A year out of college, most people are still struggling with who they are and what they want to be. Not so with Dan Miraldi, who graduated from The College of Wooster last May and has found his identity exactly where it’s always been: in music. In college, Miraldi, who does vocals and plays guitar, did solo work and performed with guitarist Jay Nemeyer and drummer Sarah Luffred in the band Cherry-Flavored Elevator. On campus, he played at student functions and opened for groups like Blackalicious and Wiz Kalifa. Off campus, Miraldi performed for crowds in Cleveland venues like the Grog Shop, the Agora, Odeon, and Peabody’s, once opening for the Fiery Furnaces. Now, Miraldi is a full-time musician, with both a solo career and a career with the DC-based band the Silver Liners in the works. This fall, he released Thirsty, a thirteen-track solo album that represents his post-grad musical debut. We caught up with Dan to talk about producers, childhood dreams, and bands inspired by mixtape. What are you pursuing musically right now? Thirsty is my solo album. Jay [Nemeyer] plays guitar, Sarah [Luffred] plays drums, and there are four other studio musicians. One of them is Tim Goshorn of the 1970s rock band Pure Prairie League, who provided some of the acoustic tracks. I’m also in the Silver Liners in Washington, DC, which is with Jay Nemeyer, John Patton [another Wooster graduate], and two other DC people. We just finished mixing and have released an EP with seven songs, available on iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon. It’s called “Just Like the Rest”. Jay sings lead and I do keyboard work and background vocals. I also have a new three-song EP, Tease, coming out on digital this summer. It sounds like Dan Miraldi on steroids. It sounds big. There’s a political song called “Holy Roller Stone Revival”, one called “Lucinda”, and “Tease”, which sounds very Sixties—a modern Sixties song. Most people your age are struggling with entry-level jobs or applying for graduate school. What made you decide to pursue music following your graduation? For a lot of people, I got the impression that when they were done with college they had no idea what they were going to do or what they wanted. One thing I have always enjoyed has been singing. My mom has told me that I was singing before I knew actual words, that I would make the sounds to songs like “America the Beautiful” before I was actually speaking. Around my sophomore year at Wooster, I decided that I wanted to just see what would happen if I pursued music full-time. My parents have been very supportive. I just felt as though I needed to try it or I’d always wonder what could have happened. If I fail, I fail, but I’m pretty optimistic. What would you say was your goal, musically speaking, with “Thirsty”? It was to take some of the songs that I had written during college and record them, and to start afresh. I just wanted to make a really nice debut. I worked with this producer, Jim McKell, who had worked with a lot of Nashville artists like Kenny Rodgers and Winona Judd. He listened to a few of my songs and helped me as a singer improve things, such as timing. I tend to get really excited and rush things. We recorded it in a living room in southern Ohio at the house of one of his friends, and it made for a really warm, almost lo-fi feel. Jim mixed it really well. You cite your favorite bands as being influential of your sound—bands like the Beatles, the Stones and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. What were some of the musical inspirations for “Thirsty”? The Beatles are always going to be incredibly ingrained in my mind because I was listening to them very early on. “Thirsty” and other more acoustic songs are also influenced by Van Morrison and his “Moondance” album. They’re more romantic, in a way; I think “Moondance” is a very romantic album. I also include more punk sounds—songs like “That Guy/ Summer Romance” and “Laura McHugh” have the influence of the Ramones. Vocally, my favorite vocalists would be Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, and the lead singer of The Format [now singer of Fun], Nate Ruess. When was the album released? In the fall of 2009, in October or early November. It had been recorded in the summer. In one review, the writer said that you have “managed to capture, in several different kinds of rock music, whatever element it is that makes rock music fun.” Do you find that accurate? I like that. I try to make my music joyful. Sometimes I’ll address certain political issues, but usually I just want to make people feel good. I want to create an environment where people get along and want to be nice to each other. What has the reception been like? What do your fans think? My mom loves it! Really, though, I’ve only heard nice things. Maybe people don’t have the heart to rip on it in front of me, but I’ve only gotten positive responses. You’ve mentioned in the past how coming off a recording can be like a high, and when you return to the music later, your perception of it has changed. Listening to Thirsty now, what do you think of it? For the most part I’m happy with it. There are a few things I would change, but I’m afraid to say them out loud. I don’t want people to focus on them. What are some of your future endeavors—both in promoting Thirsty, and in new work? I have some new song ideas and I’d like to maybe put out a few songs this summer, although not a whole album. I’m working on building a band so I can start putting together Thirsty electric. I feel the need to play it electric. I think it could feel really big with all the harmonies. I’m actually going to Russia with my parents, and when I get back in June I’ll start rehearsing. Look for Dan Miraldi & the Albino Winos. When did you first begin singing? How has your sound evolved since then? I used to do musicals in high school, but I formed my first rock band, Exit Suburbia, when I was 17. I had been writing lyrics to songs, but I wasn’t proficient enough on an instrument to figure out the melodies. I used to sing melodies to Matt, a friend of mine, and he would figure out the harmonies. The he moved to Colorado for college, and I started to learn the guitar. I started guitar kind of late, when I was 18—usually guitarists start when they’re about 14—and my first concert was when I was a senior in high school. My music has always been kind of cyclical. I’ll be content playing acoustic, then I’ll want to play electric and play loud, punk songs, then I’ll feel the need to quiet it down a bit. I’ve been exposed to different kinds of music, too. When I hear new bands, they’ll subconsciously affect how I sound. In high school, it was more alternative punk rock, and then I went kind of acoustic as I was learning to play guitar. When I was in Cherry-Flavored Elevator, I wanted to be really poppy, and was listening to bands like The Lovin’ Spoonful and the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album. With the Albino Winos it was more blues and returning to punk. Thirsty is kind of taking the best songs of the Albino Winos era and polishing them up. What are the Albino Winos? The Albino Winos recordings started off as a collection of homemade demos.  Sarah would play drums; then I’d dub myself in playing the rest of the instruments.  If Jay was around, he’d played on some of the songs.  A few other people had cameos, but for the most part I’d play all the instruments.  The recordings were made and mixed quickly.  When I’d play shows in college for non-Cherry Flavored Elevator shows.  I’d often bill the show as Dan Miraldi & the Albino Winos.  Whoever was playing with me became an honorary “Wino.”  I treated the Albino Winos tapes as sketches that’d I’d give out to friends, kind of like I was giving away a mixtape.  Then, from those sketches came a lot of the material for Thirsty. On July 3, Miraldi will be opening for the 1980s band Wang Chung (you remember “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”) at the Winchester in Cleveland. He’s also heading to DC that month to perform with the Silver Liners. In the meantime, visit danmiraldi.com for an events calendar, a fun Twilight-“inspired” music video called “Premonition”, and information on how to buy music, including the Silver Liners EP and Thirsty, on Amazon and iTunes. Thirsty is also available on CD Baby.