JEZEBEL Magazine January 2003 Cover Story
January 15, 2003

Who is Dan Gardner?

Could the humble and unassuming Dan Gardner make it big? He’s a respected vocalist, a rising music sensation, a levelheaded religious young man, and an accomplished dancer-all without breaking a sweat.

By Jim Shi

The façade is wrinkle-free: pressed white T-shirt, black button-down shirt (definitely not tucked in), and classic faded jeans-maybe Levi’s but definitely not Gucci. Purposeful black distressed leather shoes. Stain-resistant nylon messenger bag. Short curly brown hair that has nowhere to go, and a freshly scrubbed face. No fancy rings or jewelry, perhaps just a nice watch-yet again, one that does its job without any fancy trinkets.

It’s a fair-weathered Atlanta day. Inside one of the big, comfy leather booths The Club House restaurant, Dan Gardner is as clean and crisp as a starched white Frette sheet. Sweat, unseen this time of year, would be scared to land on this cool surface.

But what else we were we expecting? We are after all, talking about a guy who can sing fluently in Spanish, Italian, and English.

A guy who has worked with renowned producer David Foster on his first single for Warner Bros. Records.

And little do we forget that he is the recent winner of NBC’s Today Show’s “Today’s Superstar” music icon talent search. Chosen out of 4,100 tapes, rest easy that this is no future American Idol in the making. “I didn’t watch that show or even know what was going on with that. I was so busy,” Gardner responds with a hesitant laugh, as if expecting to draw stares of shock. But that’s just his nature.

Ordering up the world-famous Club House garbage salad (“With extra trash,” he requests), Gardner sits primly yet relaxed, seemingly trying to decipher the mechanisms that are moving through my head at this, his first substantial interview. Spine perfectly straight, ready and willing to do his job as interviewee after a long day in front of JEZEBEL’s camera, where he was tucked, applied, pushed back, and pulled forward, he seems happy just at the thought of the pending food. Dan’s mentally preparing for his upcoming concert tours, including a recent debut in Atlanta, at Earthlink Live, where among other songs, he performed his new Single, “The Way,” and one of his Christmas favorites, “Joy To The World.”

“Let’s face it,” he says. “You have to work really hard to do anything in this world. To be successful in anything requires dedication and focus. I don’t think my success or my focus is any different from anyone else’s. Music is my purpose in life.”

Okay, so earlier in his career, perhaps he was less intense. “ Everyone has their own path. My path has been 12 years in the making. I’ve done a lot of demos and studio work. And I’ve been in different boy bands as well and did different projects,” he says. “The fact that I got this through an audition singing rough on a tape is good, but I think the 12 years really prepared me for it. It was a situation where I had a great time doing it. It was like being at a bar singing karaoke.”

It’s more than just 12 years that have made Dan who he is today. His family and friends have been his backbone his entire life. Born to a black father and white mother, Gardner was adopted before he was even 1 year old. His adopted parents, who in his mind are his real parents, have always emphasized to take things with a grain of salt. “They always tell me to just have a good time; that talent shows itself off,” he says. But that hasn’t always been the case.

While his family and friends are priorities in his life, children are his passion. “Kids in general are really important to me. I think part of that is going back to the second grade and having such a negative thing said to me that it crippled my confidence for so long,” he says. “I don’t want to see that happen to other kids.” He is alluding to that fateful day back in the second grade when he was told not to audition because he couldn’t sing. It scarred him enough that he pursued music in other ways until junior year in high school, when, after some persuasion from his new choir director, he auditioned. There’s been no looking back since.

Taking inspiration from such music legends as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Janet Jackson, Nat King Cole, and more recently, Usher, Gardner gets more and more excited with each passing day. And with each passing day, he has a renewed vow to, above all else, enjoy his work. “Because I’ve been doing it for so long and been driven about it for so long, I don’t think getting bigger in music will make me jaded because I have really good surroundings when it comes to friends and family,” he says. “I really feel like I know who I am at this point in life. Things important to me are performing and being paid for it. I want to enjoy myself and have my audiences enjoy me as well.

“David (Foster) can work with real vocalist, and that’s what Dan is-a real vocalist,” says Dennis Kurtz, Gardner’s manager. “Dan’s centered and focused. They’re almost the same thing, but because he’s been trying to do this for so long, he’s able to focus on the right things instead of the wrong things. He’s always nice and refreshing.”

Gardner adds, “There are a lot of female artists out there like Mariah Carey who have needed the power of a large label to keep them going. The push from a large label hasn’t been there when it comes to male singers.” Quick to point out that his next comment is meant to be taken in a non-conceited was, he says “I’m sort of the person to do that.”

Nice and refreshing, as I discovered in my interview with him, can transcend decades. From his days in elementary school when he discovered his love for music and recalls“ standing at the piano while my mom was playing and singing with her,” to his Today Show debut and participation in the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting ceremony, which Gardner calls his “coolest experience in recent memory,” he has surly come a long way in short amount of time. And today, he’s beaming with excitement at having achieved cover status with JEZEBEL. “I was so excited and flattered that the magazine wanted me on the cover,” he says. “In every issue I’ve read, I have always admired the covers…the musicians and celebrities the magazine has on its cover are always the latest and greatest. The fact that I get to be in their company is really cool because it tells me in which direction I’m headed.”

In between bites of delicious chocolate fudge cake and ice cream big enough for 10, Gardner talks to me about Atlanta, which he calls home. This guy, who teaches voice lessons at two studios, focuses on the positive, “ He has the voice to be a male diva vocalist. His voice can belt out the big pop ballads, but also the fun stuff. Not many guys out there can transcend the different forms,” says Kurtz. “As far as negativity goes, it’s the way you look at it. People who don’t like me for whatever reason, those people are people I just won’t waste a lot of energy on,” says Gardner. “I just focus on the positives and what’s going to make me happy, make my friends happy, and make my family happy. It’s your decision if you want to buy into that or not.” Where does he go when he wants to get away from it all? “I love the Lobster Bar at Chops,” he says, with a revitalizing game grin. “I’ll take that and a good card game with friends any day.” Admittedly not a huge clubber, he does profess to enjoying live music in the highlands. “Eddie’s Attic, Blind Willie’s, Smith’s Olde Bar…they’re all awesome places for live music,” he says between wipes of vanilla ice cream off his chin.

I asked him how he does it. I ask him how he manages to stay so physically fit that he would be the ideal candidate for any “after” picture for a fitness regimen ad. “It’s easy,” he says.

“I run three to four miles a day, do about 1,000 sit-ups {give or take a few}, and drink plenty of water.”

I press him further. I ask him what he does to maintain his voice. “Room temperature water, honey, tea, but most importantly, definitely lots of rest,” he replies without a blink.

As the plates are cleared and Gardner has to rush off to rehearsals, he professes, “The Bottom line is that you have to go into it with your gut and do it in a way that you feel comfortable. You’re not getting months and months. You get one day.” -JS