Who are you

My name is Dan McBurnie, and I’m the tall, lanky, and utterly tortured songwriter behind the band Good for Grapes. It’s nice to meet you. Most recently, I finished up an album called The Ropes, which hopefully has enough rock ’n’ roll/country vibes to weasel its way into your life. Currently working on a blues/electronic duo project whose music should see the light of day fairly soon.

First concert

My first real concert was probably 10 years ago, when I was 12 years old. It was at the Commodore Ballroom for a band called Switchfoot. I guess it was some kind of early, all-ages show. I tagged along with a friend and his dad, and of course wandered directly into the steamy sardine-like confines of the front of the crowd for the opening band. I pretty much immediately blacked out. I woke up in the back in time for my favourite band at the time, and since I was now sufficiently seasoned in the art of concertgoing, I got right back up there. I’m hazy on the details of the actual show, but whether it was good or not, my mind was blown. I remember feeling that
I had to get onto the stage somehow.

Life-changing concert

Before their latest extended hiatus, I was absolutely obsessed with Fleet Foxes. And in 2011 when they came around to the Vogue, I was probably the first one there. I remember not even expecting them to outdo their record in a live setting; it almost seemed like too much to ask. But they did it. It sort of changed the way I saw live music, in a way I can’t put into words. I suppose seeing them there in the flesh made that kind of musical experience seem actually “possible”, and it mentally opened a lot of doors for me.

Top three records

Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited
When I first heard the guitar tone on “Tombstone Blues” and those wacky surrealist lyrics, I was a goner. Everything was all “Paul Revere’s horse” and “The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken” from then on. And moving in from his earlier folk albums to that was like having the air kicked out of my lungs. When I discovered that album, I couldn’t look back.

Colin Hay Going Somewhere
This is the album that just stuck with me. Just a wise old voice and an acoustic guitar, and somehow it has stayed relevant to my life since I was a kid. I’m going to go listen to that now.

Royal Canoe Today We’re Believers
More recently, this album has been taking up a whole lot of my listening time. The band is from Winnipeg and not super well-known yet, but they’re making some absolutely incredible music. It was one of the times I picked up an album and out of it came sounds and rhythms that I hadn’t known I was starved of. They combine incredibly interesting time signatures, sonic voices, and lyrics in a way that makes me question everything I thought I knew about making music. I love it.

What’s in your fridge

This was an interesting question for me. I moved into a house in East Van about a week ago, so there’s not a lot in my fridge at all. But the most interesting part has to be some homemade alfredo sauce I’ve been working on perfecting. It may have gotten a little out of hand, but it’s the coolest thing in my life right now. Please come over and try it—I could use the positive reinforcement.

Like, a shit-ton of onions

Lack of coordination on the subject of grocery shopping has left my house with three giant bags of onions taking up most of our space.

A really strange greenish stain

I honestly don’t know why or how it got there. I mean, I don’t remember noticing it when I checked out the place a few weeks ago. Did I even open the fridge? Who would do that? I guess I just trusted that the fridge was stain-free and had no food in it, and I was giving the whole fridge situation the benefit of the doubt. But here I am, coexisting with this greenish stain in my fridge. Luckily, it’s not sticky or smelly, but if you have any advice, email me at daniel@goodforgrapes.com.