Meet Connor Daniel | Music Producer & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Connor Daniel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Connor, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m originally from Santa Barbara but have been living in LA for more than a decade, mostly in the valley. Growing up in SB, I learned how to play several instruments and got to play in bands in the local music scene; it was almost like a “soft launch” before diving head first into the LA music scene and beyond. Regarding family background/upbringing, I have a very musical family – my dad was a guitar player who opened for The Doors and Jefferson Airplane in the sixties with a band called “Distortion,” my sister Jen is a songwriter/artist with a project called “THE ANTIPOP MVMT,” my cousin Joel is an outstanding guitarist/keyboardist, my other cousin Norm Block is a producer/engineer and drummer in the LA scene and my nephew Rowan who is learning production just got accepted into Berklee School of Music. It’s really awesome to have music in common with so many family members.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
For me, my art comes in a few categories: my own music as an artist/the band(s) I play live with and all the music I make as a full time music producer.

As an artist, I have a blast making music with my band socialghosts, which features Sean Embrey-Stine on keyboard/vocals, Dhruva Krishna on drums/guitar and myself on guitar/bass/vocals. We are serious and passionate about this project and we are all best friends as well which I believe is rare to find in bands these days. We have the absolute best time making music together. We recently released a song called “silverlake” which is currently our top streaming song on Spotify.

I have played bass and recently switched to guitar in a band called rosecoloredworld, which is another rare find where all of us are besties. The band is fronted by Addison Scott and RAE, backed live by Joel Meza on drums and myself on guitar/bass. We have a gig lined up to open for Sum 41 in San Diego this January 2024 which is a childhood dream come true!

As a music producer, I’ve been working at my craft for about 7 years, producing for artists in a multitude of genres. About a little over a year ago, an opportunity arose for me to become John Feldmann’s assistant engineer, which was really able to give me the lift I needed to pursue this dream. I have been working for him ever since while still taking on some recording/production clients on the side. Through John, I have been able to work with artists such as The Veronicas, MOD SUN, Escape The Fate, Atreyu, The Used, Gavin Magnus, 408 and more. I even got to work on a Demi Lovato track (the rock remake of “Give Your Heart a Break”).

I would say getting to where I am now (and my career is still in it’s growing stages) has been attained just by working really, really hard and envisioning my long term goals. Also, networking with people and being really kind and supportive of everyone along the way; we are a small community and I think the best way up is by building each other up.

Overall, it hasn’t always been an easy journey, but I LOVE what I do; I eat, sleep and breathe music, every day. I am blessed that I can provide a stable living for myself and my daughter with the career path I have chosen.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite restaurants are Kazunori (Studio City), The Village Bakery (Agoura Hills), Follow Your Heart (Canoga Park), Cafecito (Calabasas), Vito’s Pizza (Santa Monica), Pitfire Pizza (North Hollywood), and All About The Bread (La Brea/Melrose).

My favorite bar/hang spots are The Surley Goat (WeHo and Encino), 4100 (Silverlake), The Thirsty Crow (Silverlake) and Mr Furleys (Sherman Oaks).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout(s) to John Feldmann and the team at his studio: Dylan McLean, Scot Stewart, Dan Trapp and Josh Thornberry. Being able to work at the studio is providing me with an abundance of learning experiences and giving me the opportunity of a lifetime – I am so very thankful to be a part of this awesome team.

Website: 137productions.com

Instagram: @connrmakesmusic

Twitter: @connrmakesmusic

Facebook: facebook.com/connrmakesmusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLFtI6_5t025GfEVVmdua3g

Other: You can find my band, socialghosts at: wearesocialghosts.com and @wearesocialghosts (instagram, tiktok) Our music is available on spotify, apple music and youtube.

Image Credits
Andrew Pino, Micala Austin, Calista Del Toro