Formation

Dan Reed (born 1963 in Portland, Oregon) met Dan Pred in high school in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and after a time studying music studies at Northern State University, the pair returned to Portland and formed the Dan Reed Network in 1984. In 1986, they made their first recording, a six-track EP called Breathless which included a No. 1 single, "Steal Me", on Z-100 in Portland, Oregon.

The lineup was Dan Reed on vocals and guitar, Brion James on guitar, Melvin Brannon II on bass guitar, Dan Pred on drums, and Rick DiGiallonado (formerly of Portland platinum rockers Quarterflash) on keyboard. The band's diverse ethnic and musical backgrounds are reflected in their music which though considered hard rock, was blended with soul, funk, and jazz arrangements. DiGiallonado, who was married with one child, was replaced by Blake Sakamoto on keyboard; Sakamoto, of Japanese heritage, had returned from Los Angeles where he had been playing with future Atlantic Records artists Dear Mr. President (lead singer Julian Raymond became vice president of Capitol Records).

Dan Reed Network made a name for itself with the live performances. The Washington Post described the band in one performance as "easily charming its ... audience with an unlikely brand of heavy metal-ish rock sharpened by junk funk and plenty of rock 'n' roll theatrics", and "the Network's strength lies in its infectious temperament.^[4]"

Record deal

The band signed to Mercury Records with the aid of Derek Shulman, and were managed by Bill Graham. In late 1987, the group released an eponymous debut album which was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and was mixed by Mike Fraser at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. They released their first single "Ritual", which peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also received a music video.^[5]

The album Dan Reed Network received positive reviews, including a four-star write-up from Rolling Stone.^[6] Most reviews praised the band's ability to blend elements of heavy funk with a gritty rock edge and pop hooks, pulled together in a 1980s radio-friendly production. Rolling Stone wrote "Producer Fairbairn deserves a nod for adding just the right amount of pop polish where it's needed". People magazine's review of the album called it "polished to a brassy sheen" with some music critics seeing Fairbairn's pop commercial production as diminishing the band's funk sound and heavy rock guitar. Newsday said "the songs don't stand up to repeated listenings due to Bruce Fairbairn's absurdly pristine production...Fairbairn, best known for recordings by Loverboy, Aerosmith, and Bon Jovi, is a master at neutering hard rock and rendering it antiseptic." The Washington Post compared the Dan Reed Network's debut album to its live performances, saying, "numbers such as 'Get to You,' irritatingly synth-heavy on the record, were played with enough soul and engagingly invidious guitar to redeem them."

Poor promotion of Dan Reed Network's debut album impeded the band's growth in the United States. Def Leppard's album Hysteria (1987) was having disappointing sales according to Mercury and the label was pulling support from new artists to boost the band's return to public consciousness. Def Leppard's managers Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch would offer Dan Reed Network the final leg of the Hysteria tour in the US if they would switch to their management company, Q Prime. The band was initially reluctant to leave Bill Graham, but by the beginning of 1989, they signed with Q Prime and the band had its greatest success.

1989–1997

While at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in January 1989, Dan Reed met Nile Rodgers. The album Slam, produced by Rodgers, had more Dan Reed Network's live sound and accelerated the band's status in Europe.^[3] However, the new collection did poorly in North America, due to internal problems at Mercury Records.

The band toured Europe in the winter of 1989/1990 to support Bon Jovi.^[3] The success of this tour led to the Rolling Stones selecting the band as their main support for their first tour in nearly 10 years.^[3] The Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour of Europe in the summer of 1990, had the band playing to tens of thousands nightly in stadiums, where their opening performances warmed up the crowd in for the Rolling Stones. The tour later led to Sakamoto working as the Stones' road manager.

Dan Reed Network's third album, The Heat (1991), was their most successful in the UK,^[3] but Mercury Records failed to promote the band. The label was unhappy that Reed shaved his head, which they had viewed as a significant blow to the band's appeal. The band continued without tour support from the label, including a period supporting Baby Animals in Australia, and what would be their final tour through Europe and the UK in the summer of 1993. In October, the band members began to take different paths in their lives and agreed to go on a hiatus, not officially breaking up.

A live album called Live at Last (Halfway Around the World) was released in 1997. This album was compiled from hours of tapes from Blake Sakamoto. He and drummer Dan Pred auditioned several versions of each song to comprise a comprehensive 2-CD live set. A companion video, filmed live in Portland on New Year's Eve of 1991, also called Live at Last, was released at the same time.

Reunion

Dan Reed Network played a one time only reunion show on New Year's Eve 2012 with all original band members in Portland, OR.^[7] The band announced on January 12, 2013, they would play further concerts together in both the United States and Europe. This would be their first UK show in two decades, headlining the Enchanted Festival at Greenwoods Spa, Chelmsford on October 12, 2013. The band reunited November 9 in Portland at the Roseland Theater.

Anthology

In 2013, Dan Reed Network collaborated with PledgeMusic on a new compilation album. This album was to include live versions of songs and was a double CD set with online access and various other bonus options. The funding achieved 143% and the album was shipped to all supporters in late January 2014. It is now also available through online retailers.

Fight Another Day

Following the success of the compilation album Anthology, the band returned to creating music to produce a new album of original material. Blake Sakamoto was unavailable and in his place Rob Daiker would play keyboard on the album. Fight Another Day was released by Frontiers Music SRL on June 3, 2016, to favorable reviews from fans and critics. This was followed with a world tour in 2016 and a further European tour early in 2017. According to Dan Reed, the band wasn't satisfied with the labels promotion for the album, so they decided not to work with them in the future.^[8]

Origins

In 2018 the band produced an album, consisting of new and old songs, with some older songs being newly recorded. Origins was released by AOR Heaven/Soulfood. The album was recorded in various studios in Manchester, New York, Portland, and Stockholm.

Let’s Hear It For The King

In late 2019, the band went on tour in Europe to play anniversary shows of the album Slam. At the same time, the band produced a new album in Portland.^[8] According to Dan Reed, it would be funky and heavy, which would have the best songs the band recorded since their reunion.

Dan Reed Network's album Let’s Hear It For The King was released by Drakkar Entertainment on March 4, 2022. The single/video "Starlight"^[9] was released October 22, 2021.

Dan Reed Network

Singles

Dan Reed

• Adrenaline Sky (1998)
• Sharp Turn (EP, 2004) Universal Music Enterprises/UMG
• An Evening with Dan Reed (2009)
• Coming Up for Air (2010)
• Studio Sessions - Dan Reed and Rob Daiker Live in the Studio (DVD, 2010)
• Signal Fire (2013)
• Transmission (2015)
• Confessions (2017)