About Last Night: McDaniel’s debut single drops today
Published 2:07 am Friday, December 1, 2017
- Martin McDaniel will perform in the newly renovated Charley’s Place tonight, Fri., Dec. 22. Courtesy photo
It’s been said that hard work plus dreams plus dedication equals success.
That’s the formula Opp’s Martin McDaniel has used, and it seems to be paying off.
McDaniel, who has been working in and from Nashville for the last decade, will see his debut single, “About Last Night,” drops today.
The song has a catchy rhythm and chorus.
His band also includes his younger brother, Wright, and Covington County native Drew Hassell. The Martin McDaniel Band was among the groups performing in Andalusia’s July Jamz earlier this year.
“I’m pumped,” McDaniel said via phone on Thursday morning. “I wrote the song some time during 2016, and we went into the studio in June and cut it, and we’ve been getting everything else ready. We are hoping the EP will come out in February. We are still waiting on one or two things.”
McDaniel said his biggest influence musically is his dad, Tim McDaniel.
“I grew up listening to him play and being involved,” he said. “When I was 10 or 11 we lived in Sandestin and went to church. My dad played drums. It was a Rock ‘N Roll church. There were a lot of good musicians down there. It was different than what I was used to. In Opp and Andalusia, they just had the piano player and organ, but this was different.”
That experience shaped his music career.
“At the time, I always sang and played drums,” he said. “That’s what my dad did. I saw the guitar player – Shannon Wallace – play and I was just really taken by his guitar playing. That got me on the guitar player journey.”
He started playing guitar at 15.
McDaniel said being a full-time musician is something he’s always wanted to do.
“I never thought of doing anything else,” he said. “It’s pretty much what I’ve wanted to do. In middle school, I realized that I could make it a career.”
McDaniel is humble and said he is always working to better himself.
“We’ve been touring around and traveling the country and playing music to anybody who will listen,” he said. “I’ve been trying to write songs and get better as a songwriter and dial in a sound and make it my own.”
They’ve opened for huge acts such as Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Billy Currington.
McDaniel said he constantly thinks about how fortunate he is to be where he is.
“It’s been a long time and to see it come to where I want to be is amazing,” he said. “There’s still a lot to do. We are constantly working and seeing where we can grow. It’s a great feeling to finally get somewhere, but it’s never-ending work. My goal is to put out good music. I can’t go a day or minute without something to do with music. I can’t be without it. It’s part of me.”
McDaniel’s “About Last Night” can be downloaded from iTunes today.