Ep#21-Desert Muse: A Guitar Prodigy's Journey

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Australian guitarist and songwriter Dani Stefanetti shares her musical journey from Perth to the Coachella Valley, discussing how she found confidence through her instrument and built a career spanning two continents.

• Started playing guitar at age 8 and performing shows by age 12
• Practiced up to seven hours daily as a teenager to master her craft
• Influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Jewel, and Sheryl Crow
• Performed at Perth Opera House and opened for major Australian artists
• Moved to Los Angeles just before the pandemic, then discovered the tranquility of the desert
• Creates as a "one-woman show" with loop station, similar to Ed Sheeran's approach
• Performing at the Tennis Open in March with her band
• Uses social media and networking through the Chamber of Commerce to build her desert presence
• Balances the business side of music with artistic expression
• Maintains a repertoire of around 200 cover songs alongside her originals

Check out Dani's music at danistefanetti.com and catch her performing at venues throughout the Coachella Valley, including La Quinta Brewing in Old Town.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What is up everyone?
I'm Robert Mraz and I'm InaMraz, and this is CV Hustle, a
podcast dedicated to inspiringand informing local
entrepreneurship here in theCoachella Valley and for all you
music nerds like I am out there.
Today we have a really, reallyspecial guest.
Today's guest is a songwriter,a musician, and she's about to

(00:22):
blow up, and we're reallyexcited to have her today.
Miss Dani Stefanetti, thank youfor coming in today.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Thank you very much and you said my name perfectly.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Oh, thank you.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
That's awesome.
It's a hard one to say yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
I like Dani.
Where did Dani?

Speaker 3 (00:36):
come from?
Well, my real name is Danielle,and I think when I was going
through a tomboy stage when Iwas 10.
And I was, like everybody callme Dani- oh, that's awesome.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
I have a girlfriend and her name is Danielle as well
.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Oh beautiful.
Yeah, she's a sweetheart.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
I love it.
Okay, so I have a question foryou.
I hear an accent, yes, and wantto tell me a little bit about
where you were.
You know, not born, but I thinkyou told me you're Australian,
correct?
That's right, yeah.
And so how did Australia andthe desert get married together?
How did that happen?

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Well, thank you both for having me today, and we
don't have many podcasts in thedesert, so this is awesome what
you're doing, thank you.
Yeah, I've basically moved fromone desert to the other, so I
grew up in a place called Perth.
Have you heard of?

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Perth I have.
Yes, my son probably did.
He's a little geography guy.
That's eastern Australia.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
So it's on the west coast, West coast okay.
Similar weather to, I would say, San Diego Also perfect weather
.
Yeah, perfect weather by thewater.
I lived in a beach town andit's a very calm city.
What I say about Perth is theworst thing about it is it's so
comfortable, which is crazy.
There's nothing bad about it,it's just a slow-paced way of

(01:53):
living and very coastalEverybody's kind of going to get
a smoothie and going for a surf.
So it's a great city to grow upin.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
It's kind of like California then.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yes, very, very Californian, oh I like that.
Yeah, and I was touring formany, many years.
I started playing guitar when Iwas eight and writing my first
song shortly after, and then allmy focus and direction went
into songwriting.
Once I was learning guitar andwhen I was 12, I was already

(02:24):
doing shows.
Oh my gosh, I dropped out ofschool.
When I was 12.
I was already doing shows and,oh my gosh, I dropped out of
school when I was 17 so you're achild prodigy, basically oh, I
hope so.
The guitar was always biggerthan me and I knew that it was
crazy I would make so manyfriends because of the music,
but I was very shy and anddidn't quite fit in in school.
But but when I had the guitar,everybody liked me, another

(02:47):
persona came out right.
Yeah, it gave me this confidenceand I wasn't too shy on stage.
It's crazy because, you know,when I write these songs, it was
a creative outlet of another.
When I would go home topractice guitar, I'd practice
sometimes seven hours a night,and my parents are so

(03:08):
encouraging that it justorganically happened and I knew
I was destined for it from avery young age wow.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Well, you know it's, it's.
It's a known fact that Beyonceis very shy, but when she's on
stage, she becomes Sasha.

