Dan Fester

For those of you loyal Dan Fester fans, you may have trouble separating fact from fiction. As rumor would have it, the local legend could be anywhere from Nashville to LA to Vegas to... well, you get the idea.

A man of many faces, Fester's musical beginnings are marked by his stint as a one-man cover band-with a twist. From blues and country to rock and rap, he's performed covers of Johnny Cash, Skynyrd and Lil' Wayne in local bars throughout the area, slowly adding original songs to his repertoire. But despite the huge following he amassed over the past few years, Fester decided it was high time for change.

With a move to Nashville in early December, he found that it was difficult to find "a place to call home, especially on a musician's salary." It only took a month for him to realize that his living situation didn't suit his needs, especially on a musician's meager pay.

"Nashville basically splits right down the line between the Hiltons and the ghetto," Fester said. "We needed to try something different."

Enter Murfreesboro, Tennessee. After some scouting and advice from friends back home, Fester made his move. A city about 35 miles southeast of Nashville, Murfreesboro is home to Middle Tennessee State University, the largest school in the state.

"Now, if Nashville was Sandusky, Murfreesboro would be Norwalk. I get all the benefits of having Nashville there and I get to live in a town a lot more like home. Don't get me wrong, Murfreesboro is big, a little bigger than Sandusky. But it seemed like a good place to start working," he said.

And work he has. The Blue Rooster Bar and Music Hall, one of the largest bars in town, immediately took the young man into its care, granting him a gig on their weekly calendar. After glancing through The Pulse (Murfreesboro's very own version of Funcoast Magazine), Fester decided to check it out. Smart move. The Blue Rooster was looking for someone to play acoustic music and booked him on the spot.

After playing his first Monday show, it was clear that the folks at the Rooster liked what they heard. They immediately added a Friday and Saturday night to the roster, where he opens for whatever musical act they are hosting. Monday nights for Fester have slowly morphed into what he called a "living-room atmosphere, with a lot of interaction between me and the audience, figuring out songs on the spot, and playing all the weird stuff that I don't have on regular cycle. Also, it's a good spot to play my originals, and test out the new ones I'm working on."

His luck hasn't stopped there. Just two weeks ago, he tacked on another credential to his growing list: bar DJ. He spins for a club every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights after the main act. In this short time, he's developed quite a physical persona.

"I'll put on some Jackson Five, jump up on top of the booth above a loaded dance floor, and dance my skinny white butt off," he says. It works well, serving to entertain and animate the crowd.

As for new material, Fester has been writing tunes on a regular basis and plans to start recording this week with a producer he's been working with. The direction that the new project will take remains unclear. He is employing the same process he used for “A Few Songs for a Few Friends” (released October 2008), which is "one song at a time."

A self-professed music geek, Fester's influences cross many genres. This past year has found him listening to a larger variety of music than ever. It's only natural that the variety shapes what he's been creating.

"There will be many different elements to this (album) than the last one," he said. "It's possible that the songs could be all different genres, I'm not really sure."

One thing is for certain: his commitment to his art is stronger than ever. In his own words, "it's a long road that has only just begun to get weird."

It's a long road, yes. But from the looks of it, it's a road to success. - Funcoast Magazine