Daniel Walcher
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Daniel Walcher

Edmond, Oklahoma, United States | SELF

Edmond, Oklahoma, United States | SELF
Band Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"Edmond musician finds Verifone a boon"

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 2) – Edmond singer-songwriter Daniel Walcher is in the business of making music, but he’s also keenly interested in selling his CDs and other merchandise.

But he doesn’t always know whether the music venue he’s playing has a dedicated phone line for a credit card machine and, in today’s card-carrying world, he’s not even sure if people would have enough cash in their pockets to leave with some swag.

But new credit card transaction technology is giving people like Walcher a retail and marketing boost.

Walcher recently began using the Verifone for iPhone technology – a small attachment for his phone that instantly converts it into a credit card machine. Anywhere he gets a cell phone signal, he can make a transaction by swiping a person’s credit card and having the buyer use the stylus to sign his phone’s screen. A receipt is then e-mailed to the buyer.

For Walcher, it’s all about convenience and catching people when they’re in the mood to buy.

“It’s about giving the customer the ease of payment,” he said. “They don’t have to wait in line at a merchandise table. And a lot of purchases, especially in this case, are impulse purchases. So if I have to tell people to go to the ATM, get cash and come back, by that time, they’re probably not as interested anymore.

“Credit cards are a necessity today. If people are paying $5 or $10 cash to get into the show, that automatically drains their cash reserves if I’m trying to sell them a $10 or $20 T-shirt,” he said.

The tracking information within the technology also serves a purpose. It tracks geographically the sales that are made, so if Walcher is on a 10-day tour, he can run a report to see where he made the best sales. He also can tell at what point in a show – such as before the show or during a break – that he sells the most. For transactions, the process is quick – he can pre-set buttons for CDs and T-shirts, and he can even take tips.

Walcher said he paid about $150 for the Verifone, and he anticipates it paying for itself in no time. The technology also lets him avoid the higher “card not present” fees that occur when someone gives a credit card number over the phone.

Walcher said he eventually plans to purchase more of the credit card swiper attachments and send friends and family into the crowds at his shows. It’s especially important for his philanthropic efforts of giving 20 percent of his CD sales to foster care facilities, he said. When he tells people why – he was a foster child who clung to music as an outlet – he wants to be ready if people want to support his cause.

“People are more inclined to buy something from you if they feel they have a personal connection,” he said. “It automatically becomes personal.”

In addition to convenience, the credit card technology is a savvy marketing tool, said Brian Blake, president of the Oklahoma City chapter of the American Marketing Association.

“In marketing, we talk about hitting people at the right place at the right time when they’re in buying mode,” Blake said. “Having to stand in line for 20 minutes, deal with the crowds and perhaps miss part of the show – this alleviates the whole issue.”

Staying abreast of today’s technology is crucial for any marketing efforts, Blake said. He said he sees many more opportunities for the approach, such as for refreshments at sporting events or at restaurants where there’s a long wait.
- By April Wilkerson, The Journal Record


"The Book Of Daniel"

Most musicians preach the therapeutic values to songwriting, and Daniel Walcher is no different.

His early journey led from foster home to foster home after he was removed from his family at 6 months old, eventually landing into a strictly religious home in Enid. A falling out with his adopted parents left Walcher struggling on his own, but he eventually found his way with his voice and a guitar.

Songwriting became a much-needed catharsis, and as he worked through his hardships, he found himself addicted to the escapism music offered.

“It becomes more of a passion that you can’t really get rid of, so you pick up odd jobs and play music as much as you can,” he said.

He picked up the drums close to the time he landed in Enid; his first experiences in music were expectedly spiritual. Walcher’s adoptive father was the pastor of a local church, and no secular music was allowed in the household. Walcher sought solace underneath his covers at night; listening to country music on a handheld radio from a science set he pilfered from his brother.

Nonetheless, Walcher also found inspiration in the Christian artists he was allowed to listen to like dc Talk and Audio Adrenaline. He even tried his hand at worship songs to impress his father after finding the guitar to be more expressive than the drums.

“The funny thing was, I was never good at it,” Walcher said. “Eventually, I had a falling out with my family and decided to leave and start writing about what is real.”

In high school, Walcher had been struck by the lyricism of David Gray and Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, and sought to replicate those heartfelt sentiments on his own.

A tumultuous period following his departure from his adopted home proved to be excellent fodder for music of this sort and found its way onto his first two albums. His earliest material favored slow, measured acoustic constructions, but as he found happiness, so has his music.

Walcher’s now married, worked through his past and is focused on having fun with his music. The biggest struggle he faces in songwriting is not having any to draw from.

“A label executive asked me if I was married one time,” Walcher said. “It’s not because they want you to be single and partying all the time; it’s because once you are married, there’s not quite as much heartbreak and turmoil in your everyday relationships that you can write songs about.”

He found a quick solution.

“I started writing about friend’s experiences,” he said. “Everything is still a real-life experience, but sometimes I work through my friends’ viewpoint instead.”

Walcher has decided to form a nonprofit foundation to place a guitar and lifetime set of strings in every foster-care facility statewide. He’s donating 20 percent of the proceeds from his self-titled new album.