Speaker 3 (03:24):
Sasha Fierce, that's right.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
I didn't know that.
Stick with me Another fun fact.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Okay, so I mean, I guess my question is so did you
come from a family of musicians,or were you one of the chosen
ones, or how did that?

Speaker 3 (03:38):
happen.
I will get to the desertquestion after.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
This is so much to cover.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
What about that?
Well, my parents are musicians,or my family, yes.
So my dad works in constructionand he did a lot of road manager
, driver, security guard, roadie, you know he was going through
the desert with me, we go up toKalgoorlie, basically played at

(04:07):
pretty much every venue in Perththat everybody you know started
to.
It becomes repetitive and whenyou know starting to play out
the venues, you start to knowyou one day have to leave
because you're becoming veryuncomfortable.
But my dad, no, he wasn't amusician but he had a great
record collection of PeterFrampton, dire Straits, the
Eagles, which I got into.
And once I heard of JimiHendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan

(04:31):
my life changed.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
But my uncle was a musician.
He taught me mandolin, opentunings.
My Uncle, pete, was in a Cajunband and he would invite me to
open for the folk concerts thathe had on, and these travelling
musicians would come by our townand they'd have wine and cheese

(04:54):
at my auntie's house and theywould invite me and I was only
11, to come up and sing beforethese artists.
They were blues musicians andfolk.
I was very inspired.
I remember being a childlooking up to them and going,
wow, I want to do folk.
I was very inspired.
I remember being a childlooking up to them and going,
wow, I want to do that.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
I want to do that Absolutely.
So then, how did you learn theguitar?
Because I mean, I know that ifyou're not coordinated, like I'm
not, I mean I'd be lost.
So did it just come naturally?
No, I guess it didn't comenaturally because you said you
would practice for like sevenhours a day.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
Yeah, especially in high school.
That's when I really gotserious about it.
Yeah yeah, I was a very seriouskid.
I shouldn't have taken themusic business so seriously.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
Looking back, Very determined, though, kid right.
Very determined, you knew whatyou wanted to do at a young age.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
That's pretty rare.
I mean that's very rare.
You don't meet people that, ateight years old, knew okay, this
is what I'm going to do for therest of my life.
You know, it's a pretty nobletrait, I think, to have you know
.
I don't think you meet too manypeople like that.

Speaker 3 (05:52):
Well, I didn't relate to books or anything like that.
I wasn't a book smart girl andsomething about audio and the
music that just brought me outof my shell.
But it also made people feelgood too.
So it's like you give and itcomes back at you.

(06:13):
Even when I heard like you'vegot Bob Marley back there, I
heard him do I Shot the Sheriff.
I remember being in year fiveand hearing that song.
It brings back memories.
I mean, songs bring backmemories and good times.
Did you see who's in thatcorner?

Speaker 2 (06:28):
oh, jimmy hendrix speaking of the devil you know,
bobby's a huge like a music guytoo, and so yeah, he um
definitely a music nerd righthere oh my gosh, he's.
He listens to all kinds ofmusic, but, um, it does.
Music does bring you exactly towhere you were when you were
falling in love with a certainsong.

(06:49):
Oh, totally, yeah, I totallyget that.

Speaker 3 (06:52):
And it gives you a dream as well.
I think when you're a kid,young girls and guys um, I tried
the dancing thing.
That wasn't for me, socoordination wasn't necessarily
my thing.
That's okay, you can play the.
It was a different type ofcoordination.
But I think when you're a child, you need that dream to aspire
to.
What am I going to be when I'man adult?

(07:14):
And I think that's a healthything to have, whether it's
sport, fashion, music, but thearts, you know, it's a way of
journaling your emotions too,and people accept that, whereas
if you maybe talk it out, theymight think you're a little
loopy.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
But if you sing about it, I never thought about that
that's true.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
See, we have another creative right here.
She's very creative too.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
I'm just going to start singing about clients.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
Just put a good riff underneath it.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
You're going to have to give me some pointers, okay
so okay so you're hanging outwith the not the roadies, but
like musicians right at a youngage.
And then where take me from?
Okay, I'm getting really goodat this and I want to head to
united states.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
How did that, oh yeah .
So I give it a good.
At least that was a good 15years of doing the hard yards we
call it in Australia.

