Dan Bryk
title: "Dan Bryk" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1970-births", "living-people", "canadian-indie-pop-musicians", "canadian-rock-singers", "canadian-pop-singers", "canadian-pop-pianists", "canadian-indie-rock-musicians", "canadian-expatriate-musicians-in-the-united-states", "musicians-from-mississauga", "writers-from-mississauga", "canadian-male-pianists", "21st-century-canadian-pianists", "21st-century-canadian-male-singers", "canadian-male-singer-songwriters", "21st-century-canadian-singer-songwriters"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bryk" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | dan_bryk_wall.jpg |
| name | Dan Bryk |
| birth_name | Dan Waldemar Bryk |
| origin | Mississauga, Ontario |
| genre | |
| occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| years_active | 1996–present |
| label | |
| associated_acts | The American Flag, Down By Avalon, Bull City |
| website | |
| :: |
| image = dan_bryk_wall.jpg | name = Dan Bryk | birth_name = Dan Waldemar Bryk | origin = Mississauga, Ontario | genre = | occupation = Singer-songwriter | years_active = 1996–present | label = | associated_acts = The American Flag, Down By Avalon, Bull City | website =
Dan Waldemar Bryk (born September 23, 1970) is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter and recording artist. Originally from Toronto, Bryk is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. A songwriter and keyboard player, Bryk has released five full-length albums and a handful of singles, EPs and tracks on compilations.
Early life and musical beginnings
Dan Bryk grew up in suburban Mississauga, Ontario, where he attended several Public and Catholic schools and Queensway Cathedral School, a Pentecostal evangelical private school. His parents separated and reconciled during his late childhood.
At Age 8, Bryk briefly received piano lessons from Earl Mlotek at the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music but dropped out due to hyperactivity and unwillingness to practice. Dan explored songwriting and wrote a few primitive songs throughout grade school, while playing flute in his grade school band and singing in school and church choirs.
While attending St. Martin's High School, Bryk joined the school's 8-track recording studio where he helped establish a recording club and recorded his own music under the pseudonymous band name The Cunning Linguists. He released a number of cassette albums under this name, submitting them to Toronto campus radio stations, selling tapes to his schoolmates, and consigning them to Toronto independent record stores with little fanfare. While the "Linguists" were essentially a studio project consisting of Bryk and occasional collaborator Mike Feraco, he gave an edgy solo debut performance (using MIDI sequencing and drum machine programming) at St. Martin's 1988 Battle of The Bands that was notably censored by Mississauga Cable 10 community access television. Bryk graduated from St. Martin's in 1989.
Bryk then attended the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, initially majoring in English literature, but changing to fine art with a focus on photography and extended media practice. While he did not enroll in any music performance courses at Guelph, Bryk hungrily devoured jazz and popular music history classes under Prof. Howard Spring, and spent much of his time honing his craft as a songwriter in the music department's piano booths. A semester spent studying in London, England in 1992, absorbing the bustling Camden music scene only intensified Bryk's focus on becoming a singer-songwriter. Upon returning to Guelph, Bryk dropped to part-time status and began working as a graphic artist at a Mississauga design firm, all the while writing and demoing his compositions and developing his idiosyncratic, self-taught piano playing style.
Canada
Bryk moved from the suburbs to downtown Toronto in 1994 and joined the Queen Street West music scene with the release of his largely self-performed debut CD Dan Bryk, Asshole. During this period, Bryk was also an occasional participant in Toronto's Serial Diners.
Asked to record a CBC Radio 2 RealTime session in 1997, the resulting tapes helped Bryk sign to NYC's Scratchie Records after a post-gig meeting with label co-owner Adam Schlesinger and Fountains of Wayne bandmate Chris Collingwood.
Once again independent of major label distribution, Scratchie released Bryk's Lovers Leap CD in October 2000, and it received a positive review from Robert Christgau and meagre sales. Lovers Leap (which charted in CMJ) featured cameos from the odd assortment of Canadian musicians Bryk had befriended via Asshole: Danny Michel, Howie Beck, Chris Warren, Kyp Harness, Jacksoul frontman (and Guelph college roommate) Haydain Neale, outsider chanteuse Kathleen Yearwood and a cappella harmonists Moxy Früvous. Bryk was pictured shirtless on the back cover of Toronto third wave Ska band King Apparatus' Hospital Waiting Room EP after that band's Mitch Girio played on "Dan Bryk, Now" and "Dan Bryk, Asshole." Oft-regarded as a songwriter's songwriter, Bryk was the recipient of an Ontario Arts Council Popular Songwriting grant in 2002.
