Dan Boeckner (; born 5 February 1978) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist and podcaster. He is best known as one of the frontmen of

Wolf Parade Wolf Parade is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2003 in Montreal. The band released three full-length albums before taking a five-year hiatus in 2011. They announced their return in 2016, releasing a self-titled EP in May of that year, and a ...

, which he helped found in 2003. Since 2013, he has also been a member of the Montreal-based band Operators. Boeckner began his career in the

Victoria, Canada Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

music scene, playing in multiple bands including

Atlas Strategic Atlas Strategic was an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. History The band was composed of Dan Boeckner on guitar and vocals; Johnny Pollard (aka Atlas Strategic) on organ, synthesizer, saxophone, and backing vocals; Steve ...

. Since that time, he has been part of projects including

Handsome Furs Handsome Furs was a Montreal-based indie rock duo which consisted of Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry, who were married at the time. Boeckner is best known for his time in the bands Wolf Parade and Atlas Strategic. The band announced its breakup on M ...

and

Divine Fits Divine Fits was an American-Canadian indie rock band composed of Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, Operators), Sam Brown, and Alex Fischel (Spoon). The group released their debut album, '' A Thing Called Divine Fit ...

with

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily f ...

frontman

Britt Daniel John Britt Daniel (born April 14, 1971) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Spoon, as well as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and singer of the band Divine Fits. Daniel also founded nume ...

. In 2022, Boeckner joined

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...

in a session capacity, touring and performing with the band in support of their sixth studio album, '' WE''. Making his live debut at the Toulouse Theatre in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Boeckner subsequently appeared in the video to the band's first single, "The Lightning I, II".

Overview

Boeckner grew up in

Lake Cowichan Lake Cowichan ( Nitinaht: ʕaʔk̓ʷaq c̓uubaʕsaʔtx̣) (pop. 2,974) is a town located on the east end of Cowichan Lake and, by highway, is west of Duncan, British Columbia. The town of Lake Cowichan was incorporated in 1944. The Cowichan R ...

, British Columbia and his first band was called Say Uncle. Immediately upon graduating high school, he moved to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, BC. In Victoria he became a singer/guitarist for many small, independent outfits. One of these bands was named God Shaped Vacuum, and featured a pre-

Frog Eyes Frog Eyes are an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada fronted by Carey Mercer. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. They have released eight albums and two EPs an ...

Carey Mercer on drums. They released one album in their brief existence, entitled ''Apocalypse Now!'' In 2000, Boeckner co-founded notable British Columbian band

with organist/vocalist John Pollard, and recorded their debut ''Rapture, Ye Minions!''. The album was released on a local label, Global Symphonic. The band toured and recorded a second album/EP, which they self-released upon their demise in 2002. Boeckner then moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, where he eventually met with Spencer Krug and helped form

. Boeckner contributes his guitar skills, while also splitting songwriting duties and the role of lead singer with band-mate Krug. The band is signed to

Sub Pop Records Sub is a common abbreviation of words beginning with the prefix "sub-". Sub or SUB may also refer to Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB Computing and technology * , an HTML tag for subscript * SUB designate ...

. In November 2010, Wolf Parade announced that they were taking an "indefinite hiatus". Boeckner formed the

with his then fiancée Alexei Perry, in the winter of 2005. The duo signed to

and released their debut album '' Plague Park'' in 2007. "

Face Control Face control refers to the policy of upscale nightclubs, casinos, restaurants and similar establishments to strictly restrict entry based on a bouncer's snap judgment of the suitability of a person's looks, money, style or attitude, especially in ...