Speaker 1 (08:10):
Oh really.

Speaker 3 (08:10):
There's a good 10,000 hours you got to put in before
you get good at something.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
That's true.
That's the Questlove thing,right.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
And I was trying to rush it.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
He says that all the time right.

Speaker 3 (08:17):
10,000 hours to master your craft, master your
craft at anything.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
It's not just music, it's like anything right.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Yeah it's like.
But you know, if you see someof your peers making it and
you're still hustling and tryingto find your way, it can get
frustrating this businessbecause you're like I've been
doing this for 10 years and it'sstill not coming to fruition
and you can start like losinghope or getting down in yourself
or you need to find newstrategies.
You need to always be evolvingas a musician.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
And like we were talking about business, that is,
you always have to evolve inbusiness.

Speaker 3 (08:53):
Yes, totally With the market.
Yeah, I think I actually saw onyour page that we have to
evolve with the times, and thateven happens with.
I saw something aboutFinancially.
Yeah, you have to evolve withthe Venmo that even happens with
.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
uh, I saw something about financially yeah, you have
to evolve with the, with thevenmo or something, yeah, yeah,
I'm like I get asked about thatand I'm like, oh, okay, I better
I better get with it.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
It's true, you know why?
Because I would have made asign after you said that.
Yeah, because you know whatit's like.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Checks are becoming obsolete.
Yeah, you know, and it's just,people want money instantly and
everything's just so instant inour world.

Speaker 3 (09:24):
It is Right, yep.
So the process from during thehard yards of, I was playing
festivals.
I played the Opera House.
They were building the PerthArena.
I did like corporate shows tofestivals, to dive bars, to
bigger shows, openings for somevery big rock artists and Glenn

(09:46):
Shorrock from the Little RiverBand and Daryl Braithwaite and a
lot of our major icons inAustralia.
So I was opening, just me andthe guitar.
I was some way doing the EdSheeran format where I was a
one-woman show and I had my loopstation and I didn't have the
overheads of a band, because mydad always taught me, like, make
sure you're self-reliant, youneed to be able to carry your

(10:08):
gear.
And like, learn how to set itup and do the wires and you
learn.
You need to learn it becauseyou can't be waiting or you
might not have the budget to to,depending where you are.
You don't want to wait.

Speaker 2 (10:20):
Oh, my gosh, my, my musician isn't here and the show
must go on, you know yeah hebroke down with a flat tire and
sorry everybody.

Speaker 1 (10:28):
So even at a young age, you're making some pretty
good business decisions.
Because that's a good businessdecision, I always wonder about
these bands that travel like 10deep and they come play a show
like their belly up in SolanaBeach.
You know they're not making anymoney because they've got to
divide that payday 10 ways.
The business side is, I think,where a lot of people in your
industry struggle a little bit,right yeah because we're artists

(10:49):
and we like to think with ourheart and our emotions.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
That sounds so good to me.
And the business side, I mean,I don't know, I'm a little bit
like that too.
I like to be airy-fairy, andthat's me.
I'm very airy-fairy and that'sme.
I'm very airy-fairy, I love it,and I sometimes have to go
think with common sense and youknow.
But I like to just be in mybubble and just do the music.
But yeah, you can't do that allthe time.

(11:14):
But yeah, when it comes to thebusiness side, that was great
advice of my dad to keep it likesolo, because years later, ed
Sheeran was playing at thestadium in Perth to like 70,000
people and I was just moving toAmerica at the time and I
thought to myself you know, Iwould love to be doing that one
day, be invited back toAustralia to be like doing what
Ed Sheeran's doing A littlehomecoming tour, a hometown.

(11:38):
And I do have a little storyabout that, actually, that I
will share and, yeah, I just hadthese visions.
Like you know, I'm just gonnahave to struggle and be in
survival mode until I work itout, but there's no like
shortcut, there's no secret toit.
You just gotta love what you do, and I knew the next step for

(11:59):
me was about 2018 and I knew itwas the right time to move to la
, and that's when I um, I didthe the la scene for over a year
and that was hard.
It was.

