Daniel Novick began his music career in his garage, playing along to Phish songs with high school friends when he was 13. Instead of jamming in garages, now he's recording with one of the biggest names in the music industry, Grammy-winning David Kershenbaum, who has produced for Duran Duran, Tracy Chapman, Janet Jackson and many other artists. You have seen him play with Vanderbilt band 4 Play 7 Beers Ago, and he just released his EP "Souls." The perfect complement to a road trip, tracks on "Souls" are original and reflective with the perfect pop-rock twist. After listening to his fantastic CD, staff writer Eileen Begley sat down with Novick, discussing his summer in Los Angeles, being discovered by Kershenbaum and his "Souls" release party at Exit/In tomorrow.

Versus Magazine: How did you end up recording with Grammy-winning record producer David Kershenbaum?
David Novick: So I got to Nashville and I wanted to write songs. I moved to Atlanta for one summer. Freshman year summer I moved out to Los Angeles and worked with this artist named Shannon - she's an up-and-coming artist. I tried to help her write some songs, took a class at UCLA. And I mingled a bit out there and that's where I met David Kershenbaum. Luckily I didn't go abroad last year (I was going to go to Vienna). I decided I didn't want to miss out on four months of music, so we finished the 11 song CD I did with Wizkid Sound Studios (in Atlanta), and David heard "Crazy" and contacted me. He said he had all these ideas for it and wanted to make it bigger. He loved it, so we didn't change much. I kept most of the stuff I did with Rob Dyson and Dan Gardner (of Wizkid Sound Studios). David just had the experience. He recorded Tracy Chapman, Janet Jackson, Duran Duran. He got three Grammys for "Fast Car." If anyone knew what to do in the studio, it was him. And I had a chance that I couldn't pass up.

VM: Where did you record "Souls"?
DN: I moved out to L.A. for a couple weeks this past summer. We recorded at Sunset Sound Studios, which is where the Rolling Stones (and) Led Zeppelin recorded, where "Stairway to Heaven" was mixed. I'm in the tracking room with the microphone in front of me from the 1970s. I look on the wall and there are pictures of Jim Morrison at the studio. It was amazing - an inspiring yet completely humbling and mortifying experience. I had to turn off the lights in the recording studio when I was recording. I put on my sunglasses and just had the lights off. I didn't want to see anything.

VM: What was the hardest part for you in the recording process?
DN: David demands perfection. Because it's so easy to tune you in the studio, but he wants a good timing or will say, "Oh your pitch is a little off." And if my pitch and timing were perfect, he'll say, "Well I didn't feel it." So it's gotta all be there for him.

VM: So how many hours a day did you average in the studio?
DN: We worked long. We did full 12-hour days every day for about 10 days, including mixing. So about seven days for tracking.

VM: How many songs did you record?
DN: Two of them were the original Wizkid Sound Studio (songs), but David remastered them. Then the three others. We recorded others, but we'll probably release them on the full CD. I'm really glad with the five songs it ended up being. These were the five songs that I wanted.

VM: Who would you compare yourself to?
DN: Rob always says Americana. Like if Jakob Dylan from the Wallflowers and Eric Clapton had a baby, it'd be me. That's what he thought. (laughs)

VM: My favorite song on "Souls" is "Dangerous." How do you go about the songwriting process?
DN: "Dangerous" is Deanna Walker's (of the Blair School of Music) favorite too. It's always different. Sometimes I'll have the chords and melody. Other times I'll write stream of consciousness until I find something interesting.

VM: When did you begin writing your own songs?
DN: I started writing when I was around 16. I was playing guitar. Me and my buddies would get together and we'd have jam sessions when we were like 14 or 15, and you just play Phish songs for three hours. No one would sing.

VM: What's your favorite part about performing live?
DN: It's so different when you're playing cover gigs and when you're playing your own music. Like when I played at The Bluebird Cafe, it was just a completely different experience. But the common of the two is the connecting. When you play cover gigs, you play songs that you want people to dance to. And they're smiling, singing along, slurring their words and that's fun. But there's something special about playing your song for the first time to a group of people and they've heard it. ... I like to see their reaction.

VM: Who is your favorite band?
DN: My favorite band is the Red Hot Chili Peppers. If I could tour with anyone, I would open for them.

VM: So your release party tomorrow at Exit/In is to celebrate your EP on iTunes.
DN: Yeah, the CD release party is Thursday at Exit/In. The doors open up at 8. Molly Jewell, who's a Vanderbilt student and an amazing songwriter, she's playing with her band. My buddies, Mojo Possum, are coming into town from Memphis. They're awesome guys. It's hill country blues-like rock music, like Allman Brothers. It's really fun to dance to. They'll be starting around 10. Then we'll go on around 11. We have a Belmont keyboard player, Vanderbilt's Andrew Dudas will be playing violin on "Angel" and we have a Belmont guitarist. And some fun cover songs too.

The release party starts at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Exit/In with Molly Jewell and Mojo Possum opening for Novick. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Check out his music video for "Crazy" at www.danielnovickmusic.com