About Dan

Having spent a lifetime in diversity, Dan has been called a renaissance man. His lengthy list of experiences and accomplishments provide him with a very clear and practical view of the world and his place in it, a perspective that is reflective, humorous and challenging. Driven by an insatiable curiosity about life and the world in which we live, Dan is broadly experienced and humbly impressive with a desire to share his insights and help to enhance the life experience of others.

Always comfortable in the spotlight Dan appeared frequently as an entertainer on the VTV Breakfast Show, Shaw TV, City TV, and NOW TV. For several years he was also a regular and popular commentator on “The Bigger Picture” with Laura Lynn Tyler and the “Online” show with Doug Kooy discussing current affairs, politics, social and counseling issues, spiritual issues, and a range of other topics.

Along with being a professional musician and entertainer for over thirty years, Dan has spent most of his adult life attending college and university earning degrees in English/History, Philosophy, and a Master of Divinity with a focus on Counseling and Theology. Over a twenty year period Dan studied extensively in a wide range of topics.

While Dan recognizes the value of academics and has spent many years in that environment, he sees it as only one element of his experience and understanding. Not afraid to get his hands dirty, Dan has had many different experiences that have also taught him a great deal about life and the world. He has done extensive work with his hands and for several years in his early twenties worked as a shipper/receiver/ truck partsman, then as a general employee at his family’s flooring business. During that time, and in subsequent years, Dan did many flooring jobs including removal, installation and delivery. Such experiences taught him much about humility and hard work. In fact, the same week he graduated with a Master’s Degree he also painstakingly removed the floor from the cafeteria at the University to earn money to pay for his education.

Along with such practical experience and hard work over many years Dan has taken extensive music lessons, private instruction in music theory, acting classes, sound recording classes and seminars, stand-up comedy classes, and martial arts training. Always committed to fitness, Dan has earned a Black Belt in MMA and currently trains under Stephen Lapre at Dragon’s Den Fighting Arts in South Surrey.

Over the past thirty years Dan has also had the opportunity to give private lessons in vocals and guitar, teach academic writing, facilitate seminars on a range of topics, and be the keynote speaker (and sometimes performer) at many functions.

Dan has done a great deal of volunteer work at the local correctional institutions both visiting inmates and performing for special functions. He has also been an on-call Chaplain at the local hospital and officiated at many weddings and memorial services. Such experiences have involved a great deal of counseling and life coaching.

His volunteer work has also extended to the local faith community where Dan has visited the sick and elderly, counseled and comforted those in need, taught classes on various topics, sat on various boards, been a guest speaker many times, facilitated seminars and home groups, and assisted in sound and music production.

Currently Dan operates Dawn Haze Music, recording and promoting his original music along with other selected artists. Dan has refocused his recording skills by attending seminars and building a functional home studio and has engineered some successful recordings with several more projects currently in production. He continues to develop songs for live performance and submission to other artists as well as film and television.

As part of Dawn Haze Music Dan (and former business partner Kimberly Baskerville who passed away in August of 2011) has conducted seminars to facilitate the development and promotion of upcoming artists. In 2007 Dan and Kimberly were judges for the B.C. Talent Search. In 2008 March Hare performed with the contestants at both the Cloverdale Rodeo and at The Merritt Mountain Music Festival. As part of the ongoing development processm, both Dan and Kim wrote and distributed articles on performance.

In his early years and always full of passion for life, Dan had his first job at age seven selling greeting cards and continued to work hard through his formative years with many and various jobs. Capable and enthusiastic, he would deliver papers, cut lawns, shovel snow, set trap at the gun club, wash dishes and bus tables. Later jobs included carpentry, pizza delivery, carpet cleaning, and music gigs.

In every sense of the word, Dan is a “natural” musician and entertainer who began singing and playing guitar at an early age then studied and performed music throughout his school years. In the spotlight from a very young age, his musical talent was more widely recognized at age fifteen when he was featured on BCTV as an “up and coming” artist and at age sixteen when he was selected as one of BC’s most outstanding high school musicians. These achievements were capped off by being the band of choice for his high school graduation.

At age twenty, shortly after marrying his wife Lynette, Dan formed the band Exodus with his brother Bob and co-wrote their single “Forever and a Day.” The band quickly became popular on the local concert scene as well as being featured in print, on radio and television.

At the same time, along with his partner Mike, Dan owned and operated Omega Sound for over ten years providing sound and lighting for many shows and entertainers. As a supplemental business he also built and sold equipment cases. But whatever his venture, Dan has continuously worked as a professional entertainer since age sixteen and been the band business manager and representative for his entire career.

As a well known and well respected musician in Western Canada, Dan went on to form The Dan Hare Band, the ever popular Hot Rails throughout the 1990s, and currently The March Hare Band which remains one of Canada’s most popular and successful show bands performing about one hundred shows per year.

Dan has an uncanny ability for imitating voices and is recognized by his peers and entertainment professionals as an exceptional vocalist. He was named Vocalist of the Year by CAMEO Canada.

With two original CDs, (and a solo acoustic CD entitled "Letter Home") The March Hare Band continues to be very popular in the corporate, casino and festival market. This includes such events as Peachfest, Actionfest, Funtastic, The PNE, and frequent appearances at the River Rock Casino Resort, The Boulevard Casino, Hastings Park, and the Merritt Mountain Music Festival where they were the house band and winner of the fan choice award for many years.

After four years of work and over three hundred interviews with people between the age of sixty-five and one hundred, Dan has published his first book, Regrets, They’ve Had a Few: Practical Wisdom from the Aged. It contains a wealth of information from people who share their practical life experiences, and Dan is actively promoting his book along with seminars and speaking engagements to help people build meaning into their lives and minimize regrets.