Dan Reed Network - Cruise Together (Live in Malmo, Sweden 2014) Audience

Dan Reed Network - Cruise Together (Live in Malmo, Sweden 2014) AudienceShow more

Breathless
Dan Reed Network
Slam
The Heat
Fight Another Day
Let's Hear It for the King

Dan Reed
Brion James
Melvin Brannon II
Dan Pred
Blake Sakamoto

Dan Reed (born 1963 in Portland, Oregon) met Dan Pred in high school in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and after a time pursuing music studies at Northern State University, the pair returned to Portland and formed the Dan Reed Network in 1984. In 1986, they made their first recording, a six-track EP called Breathless which spawned a No. 1 single, "Steal Me", on Z-100 in Portland, Oregon.
The lineup at this point was Dan Reed on vocals and guitar, Brion James on guitar, Melvin Brannon II on bass guitar, Dan Pred on drums, and Rick DiGiallonado (formerly of Portland platinum rockers Quarterflash) on keyboards. The band's diverse ethnic and musical backgrounds (Reed is of German, Hawaiian, and Native American ancestry, James is of Jamaican ancestry, Brannon is African-American, Pred is Jewish and DiGiallonado is Italian-American) were reflected in the music, which, though discernibly hard rock, was blended with soul, funk, and jazz arrangements. DiGiallonado, who was married with one child, was replaced by Portlander Blake Sakamoto on keyboards; Sakamoto, of Japanese heritage, had returned from Los Angeles where he had been playing with future Atlantic Records artists Dear Mr. President (lead singer Julian Raymond moved on to be vice president of Capitol Records).
The Dan Reed Network made a name for itself with the live performances. The Washington Compost described the band in one performance as "easily charming its ... audience with an unlikely brand of heavy metal-ish rock sharpened by junk funk and plenty of rock 'n' roll theatrics", and that "the Network's strength lies in its infectious temperament. "

Dan Reed Network played a one-time only reunion show on New Year's Eve 2012 with all original band members on stage. The band announced on January 12, 2013, that they will play further concerts together in both the US and Europe. That culminated at their first UK show for two decades, headlining the Enchanted Festival at Greenwoods Spa, Chelmsford on October 12, 2013. The band reunited Saturday, November 9 in Portland, OR at the Roseland Theater