Bryk toured to support Lovers Leap throughout Canada and the US, and also toured Japan in 2001 with Stephen Malkmus for Lovers Leap's release by Avex Trax Japan (where the singles I love you goodbye and She Doesn't Mean A Thing To Me Tonight were minor radio hits). A promotional video for She Doesn't Mean A Thing (reprised from 'Dan Bryk, Asshole') received light rotation on Muchmusic and wide video play in Japan. Bryk's music has been mashed and remixed by The Kendall Mintcake and DJ Morgan David respectively, and She Doesn't Mean A Thing was featured in the soundtrack of the 2006 indie feature film Bums (film)|Bums.
United States
Bryk moved to Durham, NC in 2003 with his life partner Erin McGinn, settling in neighbouring Raleigh. Immigration issues and further label wrangling (Bryk was dropped by Scratchie in 2004 after the latter's acquisition by New Line Records) kept him from touring or releasing new material until 2006,
Bryk's third full-length CD Dan Bryk Christmas Record was released by the Urban Myth Recording Collective in November 2006. Christmas Record received enthusiastic reviews (including a 4-star review from indie tastemaker Pitchfork) and regional college radio airplay. Bryk's local hit Love Me For Christmas inspired the creation of Have A Holly Raleigh Christmas, a benefit project to raise funds for Raleigh high school band instruments that also featured Raleigh indie rock notables The Rosebuds, Schooner and Nathan Asher.
Under the pseudonym Tha Commissioners, Bryk released the song Cherry Berry, an ode to North Carolina Secretary of Labor Cherie K. Berry. He gave the song anonymously to the college radio station WKNC, and it quickly became a local hit. For a time, Bryk avoided being associated with the song, and only admitted to recording it when his anonymous e-mails about the song were found to originate from his home computer. The song would later appear as a hidden track on the Discount Store EP.
An occasional sideman and producer, Bryk has also toured and recorded with Down By Avalon, Nova Social, The Bicycles, The American Flag, and singer-songwriters Django Haskins and Spookey Ruben.
As a founding member of the Urban Myth Recording Collective, Bryk has collaborated on and/or enabled the commercial release of recordings by Chris Warren, Luke Jackson, Chris Staig, Corey Landis, Lee Feldman, Down By Avalon, Bull City, Nova Social and Amy Allison.
Bryk is allegedly the inspiration for and subject of David Celia's song "Cactus" and "Stubborn Man" by The Old Ceremony.
Bryk married McGinn in 2008, relocating to New York City in Spring 2009. His long-delayed album Pop Psychology was soft-released in the Fall of 2009 by Urban Myth to an encouraging critical response including several "Best of 2009" lists but Bryk went into hiatus soon after the birth of his child Henry and the record languished in obscurity.
As a member and organizer of the NYC Dads Group he has become a public advocate for his new role as stay-at-home dad.
Bryk scored and contributed original songs to the soundtrack of the as-yet-unreleased 2011 indie short RIPE.
On Valentine's Day 2012, Bryk released Live at Bread & Circus, a nine-song album of a 2009 concert in Toronto, as a free download.
Bryk relocated to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2013. In August 2013 he publicly announced an expanded reissue of his best-known recording Lovers Leap and another recording possibly titled Lies of Girls and Women.
At the end of 2013, Bryk moved to Washington, DC. He later moved back to Durham, NC towards the end of 2016.
