Dan Cunneen (aka Dan Steely) is an American

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, songwriter, disc jockey, screen printer and graphic designer originally from

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States. He is best known for his drumming with the 1980s Portland bands

Final Warning Final Warning was a Portland-based hardcore punk band active in the Pacific Northwest from 1982 to 1986. The band was notable for their anti-war political themes and as one of the early hardcore bands to incorporate heavy metal into their sou ...

and The Obituaries, as well as the 1990s Seattle bands

Zipgun ZIPGUN (stylized in all-caps) are an American punk rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States, primarily active from 1991 to 1994. The original founding members were: guitarist Neil Rogers (The Derelicts, Glazed), singer Robb Clarke (Trid ...

and Nightcaps. In 2020, Cunneen began recording under the moniker Dan Steely. He occasionally plays drums with the Perkins Coie Band (aka PCBs), the

in house Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another. ...

band for the Seattle law firm

Perkins Coie Perkins Coie LLP ( ) is an American law firm based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized by The American Lawyer as being one of the top 50 firms in the US. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and ...

. Cunneen is currently the lead singer and principal songwriter for the Seattle-based band Roxbury Saints. On January 3, 2015, Cunneen was ordained as a minister in the

Universal Life Church The Universal Life Church (ULC) is an American non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J. Hensley,James R. Lewis, The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions' (2001), p. 769-70.U.S. Department of the Army, ' ...

Musician

Cunneen formed his first band,

, in 1982 with Jeff “Simon” Simoncini, bassist Tim Paul and vocalist Jeff Paul. Final Warning was notable for its anti-war political themes and as one of the early

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

bands to incorporate heavy metal into their sound. After Final Warning broke up in 1987, Cunneen played drums with Portland-based folk-rock singer songwriter Lew Jones. Later that year, he joined the punk, rock, and blues band, The Obituaries, a significant part of the 1980s Portland underground scene alongside bands like

Napalm Beach Napalm Beach is an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon. They are considered early innovators of the grunge sound. Nicholas Pell, writing for the ''Portland Mercury'' said "a huge influence on the grunge and alternative rock of the 1990s ...

Dead Moon Dead Moon was an American rock band formed in 1987 in Portland, Oregon. The band consisted of singer/guitarist Fred Cole, singer/bassist Toody Cole and drummer Andrew Loomis. Dead Moon initially disbanded in 2006, before reuniting in 2014 and ...

, and

Poison Idea Poison Idea was an American punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1980. History Formation, 1980s, and 1990s Poison Idea was formed in 1980 by vocalist Jerry A. (aka Jerry Lang). The initial lineup consisted of Jerry A., Chris Ten ...

. Cunneen played drums and co-wrote one song on ''The Obituaries'' EP, but left the band mid-tour in 1989. After relocating to Seattle in 1991, Cunneen formed the punk band

with guitarist Neil Rogers, singer Robb Clarke and bassist Mark Wooten. Zipgun released three singles and two full-length albums on Pacific Northwest independent record label Empty Records and several singles on various labels. Zipgun toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada and appeared in the Doug Pray film

Hype! ''Hype!'' (1996) is a documentary directed by Doug Pray about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid-1990s United States. It incorporates interviews and rare concert footage to trace the development of the grunge scene from its early b ...

, which chronicled Seattle

Grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

music scene of the 1990s. Following Zipgun's dissolution in 1995, Cunneen formed and led the Seattle-based lounge band, Nightcaps with vocalist Theresa Hannam, guitarist Garth Brandenburg and bassist William Herzog. Nightcaps were an integral part of the mid 1990s

Lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The ra ...

resurgence that included bands such as

Combustible Edison Combustible Edison were an American neo-lounge music group founded in the early 1990s in Providence, Rhode Island. They were one of several lounge acts that led a brief resurgence of interest in the genre during the mid-1990s. Unlike other ban ...

