Dan Flynn's original musical passion was percussion. He was a phenomenal snare drummer in his high school and college drumlines, and also has experience with drum kits and hand drums. When he discovered the didgeridoo in 2004, it wasn't long before he was importing his prior sense of rhythm into this wind/percussion hybrid instrument. After playing the didgeridoo for a couple years, Dan began making them out of hardwood.

Dan considers 2007 to be his breakthrough year as far as taking didge rhythm and technique to the next level. After exposure to some other amazing didge players in the scene, he was inspired to learn some key rudiments that allowed him to excel in creating his own unique, truly danceable electronica sound. His music is frequently compared to the electronica genres known as Psy Trance, Drum n' Bass and Dub Step. With his "dub stick" in hand, Dan became a sensation at the Salt Lake City and Park City, UT farmers and craft markets in 2008, performing for tips. Since then he has expanded his "busking" (street performing) efforts and has busked in Santa Cruz, CA, Boulder, CO, Austin, TX, New Orleans, LA, and Daytona Beach, Orlando and Key West, FL. Although he also gigs in more official venues, he still considers playing on the streets for tips to be his favorite venue.

In 2008, after reading a book called "The Didgeridoo Phenomenon", Dan learned about Computer Aided Didgeridoo Sound Design (CADSD). He began a correspondence with Dr. Frank Geipel, creator of CADSD and author of one of the book's chapters. Dr. Geipel's computer models allow him to predict what the various playable notes will be for didges of any given length and diameter (or set of varying diameters). Combining these models with his "directed evolution" tool, Dr. Geipel can determine the set of dimensions that a didge would need to have to be optimized for any pre-determined set of notes and playing characteristics. Didgeridoos can be optimized for various characteristics such as wobble, singing tones, heterodyne amplification effects, and more.

As Dan's playing style has taken him increasingly into the realm of trumpet notes/toots, his collaboration with Dr. Geipel has focused on designing didgeridoos with multiple, specifically tuned trumpet notes. Some of Dan's didgeridoos are designed to have six or seven maximally playable trumpet notes tuned to a chord. This kind of didgeridoo remains a "drone" instrument, but its melodic capabilities are expanded. By playing the drone and trumpet notes in sequence (arpeggiation), percussive-sounding melodies based on particular chords are possible. Also, with more precise lip control, it is possible to add even more playable notes into the arpeggiated sequence; these additional notes are called "false tones" (or "pseudo toots") and "impedance minima" notes. Dan's collaboration with Dr. Geipel involves predicting/modeling these additional, more subtle tones.

Contact Dan at: DidjesByDan@gmail.com