Dana Countryman

Terry Draper, Canadian musician known for his work in the band Klaatu, provided vocals for Countryman's song "I'll Be Shining Above You" on the 2018 album Cabaret of Love.

Cabaret of Love, released in December 2018, is Countryman's most recent album. Adam A. Waltemire, on the Pop Garden Radio blog, reviewed the album as "...an infectious blend of joy, love and fun...superb production, smooth vocals and catchy melodies."

Countryman embarked on a change-of-pace for 2017's Girlville! New Songs in the Style of Yesterday's Hits! Inspired by the classic girl-group genre of the early 1960s, the album contains 19 original songs performed by a variety of female vocalists including Tricia Countryman, Lisa Mychols, Swan Dive's Molly Felder, Pop 4's Andrea Perry, Kelly Harland, Lisa Jenio, Julie Johnson Sand, Kathy Hettel, Tana Cunningham and Mary Chris Henry. Alan Haber commented on this album, released on the Australian label Teensville Records: "...this heartfelt, loving tribute to the sounds of 1960s girl groups shares the same depth of commitment and heart that Dana Countryman put into his much-loved pop songs trilogy...the only tangible difference here is that the 19 songs on offer are sung by an array of talented female vocalists chosen by Dana because they could match him heartbeat for heartbeat and bring to life his wonderful, period-esque songs, written from the perspective of a 16-year-old girl living in the early 1960s."

In October 2017 The Joy of Pop was released, containing 14 new songs. Goldmine magazine reviewer John Borack described the album as "another in a long line of excellent albums that find (Countryman) making like a one-man Brill Building. Taking his musical cues from the Beach Boys, Nilsson, the Beatles, Gilbert O’Sullivan, and various ‘60s/’70s AM radio hits, the unashamedly retro The Joy of Pop is an enjoyable romp..."

Countryman's second solo album,Pop2! The Exploding Musical Mind of Dana Countryman, was released in 2015. Reviewer Peter Lee describes the album as "...a primer on how to write a perfect pop song," and notes its "focus on chords, melody and arrangement...Countryman doesn’t leave a stone unturned in unleashing every weapon in his arsenal. His musicianship is solid, using various tempos and instruments and employing the use of silence to create anticipation."

Pop3! Welcome To My Time Warp followed in August 2015. A Powerpopaholic reviewer judged this effort Countryman's "...3rd and in my opinion, best volume. Countryman is more consistent here, the melodies are better and the shift in styles from song to song are more natural."

2013 saw the release of Pop! The Incredible, Fantastic Retro Pop World of Dana Countryman, an album of songs written in the style of 1960s vocal pop. A review on the website Powerpopaholic described this album as "...a smorgasbord of pop styles...it's pretty safe to say fans of retro pop will enjoy this."

In 2010, Countryman released a book-length biography of Jean-Jacques Perrey, Passport To The Future:The Amazing Life and Music of Jean-Jacques Perrey (published by Sterling Swan Press). The 312-page book involved interviews with many of Perrey's peers and collaborators, and featured rare photographs and memorabilia from Perrey's own archives.

In 2003, Countryman first collaborated with Perrey. Perrey flew to Countryman's studio in Everett, Washington which was described by a reporter as an "analog-synth wonderland." They finished songwriting and mixing their music partly by collaboration over the Internet. They created several albums including The Happy Electro-Pop Music Machine as well as a second album based on "classic spy themes." Reviewer Skylaire Alfvegren in the Los Angeles Examiner found their album Destination Space to be a "more sophisticated understanding of the type of folk drawn to electronic music". The album had "mewling kittens", harpsichords, "bubbly dementia", "astronaut patter" which "flies through the musical cosmos," according to the reviewer. When performing with Perrey, Countryman "spun dials, twisted knobs, and pressed buttons to produce a sweet rush of sugary, sci-fi melodies" and which had a "synthesized, surreal sheen." The album also produced the single "Chicken on the Rocks," which became an underground hit and was featured on an episode of the American Sitcom South Park, Medicinal Fried Chicken.

In 1987, The Amazing Pink Things appeared on The Late Show with Arsenio Hall, where they performed their song "We're Just Too White." During the years 1996 to 2003, Countryman published a magazine entitled Cool and Strange Music Magazine."

Dana Countryman is an American electronic music composer, songwriter and performer notable for his sustained presence in the Seattle Pop scene as well as his collaborations with French electropop artist Jean-Jacques Perrey. He is also well known as songwriter and performer for The Amazing Pink Things (1985–1991). as well as the publisher for Cool and Strange Music Magazine (1996–2003). Countryman is currently composing, performing and releasing original albums of retro vocal pop. Reviewer John Borack has described Countryman as "a one-man Brill Building," in reference to the New York-based songwriting and recording scene of the 1960s.

In 1971 Countryman was first exposed to the music of Jean-Jacques Perrey and became "obsessed", according to one account. He was drawn to Perrey's ability to convey the "feeling of happiness and downright joy" in his music. In 1994, Countryman contacted Perrey to do an interview for his publication, and the two became acquainted.

(Recorded at age 16, and released under the name The Cincinnati Ice Cream Factory Explosion Relief Committee, 1971. SAYS Records, 36980.) (out of print)