Speaker 1 (12:10):
It was hard just bring your guitar, spit you out
right as an artist sometimes didyou have any like friends out
here?

Speaker 2 (12:16):
I'm assuming, like music is friendly everywhere.
Yeah, exactly, you had friendsand were you?

Speaker 3 (12:21):
yeah, okay, and you have to take your cd and knock
on doors and and try to getpeople to like let you in and
perform at their venues and allthat.
And it's the same out here inthe desert You've got to see,
like where you fit and who wantsto see you play.
And once people hear the music,then that's the easy part,
because then they're like oh,you should do this other show

(12:44):
with our friend or you shouldcome play at a private party or
a wedding, and that's how itshould be.
You know they should like, lovethe music and it gets them on
their feet and dance.
Yeah, but LA, I got there justbefore the pandemic and you know
I had the dream of you knowyou've got to make it big in LA
and Hollywood and I just movedwith a suitcase and a guitar.

(13:07):
I love it and I met lots offriends and a lot of people were
helping each other.
You know I found that reallygood, like everybody was lifting
each other up in LA, like noone.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
You know there wasn't a whole bunch of competition.

Speaker 3 (13:22):
It was like hey, we're sisterhood or brotherhood?
Yeah, I like that about LA youcan wear anything weird out
there and no one's judging.
I mean, everybody's just doingtheir own thing.
But for some reason it justworks out there.

Speaker 2 (13:36):
It's just you can do your thing.
There's so many down peopleYou're like whatever.

Speaker 1 (13:39):
It's also Hollywood the more flash, the better right
.
It's also Hollywood the moreflash, the better right.
I mean, it's Hollywood outthere, yeah, so you've got to
stand out somehow.

Speaker 3 (13:46):
I found like little indie venues and restaurants and
that and it worked, you know.
But then the pandemic hit and Iwas in like survival mode.
It was a struggle but I foundthe desert and it was refreshing
because you know there's bandsthat have recording studios and
that in Joshua Tree, and I foundit really calm out here, no

(14:08):
traffic, very calm, I was goingto say no.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
Traffic is like what I think of.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
Like people go, you want to move to LA.

Speaker 2 (14:14):
Hell, no, I don't want to spend the rest of my
life in traffic, or you know?
No, no.
So how did you hear aboutJoshua Tree?
Then?
Just the musician scene, then,right.

Speaker 3 (14:23):
Yeah, so, like Palm Springs and all out here, I try
to get out and see some localmusic I'm really enjoying.
Do you know Tina Turntable,who's a female DJ?
I have heard of her, yeah she'sgreat and one of my first
venues I was playing at out herewas Kitchen 86.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
Oh, in El Paseo, el Paseo I El.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
Paseo, el Paseo.

Speaker 3 (14:42):
I love their food.
I was here on a weekend awayand I went and sold myself, you
know, and said I can do music,Let me know if you need live
music, da-da-da.
And I made the move and Iactually saw Tina Turntable and

(15:03):
I'm starting to meet more localbands in the area because I'm
sure there's a lot of hiddengems and great musicians out
here.
I just haven't met them all yet.
But Joshua Tree, I've heardthere's, you know, there's great
studios and people are makinggreat art out there as well.

Speaker 1 (15:15):
Yeah, Queens of the Stone Age is up there, right?
Doesn't he have a studio upthere?

Speaker 3 (15:19):
I think so yeah.

Speaker 1 (15:21):
Anthony Bourdain did a show a but yeah, there's
little hidden gems out there.
Definitely.
You know there's a kid acrossthe street from our house that
is in some heavy metal band.
That's like tearing it up rightnow.
Yeah, we're like what Shout outto McCoy if you're hearing this
man.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
You guys are killing it.
What about the place in PioneerTown?

Speaker 1 (15:39):
Oh, pappy, and Harriet's, oh, harriet.
Oh yeah, oh yes, I want to getthere.
That was so cool.

