Dan Rivers

It'd be misleading to suggest Dan Heckerman has split personalities, but this Daytonion does have two distinct sides. He works in the insurance business, running the Sally A. Heckerman Agency in Centerville with his wife.
Another important aspect of Heckerman's life is music. He performs solo throughout the area as Dan Rivers, a name he adopted in the 1970s, but the two worlds seldom intersect.
" My wife and I have been working hard at the agency going on twelve years," Heckerman said. " We have many wondeful customers and most have zero idea I'm a performing artist because they don't realize who I am.
" I took the stage name many years ago because of my love for the great outdoors and the rivers I used to canoe down. I was floating down a river one afternoon when the name popped into my head. From that moment on I used Dan Rivers when I was out singing and folks liked it."
Most of his insurance clients don't know about Heckerman's " other side," but he is a fixture on the local acoustic music scene. He currently hosts a Tuesday night open stage at Bargos Grille & Tap on Brown Street, and has hosted similar nights at Brixx Ice Company on First Street and Adobe Gila's at the Greene.
" The open mics are my way of giving back," he said. " I'm really into the art and I want the artists, the guys who never get out all the way up to the semi-pros, to have a place to perform. Anybody is welcome. We have some really good cats in all different flavors coming out. It's a creative outlet for them."
Rivers performs at a variety of venues, from restaurants and bars to daytime events and private parties. He'll be at Milano's, 9572 Springboro Pike, Miami Twp. on Friday, Sept. 12, and BW3's on Brown Street on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Rivers' latest CD, "Sterling Road," is an unvarnished collection of original songs touching on everything from love and patriotism to nature and family. Tracks such as "Grandfather (March Night) and "Remember December" are touching memories brought back to life through song. The material was recorded live in Babblefish Studio with no overdubs or extra instrumentation.
"That's really what people who know mw want," he said. "They wanted to hear the songs like I perform them live. I just sat down and said, 'Let's Roll.' And then in about two hours, 'Boom,' this is it. I'm not big on effects - I want to be real and authentic."

ROCK INSIDER, by contributing writer Don Thrasher, appears weekly and gives a behind the scenes view of the Dayton music scene. Contact Thrasher by e-mail at donaldthrasher8@aol.com - Dayton Daily News - Rock Insider - September 5, 2008

Country-folk composer Dan Rivers with his reminiscent song " Grandfather ( March Night )" won the official top honors of the 1991 Festival of States Song Competition.

The prize was offered by the Florida Society of Folksingers during three hours of original music in the garden fete Easter afternoon at Beaux Arts Gallery, 7711-60th St., Pinellas Park.

Rivers, a 31-year-old entertainer, makes St. Petersburg his home after leaving Ohio ten years ago. He will be heard next at the public 41st Festival of States Ball and Partyat the gallery Friday, April 5 from 8pm to midnight where he will share the stage with ten other musicians. - St. Petersburg Times

For most of the day, Dan Heckerman works in insurance in Centerville, runing the Sally A. Heckerman Agency with his wife. At certain times, however,he slips into his alter ego, Dan Rivers, and heads out armed with his trusty acoustic guitar.

On these occasions, he regales crowds with a brand of music inspired by his heroes John Denver and James Taylor, to name a few. Work responsibilities often draw Rivers' attention away from music, but the Dayton-based singer-songwriter continues to find unique ways to promote his music.

"I'm not out marketing myself like I was," he said. "We've got the insurance business and we're just doing our darndest to keep our heads above water. The economy has really hit us hard.

"I still play at The Pub at The Greene about once every month on a Wednesday night," Rivers continued. "I'm there again on April 14 at 8 p.m. Plus, I do five or six events each year with Five Rivers Metroparks. "I do Bike to Work each May. It's real early in the morning, but it's fun."

Rivers will return to a Five Rivers-sponsored event on Friday, April 2, when he hosts an open mic showcase at 2nd Street Public Market from 5 to 8 P.M. This is part of the market's attempt to tap into the First Friday activities.

"I thought an open mic might be a good idea because you can get a lot of artists, "Rivers said. "I knew the market had the budget to promote it pretty well, and it would give these cats an opportunity to get some exposure.

"The money isn't that great, but you don't play at the market for that, "he added. "It's about the whole vibe."

Rivers will be joined by Rich Heitkamp & Rich Wood, Shelly Sinclair, John Wildenhause & Craig Grissom, Blake Blakely and Richie Terbush, but the stage will be open to other performers.

"Some of these artists have been playing consistently down there for a long time," Rivers said. "The approach is to get a few of us old timers to step up and play a few songs, but they want new folks, new acoustic artists, that haven't played there yet. That's part of the goal. Anybody is welcome to play and they can call me at (937)231-8927 to sign up.

"The thing about the market is that people go there for the whole social aspect," Rivers added."They're coming down to hear the music, but it's not like a nightclub. I've always loved that."

By Don Thrasher
Contributing Writer - Dayton Daily News

Local country artist Dan Rivers is known for tackling topical issues. He's still riding on the popularity of his patriotic anthem from 2007, "One Flag, One Heart, One Nation," but this conservative songwriter recently has been motivated creatively and politically.

"I somehow got really involved with the grassroots movement growing across the country known as the Tea Party movement," Rivers said. "Yes, I am an official Tea Bagger, but really just a frustrated American that doesn't like the direction any of our elected officials are taking our country right now."

"America, where do we go from here?/We can't stand by and watch her disappear."

"There are just as many Democrats in the groups I've been exposed to, as there are Republicans, so the Tea Party movement is truly bipartisan," Rivers said. "The media doesn't want to report it this way,but it really is true."

Rivers somewhat sums up the Tea Party's anti-tax philosophy in his latest song, "This American Life," which was released this month as a CD single backed with "One flag, One Heart, One Nation."

