Daring Greatly Fights Like A ‘Man In The Arena’

Dail Croome

There is a very famous speech called “The Man In The Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt that is extremely inspirational and has been used by many a man (and woman) as strength and hope for overcoming challenges. One musician, and his children, saw this as a means to change the way their life around for the better. Dail Croome and I sit down to chat abut Daring Greatly just before the culmination of a nearly 12-month journey he and his family (and band-mates that he considers family) have been through. It started with a quote, a dream, and the strong desire to pursue the American Dream…and these Canadians proved it still exists as long as you are “Daring Greatly.”

Patrick “Patch” Croome

The name of this family-focused 5 piece rock band was pulled directly from the Theodore Roosevelt “The Man In The Arena” speech where he refers to the man who pushes and works hard so that “If he fails, he at least fails while Daring Greatly” with the full intention of giving your very best! Today I sit with Dail talking about the exhausting journey he and the boys have been on. “It’s hard to keep up them some times, but it’s worth it,” Dail admits to me. He continues to explain how the energy of his two sons, Liam and Patrick, and his two ‘adopted’ sons, Brayden and Brandon, keep him motivated and energized to pursue this dream for the entire ‘family.’ Dail started off with music early in his life, playing the music scene in Calgary at nights and working during the days. He passed that musical desire on to his sons Liam and Patrick from the moment they were born. The pair grew up knowing the life of a musician and soaked up the music knowledge, with every second that ticked by. Each of them developed a love for the music and you can tell that this father isn’t just a proud member of the band; he’s a huge fan of these boys and their immense love of music and ever growing talent. Patrick and Liam started playing piano and singing harmonies with their father at a very young age, beginning piano and even harmonizing at five years old. The smiling father dotes on their propensity for music gleefully stating, “They both play everything” when asked about their specific instruments. Dail goes on to clarify, “Liam plays keyboard and Patrick plays acoustic” in the band, but then adds that Patrick plays the bass better than himself, which is his instrument in the band, and is gifted on most other instruments.

Brandon Haddow

In less than a minute with this guy I could tell he knew his music. We joked about whom the ‘Father of Rock’ was when we first began. I said it that tittle belongs to Jimmy Page, he balked at me and began to rattle off names like Bill Hailey and Buddy Holly, before I cut him off to admit defeat in that category of the knowledge pool. Later looking into it, I learned that he was mostly right, and the ‘Father of Rock’ is more viewed as a collective of multiple musicians, ranging from Fats Domino and Hank Williams to Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. He showed me a thing or two…but he sure showed these kids way more than that! His two blood sons are Liam Coome (Keyboard) and Patrick Coome (Acoustic Guitar), two incredible musicians at their very young age, but when did Brayden Tario (Drums) and Brandon Haddow (Lead Guitar) come into play? Brayden is Patrick’s best friend from school. Their friendship developed through a mutual love of the game of hockey, where hey played together and began their connections, then heir friendship progressed when they found out they both were musicians. Dail describes their connection as ‘magical,’ and when you meet him quickly discover why. I had the pleasure of talking with him at Rich Singley’s charity event featuring Greg Douglass, where Daring Greatly performed as a Steve Miller tribute band. He’s an interesting young man who is a wizard with percussion instruments. Watching him play behind the set of drums, or sitting on the Cajon in front of the band, he’s as cool as a cucumber keeping the beat. Patrick and Brayden are definitely more like brothers, making him Dail’s first adopted son. The four of them began performing together but they soon decided that there was something lacking from the music, an electric lead. Brandon was asked to join the band about 3-4 months after they started performing. The force that Brandon brought to the band and the unique sound his guitar and pedals formed quickly adapted to the styled of the quartet, adding a dimension that took them to another level. His musical styling’s gave a crunch and drive to the music that will quickly earn the band street cred in the rock community. Brandon was initially drawn to the idea of touring but really enjoyed the family unity of the group and quickly became the second adopted son of the Croome’s.

Liam Croome

Daring Greatly isn’t just an inspiring backstory for a band that’s going to take the money and run, it’s the beginning of a lifelong journey towards spreading a message of love, hope, and passion! They began in a way that’s different from most other bands; they crowd-sourced their project to strangers. The website www.daringtodreamgreatly.com was the place to help this 5-piece ‘Blood Harmony Rock’ group from Calgary, Canada realize their dream. The campaign successfully helped to facilitate the recording and producing of their album ‘Cornerstones,’ and here we are at a beautiful house in North County San Diego to celebrate that achievement. Dail means to spread a message to the music community. He began the evening with a passionate message to lovers of music letting them know the shortcomings of a corporatized music scene that makes it nearly impossible for musicians to ‘make it’ with favoritism and backroom deals. Beyond that, he and the rest of the band hope to spread a message of strength, love, and hope with their story and their music. He hopes that the passion and drive that these kids have with pushing the limits of their own abilities can give way to others doing the same and begin a ‘music revolution’ within the industry.

Their CD ‘Cornerstones’ is available now and packs all of that into 12 delightfully rocking tracks, plus a bonus acoustic track of ‘Find Your Serenity,’ and they had a hard time deciding which ones to use on this first ever full-length album. If you’re keeping track, that means they will be moving on to the next album quickly! The instant you hear their music you’re filled with their message. The uplifting notes of the strummed acoustic guitar and the chiming of the cymbals during the opening of ‘Shine’ sets your mind at ease and calms you down almost immediately. As you progress through the album you notice a correlation between the songs and their own personal journey…so not only are they living the story, you’re sharing in it with them. ‘Big Things Are Comin’’ celebrates the joy of hope along with the heartache of failure to achieve a goal but still maintains the bands core message of Daring Greatly It’s easy to get lost in the music, as they shift seamlessly between rhythms and patterns, and not realize the fabulous instrumentation these young men possess.

The band takes the stage to perform a few select tracks from ‘Cornerstones,’ along with a few songs that Dail tells me, “Have become really important to us” as they take this path, and they will be playing some of those tonight. Two of those songs happen to be personal favorites, “Seven Bridges Road” written by Steve Young, and “Old Man” written by Neil Young. I had already learned how tight their harmonies are, so I was extremely excited to hear those two…and they did not disappoint. You should look for Daring Greatly coming near you so you don’t miss the beginning of this movement!

The album release party was a success and everyone talked about how amazing these guys are as people and as musicians. When you think about it, they have written and produced a dozen songs in less than a year, with more waiting in the wings, and the quality of the music and lyrics is that of a seasoned artist. These guys are poised to hit the scene and change the way you view music, and possibly yourself, with inspiring harmonies and uplifting progressions. With a goal of positivity and hope in the future, Dail talks about the idea of releasing all the material created in a year, as they make them, one CD per year, as long as they can…if that’s the case, I can’t wait for next year! Make sure to add ‘Cornerstones’ by Daring Greatly to your collection of albums now so you don’t miss the movement…these guys are taking off!