Dan Reed

Sometimes referred to as an updated version of Mother's Finest, the Dan Reed Network was one of a handful of groups (Living Colour, Follow for Now, Fishbone) that challenged rock's racial stereotypes during the late '80s and early '90s. Multiracial but less political and with a more feel-good AOR bent than its peers, the Pacific Northwest quintet skirted stardom on a few occasions before disbanding. Founding member and frontman/guitarist Dan Reed met drummer Dan Pred while in high school in South Dakota in 1979, and the pair formed a short-lived band called Nightwing. After graduation, Reed moved to Portland, where he joined the group Nimble Darts, while Pred departed for Los Angeles and enrolled in the Percussion Institute of Technology. When Nimble Darts broke up in 1984, Reed began assembling the group that would become the Dan Reed Network: Pred, who had moved north after finishing school; guitarist Brion James; bassist Melvin Brannon; and keyboardist Jeff Siri. Playing Prince-ly dance music with an occasionally metallic twist, the group began generating buzz throughout the Northwest and released a self-financed EP, Breathless, in 1986. After replacing Siri with former Quarterflash member Rick DiGiallonardo, the group settled on Blake Sakamoto of Dear Mr. President to fill the keyboard chair. In 1987, the group was signed to Mercury/Polygram after a label exec saw a show in Seattle, and the Dan Reed Network began recording a self-titled debut album with producer Bruce Fairbairn, fresh off hitmaking work with Bon Jovi and the revived Aerosmith. The first single, "Ritual," became a Top 40 hit in the U.S. in 1988 and the group toured at home and abroad, opening for such diverse acts as UB40, Run-D.M.C., and the Jets. The following year, the Network released a second...