“When I think about it, I could have worked through so many issues earlier on if I had a guitar earlier,” he said. “I might not have acted out so much.” —Joshua Boydston
©1999-2010, Gazette Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved
- Joshua Boydston, OKGazette, September 22, 2010


"Daniel Walcher: For the Love of Music"

Few artists can match the ability of Johnny Cash to overcome adversity and turn their pain into definitively memorable songs. Daniel Walcher is one of the few. His music is captivating and his natural talent undeniable.

Local audiences have enjoyed Daniel’s distinctive sound in downtown Oklahoma City venues for seven years. He has played at the indie rock festival Dfest in Tulsa, the Norman Music Festival, and had the honored invitation by the Oklahoma Film & Music Office to represent the state as a featured performer at SXSW in Austin, Texas. But if you talk to Daniel, his eagerness is found in the gift of music itself and in getting to share it with others. His warm presence translates to the stage, “I want people to walk away from my show having just had fun.” Lyrical depth dovetails with innovation.

Daniel has evolved at rapid pace as an artist and performer.

“At first it was more for me, it was solo and acoustic, but this new music—we’re bringing more energy; it’s more approachable, and everybody can relate to something in the sound.”

His new album is a vibrant blend of folk rock and pop influences. Remarkably

calm and seasoned on stage acoustically, Daniel is looking forward to playing with a full band in September. Daniel’s songs are injected with pulsing melodies and skillful storytelling. A singer-songwriter with the ability to fuse passionate lyrics with pop/folk rock sound, music was always a form of constant comfort and therapy.

Daniel spent the first years of his life in foster care. He observed and questioned much of the complexities in relationships through his unconventional childhood. Adopted at age 10 into a family where he could let roots grow, Daniel discovered music was a way of communicating and expressing his feelings, questions, experiences.

“I was always trying to figure out people in terms of relationships. Through songwriting, I was able to explain life and the way people relate on my terms, from my viewpoint.”

The songs he has written through the years have helped Daniel make sense of his past and become resolutely optimistic about the future.

The therapeutic aspect of Daniel’s music translates to his audience with every strike of a guitar string and completion of a chorus. He has recorded two albums independently in seven years, and his highly anticipated third album, self-titled Daniel Walcher, was recorded at Blackwatch Studios in Norman and will be released in September. He is planning an Oklahoma tour to support the new album beginning in mid to late September.

A saving grace, music helped Daniel make sense of a world that started off acutely cold. He will donate 20 percent of sales of his new album to support White Fields, a long-term home for abused and neglected boys in Piedmont, Oklahoma—a part of his larger goal of supporting children in foster care statewide.

Along with sharing the warmth of his story with people who need it the most, Daniel is ready to bring a wicked good time and finally a full band to the stage. Get ready world;

here he comes.
- By Ali Plum, So6ix Magazine/August 2010


Discography

"Daniel Walcher" 2010
"The Black and White of Things" EP 2008
"The Radio Singles" 2005
"Life-Spliced-Together" 2003

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Bio

Daniel Walcher is a folk rock singer/songwriter from Oklahoma City, the rebellious son of a preacher man and a community-minded philanthropist dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk youth.

Walcher’s new, self-titled studio album, Daniel Walcher, is his third independent release and the most progressive work of his seven years as a recording artist. The 11-track set bleeds emotion in the direct storytelling style of folk with an experimental pop/rock sound the blurs the lines of the genres.

Following a tumultuous early childhood spent in the revolving door of foster homes, Walcher found a permanent home at the age of 10 with a religious family who lived on a small farm near Enid, Oklahoma. His adoptive father was the pastor of a local church, and because his new family only listened to Christian music, Walcher’s early influences were Christian artists like dc Talk, Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith.

He initially picked-up the drums at church – for the ladies – but soon discovered a natural ability for acoustic guitar and songwriting – also for the ladies. He formed his first Christian rock band with his brother in the back of a church van. His first song, “Come Back Home,” was written about a girl he met at summer camp when he was 12. Walcher often leads live performances with the song.

When he was 15, his family moved to the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, Oklahoma, where he met and began performing with experienced recording artists like Christian rocker Charlie Hall and Ryan Walker, lead singer of Emelo.

Difficulties with his father led to Walcher living independently when he was a senior in high school. It was a difficult time. Songwriting became an outlet for dealing with the pain of his past, and Christian radio was replaced by Johnny Cash. He also became friends with Ft. Worth-based producer Will Hunt, forming a collaboration that resulted in his first full-length album, Life Spliced Together (2003).

Walcher began performing regularly at venues in downtown Oklahoma City, and invitations to play indie rock festivals like Tulsa’s Dfest started to arrive. His long-awaited follow-up album, The Black and White of Things (2009), displayed a new depth of songwriting and deviated from his acoustic-only roots. His new, electric folk sound drew comparisons to artists like Beck and Snow Patrol.

He was selected by the Oklahoma Film & Music Office in 2009 and 2010 to represent the state as a featured performer for its annual showcase at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. He also performed this summer at the Norman Music Festival.

Walcher believes music was the saving grace that rescued him from a spiral that could have claimed his life. To help others living through the adversities of his childhood (he was removed from his family and placed in an orphanage when he was only 6 months old), Walcher is forming a non-profit foundation to support foster children in Oklahoma. His first goal is to place a guitar in every foster care facility for boys in Oklahoma and he is donating 20 percent of sales of his new album to White Plains, a boys’ home in Piedmont, Oklahoma.

To schedule an interview with Daniel Walcher, contact publicist Rob Crissinger, 405-401-6323 or rcrissinger@gmail.com.