DANA WELLS

It’s been awhile since I’ve last Tumbled. I should do it more, and I will. Today, however, I wanted to give props to my producer, mentor, and good friend: Mark Williams.



Me and Mark playing at Jammin’ Java in 2009

Mark and I met in 2006, when I was still playing in my high school rock band, and he was producing out of a back room in a suburban house. What I remember most from the first vocal session I had with him was that by the end of the day, I had dubbed him the “Vocal Nazi”. He made me sing seven takes of each verse, and my untrained voice was hoarse and raw when we were done. I got into the car upset and frustrated. However, when I listen to the product of that session, it’s clear that the track is by far the best vocal recording I could ever have gotten at that age.


L to R: Me, Mark, Richard, and John during a 2006 session. Yes, I was really awkward.

After the band broke up, Mark and I remained close, mostly due to our mutual appreciation for The Beatles, Aimee Mann, Adam Schlesinger, and Jon Brion. When I came home for spring break during my second semester of college, I went to Mark’s recently acquired studio, Sucker Punch, to check it out and play him a few songs. It was then that we decided to record an EP together.

Mark is one of the hardest working musicians I’ve ever met, as well as one of the nicest people. He will spend countless hours laboring over the right guitar tone or perfecting the graphic EQ, while still being equally happy to sit around and talk.

So, I just wanted to give the man behind the production of my songs his due. Mark, you are the best!

What is To Come

Get ready. I know I’ll have to. Within the next few months (or possibly even weeks), I plan to post the new songs that I’ve been keeping to myself for far too long.

Recently, I’ve been writing with some of my incredibly talented friends, and coming out with products that were beyond what we had initially hoped for. The excitement from these co-writing sessions have sparked a desire within me to get new music out into the world. Two songs are ready. One has been ready for months, but the only people who have heard it are those that I sit down to play it for. That song will be the first one up. The other finished song will be put up shortly, as well, though I’m considering waiting until the rest of the release is finished first. The EP will likely be a total of four or five songs, at most.

In other news, I will be performing solo in L.A. for the first time on March 14, 2011 at Bar Lubitsch, alongside my friend and fellow singer/songwriter Melinda Ortner. We play at 10 and 10:30 P.M.

The Winter and L.A.

I will be there so soon: bathing in the Caribbean sun, leaving this desolate Midatlantic winter far behind me.

For the past two and a half years, I have shuttled between my home in the suburbs of D.C. and school in the heart of Boston. I had been used to a fairly temperate winter in my hometown, but the past two Decembers and Januarys have chilled me down to the bone. Maybe its my newfound New England cockiness — nah, the wintah down south is nothin’ compehd to Bahston! — that sets me up for an icy defeat.

Still, these last couple of winters have made me decide something significant: moving to Los Angeles next September will be wonderful, even if it’s only because of the California sun.

Yes, I’m an East Coast girl, born and raised by two genuine New Yorkers. I don’t have much tolerance for the superficial, nor do I have any inkling of a desire to be a celebrity. My goal for the future is simple. I want to make a career doing what I love, and what I love happens to be writing songs.

So here I sit, inspired by imagining myself in a week — the warmth running through my body as I lie in a nearly comatose state on the beach, sipping mojitos and reading — and I find myself at a crossroads.

How will I fit within the Los Angeles tapestry? Will I be able to forge a successful career while still staying true to the morals that I have so consciously set for myself?

While I didn’t anticipate getting so personal with Tumblr, I feel that it is important to be true and honest with who you are, even in a virtual realm. Despite my disdain for sharing too much personal information on the Internet, maybe helping to prove that no one knows what the future holds for them is enough to satisfy the latent fear in each of us.

As Socrates said, “I know nothing except for the fact of my ignorance.” I know nothing of what is to come, but I think I know that when the time is right, I will understand why.

One Year

One year ago today, I released my solo debut, “The Evergreen EP”.

I had worked all summer long recording seven songs, recording and rerecording, mixing and remixing again until even a perfectionist like myself had to admit it sounded pretty damn good. I vividly remember coming home to that box of CDs in the foyer of the house I grew up in, grabbing the first key I found to puncture the masking tape that separated me and those EPs. As I opened it up and saw 500 cardboard-encased albums gleaming up at me, I beamed at my parents, who, in turn, were just as excited as I was.

A few days later, it was December 27th. The guitarist and drummer from my band in Boston had driven and flown (respectively) into D.C., and were staying at my house, while the bassist already lived in the area, and since our keyboardist had moved back to Dallas, we used a friend of mine from high school.

That night was tumultuous to say the least. Approximately ten minutes to showtime, our guitarist Ryan found himself vomiting uncontrollably backstage at Jammin’ Java. After a run next door for stomach medication, he staggered onstage with the rest of us, and somehow managed to play the show, practically collapsing afterward. Granted, the situation did allow for just a little too much vomit-related banter onstage.

Despite the stomach illness and craziness surrounding that, we had so much fun playing that show. Jammin’ Java was nearly sold out, and the crowd was dancing and singing along the entire time.

It’s been a year, but I still remember it like it was last night. Since then, I was selected as a winner of Berklee’s songwriting competition and played at the BPC, which is a dream for all Berklee students; I attended the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Program at Northwestern, and met fellow songwriters from across the country; most recently, I recorded another single, which will be released very soon.

Personally, this year has been filled with the highest of high points and the lowest of lows, and I do not regret a thing.

I want to thank all of you who made this year unforgettable.

tumblrbot asked: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

I’d have to say my guitar. Cliche, I know, but I love it a whole lot.