Dan Israel’s newest self-titled album features the same soulful, singer-songwriter acoustic material which has found success in Austin, SXSW and here in the Twin Cities for years now. But surprisingly, it also features electric guitar and let’s just call it “rocking out,” reminiscent of Neil Young, Willy Porter and even some early Wallflowers. Whether crooning to an acoustic riff or rocking a Keith Richard’s tuning, Israel’s musical intimacy and proven songwriting quality permeates throughout.

We sat down with Dan to talk about his new self-titled album, what it’s like to play drums, his new son and his outlook for Minneapolis in 2026…

Q. Which genre best defines your sound on your solo work? Do you shy away from the “singer/songwriter” or “folk” label, since every track varies? Why/why not?

A. Yeah, it is a bit confusing. I like to think I work off sort of the “Neil Young” model, which lets me rock out with reckless abandon while still being a folk artist when I want to. Not that I’m Neil Young or anything. Still, I like that idea of just playing the kind of music you want to play when you want to play it. I definitely don’t shun the “singer/ songwriter” label, since that’s the kind of music I tend to like. Not “Dan Fogelberg”-type singer-songwriter, hopefully, but still, I don’t change the radio station when a Jackson Browne song comes on. I have no choice but to be a “singer/songwriter” because that’s the style I happen to write in - confessional, heart-on-my-sleeve stuff that makes some people go “yuck” but hey, it’s what I do.

Q. Why, after seven albums since you’ve moved to the Twin Cities, is this one self-titled?

A. There are two answers to that question. One answer is that it seemed like, in a way, this album was most representative of me of anything I’ve ever put out. I played all the instruments, recorded and mixed it all myself, etc. The other answer is that I just had my first child, a son named Isaac, born in August and he was so fussy/colicky for the first 3 months of his life that I didn’t have time to think of an album title, so I thought, what the hell, I’ve never had a self-titled album, now might be the time.

Q. What can fans old and new expect to hear on your newest album that’s different, unusual, the same?

A. I have fans??? Just kidding…I do have a few and they’re very devoted and supportive. Well, they get to hear me play drums for the first time, for better or worse. I’m not the world’s worst drummer, and I certainly ain’t the best! I think they get to hear some really hard rockin’ tunes…. perhaps almost more rockin’ than anything I’ve put out before. And they get to hear a political song or two also, kind of a first for me, and I have to write political songs carefully so I don’t get fired. My day job is working for a nonpartisan office in the Minnesota Legislature so I’m not allowed to take public positions on state issues, so you just have to read between the lines, I guess. Also, I play electric slide guitar on this record - that’s a first! But in a lot of ways its just more of the same, though I try to keep it interesting. I’ve been writing a lot more in open tunings - mainly the “Keith Richards” one. So that makes the songs sound a bit different too.

Q. Who were your biggest musical influences growing up, and who do you find yourself gravitating toward now? How have other musicians affected and shaped your songwriting and performance style?

A. Early on, it was Top 40 AM radio…you know, listening to Casey Kasem count down the top 40 on Sunday nights on KDWB AM (630) here in the Twin Cities. My parents listened to a lot of Pete Seeger/Arlo Guthrie/Peter,
Paul, and Mary-type folk music too, and I absorbed that quite a bit. Then as I got older it was the Beatles, Stones, Who, Zeppelin - classic rock in general. My first band was really kind of a punk-rock band, so I got my first exposure to the Ramones/Sex Pistols type stuff in about 10th grade. Then in college and beyond I got majorly into Dylan, Neil Young, and other singer-songwriters, too many to name. That’s what I still gravitate toward. Perhaps I should expand my horizons more, but I always go back to the stuff that made me feel so deeply when I first heard it.

Q. It’s obvious from your dedication and photos in the new album that you’ve recently become a dad. How has fatherhood changed your songwriting?

A. It’s meant that I don’t write any songs. Well, I did write one, right after Isaac was born, about how much I love him (awwwwwwwwwww!) called “Every Single Day” (last song on my new album), but mostly he’s kept my wife and I so exhausted these last few months that I’ve really been unable or unwilling to write a song. I make up a LOT of silly songs for Isaac, so perhaps I should compile them all and put out the dreaded “children’s album”, but for now, I’m kind of out of writing mode, and I’m sure I’ll get back in it one of these days. Hopefully.

Q. You’ve had success in Austin, some good national press and a good run at SXSW, but in your opinion, why is the Twin Cities a great place to be a musician?

A. Yeah, there are people out there who’ve started to recognize my name.
That’s a start. Not enough to quit my day job, which I desperately wish I could do, but I am getting somewhere, I think. The Twin Cities is a great place to be a musician because there are so many venues, press outlets, and now, with the Current, radio stations to get your stuff heard. It’s also a pretty supportive community that has its own awards show and various other “music infrastructure” stuff that a lot of scenes don’t have. Not to mention the obvious fact that it probably has the coolest recent history of any scene in the country…. more interesting to me than Seattle’s heyday. Any scene that turned out highly respected national acts lik Prince, the Replacements, the Suburbs, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, the Jayhawks, Peter Himmelman, Koerner, Ray, and Glover, Trip Shakespeare/Semisonic, Babes in Toyland, The Mighty Mofos, the Magnolias, Atmosphere, Heiruspecs, Mason Jennings, etc. etc. etc. (and yes, I include Dylan too, as he did live in Minneapolis for a time) has nothing to be ashamed of.

Q. What’s coming in the future for you/Cultivators?

A. Multi-platinum success, hopefully. But, failing that, I’d like to see us continue to get better and better shows, get more national press and radio play, be able to tour a bit more, and maybe get the attention of a bigger indie label or publishing company or something. I don’t have lans to make another album soon because I have no money and no songs written. But with seven albums out there, I feel I have a lot of songs to play and want to continue to “win converts” by promoting myself, playing shows, getting press, making connections, and generally trying to have fun with the whole thing too.

Q. Where do you see the Twin Cities music scene headed in the next 10 years?

A. I’m hopeful that one of these days, the scene will be “discovered” a bit more again by the national people, like it was in the ’80s and some of the ’90s. There are so many great songwriters and performers in town who deserve more recognition and exposure (and more money!) for what they do. I feel it’s only a matter of time before some of that wider appeal comes to the Twin Cities scene. I’d like to see greater opportunities develop locally for small local labels (like the label I’m on, Martin Devaney’s Eclectone Records) too - getting bigger distribution, landing on bigger tours, getting more national press and airplay and increased sales.

You can purchase Dan Israel’s new self-titled album at his Web site.

January’s a big month for Israel:
–Saturday, January 7 Dan plays Bob Dylan in a live, local re-creation of The Band’s classic “The Last Waltz” at the Cabooze
–Sunday, January 22, Dan is a guest on Cities 97’s local show with Jason Nagel (97.1 FM) at 10 p.m.; Saturday, January 28, Dan and the Cultivators play an Eclectone Records showcase at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, along with fellow Eclectone artists Big Ditch Road, Robert McCreedy, Martin Devaney, Charlie Parr, and Mark Stockert
–Sunday, January 29 Dan is a guest on The Current’s local show with Chris Roberts (89.3 FM) at 5 pm.