Born in 1972, Dan Nelson grew up in rural Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Began his creative life as a photographer and drummer. Attended St. John’s College and studied a fixed, seminar-based curriculum of liberal arts. Sailed in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific from 1996-98 on traditionally-rigged sailing ships. Worked as the staff photographer at a small newspaper in Connecticut for three years. Moved to Oakland, California in 2002 to found a heavy art rock band that produced one album. With an art practice rooted in conceptual art and Arte Povera, Nelson uses music, language, lists, and symbols to pursue experiments in communication and perception, and to explore the behavior of culture in the social realm. His book “All Known Metal Bands” was published by McSweeney’s in 2008. He is currently a musician, writer, and artist splitting time between Portland, Oregon and Oakland, California.
