By Bob Makin
originally published: 11/07/2025
The Makin Waves Song of the Week is “Case Road,” the debut single by Makin Waves Award-winning bassist Dan Haase, who soon will release his solo debut album as a singer-songwriter. PHOTO BY DAN HAASE
Lakewood-raised Makin Waves Award-winning bassist Dan Haase pays tribute to his hometown with “Case Road.”
Dan’s debut single as a singer-songwriter is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.
As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Case Road” can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Nov. 7 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin, Mixcloud and RadioJersey.net.
“I wrote Case Road in October 2024 while traveling to New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia,” Dan said. “A good chunk of these upcoming songs that I will be releasing were written in West Virginia. I woke up after a night of car camping and found this beautiful overlook of the Gorge. Words cannot describe.
“I had hit a huge crossroads in my life when I was on this creative trip to West VA,” he continued. “I knew I had songs and lyrics inside. I knew I had stories I had to get out. I had to examine what got me to where I was on that October day. So I closed my eyes and thought about the beginning of my journey as a rock musician. That’s where the opening lyrics to ‘Case Road’ are born from. It was about 20 years ago, and I was just playing bass and guitar in my basement. All my neighborhood friends in Lakewood thought it was cool that I played, but none of them shared the same passion for playing. Luckily, some kids on the other side of town knew I wanted to play. Those kids were Matt Pillion and Jon Grill. Hence, the birth of my first band. The song then takes you through a coming-of-age journey about playing music in Lakewood in the early 2000s. Without those formative years, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
The song then wrote itself fairly quickly, Dan said.
All the characters in the song are real, and nearly all of them are featured on the track: Jon Grill on drums, James Doyle on banjo, and Chris Colon on guitar.
“It was pretty special getting to record this song with the guys who helped make it possible so many years ago,” Dan said. “It’s awesome that music still brings us together all these years later, which is kind of how the song summarizes itself in the end.
“Case Road is actually a road in Lakewood, where Jon — Jonny in the song — lived,” he continued. “We jammed and cut our teeth as musicians in his basement. Writing the lyrics brought back floods of great memories. I sent my immediate scratch demo to Jon, and he called back in an emotional state. That’s when I knew I needed to record this song.”
Over the subsequent five months, Dan was able to manifest more deep songs. He’ll be releasing several more singles over the next few months culminating in a vinyl album in 2026.
On the track, Dan not only sings and plays acoustic guitar and bass but also mandolin. Joining his reunion band is Tim Panella on percussion. Tim, who worked for many years at Lakehouse Recording Studios in Asbury Park, co-produced with Dan and engineered and mastered. The song was recorded at Ghosthaus Studios.
Dan will be playing solo shows soon, but in the meantime, he’ll play a duo show Nov. 7 with James Doyle at Hemingway's in Seaside Heights. He also plays frequently with a cover band called Mushmouth.
As the bassist for the 2024 Makin Waves Female Artist of the Year Rachel Ana Dobken, Dan has toured the nation. For more about him, check out his EPK.
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and Instagram and contact Bob at [email protected].
About the author:
New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.
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