One day in Dane Hartsell's young life, the pastor of his church looked at him and asked: "Dane, what do you want to be when you grow up?" He innocently responded… "Famous." Dane was encouraged by his parents to dream big, believe in his dreams and then put the work in to reach them. This talented young man seems to be exactly where preparation and opportunity meet, and is travelling steadily towards actualizing his young aspirations with his contemporary rock music.
Growing up in Woodstock, Ontario, but finding a new foundation in Toronto remarkably fast for a rock vocalist seeking any status above starving artist, Dane has come a long way in a short time. His vocal training began in his hometown church, where so many of history's great singers are born, and was further honed by a local vocal coach, Brian Belleth. His older brother Clayton encouraged him to pick up the guitar and play around with it. Quickly going through the phases of rock star evolution, he played in a band with high school friends at dive bars in and out of his hometown, toured in parent's vehicles, and then travelled to the big city to record a demo.
College introduced Dane to more musical influences; Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor, on top of his young inspirations like Supertramp, and Bob Marley. At 21, he also began exploring hard rock, metal and hip hop rhythms and ideas, taking his music to new places. After a year in music theatre school, he moved on, fortuitously meeting his current manager Cynthia Wilson, drummer Shamakah Ali and bass player Calvin Beale. Their chemistry was instantly complementary. Dane went from watching them jam nightly, to doing guest spots, to performing his own solo gigs, to touring with 2007 Canadian Idol winner, Eva Avila, all in remarkable time. Dane was then blessed to sing for soul diva Divine Brown at a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert, where Divine connected a few more dots, making some pivotal introductions to Dane's career.
He began working with Chris Smith Management, who are currently preparing to spread Dane's music from Toronto across the world, collectively deciding the shape of his debut album of emotional ballads and energetic anthems.
Never too far in the dark to lose sight of the light of his goal, yet tested by enough difficulty to appreciate everything that sustained him to this point, Dane has been gifted with the rock and roll storybook fable of finding good fortune as he is accumulating the fame he has sought since his virtuous voice soared through the upper chambers of the church. “God has wonderfully blessed me” says Dane, an honor he's sure to return to all, on his first official musical offering.