Those who know Dakota, a 2011 THS graduate, can now be heard as a rising country singer with volume like a rock star. He walks and talks with confidence and prestige, writes and performs lyrics that his heart and soul have created. His vocals blend power and intensity while his guitar takes a beating when bursts of energy hammer the strings.
Dakota performs throughout the Maple Valley area. He can be booked for family events like funerals, weddings, parties. A Backpack Buddies benefit is scheduled for Dakota on November 2 at Tahoma Elementary School where another young Maple Valley singer, Kassidy Lynne, is opening. Last week he played for the fourth time since August at Bruchelle’s Bagel and Bistro in Covington (next gig there is Nov. 7); he’s played Gonzos in Covington (up next on Nov. 8), and Yella Beak in Enumclaw. A “really big gig” is coming up with a split bill performance at Hard Rock Café in Seattle on Friday, Nov. 9. Hard Rock also hosts “Cascade Country Christmas” on December 22 with Dakota and seven other singers. Bookings this summer included Missoula, Montana and Gabby’s Country Cabaret in Langley, Canada. This past week he played at The New 98.9 The Bull radio station, entertaining the station’s employees and tenants. He was featured artist before the Borealis light show, Museum of History and Industry at Lake Union, with a crowd of 10,000. In the last six months he’s been playing an average of three to four gigs per week, including charitable performances – most recently at USO SeaTac for military personnel who were shipping out. “The USO booking really got the crowd of 500 going,” Dakota reminisced.
“I figured out myself,” Dakota says about his transition from the bullied child with frenzied behavior to a man of admirable stature. He says he quit using ‘hyperactivity disorder’ as an excuse for behaviors that dominated his youth. Taking advantage of erratic movement, he perfected it while performing onstage, complete with a powerful vocal range that once disturbed classrooms and classmates. One teacher, who realized it would allow him to focus, let him wear headphones while doing schoolwork. Other children questioned, “Why does heget to listen to music?” The teacher replied, “He’s quiet.” The rest of the class gladly accepted that answer. Now, at age 25, he has obviously conquered that childhood pain where he was the laugh of the class. Movement and volume with high-energy vibes that rock a country music crowd have become both his life and his income.
People ask where the talent came from but Dakota has no explanation. “It’s just something that comes natural to me and it makes me feel at home.” He had no particular family background or connection to music other than listening to it. Growing up, Dakota heard his mom singing. Following her lead, he was inspired by the soulful sounds of Ray Charles and Patty Loveless, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. During summer, riding shotgun from Bellingham to Portland in his dad’s semi, they cranked up the radio to Credence Clearwater Revival, Brooks and Dunn, John Anderson.
He had asked for a guitar as his Christmas present at age seven. He took a few lessons. “My hands cramped at its size and I quit until age 14.” He sang in choir at Shadow Lake Elementary School. Moving on to middle school he took jazz band and played trumpet with his music teacher, Roger Palmer. “When I was 14 I started my first band, a rock band to be specific. But as I got a little older, I knew country was my calling.” However, he left band to pursue sports like swimming. In high school he again connected with Mr. Palmer who had Dakota use his talent to teach guitar to the girls. “The girls in class were the only ones who paid attention,” Dakota explains. It was girls who also initiated his name change. Reaching adulthood, he began to introduce himself, “Cody is my nickname but my real name is Dakota.” The girls’ response, “Dakota … what a sexy name.” He admits he liked a probable future in that regard and thought, “I’ll go with that.”
Dakota’s first live performance came as a 14-year old student taking class at Dace’s Rock ‘n More in Maple Valley; he was booked at Studio 7 in Seattle. “I knew there was music in my heart that the world needs to hear,” Dakota said. “I never had dreams of playing huge stadiums. I just wanted people to hear my music.” His bookings include salary that has ranged from $100 for one night, to his max that was $3500 for a gig. “There are two emotions the audiences show when they like what I do. The first is dancing, hooting and hollering. They’re having a good time for sure,” he said. “The second emotion is being quiet and focused. My acoustic shows are where it becomes very intimate.” Dakota wrote his first handful of love songs and ballads with lyrics that people could relate to – love, heartbreak and fun.” He wrote a song about his dad titled, That’s My Dad, “but it’s mainly for dads in general.” He said he likes the audience to put their own life, their own imaginations, out there.
“It’s been getting streams of tears at shows when I perform it,” he added.
“I was 12 or 13 when I was just writing cliché music. I didn’t find my writing groove until I got older, around 17. Musicians who influenced his writing style include older country artists like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash. “They are all lyricists that wrote from the heart,” he said. “They all pushed the boundaries of writing. They were outlaws who didn’t care what mainstream radio wanted. That’s what I relate to: not playing by the rules, pushing the boundaries and playing on the edge.” Dakota’s passion for music is the same as his passion for life.
A table placard at Bruchelle’s Bagel and Bistro reads, “Dakota Poorman is taking country music and putting a brand new make on it.” Indeed, his singing, strumming, and swinging with waylaid beer-fueled jokes are part of the rapture. He is not mainstream. His favorite stanza by Cody Jinks says it all, “I’m not the devil you think that I am, there ain’t no excuse, but I’m just a man. I slipped and I fell, and got outta hand. But I’m not the devil you think that I am.”
