Dlaney. Sunrise music, made in the open.

The challenge

99 days of piano.

I started from zero and I'm learning piano in public, one day at a time.

I'm working through a 99-day piano challenge, practicing every single day and posting the proof on Instagram, mistakes and all. No highlight reel. You get the wrong notes, the slow metronome work, and the small wins as they happen.

Piano is instrument one of five. After the 99 days come drums, then guitar, then more. The whole point is to show what learning looks like from the inside, so the next person who wants to start has a trail to follow.

Watch the daily practice on Instagram

The records

Two albums, made in the open.

I'm writing and recording two full albums at the same time, and sharing the whole journey in real time. Follow along as the songs come together, one track at a time.

Debut album

First Light

My debut album, written and recorded in the open. Warm, honest sunrise music about starting over.

Original cast recording

Short Bus

The original cast recording of our musical. Six teenagers, one little yellow short bus, and songs about finding your voice.

The story

How I got here.

I'm Dave Dlaney. I spent thirty years building things on the internet. Now I'm learning to make music, in public, from zero.

I started a web design agency when I was 15. Since then the road has run through New York City, six months working in India, six months at an orphanage in Bolivia, a book-reselling business, and Denim Blog, the largest jeans website on the internet, reaching 25 million people. Later I lived in Silicon Valley and built a tech startup that 25 million people visited. Every chapter kept coming back to the same belief: ambitious ideas matter most when they stay connected to real people.

Young Dave on a cattle farm with cows and a red barn — Where it started: a cattle farm

Dave in front of a Google sign in Silicon Valley — Silicon Valley, years later

Dlaney is my public music experiment. The one-year mission is to learn five instruments, write 50 songs in public, and share everything that happens along the way. The aim is not to pretend every experiment is finished work. It is to make, listen, learn, improve, and leave a useful trail for the next artist who wants to try.

The measure that matters is simple: one person writing back to say the music genuinely moved them. Streams and views help measure reach, but a real human connection is the reason I started.

Watch

Videos.

I'm learning to make music videos as I go. Come see what I'm up to.

Lead Me LordMusic video · YouTube Find Your IslandMusic video · YouTube Lift Me HigherMusic video · YouTube

Listen

All of my music.

46 songs and counting. Hit play and listen right here.

Listen to all 46 songs

The bigger picture

One of the artists at The Studio.

I'm one of the artists at The Studio, an awesome open source studio that gives you lots of resources and marketing help. I love being part of the studio community.

Hi, I’m Dlaney.