Dan Reed Network - Breathless Beginnings

Breathless Beginnings

Dan Reed (born February 17, 1963, Portland, Oregon) met Dan Pred in high school in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and after a time pursuing music studies at Northern State University, the pair returned to Portland and formed the Dan Reed Network in 1984. In 1986, they made their first recording, a six-track EP called Breathless which spawned a No. 1 single, "Steal Me," on Z-100 in Portland, Oregon.

The lineup at this point was Dan Reed on vocals and guitar, Brion James on guitar, Melvin Brannon II on bass guitar, Dan Pred on drums, and Rick DiGiarllonado (formerly of Portland platinum rockers Quarterflash) on keyboards. The band's diverse ethnic and musical backgrounds (Reed is of German, Hawaiian, and Native American ancestry, James is of Jamaican ancestry, Brannon is African-American, Pred is Jewish and DiGiarllonado is Italian-American) were reflected in the music, which, though discernibly hard rock, was blended with soul, funk, and jazz arrangements. DiGiarllonado, who was married with one child, was replaced by Portlander Blake Sakamoto on keyboards; Sakamoto, of Asian heritage, had returned from Los Angeles where he had been playing with future Atlantic Records artists Dear Mr. President (lead singer Julian Raymond moved on to be vice president of Capitol Records).

The Dan Reed Network made a name for itself with the live performances. The Washington Post described the band in one performance as "easily charming its ... audience with an unlikely brand of heavy metal-ish rock sharpened by junk funk and plenty of rock 'n' roll theatrics," and that "the Network's strength lies in its infectious temperament."