" was released in 2009, while Handsome Furs' latest album

Sound Kapital ''Sound Kapital'' is the third studio album by Canadian indie rock duo Handsome Furs. It was released through Sub Pop Records on June 28, 2011. According to a press release, ''Sound Kapital'' is inspired by the electronic and industrial music ...

was released in 2011. On 17 May 2012 Handsome Furs announced the band was no more on their official website. Later, it was confirmed that the couple had broken up. In October 2005, Boeckner was a part of the satirical North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative (NAHPI) and contributed to the

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

benefit song " Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?". Boeckner also played on

Islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

' debut album '' Return to the Sea''. He played guitar on the opening track "Swans (Life After Death)" and he played in the "marching band" on the track "Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone". After the breakup of Handsome Furs, Boeckner formed

with

in 2011 while Daniel was on break from his band

. The band released one studio album, '' A Thing Called Divine Fits'', in 2012 to positive reviews and one live album, ''Live at Third Man Records'', in 2014. In May 2014, Boeckner debuted his new band, Operators, during Canadian Music Week in Toronto. In January 2016, the Operators announced that their debut album, "Blue Wave", would be released on 1 April 2016. In January 2016, Wolf Parade announced on their website that their hiatus was over, and that they would be returning to the stage with a series of live shows starting in May 2016. In May 2016, Wolf Parade released a self titled EP. Since 2021, Boeckner has co-hosted the podcast ''The Bottlemen'' with Riley Quinn. The podcast focuses primarily on Canadian politics from a left-wing perspective and is broadly a part of the so-called

Dirtbag left The dirtbag left is a style of left-wing politics that eschews civility to convey a left-wing populist and anti-capitalist message using vulgarity. It is most closely associated with American left-wing media that emerged in the mid-2010s, such a ...

, featuring frequent guest appearances from figures associated with that scene.

Discography

Atlas Strategic

* '' Rapture, Ye Minions!'' (2000) Global Symphonic * '' That's Familiar!'' (2002) Self-released

Wolf Parade

* '' Wolf Parade (4-song EP)'' (2003) Self-Released * '' Wolf Parade (6-song EP)'' (2004) Self-Released * '' Wolf Parade (EP)'' (2005) Sub Pop * ''

Apologies to the Queen Mary ''Apologies to the Queen Mary'' is the 2005 first full-length album by Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade. Background Songwriting and vocals are split between guitarist Dan Boeckner and keyboardist Spencer Krug. According to interviews with ...

'' (2005) Sub Pop * ''

At Mount Zoomer ''At Mount Zoomer'', the second full length LP from the Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade, was released on June 17, 2008.Wolf Parade Discography"''At Mount Zoomer'' - SP720" ''Sub Pop Records'', retrieved April 29, 2008. Album title The album ...

'' (2008) Sub Pop * ''

Expo 86 The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...

'' (2010) Sub Pop * '' Wolf Parade (EP)'' (2016) Self-Released * ''

Cry Cry Cry Cry Cry Cry was a folk Supergroup (music), supergroup, consisting of Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, and Dar Williams. The band released a single eponymous album of cover songs on October 13, 1998. The trio toured in 1999 to support the album. ...

'' (2017) Sub Pop * ''

Thin Mind ''Thin Mind'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade. It was released on January 24, 2020 through Sub Pop. Background ''Thin Mind'' is Wolf Parade's fifth studio album and their first to be released since the departure ...

'' (2020) Sub Pop

Handsome Furs

* '' Plague Park'' (2007) Sub Pop * ''

'' (2009) Sub Pop * ''

'' (2011) Sub Pop

Divine Fits

* '' A Thing Called Divine Fits'' (2012)

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

Operators

* ''EP 1'' (2014)

Last Gang Records Last Gang Records is a record label formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor (businessman), Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival. Last Gang was nominated as Indepe ...

* ''Blue Wave'' (2016)

* ''Radiant Dawn'' (2019)

Fortune Kit

* ''Ultimate Vibes Hair Dryer Peaceful Piano Chill Lo-Fi Transcendental Study Mindfulness Crazysexycool Wellness Sleepy John Vibes Vol 1 Sissy Graydon Carter'' (2019) Self-released * ''Glassed Planet'' (2020) Self-released