UT alumnus Daniel Fears, a full-time Austin-based musician, uniquely blends R&B music with his classical background. Ahead of his South by Southwest performance at Rozco’s Comedy Club on Wednesday night, The Daily Texan spoke with Fears about his music style and background.
The Daily Texan: Why was it important to you to take your classical music training seriously?
Daniel Fears: It seemed like a path forward. … When I was about six years old, I met this wonderful teacher named Brian Logan, who’s based out of Houston and he and his then girlfriend were professional musicians. They were playing with all different types of groups, and he was driving an Acura so I was like, “Oh, he’s really making it.” He was the first example I saw of a musician who wasn’t famous and also was doing well for himself. And, that was his background — he grew up listening to classical music and studying it, taking it really seriously. So to me, that seemed like the path forward. I knew I wanted a life of music-making like he had.
DT: What’s making your unique sound, blending R&B and classical music, like?
DF: (My focuses) developed separately. My love for R&B, soul, hip hop (and) pop music felt like this different world from the classical training I came up with (and) some of the Christian music I came up with. When I was studying classical music at Yale, my last semester — I’m a trombone player by training— I developed an injury to my lip. So, I had to stop playing and (went from) playing five hours a day to five minutes a day. (When) I could not do the thing that I had been doing for at least a decade, I started hearing ideas for songs. I wanted to apply myself in some other way. … (I began) to move in the direction of writing songs, and then a few years later, we came up with the idea to combine that with the strings.
DT: Are there any ways that your previous teaching experience helped your performing?
DF: I’m absolutely sure it did. I did it so much. With kids, you’re reinforcing the same ideas every week with 20-something people. … It’s practicing building some sort of awareness of what it takes to perform. So I think without a doubt that’s been a huge help. (Also,) working with other musicians, that teaching experience is helpful because you learn how to communicate with tact.
DT: Do you still perform with friends here from your time at UT?
DF: I’ve performed with people who I know also went to UT at some point. … That connection is all there. … My first EP that I created, I made with another UT alum. We kind of knew what we were doing, but we knew we wanted to make something that was exciting to us. I think our time at UT informed this work ethic we needed to get what we wanted but also this playfulness as we did it.
DT: Are there any new styles you want to create or experiment with?
DF: Definitely. At this show on June 8 (at The 04 Center, we’re) combining this rock band I have been performing with for years along with the strings, … and that is really exciting to me. … Another thing I’ve been dreaming of for years is singing my music with all different types of ensembles from brass bands, to West African percussion ensembles — just ways of getting outside of my comfort zone and performing with wonderful musicians.
