Labor of Love: Dan Tedesco - "The Wolves are Running Wild Tonight"

Labor of Love: Dan Tedesco

Singer songwriter Dan Tedesco stopped by the CME acoustic room to try out some vintage Martin guitars and run us through his new single "The Wolves Are Running Wild Tonight." We asked Dan how he got hooked on music and how he makes it his life's work in this episode of Labor of Love.

Interview with Dan Tedesco

How did the making of music become your life? How did you get your start?
I’ve been playing music, more or less, my entire life. I started on piano when I was five, followed that up with violin for a couple of years in elementary school, and at the age of 11, when I was first turned on to Eddie Van Halen, I picked up the guitar. I didn’t get really serious about songwriting until a number of years later; around the age of 19. It became really, really clear to me, after seeing a Springsteen concert, that if I wanted to have any real control over my future I had to learn to write. So that’s what I did. I taught myself to sing and started performing as a singer/songwriter.
As far as making music my career, I went all in. I quit the one real job I had for about a year and a half after college, selling recruitment advertising, and haven’t looked back since.

Who were your major influences?
Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend,Brian May, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Mike Campbell, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass and John Scofield.

What guides your playing style?
I grew up playing with just a drummer. I’ve always thought that gave me a unique relationship with rhythm and syncopations. When I play, I’ll often notice myself playing something with my right hand and think, “oh yeah, that’s that snare drum fill from ______”. It’s all about the groove; especially when you play solo as I predominantly do. I was fortunate to come up in that duo format.

Martin D12-35 Natural 1968

Martin D12-35 Natural 1968, Martin D-18 Natural 1968

What's your rig?
I run my two acoustics through my pedal chain - Boss Tuner -> Ibanez Tubescreamer -> MXR Phase 90 -> Boss Delay - split into a DI (generally Radial Pro48) and a Fender HotRod Deluxe. The DI and Deluxe are blended roughly 60/40 favoring the DI. It’s a pretty wicked tone.

First guitar?
Washburn electric. Sunburst.

Current?
I’ve got a handful, but my two primary guitars are a ’96 Martin DM and a ’98 Gibson J-45. I also have a ’96 Les Paul Classic, a ’07 Telecaster and a ’98 Heritage H-575. Oh, and a 1910-1915 era Gibson A Jr. Mandolin, but that rarely gets used. It’s more of a family heirloom passed down to me from my grandfather.

Any gear you can't live without?
That ’96 Martin DM

What do you or the band have coming up? Albums?
I’ll be releasing my next full length album titled, “American Darkness”, this May and touring the greater midwest, east and west coasts.