My first guitar, from Sears, 1964
Dan Reich spent most of his childhood in Boulder, Colorado, where he taught himself to play piano on an antique upright stored in the family basement. Although he never learned to read music, his keen ear enabled him to arrange the entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album for solo piano weeks after its release at the age of 15. As a teenager, he played keyboards in a couple of bands working the summer teen dance/college beer club circuit. Soon he picked up the guitar, performing in school plays and in his church youth choir.

Dan moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1972, Dan auditioned for the position of musical director for an improvisational theater group, The Wing. Recognizing his strength as an improvisor, the group hired Dan for what would be a four-year association, including long weekend runs in San Francisco’s North Beach, two cross-country tours and the chance to perform with a 20-year-old Robin Williams.
After The Wing disbanded, Dan found himself in a Top-40 group working the Central Valley (see left) when he heard from his girlfriend (who would become his wife) that Sylvester, a rising star in San Francisco, was auditioning keyboard players for his band. Once again, Dan’s ability to pull wonderful things out of mid-air (most notably, a rousing, come-to-church version of Randy Newman’s “Sail Away”) resulted in a new gig, and he began performing with the flamboyant, gender-bending singer. The new group, with two zaftig background singers who would go on to fame of their own as the Weather Girls, was an immediate sensation on the San Francisco gay club circuit. Within months, they were signed to a recording contract with Berkeley’s Fantasy Records (See below) and managed by Motown legend Harvey Fuqua. The resulting self-titled album established Sylvester as a nationally-known recording artist, and led to tours in support of the album as far away as Mexico City.
Front Street, circa 1975. (Photo: Ellen Goldstein)
Album sleeve from "Sylvester" (Fantasy, 1976)
In 1977, Dan was contacted by Robin Williams to accompany an improvisational revue, The LA Comedy Store Players, for a week-long run in San Francisco. The following year, Dan would initiate two long-term relationships that have continued to this day: a stint as musical director for Flash Family Improvisational Theater and his marriage to Ellen Goldstein. Over the years, his role with Flash Family has expanded to include corporate shows, retreats and workshop instruction, and Dan has worked with other companies such as Bay Area Theater Sports and Tokyo’s Yellow Man Group.
First solo release, "49ers in the Super Bowl," 1982
Five years later, as the San Francisco 49ers were closing in on their first Super Bowl appearance, Dan wrote a novelty rap song that combined rhymes with most of the players’ names with a saxophone quote of “San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gate.” Recruiting mostly ex-Sylvester musicians, Dan recorded the song and released it as a 45, “49ers in the Super Bowl,” and was featured on KPIX Evening News. Distributing the records out of the trunk of his car, Dan managed to sell around 1500 and garner airplay on a half-dozen stations, using up about ten minutes of his fifteen minutes of fame in the process. Once the Super Bowl had come and gone, however, so did demand for the record, and the unsold copies have occupied a shelf in Dan’s music studio ever since.
California Talent Guide, 1986
In 1986, Dan launched his first serious bid for recognition as a recording artist with the recording of a three-song demo of original material. Adopting the stage name “Ivory Hammer,” Dan sent the tapes to clubs and various industry figures, also taking out a half-page ad in the California Talent Guide, a resource for booking agents (see right). Sharing his page in the directory was someone who enjoyed a bit more success: Chris Isaak.

A few years later, Dan was asked to join an impromptu band to play a cast party for a Flash Family workshop group. With no rehearsal, they played the party, relying heavily on ‘60s covers and their ability to jam, and had such a good time they decided to make the band permanent. Several of the musicians involved would become the nucleus of Dan Reich & Friends, including Joe Paulino, Anne Nachtrieb (later Zesiger) and Michael Woods. The group, which featured Dan on bass and christened “The Whankers” by Paulino, developed a unique blend of freeform jamming and creative reworkings of classic covers. Although their public performances were limited to a few parties and school walk-a-thons, they left behind a voluminous collection of taped performances and rehearsals lovingly archived by Paulino before disbanding in the mid-’90s.
As Dan’s wife Ellen approached her 50th birthday in 2000, the group reunited as a psychedelic cover band, "The Vanilla Extract." Again, things went so well that the band stayed together after the party, serenading festival and club patrons with songs such as "Incense and Peppermints," "Talk Talk" and "Purple Haze." Paulino’s inspired interpretations of period icons such as Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix captivate their audiences, and they perform occasionally at benefits and private parties.

http://www.thevanillaextract.com
The Vanilla Extract, 2000
The Chemo Period , Spring 2003
As Dan himself turned 50 in January of 2002, a mid-life restlessness spurred him to write a series of songs reflecting his disillusionment with various aspects of American culture. By summer he had completed about a half-dozen, when he embarked on a family vacation in early August. Only a few days into the trip, Dan was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. He chose to accept his fate with dignity and grace, and set about finding a path that might lead to recovery. He continued to write songs, and was encouraged to record the songs at Joe Paulino’s Studio P ("Home of the Hit") in Sausalito.

As for Dan..he has been employing the ancient Chinese self-healing practice of Chi Gung, topical treatments and herbal supplements, and has regained his health. More importantly, he has gained a profound appreciation for life.