Last summer, Dan and Susan Rubin came to Newfoundland with their young son Jasper for a relaxing break from the rigours of teaching, and to spend some time with Susan’s family. As well as being a teacher, Dan is an accomplished musician who plays violin, viola, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki and other strings, so playing music with local musicians was partly Dan’s hope for the summer.

Early on in the family holiday, the music and magic of Newfoundland took hold, and what was intended to be a short trip turned into something more permanent. Just before he and Susan were due to leave Newfoundland, Dan popped into the Ship Inn (now The Ship Pub) with the good news that they had fallen in love with, and bought, a house in Pouch Cove. They would come back after Dan finished his current teaching assignment!

This was very good news for the musicians making up the band Atlantic Union. During the summer, Dan had hooked up with Scott Schillereff (a long-time member of the folk music scene in St. John’s). After jamming with Atlantic Union, Dan was adopted as an honourary band member, and even performed with them at the 27th Annual Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival in August. The serendipity of the move turned out to be greater than anticipated. Just as Dan reappeared, Scott announced he was moving to B.C., leaving the band one musician short of a full set.

So who is the new member of Atlantic Union?

Dan grew up in California, in a setting steeped in creativity. His father was an accomplished visual artist as well as a practical man, a printmaker and inventor who also could turn from painting pictures and murals to painting the wall or fixing the plumbing. His parents Sam and Adele filled the house on Pyrites Street in East Los Angeles with music that ranged from Leadbelly and Pete Seeger to the classical composers. They also played mandolin and recorder, and had many musical friends. The Rubins were the movers and shakers behind the Pyrites Street Music Festival, a weird and wonderful annual gathering of musicians, a glorified backyard party that celebrated their diverse musical styles.

Dan went on to learn piano and violin in Los Angeles, then studied violin and composition while attending Reed College in Portland. After moving to Vancouver, he began playing music with other local musicians, including Smilin’ Jack Smith, Rick Van Krugel, Paddy Hernon, Rick Scott, Joe Mock, Bruce Miller, Sharie Ulrich and Leon Bibb — mainstays of the acoustic music scene in BC during the 1970s. As well as flying solo, he has been a part of several innovative bands — The Spaghetti Island Stringband, Amazing Grease, Flying Mountain, Rubin Dan and the Giant Clams, New Earth, and now Atlantic Union. Because each band has offered new opportunities to expand his repertoire, Dan’s songs range from bluegrass to blues, from folk to rock and roll.Since 1974, Dan has worked as a teacher, curriculum developer and school principal. He has taught music, organized community concerts and developed innovative approaches to literature, writing, science and technology. In 2002 he received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence for his work in schools and First Nations communities.

Writing is also part of the picture. Dan has one book in print, Salt on the Wind: the Sailing Life of Allen and Sharie Farrell, the story of a couple who built 46 wooden boats by hand on the BC coast and sailed them to Hawaii, Fiji, California and Mexico. His articles, fiction and poetry have been published in more than a dozen publications. His short story “The Burn” received a Certificate of Merit as a finalist in the 1996 BC Festival of the Arts from the BC Writers’ Federation.

Time spent in Mexico, Hawaii and the South Pacific, Britain, Spain and Portugal has given him a chance to absorb music from other cultures. In the 1980s he made good use of this while performing and recording with New Earth, a Victoria-based world music trio that combined jazz and world music influences. After doing local concerts and recording their first CD, the band was invited to perform as an opening act at the Canada Pavilion at Expo 92 in Seville, Spain. This trip involved the full range of wind, string and percussion instruments the band was using at that time – the three musicians passed through Pearson International Airport with 27 cases of instruments!! When they arrived in Seville, they had all their instruments, but their CDs had taken a side trip to Barcelona. However, the trip to Spain proved productive (in spite of lost merchandise). There, Dan met up with Jim Payne and Christina Smith. Dan’s first brush with Newfoundland talent, but happily not his last.

Dan has made some major moves in his life, but has always remained within earshot of the sea. As owner and master of the 33-foot gaff-rigged schooner August Moon, he sailed on the BC coast for 13 years. It may be that with so much salt water in his veins, Newfoundland was always secretly his destination.

Since arriving here in September, Dan has been working on his writing, and volunteering with the Community Development Committee in Pouch Cove and the Dandelion Foundation which sponsors workshops in healing and the arts. On the musical front, he is now one third of Atlantic Union. He and bandmates Andrew Lang and Sally Goddard seem to be in the same groove musically; they are now in the process of recording a new album, and have several other projects in the early stages of planning. Dan teaches mandolin, fiddle and guitar to a number of local players and is actively looking for new students. His mandolin workshop offered in December in Pouch Cove was attended by a dozen people. He is also beginning to do some music production and promotion work to assist and support other local artists with their careers in the music industry.

After four months, what does Dan think of his move? Newfoundland has exceeded all his expectations.

“Culturally, this is the most vibrant and dynamic place that I have lived. I love it here. The combination of history and creativity expressed in music, writing, publishing and performing makes this place so rich. In a short space of time, I have had the opportunity to play with Frank Maher, Stan Pickett, Dave Panting, Jean Hewson, Peter Narvaez, Rik Barron, Fergus O’Byrne, Rick West and Christina Smith, and have met a range of other musicians including Daniel Payne, Jim Fidler, Sandy Morris, Pam Morgan, Jim Payne and Anita Best. I feel so fortunate to have been accepted into this community, and I’m particularly delighted to be able to sit in with the Auntie Crae Band during their Tuesday lunch time sessions. I also appreciate all the work being done by Erin and the members of the St. John’s Folk Arts Council to support local music. What a grand crew.”

The music of Newfoundland is definitely inspiring him. Dan has had two new tunes come to him during the Auntie Crae Sessions— the jig Running Up the Stairs and a hornpipe called The Streets of St. John’s. As he says — “Keep the music coming!”