July 3, 2002
Daniel Truckey displays talent for making music
Grand Traverse Heritage Center curator accomplished songwriter
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
From melting snow to Gwyneth Paltrow to Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Daniel Truckey's songs span the spectrum of subjects. One thing is certain, predictability is not in the cards.
The singer-songwriter played Friday evening at Border's Books and Music, making one of his first appearances in the area. He played acoustic guitar and sang a number of his original compositions, which demonstrated his breadth both musically and lyrically.
"I like writing lots of styles, country, blues, I like them all," Truckey said. "It keeps it fresh and different. I get bored if I only write about one thing so I'm always looking for new ideas."
"I see myself as a songwriter and whatever I'm writing is the genre," he said, noting that most music is a conglomeration of styles, derived from something else.
By day the curator of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, which recently celebrated its grand opening, Truckey is ready to be a part of the local music scene. When pressed to pigeonhole his music, he will reluctantly peg himself as a folk singer, but the historian in him quickly jumps in to clarify.
"Folk is handed down from generation to generation, culture to culture," Truckey said. "For me, I have more of a tradition as a songwriter."
Truckey taught himself to play the guitar in college because he loved singing and couldn't sing while playing his original instrument: the saxophone. While studying history at Northwestern Michigan University, Truckey began playing in a jazz band in college. He has continued his singing and songwriting throughout grad school and at various museum jobs in New York, Connecticut and Iowa.
His guitar playing also allowed him to begin composing music.
"One of the reasons I started playing the guitar is to be able to write songs," he said. "I didn't have a way before to do it."
With the advent of the Heritage Center's first summer, Truckey is determined to find time for his music. He moved to the area in February with his family: wife, Leigh, and son, Thomas, 17 months.
Both he and his wife are Michigan natives and had been hoping to either move back to the Upper Peninsula or northern Michigan. When Truckey saw the position of curator for the Grand Traverse Heritage Center listed in a national museum trade publication, he was determined to get it.
In fact, his application was the first to arrive, recalled Ann Hoopfer, director of the center. Of the 45 applicants received, Truckey was one of four interviewed and ended up the unanimous choice of the selection committee.
"With this building, which is four times bigger than the old Con Foster Museum, there's a lot that goes with managing the building in addition to running the museum," said Hoopfer. "The [Friends of the Con Foster Museum] board decided it was time to have a full-time professional curator. It is a big job and requires somebody who has some experience and the credentials to do this."
Truckey said that since his arrival in February, it has been apparent that Traverse City residents value their history. The neighborhoods and downtown have been preserved and cherished instead of torn down as has happened in many other communities around the country.
"There's a real sense of support and a real love of the history and heritage of the region," Truckey noted. "I think Traverse City is a very progressive community and sees the advantages of developing something like the Heritage Center."
Truckey has also seen a resurgence of interest in history during his career. He believes that with the trend toward living history and more context-oriented exhibits, museum-goers are discovering that history can be fun.
He contrasts theme exhibits at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, such as a one-room schoolhouse, with a youthful memory of attending the Henry Ford Museum where one room had rows and rows of washing machines on display.
"After the first three or four washing machines, it gets really boring," he said. "History is becoming more than a subject, but a pastime. It has become its own industry where you have theme parks."