The Dirty Shame

Dan Bradner

Dan Bradner has been playing guitar for twenty years. He began at the age of twelve on a borrowed Yamaha, and by the end of his first year he had played a gig on his own electric. After graduating from Montana State University in Bozeman, Dan began focusing exclusively on suckling the teet of life. He has been a part of two great bands, he has written a novel (complete with accompanying soundtrack), he has skied several hundred days, he has traveled to faraway places, he has had minimal jobs, and he has experienced the bliss of having music be his sole income. He can play a five-hour acoustic show by himself or he can play lead guitar in a group. He was raised on rock and roll, outlaw country, and Motown, found metal along the way, revisited rock and roll, and came all the way home with his current band, The Dirty Shame.

Birthplace: Colorado Springs, CO

Cancer

Year of the Dragon

Anarchist

Dean Wakerlin

Dean was born and grew up in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove where he learned to play piano at age 4. His father played classical guitar and taught him the art when he was twelve. He joined his first rock and roll band in high school playing electric guitar and singing. In the high school choir he studied breathing techniques and pitch control. Dean moved to Montana in 1998 to be a full time ski bum and breathe mountain air. He played in an acoustic guitar duo for 3 years playing original music and singing harmonies while writing many original solo songs as well. He recorded his first solo album in Vermont in 2003. Dean bought a drum set and learned to play in 2003 then joined an original reggae band and toured Montana and the western states. In 2004 Dean learned how to play banjo and joined a bluegrass band playing original music. Dean joined the Shame in the summer of 2006. His influences include punk rock, jazz, bluegrass, hip-hop, classical, reggae, and metal.

Mike Hoffman

Mike was born and grew up in the greater Detroit area of Michigan where from an early age he was exposed to a variety of musical styles. In junior high he and four friends formulated the band Chaos which played original death metal at school functions and local bars. Later he embraced a more grove oriented context when he first played bass in the jam band The Coin which played at local parties and coffee houses. He spent some time exploring other genres including blues, electronica, jazz, hip-hop, and funk playing 6 and 12 string guitar, bass, mandolin, and keyboards. In 1996 he moved to Montana where he attended Montana State University and completed a degree in Cell Biology and Neuroscience and played with several local acts including Mathias and Friends, About Time, Bumpkin, The Zeeman Effect, Boulderfield, and the Railtramps. He spent much of his free time composing and arranging original music and experimenting with home recording. In 2006 he joined the shame playing 5 string, 6 string and upright bass.

Brandon Hale

Brandon was born in Seattle WA, He moved to Bozeman in 2000 where he attended MSU Media and Theatre Arts Program. He has been playing guitar and singing since he was 14 years of age. His influences include, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, to name a few. He established The Dirty Shame in 2006. He currently writes, manages, books, plays rhythm guitar, and sings for The Dirty Shame.

Tom Day

Tom is a fifth generation Montanan born in Bozeman in 1970, grew up in billings playing guitar in basement punk bands. Played steel and pedal steel guitars in the Honky-tonk band Johnny Steel and the Decline of the West from 200-2005, and pedal steel and steel guitar in Victoria’s Secret Agents from 2005-2007. His steel playing is influenced by Joaquin Murphy, Lloyd Green and the great Jimmy Day, unrelated. Happily married.