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You've got the plan. Dan brings the energy. "You added a real liveliness to the party!" Lynda Olander, Bungalow Preservation Fund Raiser. Dan C Gillogly, event host and piano entertainer, smiling in a straw fedora as a corporate gala crowd cheers behind him.
Energy shift: buttoned-up to roaring
Challenge: A major Chicago real estate corporation had taken a beating in the 2008 crash. Its event was built around the CEO, a strict numbers man who told Dan in rehearsal he didn't think he could do it.
Solution: Dan coached him through rehearsal and built the whole bit to make him look good. Then he brought him up to perform "Great Balls of Fire."
Result: The crowd went wild watching their boss rock out, and the CEO didn't want to leave the stage.
Energy shift: sales meeting to sing-along
Challenge: MCI needed its salespeople fired up to sign customers for a new campaign, at a January meeting in Minneapolis.
Solution: Dan wrote a custom song around the campaign. Every attendee got the lyrics, and the whole group sang it together as the big number before the president's closing.
Result: MCI's own message turned into a song the entire sales force sang out loud, and each of them took the lyrics home.
Energy shift: polite to bidding battle
Challenge: Carlson Community Services runs an after-school program, a community garden, and a monthly concert series on Chicago's Northwest Side. It needed to raise real money in a neighborhood where a $25 ticket felt like a splurge.
Solution: Dan, then on the board, played the fundraiser solo for free. He turned requests into a bidding battle: $50 for Bon Jovi, $100 to bring back Journey.
Result: The night raised twice what other fundraisers brought in, all for the kids' after-school program.
Dan reads the crowd and knows what needs to happen next. Speaker running late, awards running long, dessert coming out early: he plays through the gap and keeps everyone with you.
Dan was musical director at The Second City e.t.c. in Chicago, where improv is the whole job. He builds songs and bits around your people, your year, and your theme, so the content lands and sticks.
Host, live music, and entertainment in one person. One contract, one call, and fewer moving parts for you to manage.
Solo piano for receptions, dinners, holiday parties, and senior communities. Quiet background early, sing-along and dancing later.
"Yesterday I received 30 emails in regards to your performance on Saturday night." Derek Brenczewski, Owner, McBrody's
Dan hosts your event from the piano: welcome, introductions, awards, transitions, and the party after.
"Your talent was an exceptional fit to our audience (age, gender and culture) and the conference social event." Cheri Breneman, Administrator, Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts
Team sessions on creativity and connection at work, built on improv and live music.
Ask Dan for session length, group size, and format.
Dan C Gillogly has spent more than four decades at the piano and on the mic. Starting in 1989 he was musical director and pianist at The Second City e.t.c. in Chicago, where the Chicago Tribune called his music direction and playing "more than embellishment."
He played keyboards on Wishbone Ash's Live in Chicago album, ran All American Dueling Pianos, and has hosted company parties, conventions, and association events across the country.
Today Dan lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and travels to host events nationwide. Offstage he records original piano music, and he raised four kids singing.
Send the date, the city, and what the event is for. Dan replies quickly.
Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hosting events nationwide.