Speaker 3 (15:44):
We see a show, yeah, in acrisha arena.
You've got a lot of acts cominghere, yeah, and ice skating you
should ice skate while playing.
I'm so clumsy I don't knowabout that that's a novelty,
right that would be a cool lookif I could spin see so what
years were did?

Speaker 1 (16:03):
were you starting to kind of make your name out here?
Is this like pandemic you'regoing like into the like time
where people are shutting downand you're out there trying to
sell live gigs or is this aftera pandemic, yeah, in the
pandemic.

Speaker 3 (16:15):
I was writing a lot of songs.
I wrote this song called 17stars and I was forming my band
down there in Redlands and Ihave been, you know, going back
and forth.
I went like three times toNashville, won a Josie award and
did a duet with William LeeGolden, which was great, and

(16:36):
yeah, and and, and.
That you know, when you do afew days in Nashville you get on
that big high.
You know it's like, oh my gosh,I'm making it.
And then I come back to realityand I'm like, oh, I've got to
get gigs and I've got to figureit out.
What am I doing?
Like yeah, yeah, it's.
You know it's like that in themusic industry there's lots of

(16:57):
highs, lots of lows, but it'slike, as long as the music and
the love for the music is in thecenter, it makes everything
worth it.

Speaker 2 (17:05):
I mean, and that's what we were talking about how
like being an artist is likerunning a business.
You have to sell yourself,right yeah, you have to market
yourself.

Speaker 1 (17:18):
You have to like you said you, just I don't know you
have to be able to balance thecheckbook oh yeah, overspend
everything that you're getting.
Yeah, you're able to balancethe checkbook.

Speaker 3 (17:24):
Oh yeah, overspend everything that you're getting.
Yeah, I spend more time on theemail sometimes than the music,
like you know.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
Getting it all together and reaching out to
different people and you'redealing with people Like it's
just always, you know there's alot to it, sure absolutely, but
luckily these days, artists, wehave the iPhone and we're able
to make so much.

Speaker 3 (17:42):
I've been using the Skillshare and the Filmora to
make reels.
But Skillshare is I just gotput onto it from a friend and if
I want to like, get better atmy graphic design or anything or
any skill, set it like.
It shows you how to do it.
Yeah, from your phone Doesn'tYouTube do that too, I guess it
could.

Speaker 1 (18:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:04):
We just had a couple of guests in here and they were
like youtube, youtube, youtube.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
Really talk to them everything.

Speaker 2 (18:07):
So I'm like I'll have to check out skillshare, though
, because you know youtube?

Speaker 3 (18:10):
yes, I do if I have a question on my like I don't
know how to do something on thecomputer.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yes, youtube, but then again you're like they're
watching like five videos to belike okay, which guy do I like?
Which one taught me what Ineeded?

Speaker 3 (18:20):
yeah, yeah, you love youtube of thing.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
Yeah, you love YouTube.

Speaker 1 (18:23):
I'm a YouTube person all the time.
That's like my go-to.
I'm on YouTube all day.
It's on in my office all day.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
Podcast, podcast, podcast.
That's it.

Speaker 1 (18:31):
That's it.
So so 2020, 19,.
You came down here, Is that?

Speaker 3 (18:36):
about the timing At the end of 2018.
18?
Oh, so you?

Speaker 1 (18:39):
2019 was my main year in LA.
You've been down here quite awhile now yeah, yeah.
So how's the scene?
Is it different?
It's obviously different fromLA, right?
I mean it's a little bit ohfrom the desert.
Yeah, from the desert, that's awhole different.
Yeah, it's a whole differentscene.

Speaker 3 (18:53):
There was a lot of events and social networking all
the time in LA, which was great.
A lot of my friends moved outin acting and different things
when the pandemic hit to pursuedifferent things or move back in
with their parents or all ofthat.
You know, a lot of people movedto Texas and Nashville actually
Wow.
But yeah, the desert's been awhole different vibe and I felt

(19:16):
very welcomed here and you know,I hope as a musician, I can
bring value to this town with mystyle of music and my guitar
playing and everything, becauseI'm really enjoying living out
here and the calmness of it alland I'm able to create again and
write new songs and and it'sgreat- because I would imagine,

(19:37):
like you're in an environment,so like you were talking about
now, you're here in the desertand you kind of have a good vibe
about the people and theenvironment and all of that.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
So that's kind of what you base your songwriting
on, right.
I mean like some of the things,or you would.
I mean you said there might belike a flair of the desert.
Just what is the desert flair,I guess?

