Welcome to our first Featured Artist post! We want to share the stories AND music of some of the local artists we work with to help people learn their music (so send us an email at [email protected] if you want to be featured!). In our last blog post, we talked about the 5 Reasons to Play a Local Open Mic Night & What to Expect. It’s fitting that we talk about a new and upcoming artist this month, Marc Daniels, that did just that to get his start. True, his ‘open mic nights’ might have been in the form of bonfires with the stage being a flatbed truck, but it’s all the same to us!

The music industry can be brutal and our goal with Fret Zealot is to help everyone, not just the big players. In our experience, working with local artists is more fun anyway! You learn real stories and find unique ways to work together. In this case, we added one of Marc Daniels’ songs to the Fret Zealot app and he actually did a personal demo of it live! Check it out below:

Marc Daniels first came onto the music scene in a big way in 2016, which coincidentally is when we were about to launch the first Fret Zealot versions. We’ve both come a long way in just a couple years! Fittingly so, Marc’s first album name was The Starting Line. From this album came his popular song Redheads (available to learn in the Fret Zealot app!).

Since we’re still in the heat of the summer here, we’re obligated to share the Summer Song music video:

Just this year, Marc Daniels released his latest album: “#Holdmybeer”. Yes, Sir! Marc has humble roots, though, coming from family in Spokane, Washington and summers on the lakes of Northern Idaho. 

Even though his music career is taking off, he notes that every artist has to start somewhere. Marc experimented with different cover bands before truly finding his country rock soul. He comments in his interview with CountryMusicJunkies that his song inspiration has both classical and contemporary roots, which he’s found to be particularly appealing to the current generation of country listeners. In the busy modern world, his listeners want to be reminded of the simpler things in life like relaxing by a lake or even a meal with friends at a diner. “Struggle, loss, love, and connection to people” is a part of all our lives, so remembering the good experiences is what his music is all about.

Fret Zealot’s toolbox of app features lets you discover your style, express your creativity, and accomplish your own individual goals. So get out there, have experiences, make mistakes, learn, and find your sound! Thanks, Marc, for teaching us how it’s done!