Dan Wilder, born as Daniel C. Schaefer in Frankfurt, Germany, was adopted and grew up with a loving family of a land surveyor and a college professor in Biebesheim, Germany since he was about 10 months old. He has a younger brother and two half-sisters (which reside in the United States).

Dan discovered his love for the music as well as his artistic skills early and wrote his first song being only 8 years old. When Dan was 14 he recorded the Hip Hop tune “Old School” with his long time friends Bad Azz Tank and Jam-Masta Man, which got him and the crew a first airplay. After working on several Rock and Hip Hop songs Dan ended up playing drums for the Southern Trash Metal band Sudden Death with his brother Toby (vocals) and his friends Muddy (guitar) and Flow (bass). Their harder than hell tunes were loved and hated in the entire region in and around Frankfurt, but were known all the way from Florida to the Midwest. After the band split in 2006, because of Dan and Muddy’s upcoming military service, the band’s legacy was seen in all the Rhein-Main region, where all members are renowned guests at any kind of Rock show until today, as bands like Rescue Rapunzel and Unleash the Sky always welcome the Rock stars and love to see them around. Recent hangouts with As I Lay Dying, Disturbed, and Slayer guitarist Kerry King made the press wonder about Dan’s connection to Rock. He stated in an interview in late 2012 that “the Rock & Roll will always be a part of me, because that’s where I came from. And it’s been always more than the music, Rock & Roll was a lifestyle, and further a life I enjoyed being part of; and it will always be like that.”

During his high school time Dan played drums for the Punk Rock band Dear Precious and was seen performing several Rock and Blues songs with various artists at multiple festivities and parties. When he joined the armed forces Dan and fellow comrades founded a band that performed for the armed forces and their allies. During infantry training he became friends with Chris Kunert a.k.a. K-Force 1, who later started rapping with him. They founded the Rap crew Zero 14 Division in 2007 and recorded several songs with help of their good friend Sasha Heidrich a.k.a. Don Chesta. Their famous tunes “Who We R” and “Ocean Drive By” were aggressive modern Hip Hop songs known from coast to coast in the U.S., predominantly in and around Miami, FL. After the military service Dan recorded his first solo album “Bringin’ Tha Heat” which he published under the artist name Great D. During the recordings he became friends with sound engineer Ralf Bruetting of Studio Soundlab.

Ralf and Dan are still working together and produced not only outstanding albums but further singles that aired in several countries. After producing the album “The Power of I” for New York rapper Imfasiz Dan decided to focus more on his solo career. After several minor projects and test recordings for a future album project Dan began working on his hit single “Lascivious Girl,” a pleasing R&B/Dancepop tune, which Dan, as he once stated, “wrote about his once big crush, interior designer Kelsey B. from Madison, WI.” The studio work took nearly two years, during which time Dan also produced and featured the Latin Dancepop song “Verano Torrido” with Latino artist Benny Alvarez. The single aired in fall 2013 and is Dan’s forth airplay on a major radio station.

Before Dan took off to the Universiy of Wisconsin in Madison, WI to follow through with his Creative Writing and American Literature studies, he produced the Pop single “Crazy” for Benny, which is being recorded in three languages. The song will air in early 2014, just shortly after “Lascivious Girl” will hit the radio stations worldwide. Dan is proud and happy for all the help he received while putting the smash hit together, as the beautiful model Cyndie Loebel is his cover girl, the cover being created by none less than designer and long time friend Julian Brinson.

Dan recently performed for the country band Louisiana, produced for Houston rapper Louis Williams, and worked with Reggaeton singer Miss Behave from Jamaica, before winding his way back to Pop music. Aside from music Dan is working on a semi-biographical novel about his time in the armed forces as well as two other novels (Chicago Conundrum and Beneath the Median). He is further known for several deep and thoughtful pieces of poetry and finally managed to establish himself in the arts and academia, where he is a well known, acknowledged, and accepted figure among big names like playwright Ayasha Tripp and postcolonial critic Emrah Khayyat. Dan was a guest DJ in The Velvet Rope Radio Hour at WSUM 91.7 and paired up with Miss Tripp for her most recent theater production "Generation of Dreams," for which Dan composed and produced the original score and the play's title theme.

Over the summer of 2015 Dan went back to the studio with singer and producer Jenny for his new single "Take It to the Sky," which was released in mid-October when Dan traveled to the U.S. and toured all across the country for promoting the Dance Pop smash hit and setting up new projects. Herein rumors have been heard about collaborations with rapper Rich Robbins and the Funk Rock band Maffa Rico. When these rumors were brought up, Dan said that he was "working on setting up projects with both Rich and Maffa Rico. All artists are mutually interested in working together, what still has to be taken care of are the details, but both projects are underway."

After returning from the United States Dan paired up with Louisiana again. What followed were a couple of performances that resulted in one nomination for Dan and three for Elke Brooks, Louisiana's lead singer, including an FMP Award nomination for Louisiana; and in March all of them were called out to receive the FMP Award in their categories. Later that month Dan has then been spotted in the studio with Louisiana for recording and the production of two new songs.

Around that time Dan has also signed again with Don't Even Tripp Productions for a podcast series production, which is currently underway as well. "Once the project is rolling," he said, "I will get back to the booth for some more Dan Wilder. And I'm happy to announce that I could get songwriter Cinnamon Cook to work on one of the songs with me. Wait for it, and I will be back in no time."

Other projects are not confirmed at the moment. However, rumors are heard here and there about many projects. In order to find out some truth, one must remain patient; but knowing the remarkable artist Dan Wilder is, he is most likely and surely working on the next big thing. He was, is, and will always be an "Ambitious Artist" (poem by A. Tripp), a workaholic, and, by the grace of God, a hustler, for Dan is, after all one thing: self-made.