’ve enjoyed playing with? Todd states “I’ve learned so much about Brian Pilling from FLUDD after I joined the band, he sounded like an amazing talent” On the flipside, when ask who peeks his musical interests these days? Todd says “presently, one name that comes to mind is Rob Thomas. He’s one of my favorite song writers.”
Todds musical journey has lead to a successful career in the industry, while many artist are not able to break through the barrier of notoriety. Todds advice to up and comers? “Don’t get discouraged. Get to know people in the business. Remember, you have 15 seconds to make a good 1st impression. That’s it.”
Long gone are the days of simply drumming. Lately Todd had to take on the unofficial role of keyboardist. He explains that sampling and triggering wasn’t an easy process to learn. “It has been an insane learning curve all along the way. I have had tremendous frustration learning this, explaining what I’m trying to do to engineers and techs. “Oh Ya Dan, piece of cake… buy this and this and this use this program and if you have any questions, call me. So I call and the response I got was “well my friend did it once”. So my tech, Dan-o (who is a lot smarter than I am), and I spent hours learning to harness sounds and samples, store them, and be able to trigger them with pads. I have a better grip on it now, but with new technology we are scaling my loaded 14 space rig down to a 1 space sampler that fits in a brief case. WHERE WAS THIS UNIT 4 YEARS AGO? LOL”
Platinum Blonde has just completed their Standing in the Dark 30 Year Anniversary tour. Their next venture leads them studio bound once again. ” Yes I’m so excited about it. The new album will be called “The Sympathy Orchestra”. It is very much Platinum Blonde and a real progression with the times.” said Todd.
Tour dates are starting to emerge for the summer/fall months. Todd states “Tour schedules will be posted soon. Dates are still coming in.”
Besides keeping the beat, Todd has a passion for everything water related. “I’m a water bug, I live on a boat and I love to fish!” says Todd.
Todd’s social media presence contains a daily dose of comedy and witty remarks. When asked if he feels that social media is an integral part of his success? “Absolutely, I met a gentleman out in Vancouver who said “It was your online presence that caused me to come out this evening”. I was humbled and taken back by that.”
“I’ll never profess to be the greatest drummer in the world, I’ve been very lucky and I thank God daily for all that I have. Stay humble and as my dear friend Zoltan Chaney says: “Keep your eyes on the prize”.” Todd concluded
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