For a period of several busy years, Canadian artist Danny Michel divided his time between a solo recording career and playing bass for an Ottawa-based group named Starling. As a solo performer, he released a handful of albums. His 1997 debut CD, Before the World Was Round, was a critical and popular success. Canada's Radio Sonic, broadcast by the CBC, ranked it among that year's Top Ten releases. Michel reaped similar success with his second effort, Clear. Subsequent tours broadened his fan base. One took him to Whitehorse in the Yukon, where he toured with Paul MacLeod. Another sent him to Europe with Gwen Swick, a folk-rock artist.
Michel became a member of Starling in 1999.