Swing the Beat
Swing the Beat is a project of Funk Bassist Dan Wearn and Jazz Drummer Steve Micklin with guest appearance by various artists. Steve and Dan come from varied background and love the groove of blues, the drive of funk and the patterns of jazz. Take all those, and throw in a little rock, a little latin, and a pinch of creativity, and you have Swing the Beat's unique blend of music - part jazz, part blues, and all smooth!
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
Dan has over 10 years experience playing bass in Funk and Rock bands around Detroit and West Michigan. His musical influences include Primus, James Jamison, Ron Carter, Stanley Clark. Steve has been playing drums for 30+ years (yeah, he's that old!) playing blues, rock, jazz, and even folk around the Midwest. His style is a blend of Cozy Powell, Art Blakley, and Artis White - with a bit of Charlie Watts thrown in. Dan and Steve have been working together for the past couple of years trying to create a fresh, new sound that blends traditional with new.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Swing the Beat will be performing this summer and fall in West Michigan. Both Dan and Steve have played at a variety of venues in Detroit and Chicago - we love to interact with our audience!
Your musical influences
Swing-Era jazz drives the beat while rhythms may range from hip-hop to "funkadelic" to latin to rock. Imagine a swing version of Morphine! Strong bass lines interact with swing beats and complex patterns to create a musical dialogue within the rhythm section.
What equipment do you use?
Steve plays a Groove Percussion BeBop kit with Sabian and Paiste cymbols and Remo coated Fiberskins. Dan plays a Precision bass.
Anything else?
We hope you will enjoy our mix of music and hope to hear from you soon!
