Daniel Dean (aka Daniel Dean Brumbles) is making his way as a songwriter and musician in Nashville.
The former Marine sniper, who is also a former resident of Dillon, has been in Nashville since October of last year.
Dean acts in a new video soon to be released by musician Stephen Cochran, who is the spokesperson for for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Research and Development. The video for the song “Pieces” should begin airing on CMT shortly.
Dean was also recently involved in the Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival in Gatlinburg, which he was invited to attend. Many well known songwriters were in attendance.
Dean has long had an interest in music.
Dean grew up way out in the country with no friends close by to play with. This made Daniel spend a great deal of time doing the two things he loved the most: playing music and writing on guitar and spending time out in the woods with a gun.
He played in a rock band from ages 16 to 20. Then, a late night on a dirt road made him decide he needed to dedicate to something much larger. The next day he was signed up for the U.S. Marine Corps. He turned 21 in boot camp and would end up spending 19 months total in Iraq, but he always had his guitar with him. It was there that he realized his true life’s calling of writing country songs.
Daniel says that it is amazing how a country song can take you back home when you’re in a war zone 6,000 miles away.
Country music kept him alive. He was a sniper team leader, and to keep him awake on missions, he would write songs in his head. When he got back to base, he would work them out on guitar.
“There was a time in my life that I knew my purpose was to carry a gun in a combat zone. Now, I know that my weapon is my guitar and music, and I know that Nashville is where I belong,” Dean said. Dean is the son of Bobby and Ann Brumbles of Dillon and is a graduate of Avalon Academy. When visiting Dillon, he can sometimes be found playing at Kintyre House. To see Dean in the video, “Pieces,” you can visit YouTube and view it immediately.