"The new song has become the movement's theme or rally song," Rivers said. "I was at the TeaParty rally in downtown Dayton on April 15 and sang this song to the over 8,000 Americans that were in attendance and the song instantly became a hit. Since that April 15 event I've been performing the song, and "One flag,One heart,One Nation," at numerous events around the state."

"We've got to keep on doing what's right/if were going to live this American Life."

The singer-songwriter performs next at nonpolitical events at the Ohio State Fair on Wednesday, July 29, and Bargo's Grill & Tap in Centerville on Thursday, July 30.

Rivers said he hopes to perform at future Tea Party rallies such as the event he headlined in Brookville on July 3.

"We had a lot going on that day. It showed we're a bunch of Americans concerned about what's happening to their beloved country, determined to do something about it!"

By Don Thrasher
Contributing Writer
- Dayton Daily News

Eagle Bridge, NY - November 11, 2004 - W Ketchup today announced that singer-songwriter Dan Rivers has recorded The W Ketchup Song.

Dan Rivers has been writing songs and entertaining since the age of ten. To date he has written more than 350 songs, recorded several albums & continues to perform his special brand of live acoustic guitar music throughout the state of Ohio and beyond.

Dan was impressed with the concept of W Ketchup, and especially with the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund, which recieves a portion of every bottle of W sold. Dan served in the U.S.M.C. and the knowledge that the founders of W Ketchup give to the children of our fallen heroes is what motivated him to write The W Ketchup Song.

. Visit Dan Rivers' MySpace page at: www.myspace.com/riversdan to hear the songs.

One Flag, One Heart, One Nation

Dan also released his most-requested live song, One Flag, One Heart, One Nation and hopes that the song " will give people some much - needed solace with the tough fighting and sacrifices the U.S Armed forces are undergoing in Iraq.

Founded in 2004, W Ketchup is a private company that makes ketchup in America solely from ingrediants grown in the USA. For more information visit www.wketchup.com or contact 1-866-wketchup. - The WKetchup Company

If persistence guarantees success, then it would be only a matter of time before Dan Rivers hit the jackpot.
The 42-year-old Piqua native is relentless in pursuing every avenue imaginable in hopes of getting an audience for his original acoustic music. Having joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school in 1978, the singer-songwriter honed his musical skills during 10 years of military service.
Following his discharge, he lived the life of a wandering troubadour performing up & down the Eastern seaboard, but says he got burned out after several years of life on the road so stepped back from live performances to focus on his writing .
The hiatus lasted 5 years, and now Rivers is throwing everything he has into getting his musical career back on track. He says his influences include James Taylor, Paul Simon, Greg Brown, Don Henley, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, John Denver, Dan Fogleberg, Cat Stevens, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin and Neil Young.
Playing wherever and whenever he can is an obvious approach to being heard. A frequent performer this fall at the 2nd Street Public Market, Rivers is excited to have lined up a club show this coming week. He'll share a bill Thursday with local singer-songwriter, Mark Bondurant at Canal Street Tavern.
But Rivers isn't shy about taking less conventional routes, as well. The brown-hatted performer is known to have taken a copy of his cassette, Times Past, to shows at Kettering's Fraze Paviliion last summer, asking performers such as Don McLean if they might take a listen. And last month, he was invited to Nashville, Tennesse to showcase for Sony Nashville. What happens next is up in the air. But if he is following up with those people the way he has gone after an audience on the local scene, then we can expect to hear more from Rivers. - Dayton Daily News - January 3, 2003

Dan Rivers was 7 when he started playing guitar in 1967 and was recording and playing live a few years later. The Dayton-based singer-songwriter never stopped making music, but in recent years an allergy to cigarette smoke prevented him from performing live. Ohio's public smoking ban, however, has made it possible for Rivers to return to the stage, and he's making up for lost time with weekly gigs at Brixx Ice Company and Adobe Gila's.
" Performimg is in my blood but the smoke free environment was the motivator for me," Rivers said. " Being an ex smoker, I got to the point where I just couldn't handle the environment. Now, I'm having a blast and I'm really turning it into more of a show. I'm still Dan Rivers singer-songwriter, but I'm billing it as the Dan Rivers Acoustic Show. You have to recreate yourself."
Although he wasn't performing live, the former Marine had some online success in 2005 and 2006 with his patriotic country-folk songs One Flag, One Heart, One Nation and The W Ketchup Song.
"I wrote the W Ketchup Song because of the company's support of what's called The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund," Rivers said. "The fund honors bravery and dedication exhibited by Americans in the armed forces who have sacrificed life or limb by providing an educational scholarship to their children."
Rivers was commissioned to write the song, which included a deal to cover his recording costs. "They also gave me a little bit of money," Rivers said. "They put the songs on their Web site, which is the big thing because now they've been around the world."
Part of Rivers' deal included having One Flag, One Heart, One Nation, made available as a download at the site ( www.wketchup.com ). "Out of over 400 songs I've written in the last 35 years, One Flag, One Heart, One Nation is my most requested at my shows," he said. "I've been contacted by people from all around the world because it's on the internet. It's been my most downloaded track.
"One Flag, One Heart, One Nation is one of those tunes that just kind of nails you, "Rivers added. "Your either going to hate it or love it, but it's not political. There are people fighting and dying for our freedom and that's not Democrat or Republican, that's American. We have very short memories in our country and regardless of your stance on what's going on in the world, we've always got to support our troops."
For more information: www.myspace.com/riversdan

Rock Insider, by contributing writer Don Thrasher, appears weekly. Contact Thrasher by e-mail at donaldthrasher8@aol.com - Dayton Daily News by Don Thrasher - April 13, 2007