DJ Dan grew up in a big, classic-rock-loving family of eight siblings, gravitating instead toward disco, punk and new wave, and graduated high school in Olympia, Washington. Watching DJ Randy Schlager speed-mix on rubber-band-hung Technics turntables at Seattle's Monastery club, he rigged his own gear to teach himself to beatmatch. An early half-hour guest spot handed to him by Donald Glaude at The Underground helped seal the calling.
After fashion-design school and a stint in New York and LA, he broke through when the LA rave scene exploded in 1991, playing a three-day downtown LA rave. Following the Rodney King riots he moved to San Francisco and co-founded Funky Tekno Tribe, shifting from hardcore rave techno into the funk, breaks and psychedelic sound that defined him.
As a producer he made the Electroliners track \"Loose Caboose\" (licensed to XL Recordings) and the 120,000-selling \"Needle Damage,\" remixed by Carl Cox. He runs his own label, Stereo, now over 22 years old.