You ever wonder what happened to those contestants on
American Idol that make it to Hollywood week and you don't quite understand why they didn't make it to the BIG stage? We all get to see what happens with the top 12 when they make it to the big stage. The cameras follow their every move. Some of them have their storyline written from the first day. But what we don't get to see are those other contestants that were good enough to make it to that second round of Hollywood week. So today I'm re-introducing you to
Danny Jones.
American Idol Audition Song - Hit The Road Jack
I had the pleasure of meeting Danny about a week ago. You may know and recognize him from Season 9 American Idol auditions and Hollywood week. Upon meeting him, he was very down to earth. He recently just made the move out here to Orange County with one thing in mind. MUSIC! Once you listen to his music you will definitely be able to tell that his personality plays into his music. When I sat down to listen to some of his original work the first thing that came to mind was Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, and Matt Costa. He was kind enough to sit and chat with me and as you read on you will get to know a little more about Danny Jones as an artist and what steps he's taking towards his successful career in music.
DesireeRose: I know that you recently moved out here from...
Danny Jones: I moved out here from Billings, Montana, my hometown, lived there practically my whole life. Um, I was born in Portland, Oregon but moved to Billings. It's always kind of been my dream [to move to California]. I came to California on a mission trip to help with the homeless my freshman year of high school and, ever since then, California has just kind of always been stuck in my mind.
And it's always been the place I wanted to go,
needed to go for my music.
DR: So music is your focus right?
DJ: Yea, music is definitely my main thing. I've been getting into acting and modeling and I'm having a lot of fun with it. But, as far as what drives me as a person, music definitely controls me; it pretty much defines who I am.
DR: How long have you been songwriting?
DJ: I've been writing music, um, as far as little dinky tunes on a piano go...since my freshman year in high school. But, as soon as I got a guitar around my sophomore and junior year I really started hammering out songs. Most of them back then were love songs.
DR: Typical (laughing)
DJ: Yea (laughing) I thought my heart was broken. But now I write about issues that can actually relate and events that are actually going on in my life. You can tell by my lyrics who
I am and what is going on.
DR: Yea? Cool. So how would you describe your musical style?
DJ: Um, I used to say acoustic jazz, but people seem to get the wrong impression of that. There's no horns or anything. There's no big brass band behind me. It's pretty much me and my guitar. Kind of a Jack Johnson style except for I play slap guitar and I rap. I don't rap but it's more of a free style, a Jason Mraz type deal. (
Danny Jones Original Song - See Me)
DR: So would you say that Jason Mraz is someone that influences your music?
DJ: Yea, Jason Mraz was always one of my favorite artists. He's just so much different than anything you've ever heard. As soon as I heard him I just kind of latched on and started listening to a lot of his stuff. He inspired me because he was just someone who had a guitar and just wrote music. I mean, there are a lot of different elements that have added to my style. My best friend, Mike, is a songwriter and he is one of the main people that I look to.
DR: So you have a professional and personal influence?
DJ: Yea.
DR: That's always good, always someone there to look to and that
you can relate to. So I know the last couple of weeks have probably been a whirlwind for you. A lot of stuff coming at you that you probably weren't expecting. So how would you describe this last week for yourself?
DJ: It pretty much went from me living in Orange County, being scared that I wasn't going to be able to make it financially and even being scared to drive to Hollywood to try to get into auditions. And last week, one day I got a call. It was from
Elite Fashion [Academy LA], came in for an interview and things just kind of took off. I did a fashion show the next day after the interview [and performed an opening number for the show]! Everything was moving so fast, it was kind of a blur but I was having so much fun. It was kind of a rush. Now I finally got my head straight and I'm finally realizing this is a good thing. Ya know, 'cause sometimes you do things so fast you don't realize if they aren't good for you or your career. But I realized this
is right,
this is the path God wants me on and I'm
exactly where I need to be.
DR: As you know, you do have followers. You have already started getting yourself out there on the internet with videos of your music on YouTube. So what advice do you give to other artists, right now, that are scared to take that jump or take that chance?
DJ: Do whatever it takes to follow your dreams. Don't want to sound to cliche with "follow your dreams" but basically just do whatever it takes. Ya know, I was living in Billings, Montana and I think that's far enough away as it is. And it shows how passionate I am about my music that I drove out here. I got my first car right after senior year, a cheap little Chevy Malibu, and drove out here by myself. I started off living on a futon.
DR: The Hollywood dream! (Laughing)
DJ: Yup! (laughs) It takes a lot to do what I'm trying to do. It takes a lot of effort and energy. I used to be semi-lazy (I didn't know you could be
semi-lazy) because my parents did a lot for me. So I just hung around, didn't want to get that initial job. But then I realized that I was going to have to do it once I got out here and start working really hard. So I'm here! It's tough, but it's what you have to do and you can do it if you
really try.
DR: So have you played any gigs in the month you've moved out here? ...Or anything coming up?
DJ: I've played at several coffee shops trying to get my name out there. I am going to go talk to a place out here called Cafe Roma.
DR: Oh yeah?!
DJ: Which you probably know about. So I'm going to try to get a gig there. Nothing too big yet but hopefully in the upcoming weeks we'll have more to talk about!
DR: Great! Well thanks for your time and answering the questions. We'll definitely stay in touch. And let us know what gigs you have coming up so that we can send people your way to hear you live!
DJ: Definitely, thanks!
We will definitely be filling you in on how Danny in doing in weeks to come. So keep your eyes peeled for a follow up article on one of Los Angeles' next big artist!