Squirrel Nut Zippers Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Tom Maxwell (vocals and guitar), Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo, ukulele), Chris Phillips (d ...

and Love Jones. The Nightcaps were known for avoiding

irony Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

and

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

. In 2011, Rendezvous Recordings released Cunneen's "The Answer b/w Shoot & Share" solo

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

. He described the two songs as "Black comedy metal, combining lyrical irony with metallic garage-punk musical sensibilities." In 2020, under the name "Dan Steely", Cunneen released a single and music video of the

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

song "

Showdown A showdown is a duel. The term may also refer to: Places * Showdown Ski Area, in Montana, United States Books * ''Showdown'' (Amado novel), a 1984 novel by Jorge Amado * ''Showdown'' (Dekker novel), a 2006 novel by Ted Dekker * ''Showdown'' (F ...

." The seven-inch single's B-side features a

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

of the A-side, "Showdown (DJ Yot Roc Mix)", in the

yacht rock Yacht rock (originally known as the West Coast soundThat ' ...

style.

Disc jockey

In 1994, using the moniker "DJ DiamonDan," Cunneen began what would become a two-year DJ residency at Linda's Tavern in Seattle. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s he performed at private parties and Seattle venues such as Re-bar, the Baltic Room, Moore Theater and the Capitol Club. Cunneen continues to occasionally disc jockey at clubs and private events using the name "DJ Dan Steely."

Graphic design

Cunneen was art director and designer for many of the commercial releases and promotional material for the bands he played in. In 2016, he founded the Seattle-based company ORANJ Custom Printing.

Discography

with Final Warning * 1983 ''Rain of Death'' cassette demo * 1984 ''Final Warning'' (EP) Fatal Erection Records * 1985 ''Drinking is Great'' (EP) (track on compilation: "I Quit") Fatal Erection Records * 2007 ''PDX'' (CD) Southern Lord Records * 2008 ''Final Warning'' EP (reissue) Black Water Records * 2015 ''Demonstration 1983'' (7-inch EP) Black Water Records with Lew Jones * 1994 ''Lew Jones Anthology 1978–1994: Take Me to the Future'' (CD) (played drums on several tracks) New Weave Records with Obituaries * 1988 ''Obituaries'' (EP) Highgate Records * 2007 ''The Obituaries'' (anthology CD) (played drums on several tracks) Highgate Records with Zipgun * 1991 ''Together Dumb/Cool in the Cell'' (single) Empty Records * 1991 ''Ten'' (one sided promo single) Empty Records * 1992 ''8 Track Player'' (CD/LP) Empty Records * 1992 ''The End/Nothing Cures'' (single) Musical Tragedies * 1993 ''Put Me Away'' (split single w/ Derelicts) Rekkids * 1993 ''Baltimore'' (CD/LP) Empty Records * 1994 ''I Can't Wait/Tight Black Pants'' (single) Thrill Jockey Records with Nightcaps * 1995 ''Gambler's Game/For Me'' (single) Rendezvous Recordings * 1995 ''I Don't Like You/Love You More'' (single) Sup Pop * 1996 ''Split'' (CD) Rendezvous Recordings/Sub Pop * 1998 ''You Lied/Last of the Secret Agents'' (single) Estrus Records * 2000 ''Get On'' (CD) Rendezvous Recordings * 2002 ''Spin Out 3'' (compilation CD track: "Love You More") V2 Records (Japan) * 2003 ''I Don't Like You'' (CD) User Records (Japan) * 2011 ''In the Live Room (+ the singles)'' (CD) Rendezvous Recordings Dan Cunneen * 2011 ''The Answer b/w Shoot & Share'' (single) Rendezvous Recordings Dan Steely * 2020 ''Showdown b/w Showdown (DJ Yot Roc Mix)'' (vinyl/digital single) ORANJ Recordings

References

External links

ORANJ Printing websiteDan Cunneen websiteDan Cunneen Graphic Design Portfolio2008 ''Portland Mercury'' interview with Dan Cunneen

Feature on the Final Warning reunion in ''Willamette Week''Times'' feature on the PCBsFinal Warning website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunneen, Dan 1963 births Living people Drummers from Oregon Drummers from Washington (state) American punk rock musicians American punk rock drummers American male drummers 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians