Name: Dan “Dirty Dan” Callahan
Year: 2017
Hometown: Fairfield, CT
Hobbies: Being Dirty, playing music, college
Fun Fact: There are over 150,000 muscles in an elephant’s trunk
1.So now that we’ve been here for a few months, how do you like your freshman year here?
I absolutely love it. I’ve had so much fun at Tufts over the past two and a half months and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I’ve made great friends and shared great memories with my Houston Hall counterparts. Oh yeah, and I learn stuff too.
2.Why are you called Dirty Dan?
For legal reasons, I can’t answer that question.
3.What are your favorite things you’ve been involved in at Tufts so far?
My favorite non-University affiliated involvement is most definitely my band, Shark Saddle. I’m hoping to join other music groups as well, hopefully an acapella group and BEATs.
4.How was Shark Saddle created?
It’s a simple story really. We met in early ’69 and quickly became the greatest group of musicians the world has ever known. After our appearance at Woodstock (where we impersonated every great band of the decade and gave them credit for it), we needed some time apart from society to focus on our music and to find ourselves. That’s when we wandered through Antarctica for about 40 years. During that time, we befriended a group of cold-water sharks that showed us the ways of great Neptune, the god of the sea. When the sun set on the horizon in such a way so the shadow of the Western Wall covered the eye of Orion in the East, we knew the time had come to bring back to the world our pleasing groove. So we mounted our beasts and rode them thousands of miles, through storm and through winds, all the way to the Boston Harbor where we settled at Tufts University. And the rest of our history has yet to be written.
5.What is your favorite part about being in a band?
Well I only joined the band to get girls… so probably the girls.
6.How many gigs have you had so far? How do you get these gigs?
Assuming we are talking strictly gigs during our time at Tufts, Shark Saddle has played one gig and one world tour. Our first gig was at SoGo with an Applejam event. Our world tour took place lasst week. We started in Dewick Dining Hall, but we traveled to Germany, Syria, Sudan, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Brunei then returned to Tufts for an Applejam show on Saturday in SoGo with 3 other Tufts bands.
7.What do you and your band members hope to accomplish in the future with your band?
We are planning on recording our first album this year, hopefully before winter break but most likely when we return. Right now we are just looking to have fun and play great music for people as often as we can.
Looking for more info about the Music Scene? Check out our interview withDirty Dan’s band, Shark Saddle and 15 Songs Every Collegiette Should Have on Her Playlist.
Edited By: Hayley Cohen