by Jake McEvoy, Arts and Entertainment Editor

Meet Danny Cole Lifson. Many know Danny by his outspoken morning meeting announcements for Think Tank or his hijinks in classes, but most know him by his (former!) blisteringly blond-ed hair. However, you may have also heard about him through his prolific social media presence behind a new up and coming brand. Danny is the musician, artist and entrepreneur behind his brand – you guessed it – Danny Cole Brand.

Danny has always been an outgoing kid, with a vocal personality and the ability to make friends in an instant. Both of these traits, however, stem from one of the true loves of his life, entertaining others. Danny has been an artist his whole life and has always loved to perform as a drummer, guitarist and singer at as many events as he can. In addition to this, Danny has always casually pursued the visual arts, drawing comics and figures, some of which were even featured in past issues of the Minuteman! This love for art and performing took him, along with Benjy Berkowitz ’18 and myself, to a 5-week performance program at Berklee College of Music this past summer. In this perfect creative environment, Danny had the idea to turn his pursuit of art into a business venture and an outlet for self-expression.

At Berklee, Danny decided to attach his name to his artwork and start a brand. Using silk-screen technology and hand-drawn designs, Danny created the first batch of Danny Cole Brand Tee’s, each personalized with a dialogue between the two characters featured on the shirt for the buyer. With 40 cotton shirts, a silk-screen press and a touch of charisma, Danny sold each and every last one of the shirts to the happy customers at Berklee College of Music. I sat down with Danny to talk a bit about his experience.

What inspired the art behind Danny Cole Brand?

For as long as I can remember I have felt out of place in near every environment that I have been in. This went hand in hand with sort of a separation between myself and “reality.” I just felt like I never really saw eye to eye with people around me, which led to the feeling as if I was living in my own world. For a while I focused my attention on trying to conform to the environments that I found myself in, but at a certain point, a mindset like this just isn’t sustainable. Through my art, I have embraced this feeling of being in my own world. I have created this universe that only exists in my head. That’s where my characters come from. The situations illustrated often come from how I am feeling in my own life, though.

Tell me about your experience meeting Portugal. The Man along with other artists.

Getting to work with Portugal. The Man was such an incredible experience. They were one of the first big artists to acknowledge my work and through their support, I have had so many doors opened for me. They introduced me to Lido, who approached me as a fan of my work, which felt surreal. You’re going to be seeing some of my stuff associated with him as soon as I give him the green light, which is coming soon. Duckwrth was an incredible guy, too, but I really have to thank his producer and fellow band member, Chanel Tres. He is the one who really caught wind of my work. I am currently working on clothing pieces for the entire band which I’m sure you will see them in soon. In addition, Chanel set me up with a producer at Billboard who I am currently making a number of moves with.

What are your future plans for the brand?

Although I started off initially with the approach of displaying my art primarily in the form of clothing, I have made the decision to make the clothing almost secondary. I am no longer working with any studios in New York or Boston and am now doing all printing myself. The clothes are definitely not going to disappear and will remain vital to what I am doing, but the initial paintings that I base my clothes on are going to be more in the spotlight very soon. Without speculating too much about what ends up playing out, I can say that I have concrete plans for a gallery exhibition in Chelsea in the near future where exclusive clothes will be available along with my paintings. There is also a film in the works that will lead up to this gallery event along with a number of other musicians who I will be designing clothes for. I’m hesitant to drop any names just in case certain specifics change, but I can say that there are some artists I am ecstatic to work with.