Denver Daines

Denver Daines lives the kind of life other country crooners sing about.

He competes in rodeos as a saddle bronc rider, trains horses on his family ranch near Innisfail and — oh yeah — he also plays the guitar and writes original music, such as the song Seventeen, which became a radio hit and was nominated as a Canadian Country Music Association Single of the Year.

The 29-year-old — who will perform in a lineup with Duane Steele, Jaydee Bixby and 25 other country acts at his dad Ivan Daines’ Music Picknic Weekend on Aug. 19 to 22 — admitted his biggest challenge these days is splitting his time effectively between his various cowboy interests.

“Music is my main career. It comes first right now,” said Daines, who has played across Alberta with his band and spends a lot of travel time strumming his guitar and writing lyrics around the “pretty little riffs” he comes up with.

Three of his original tunes were recorded onto a demo disc last fall. And two of them — Seventeen and Big Ol’ World — have been getting good radio play.

Seventeen, about leaving home for the first time, was pretty popular right across the country, said Daines. “I heard from friends that it was being played up in Northern Alberta, as well as Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.”

Big Ol’ World is also about the experience of diving into the unknown. “It’s about travelling and being free, being who you are and always being on the road.”

Daines was 19 when he left home to attend Casper College in Wyoming on a rodeo scholarship. Although he arrived with aspirations of getting into sports medicine, he became too distracted by rodeo events to focus much on his general studies.

All his time in the saddle paid off when Daines made it into the Canadian Finals Rodeo for saddle bronc riding in 2003, his rookie year. But then music beckoned and Daines admitted he doesn’t put as much time into bronc riding anymore.

“I never practise, I just do it,” he said.

Even his rodeo circuit has been narrowed down mostly to Alberta, so he can be close enough to play at any music gigs that arise.

“I love rodeoing and I’ll do it while I can, but music has been real good to me and next year, hopefully, it will be even better,” said the independent singer, whose next goal is recording an album.

Also on the Picknic bill with Daines is CKGY radio personality Tera Lee, who moonlights as a country singer, and a wide diversity of other local acts.

Ivan Daines believes this year’s entertainment lineup is bigger than ever — possibly because he’s never had the heart to turn away any talented performers who’ve asked to play at his music and horse training event.

“I remember once there was this little guy tugging at me, asking if he could sing. And I asked him, ‘Do you play the guitar?’ and he said, ‘No, but my Dad does.’ And that little guy turned out to be Jaydee Bixby,” later a Canadian Idol finalist.
- Red Deer Advocate

Local singer/songwriter Denver Daines was just nine years old when he started picking up a guitar, and knack for writing songs started surfacing as a teen.

He’s one of about 100 artists set to perform this weekend during the Ivan Daines & Friends Music Picknic Weekend. It all runs Aug. 19-22 at the Daines Ranch & Rodeo grounds located about 6 kms north of Innisfail.

Daines and his band hit the stage Aug. 20 at 9 p.m.

Other featured artists include Canadian Idol runner-up Jaydee Bixby, popular singer/songwriter Duane Steele, Michael Carey, Jessica St. Dennis, Amanda Williams, Jesse Fowler and Ty Hart.

Meanwhile, besides his music, Daines, 29, is also a professional saddle bronc rider. But rodeos are taking up less and less of his time as he focuses on developing his music via recording and performing as much as he can.

“It’s my dream and my passion. And if a person if lucky enough to do this, they’ll be thankful to do it,” he says of the musician’s life, which of course isn’t all fun and games and includes long stretches of travel.

But Daines couldn’t be happier with the path he’s on. He ventured into music as a kid and everything just seemed to creatively fall into place over the next several years.

He doesn’t call songwriting a gift exactly, but acknowledges that it’s something that comes quite naturally. “I guess I’m lucky in a sense, it’s something I can do,” he explains. Pouring out one’s thoughts and feelings into the form of a song also offers a kind of healing when things aren’t going so well in life. “It’s a form of therapy.”

Generally, his tunes tend to reflect experiences he’s garnered living and working in rural Alberta in business, family life and the rodeo circuit.

Taking it up a notch was when he landed first place in the Rising Country Superstar competition back in 2004 in Red Deer. His debut, Road to Destiny, was recorded around that time as well.

Last year, he recorded a few tunes on an EP called Big ‘Ol World, and it’s all the more clear Daines has carved out a unique place for himself in the Canadian music scene.

From the infectious, upbeat tones of Seventeen to the slowed down acoustic richness of the project’s title track and the reflective You’re my Last Ride, Daines clearly has found the best genre to explore. Not that he doesn’t have a broad taste in music. He describes his repertoire as tapping into everything from old school country to tunes by the Eagles and John Mellancamp to Keith Urban and the Tragically Hip.

Ultimately, it’s clear that a clever hybrid of edgy pop/rock and country music suits him as a singer and guitarist, and it’s clear his heart is in it every step of the way as well. But there’s plenty to explore, and Daines has every intention on not holding back when it comes to writing and performing. Sharing his tune, in the meantime, is what brings him the most joy.

“You’ve got to work with the crowd, it’s not just about singing. It’s about performing,” he explains of his efforts to engage audiences.

Meanwhile, other highlights of the Music Picknic Weekend include the Canadian Championship Horse Training Contest and Cowboy Church with John Sheilds and Company. Check out Ivan Daines on facebook for more information. - Red Deer Express

Denver Daines - Seventeen
Surprise of the week. I like his voice and it’s a decent song. Promising. - MAGMEDIA - Music Scheduling/Music Research/Music Review