Daniel lives and grew up in Geelong, Victoria. Meeting the other members of AAVAA through the study of his degree through 'The Australian College of the Arts.' Daniel though seemingly reticent on the surface, harbours an active mind with many interests and passions, most especially for the art and discipline of percussion. 

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Dan's major interest in drums came to him at High School where he received a cheap drum kit at 14, the limitations of the kit lead Dan getting to know the inner workings of the kit. This was achieved by the time spent upgrading and adding parts to it, eventually making it into one of high standard.

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Musically, Dan loves the band Dream Theater, as many of his arrangements are influenced/based on their style. Dream Theater's original Drummer, Mike Portnoy, has made a major impression for Dan's drumming style, often using his arrangements as a means of practice. Dan also cites players such as Mike Mangini, Marco Minneman, Gavin Harrison, Simon Phillips and Ray Hearne as other influencers of his style and arrangement.

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Dan also cites contemporary progressive metal bands such as Haken, Karnivool and Devin Townsend Project as major influences on his work with AAVAA. Dan is also influenced by jazz, jazz fusion, hard rock, yacht rock, modern orchestral music and video game music. Outside of music, Dan has interests in academia, literature, modern geopolitical history, Japanese pop culture and video games.