What happens to a person when they find themselves caught between the chaotic freedom of youth and the hard realities of adulthood? The certainty of small-town life and the anonymity of the big city? Or the love of someone from the past and someone who could be their future? These are some of the difficult questions that Daniel Longmire addresses with his debut album, Venus Motel. Operating under the stage name of “The Concord Experiment”, Longmire’s restless ambition has created a diverse collection of songs, many of which were over a decade in the making.
The long road to Venus Motel began for Longmire at the age of four, when a family vacation to Jamaica ignited a love of reggae, his first real appreciation for any genre of music. From there, years of piano lessons introduced him to the world of Bach and Mozart, as well as disciplined practice habits and musical theory, concepts that would come in very handy as a songwriter in later years. Reaching the rebellious teenage years, Longmire decided to leave his training behind and cracked open his piggybank to buy a second-rate bass guitar and amp. Collaborating with lifelong friend Ryan Metheral on guitar, the duo set out to find their own sound, using the title of “Mimesis”, which means “the representation of nature and human behaviour through art”. One year later, Longmire rescued his brother’s rusting acoustic guitar from a bedroom closet and taught himself some rudimentary chords out of a book. Combining elements of folk, rock, pop and classical music, Mimesis wrote over forty songs in a four-year period, some of which had enough lasting appeal to be included on the album.
After Longmire and Metheral’s lives took them in different directions, Daniel dedicated himself to further musical education. Listening to everything from acid jazz to zydeco, he tinkered with drum programming and learned how to play the mandolin and harmonica. Graduating from university, Longmire played guitar, bass and keyboards for blues-rock bands, jazz combos, Celtic trios and everything in between. It was around this time that Daniel received an offer from acclaimed producer/songwriter Roberto Philipp (Oh Susanna, “Hard Core Logo” soundtrack) to play bass in the supporting band for Universal recording artist Mikey Power. This project brought Daniel full circle, back to his first love of reggae, but also gave him some sobering insights into the world of the major-label music industry.
Having gained some hard-won experience, Daniel decided to create music on his own terms, free from outside interference. More than two years were spent re-writing, arranging and rehearsing the tracks that would become Venus Motel. A wide-ranging group of friends and professional players were brought into the fold, and recording took place under the watchful eye of engineer Simon Bader at Massive Sound Studios in Richmond Hill. Originally released under the name of “Concord”, the album has garnered positive reviews from Sweden to Australia and everywhere in between, including radio play, interviews and a showcase feature article in Canadian Musician magazine. What started out as a leap of faith has evolved into a dynamic project with a growing and enthusiastic fanbase. Longmire is currently working on new material, auditioning band members to fill out his backing band and preparing for a series of solo and group shows in the fall and winter. A motel may be seen as a place for rest on the way to somewhere more exciting, but if you stop at the Venus Motel, the journey might prove to be just as interesting as the destination.