Speaker 3 (19:57):
Well, I, actually I have been going to the way I've
been able to network out.
Here was I joined the Chamberof Commerce.
Oh, which one.
The Rancho Mirage?
Oh, katie's nice.

Speaker 1 (20:08):
We know Katie.
He went to high school withKatie.
Yeah, katie, she's really good.
She's the best in the businessout here.

Speaker 3 (20:13):
She's awesome and it was really good, especially in
those summer months when it'sreally really hot in the desert
120, 121.
Yeah, it's hot, and it was niceto get out and go, network with
everyone and meet people in alldifferent businesses as well,
so that really helped a lot.
Actually, I've met a lot ofconnections through that and I'm

(20:35):
continuing to, especially theyoung adults that are other
artists or some of them are inPalm Springs and they're into
actual visual arts and thingslike that I'm really interested
in.
So still learning what's outhere.
But, like, el Pasito isgorgeous, oh, I know.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
Do you write songs about the desert?
You know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (20:56):
Yeah, some of my lyrics, even six years or past
ago, had desert in it and someof my newest songs.
But I didn't know I was one daygonna live out here.
It was just I was veryinfluenced by the eagles, so I
think I think, it's so easyfeeling.
You know it's got desert.
You know I just like the vibeof the desert, so classic rock
huh, yeah, exactly classic rocknow um, I like the eagles too.

Speaker 2 (21:20):
I like them and didn't they come to acusha?
Did you go see them?
I didn't.
I would have loved to see them.
I think they did.
They did Right, yeah, they did.
Did your parents, my parentswent to it.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
Okay, yeah, we sent them.
Yeah, we got them tickets.

Speaker 3 (21:45):
But speaking of your influences, who else I
definitely was?
Well, there was some localartists that I was inspired by
in Perth and travellingmusicians that would come from
America.
There was one artist calledDavid Lamont who heavily
influenced me, and then StevieRay Vaughan Double Trouble as a
guitar player was my biggestinfluence, more so than Hendrix
actually was my biggestinfluence, more so than Hendrix

(22:07):
actually.

Speaker 1 (22:07):
and um then, I really got into um Sheryl Crow, Jewel
and that 90s vibe.
There's a little that I becauseI listened to some of your
music before we came herethere's a little.
There's a little that Jewelvibe, that you got going on, you
kind of look like her too right?
Yeah, you definitely definitelycan tell there's, there's some
overlapping there, so that'syeah, they kind of those artists
, if you notice Cheryl Crow andJewel.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
They crossed over to pop and that's where I always it
wasn't quite country, it wasn'tquite rock.
I kind of had this.
I was into jazz and a littlefusion of things, exactly.
And I felt that in Jewel'smusic, but big time influenced
as a teenager by Keith Urban andhis earlier work because he

(22:48):
made it in Tamworth, which Ispent a lot of time in Tamworth
Country Music Festival, and helater made it in America and,
yeah, his guitar playingdefinitely inspired me as well.

Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah, you can definitely pick up some of your
influences in your music.
I'd advise everybody go check,check it, check out her stuff,
because there's some really goodstuff out there.
Thank, you.

Speaker 2 (23:08):
Thank you absolutely.
Okay.
Have another question.
Yes, so do you play any otherinstruments?

Speaker 3 (23:15):
uh, I'm mainly guitar focused, so slide, acoustic and
guitar.
But if I go into the studio andI have to learn other things
like I can, but um, I don't sayI'm any of those.
I you know I'm mainly guitarist.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
Don't tell anybody, but I play ukulele.

Speaker 3 (23:33):
But sometimes with the keyboard you can make other
sounds.
You can make other sounds comealong.