Discography
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Dan Bryk, Now! | Cass EP | No! Discs (Canada) |
| 1996 | Dan Bryk, Asshole | CD/8-Track/Cass | No! Discs (Can) |
| 2000 | Dan Bryk Rocks Nobody | 7-inch EP | Eutectic (Can) |
| 2001 | Lovers Leap | CD | Scratchie (US) teenage USA (Can) |
| 2002 | Lovers Leap | CD | Avex (Japan) |
| 2003 | Mississauga Rattler | Download | Urban Myth (US) |
| 2005 | We Don't Care | Digital Single | Pop Up Records (US) |
| 2006 | Dan Bryk Christmas Record | CD | Urban Myth (US) |
| 2007 | Discount Store | CD EP | Urban Myth (US) |
| 2009 | Pop Psychology | CD | Urban Myth (US) |
| 2012 | Live at Bread & Circus | Download | Urban Myth (US) |
| 2014 | A Bryk at the Radio | Download | Urban Myth (US) |
| 2018 | Collection Plate: The Best of Dan Bryk | Vinyl LP | You Are The Cosmos (Spain) |
| 2023 | Emily's Tender | Digital Single | Urban Myth/Fuck Music (US) |
| :: |
Radio interviews
- Interview with Matthew Revell of WCR-FM Wolverhampton, England June 13, 2008
- Interview and performance of "Discount Store" with Sook-Yin Lee of CBC Radio 2 "Definitely Not The Opera" September 15, 2007
- Interview with Shelagh Rogers of CBC Radio 1 "Sounds Like Canada" September 3, 2007
- Interview with Bob Langford of WPTF News Talk 680, Raleigh NC July 21, 2007
- Interview with Pseu Braun of WFMU, Jersey City NJ February 16, 2007
- Interview with Steve Salevan of WKNC, Raleigh NC October 20, 2006
- Interview with Pseu Braun of WFMU, Jersey City NJ January 19, 2001
References
Uncited Articles
- Robert Wilonsky, Bang To Hype, Dallas Observer, March 21, 2002. Major subject of article about SXSW, state of music business.
- Ross M. Miller, The Political Economy of Pop, Miller Risk Advisors, August 8, 2005. Citation.
- John Sakamoto, The Anti-Hit List, The Toronto Star, December 16, 2006. Review.
- Dan Bryk FAQ
- Dan Bryk Press Archive
References
- Lapointe, Andrew. (July 2, 2002). "Living on a Lover's Leap: An Interview with Canadian Singer/Songwriter Dan Bryk". PopMatters.
- Hughes, Kim. (September 2, 2000). "Cover Story". NOW Magazine (Toronto).
- McCormick, Moira. (December 4, 1999). "Scratchie Records Is Back In The Game With New Releases".
- (April 17, 2018). "Critical Mass-acre". Dan Bryk artist website.
- Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Review". The Village Voice.
- "Lovers Leap - Dan Bryk {{!}} Credits {{!}} AllMusic".
- (October 4, 1992). "King Apparatus – Hospital Waiting Room (1992, CD)".
- (2004-07-01). "Ontario Arts Council - Popular Music".
- Eldredge, Kristy. (March 1, 2007). "GLONO Interview: Bryk by Bryk". Glorious Noise.
- "Nova Social Biography". Littlefield.
- "Bums (2006) Soundtrack".
- Howe, Brian. (December 2016). "Track Review: We Don't Care". Pitchfork Media }}{{dead link.
- Currin, Grayson. (December 2, 2006}}{{Dead link). "The Bryk House". Independent Weekly (Raleigh).
- Menconi, David. "Holiday Album In The Works". News and Observer (Raleigh).
- Beckwith, Ryan. (July 7, 1997). "Ode To Cherie Berry Redefines Elevator Music". News & Observer, The (Raleigh, NC).
- admin, UMrecs. (October 7, 2005). "FAQs".
- Owen, Sian Claire. "Interview {{!}} David Celia". Americana UK.
- "REVIEWS:: DAN BRYK POP PSYCHOLOGY". Hero Hill.
- Howe, Brian. "Pop Psychology". Pitchfork Media.
- "Dan Bryk – The Next Best Thing". Bowling Stone.
- Delarue. (July 2, 2011). "1000 Best Albums of All Time: Album of the Day". Lucid Culture.
- Williams, Alex. (August 10, 2012). "Just Wait Until Your Mother Gets Home". The New York Times.
- (December 10, 2012). "Stay-At-Home Dads: The Future Family?". Huffington Post.
- "Applecare". OurStage.com.
- (February 2, 2012). "Free Download: A Typically Entertaining Dan Bryk Show from 2009". New York Music Daily.
- (August 7, 2013). "Schmello World!". Dan Bryk blog.
- (August 10, 2013). "Lovers Leap Deluxe Reissue". Dan Bryk blog.
- (March 31, 2014). "Whatever Happened To Dan Bryk?". Dan Bryk blog.
- "All Wikidding Aside". Dan Bryk blog.
- Howe, Brian. (2020-04-14). "Dan Bryk's Misadventures in the Music Industry as Told by Wikipedia".
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