Daniel Alexander Kessler
| Daniel Alexander Kessler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel Alexander Kessler |
| Born |
25 September 1974 [citation needed]  London, England |
| Genres |
Indie rock Post-punk revival |
| Instruments | Guitar, Vocals, Bass Guitar, Piano |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels |
Capitol EMI |
| Associated acts | Interpol, Big Noble, Datach'i |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Epiphone Casino Gibson ES-330 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo | |
Daniel Alexander Kessler (born 25 September 1974, London, England) is the guitarist and backing vocalist for the New York City-based band Interpol. He was raised in the United States.
It was Kessler's desire to play in a real band which made him approach Carlos Dengler, with whom he attended a history class in New York University. Kessler knew lead singer Paul Banks from a summer program in Paris, France, and asked him to join the band when he ran into him in New York. Kessler's dormmate Greg Drudy was Interpol's first drummer. When Drudy left the band, Kessler asked his friend Sam Fogarino to replace him.[1]
Kessler had prior experience in the music industry while working for Domino Records, and his knowledge of the business was very helpful to the band in their early years. He brought all the members together, and has said that he was looking mostly for specific personal qualities each member could bring to the group rather than just musical talent. He is a graduate of New York University's (NYU) Gallatin School of Individualized Study in French, film and literature. Kessler has been known as the member of the band who has been the most active in the New York underground rock scene, which included his jobs at multiple record labels, such as Domino Records and trading their early demo tape around to various bands and labels. Since 2006, Kessler resides in a loft in Lower East Side, Manhattan and is the only band member who is a vegetarian and does not smoke. He also is fluent in French.
Gear
In the band's early days, he was seen playing a red Rickenbacker and a sunburst Telecaster, but has since performed with a sunburst Epiphone Casino and a cherry Gibson ES-330 as his main onstage guitars. The red Rickenbacker apparently belonged to Interpol's first keyboardist. He also owned another Casino in a cherry red, that was stolen from their green room alongside one of Banks' guitars by a drug addict in Vancouver while the band was touring in support of Turn on the Bright Lights. Following Interpol's third album, Daniel has also been seen on stage playing a sunburst Gretsch 6117-TH Anniversary on the track 'The Lighthouse' and also on their new self-titled album 'Interpol'.
He states in an interview around 2006, following the release of Antics, that he plays through an old Fender Twin combined with a Fender Pro Reverb.
His pedalboard includes:
- BOSS TU-2 Tuner
- BOSS TR-2 Tremolo
- BOSS DD-5 Delay (Only for Evil)
- MXR Carbon Copy
- Tech 21 Comptortion
- Vox V810
- Z.vex Super Duper 2-in-1
- Keeley Fuzz Head
- Z.vex Super Hard-On
- EHX Holy Grail
References
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