Speaker 1 (23:37):
Oh yeah, we're like drum machines now.
They're so sophisticated now.
Yeah, exactly, you don't evenreally need to be a musician to
make like drum beats.
Now it's like you can just loopthem.

Speaker 3 (23:45):
Yeah, it's crazy with technology and I'm still like
getting my head around it andlearning more as much as I can
all the time and how are youfeeling about the ai stuff
that's been coming out?

Speaker 1 (23:55):
I mean, I know like you know, there's songs that are
not even human generatedanymore.
What's your kind of opinion andfeel on that stuff?
Have you heard any of thosesongs?

Speaker 3 (24:04):
I haven't heard the ones.
You mean, are you talking AIvoices?

Speaker 1 (24:08):
No, AI, completely Like Drake, has a song that well
, it's not Drake's song.
There's a song by Drake that AIcompletely did and he did
nothing with it.
Really.
Yeah, it sounds like a realsong.
It sounds like he did it.

Speaker 3 (24:22):
Are they playing the real guitars or no?

Speaker 1 (24:24):
it's just it was like more of like a beat, it's like
a, it's like drake.
So it's like hip-hop, it's likeyou know, pop beats.
But yeah but they're makingsongs now that are completely
human, like you know, and that'slike to me it's like such a.
It's an offense, you know.
It's like because music becausemusic's like an expression of
people's soul.
I feel like the artist's soul.

(24:44):
It's like coming out and you'rehaving this AI bot create this
soulless music.
I'm just like.
To me it's a blasphemy.
I think it's coming, though,because AI is going to be
everywhere in the next probably10 years.

Speaker 3 (25:00):
I mean, a lot of us use AI to make canva and and to
make posters, and I I guess wecan use it to our advantage.
Yeah, um, I like to keep asmany real instruments as I can
with the guitars, but I know Ihave, in production, used, um,
you can get sound plugins andyou can add different things.

(25:20):
Yeah, and you can make akeyboard sound like anything
really Really yeah, cello oranything.
Yeah, so there's a lot that youcan use to your advantage.
If you can play the chords, youcan basically arrange it in the
way you like.

Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yeah, because there's musicians that don't even play
instruments anymore.

Speaker 3 (25:39):
They just play the keyboard Wow.

Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yeah, and they just make music like that.
So it's a whole new world it isa new world it's a whole new
world, but I I lean on the sideof real musicians.

Speaker 3 (25:49):
I still think that live music is.
There's something about a liveshow where you're seeing that
person play the guitar or playthe you know piano.
There's something about it thatcomes from the heart, that
feeling, I think in a recordingit's different because you can
utilize technology Totally.

Speaker 2 (26:07):
But yeah, so have you ever thought about, like
teaching others how to play theguitar?
Because, I mean, it sounds likeyou obviously know what you're
doing and you love doing it, andso I would imagine like that
would be kind of cool to seeother people that just have,
like I said, have nocoordination.
I don't even know how I woulddo that.

Speaker 3 (26:26):
And so has that ever crossed your mind?
I have had the pleasure to beable to.
Yeah, Some girls have gotadvice for singing and guitar
off me and different things likethat.
Yeah, absolutely yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
That'll maybe another business down the road.

Speaker 3 (26:39):
Yeah right, I'm sorry .
I need to become anentrepreneur.

Speaker 1 (26:46):
Well, I need to become an entrepreneur.
I mean, there's always richpeople that will pay you to
teach their kids how to play aninstrument.

Speaker 3 (26:48):
There's so many young kids that have natural ability,
that really just naturally haveit, and they just need someone
to slightly guide them.
Give them that little push andthat self confidence.

Speaker 2 (27:00):
Like you can do this, like you said you might be able
to take a shy kid and kind ofmake them-confidence, like you
can do this.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, you know, and like you said, you might be able
to take a shy kid and and kindof make them come alive, like
you, and exactly it's nice tosee that um, I don't know if
australia is the same way, buthere in the united states a lot
of music, you know music was abig part of school, like once
you got to junior high.
There was like opportunitiesfor kids to learn full years of
instruments.
Like you could join the band andbe in, like when I was in
coming up in school, like therewas kids that were just in band

(27:27):
and music all the way throughjunior high to high school yeah
I think that that budget isgetting starting to phase out
and it's and it's a real, it's areal tragic tragedy, I think,
because it's like there's a lotof kids, like you said, they
have talent, they just don'thave any access to it, you know.
So I think in australia do.
Do they teach music still atthe primary schools, or is it
something that you have to dolike individually?

