Dan Deacon doesn’t want your money. At least, not if you live in New York. The Baltimore-based electronic artist whose music is a motivational rush of celebratory dance and electronic symphonies, will donate all profits from his two New York shows this week to Hurricane Sandy relief agencies Occupy Sandy and the Red Cross.
“I’ve got a lot of family and friends who live there,” says Deacon. “I guess the main thing is that it feels weird to play a show when there’s so much turmoil, especially as my show is about euphoria.”
Although he wants to deliver that euphoria to an audience in need of joy, he also seems to realize they’re in need of much more: “I felt conflicted taking money out of that environment. I’m overanalyzing it when I think about it like that. … But I didn’t want to postpone the shows — one was pretty much sold out. I just kept thinking, ‘What the hell can I do?’ And this makes the most sense.”
Deacon grew up on Long Island and his latest album, “America,” takes a long look at his homeland.
“The record is a dichotomy of how I feel about the country — a kind of mix of pride and shame,” he says. “The musical aspect discusses my personal issues and what my role in the system is.”
As we chat on Election Day, Deacon isn’t looking to politicians or musicians to better his life or the world: “It’s daunting if you think about every aspect of one’s role,” he says. “I try to address them one at a time, then great personal advances can be made. In my own life, I try to make day-to-day life more in line with my ideals.”
