Life began for me...

Life began for me in the big sky country of Kansas. I grew up riding horses and when I got tired of shoveling manure turned to basketball. It was very exciting to be involved in the "sports dance" and it kept me out of trouble and involved with great people throughout my early educational career. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was a way to express my artistic inclinations. That may explain why it wasn't a big deal to me whether or not my teams won. It was the art of basketball that attracted me. I am not sure that sports has the same universal emphasis on character today that it used to have. I am truly grateful for the coaches and team mates that I met along the way and still cherish their friendship and all the great memories. By the time I went to college on a basketball scholarship (George Washington University) my interest in a sports career was already over. The times they were a changin' and I found my life long art form...music. Shortly after leaving college to pursue music I fell in love with my wife Donna in Austin, Texas. Last January we celebrated our 36th anniversary! In 1970 I joined up with a rock and roll band and we were quite successful. We traveled around in our Greyhound bus and were the only band on the "Castle Club" tour without a national hit record. 3 Dog Night, The Grassroots, Jefferson Airplane and many other groups were on the same tour. My best friend at the time was the other guitar player, and he died in an automobile accident. That finished the band. Donna and I ended up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and our children started to come. We have three sons and one daughter. I needed to make a living and used my music to support us. After working for my Dad and playing more than 100 gigs with a country band , I performed more than 2,000 gigs as a one man band over the course of fourteen years. During that time I learned how to write, direct and produce audio/video productions and eventually won regional and national awards for some of them. At our 30th high school reunion we rekindled a life long friendship with Don and Karen Clarke. Don invited us to Colorado and we loved it. We picked up and moved the whole family to Denver and the last decade has been the greatest time of our lives. My daughter Deva is married to a terrific guy (Brian). My son Chris married his high school sweet heart (Monet) and they recently gave birth to our first grandson (Coyer). He is always the most popular person at family (or any) gatherings. My son Casey recently moved to Sonoma, California to attend college there and my son Michael will attend college here in Denver in the Fall. Donna and I remain highly involved in our church and I continue to pursue my career as an audio/video writer producer and director. For details log on to: www.whitelightcompany.com . I still perform occasionally as a one man band (www.dankarns.net) and have played with our church worship team in over 400 services since coming to Colorado. Our family is very musical. Donna is in the church choir, Deva is a worship leader at an inner city church, her husband Brian is a very good drummer. Chris (turn tableist) is often on tour with a great hip hop band called the Procussions (based in LA) and has performed throughout the United States, Japan and England with plans for Hawaii, Australia and Europe in the future. Casey is an outstanding bass player and Michael is one of the best drummers I have ever worked with. He will be touring occasionally with our internationally acclaimed church worship leader. Our immediate family mostly lives near us and we are very blessed...I hope you are too!

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