Episode 26: A Conversation with Dan Murphy

After co-leading Minneapolis-based Soul Asylum to stratospheric heights in the 90s, lead guitarist Dan Murphy quit the business cold in 2012. Tired of the grind, Murphy literally hung up his famous Les Paul, seemingly for good. While Soul Asylum carries on with singer/guitarist David Pirner as the only original member, Murphy has focused instead on his online pinup art gallery called Grapefruit Moon. But as they say, life happens. Murphy picked up the guitar again for a family funeral and started again. He’s not back with Soul Asylum, but he still performs one-off gigs with his mid-90s alt.country supergroup Golden Smog. Well, at least he did before the pandemic. And he’s also writing new material for an album that he expects to be released in early 2022. In this episode of For Songs, Murphy grants us a bit of an exclusive look into two new songs—Fresh New Hell and Rosary. We also talk his time with Golden Smog and discuss in detail songs from their 1996 debut full-length album Down By the Old Mainstream. As you can tell, Murphy’s music had a profound impact on my life, so this episode is quite special to me. Hope you feel the same way! Listen in!