Every new beginning: Artist Dan Wilson on songwriting, awards & the band that opened all the doors
Dan Wilson, who first found fame with Minneapolis-based Semisonic, is getting ready to play a big hometown show —but not before he vies for an Academy Award Sunday.
"None of this would have happened if I hadn't been compelled to practice my piano."
Dan Wilson, the three-time Grammy Award-winning and newly Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter — with a big hometown show in St. Paul on the horizon — said he can thank his parents for enforcing that consistent practice... and, by default, pretty much everything that came after it.
"My parents did this thing where they would make me take an egg timer and practice 60 minutes a day on the piano, because otherwise, it wasn't worth the money to pay Mrs. Strand, my teacher."
Those growing pains were glaringly apparent in a 1998 interview with Wilson, who appeared on KARE 11's bygone teen entertainment show, "Whatever," alongside his Semisonic bandmates.
"I tried to quit, like, five times and they [his parents] sort of cracked the whip," Wilson said in 1998. "Somehow, I realized the thing that I was suffering through, playing the piano, was related somehow to the thing I really liked, which was pop music. I was really into listening to music, but playing music was always torture."
Circling back to 2024, Wilson said it wasn't long after his big break that his tortured artist days were already over.
"When I was coming up in music, I thought Grammys were baloney and it was silly," he said. "Late in my local rock scene, I had all kinds of attitude about it, but then the minute Semisonic was nominated for one, I was incredibly excited and proud of myself."
an american symphony
Wilson's history with the Grammys began in the late 90s as frontman for Minneapolis-based group Semisonic, which received its first nod for the enduring hit, "Closing Time," off their sophomore album, "Feeling Strangely Fine."
Although the outfit would go on to lose Best Rock Song to Alanis Morrissette — an artist who would also help define the decade draped in alt-rock, post-grunge and angsty pop — history would teach us that Wilson could not, and would not, be deterred.
"This is gonna sound maybe a little strange, but one of the main things I look for [in a creative partner] is somebody who can write a great song without me," he said. "It's like, I want to be with some genius, you know, and see what they can do, but I also I want to be challenged in the sense of keeping up with them."
Luckily for Wilson, he met that match in country star Chris Stapleton, with whom he co-wrote "White Horse," a track on Stapleton's 2023, "Higher." Last month, the pair won the award for Best Country Song at the Grammys in Los Angeles, where Wilson accepted the honor on the duo's behalf.
"Winning the Grammy with Chris was really gratifying because he and I have known each other and have worked together for a long time," said Wilson. "We've been writing songs for more than 10 years, maybe 10 years exactly.
"Chris is the kind of writer who writes fast if he's got an idea. It's a race to the finish — but not in a hasty way," Wilson said, adding, "It was really great to win that together. I'm at my fastest when I'm writing with Chris; I'm never faster."
Now, with his trophy case boasting statuettes earned in collaboration with Stapleton, The Chicks and Adele, Wilson hopes to make room for a shiny new addition this Sunday at film's biggest night.
"The Oscar thing was so unexpected," he said. "I have to confess, when I found out we were shortlisted for the Oscars, I was stunned and like, kind of giddy — I felt kind of silly — and I'm not a boastful person.
"I don't talk about my accomplishments with my friends, ever, but I did. I did it a bunch. When I got nominated for the Oscar, I texted a bunch of people I know and said, 'Oh, my God, you're not gonna believe what happened today.'"
Wilson's first-ever nomination for an Academy Award, which he collected in partnership with virtuoso Jon Batiste, acknowledged the co-writers for "It Never Went Away," the closing song on Batiste's 2023 documentary, "American Symphony."
"John and I got together in Malibu, and we had never met, so we spent a couple hours just shooting the breeze," Wilson said of his first studio session with Batiste. "He told me all the really incredible stories about the past couple years of his life, all of which were going to be part of this film, the documentary, 'American Symphony.'
"Then I shared some things about my life; that I've had moments of great victory that happened during periods of real serious family difficulty. I've had that experience of getting the best news and the worst news on the same day — that's almost, I think, what the 'American Symphony' movie is about."
In a swift motion, the pair moved toward the piano, where their long conversation about life suddenly turned into a headlong rush to write a song.
"One thing led to another and we were eventually kind of trading lines in the verses," he said. "It's hard for me to sometimes remember which part who made up; I almost would trust the other person more."
It's a lesson in trusting your gut, which undoubtedly, has worked for him so far.
So, why stop now?
getting the band back together
Although Semisonic's collective celebrity status came almost immediately with the success of "Closing Time," the decision to part ways wasn't as cut and dry. Without an official "break up," the artists would more organically go their separate ways in the early 2000s, coming together every so often for one-off reunions and charity shows.
That was, Wilson said, until around 2017-18, when he and his Semisonic bandmates, John Munson and Jacob Slichter — ahem — got the band back together.
"It's such a funny cliché of, like, 'We're getting the band back together' — but that's exactly what we've done."
They put out their EP, "You're Not Alone," in 2020, before recording their newest album, "Little Bit of Sun," in 2023.
But the road back to sounding Semisonic wasn't easy at first, Wilson admitted, having spent his 20-year band hiatus writing songs for and with other people.
"I forgot how to be that guy."
The muscles and memories did return, though, bringing the band's familiar functions, dysfunctions and laughter with them all along the way.
"All three of us wanted to kind of push ourselves artistically and make it a little bit challenging," he said about the making of "Little Bit of Sun."
They went all out, cutting as much of it live as they could.
"We make a good sound when we play together... It was like a Thanksgiving with your family; everyone turns into how they were when everyone lived together."
But, as he points out, their so-called "cliché" reunion didn't face the same obstacles some bands typically have encountered in the past. As Dan put it, they "didn't have to scour the Earth" to find each other "living in some hermitage in Portland" or "on an island."
They, simply, just never lost touch.
"We actually all knew where we were because we've been friends and, you know, buddies the whole time."
Going back in time but with all eyes on the future, the three buddies who grew up together and came up together in the Twin Cities and through superstardom, would still be remiss not to revisit Minnesota's music Mecca, the place where it all started.
"When I go back and play a hometown show," he said, "I'm especially nervous about it."
But Wilson still has time to shake those nerves before Semisonic takes the stage at St. Paul's Palace Theater for a belated, unofficial album release party on April 6.
"The Palace show is going to be a lot of fun for me and John and Jake, and I'm pretty sure it'll be enjoyable and super musical for the people gathered. I'm really looking forward to it."
All of this to say, that when KARE 11 caught up with Dan Wilson again in 2024 and asked him, "Do you still think playing music is torture?"
He told me:
"I really did rebel against it, but it was so good for me."
Adding:
"It was great... I'm glad I did it."
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