Speaker 3 (27:49):
we had.
We had a primary school rockband.

Speaker 1 (27:51):
I remember that oh yeah, and I did fly away by
lenny kravitz in year seven.

Speaker 3 (27:54):
I love lenny kravitz and I had this music teacher
called doogle stevens and I'd belike mr stevens.
I got a new, can you hear it?
And he would listen to me inthe lounge break.
But we did have that in primaryschool and then, when I got to
high school, in order to doproper music lessons, I think
you had to be in the choir and Ididn't want to do the choir for

(28:17):
some reason, because I couldn'tsight read.
I can only play by ear.
So you see, I did a musictheory course in primary school
and I failed that because Ididn't know any of the notes,
got it, but I can write a song.
So I didn't fit in the schoolformat, had a great school and I
loved art and all the othersand other subjects and I had a

(28:38):
singing teacher there for awhile actually.
But that's what I'm saying withsome kids.
They might not fall in with thebook smart, the knowing how to
read the music, like horns or ayou know sight, read a certain
instrument, like a violin orsomething, but then they may
pick up the guitar and get agreat teacher that teaches by

(28:59):
ear and be like the next jiHendrix.
Yeah, so everybody's brainworks differently, I think.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah, okay, so I have a question so songwriting,
right like I was a little girland I used to like think that I
was the poet, you know like Idon't know so I always, or I've
always, heard and we watch.
What's her name?
Amy?
Winehouse like wrote the bestsongs.

Speaker 1 (29:23):
She was heartbroken.
Such a talent, or what have youAlso an addict, but she was
very talented.

Speaker 2 (29:28):
Oh yeah.
But I mean, like doesheartbreak really, you know,
bring it home?
Or like help with songwriting,like they say it does, I guess.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
Yeah, I mean, adele writes all about heartbreak.
That's, belle writes all aboutheartbreak.
Oh, that's true.
Maybe my next album will be allabout heartbreak, I don't know.
Oh, there was a song I wrotewhen I was 12, called Do you
Know what it's Like To Reallyhave your Heart Broken?
I hadn't had my heart broken,you know.
It was called Emotions.
Oh, I love it.
Such a sad song.
But I love writing songs aboutlove, uplifting.

(30:00):
But yeah, you never know, youmight, I might write some sad
ones.
But amy winehouse, my goodness,I loved her she was such a
talent, such a talent.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
But that's what you know.

Speaker 3 (30:12):
Sometimes it's the brightest stars burn out real
quick, you know yeah, and thosesongs had so much grit and
emotion and heart and, yeah, Istill love her records.

Speaker 2 (30:23):
Oh yeah, we watched a documentary on it and I mean
it's just so sad and like cryinglike a baby and he's you know,
it's just like it's so horriblebecause she was just like such a
, such an inspiration into hermusic, like you said so gritty
so gritty?

Speaker 3 (30:38):
yeah, exactly, she had something very different
about her to any other artist,absolutely A bit of a tortured
soul.

Speaker 1 (30:47):
That brings me to my next question what do you think
about the streaming and thedigitalization of music?
I know that back in the day anartist could get a deal, make
some money with the record label.
They might screw you on thecontract, but you're really
getting some money up front toproduce your art and just be an
artist.
And now it seems like streaminghas come in and just killed

(31:10):
that model.
You know, now they just wantsingle after single.
Yep Singles, not albums, andthey don't want albums and to me
that's such a tragedy becausesome of the best art and music
is an album.
You know those albums.

Speaker 3 (31:22):
There's finals.
Even I know Some of the bestart and music is an album.
You know those albums.
There's finals even you enjoythe whole album.

Speaker 1 (31:25):
Yeah, exactly they don't make albums anymore.
So what's your opinion on thestreaming?
I mean, obviously it opens upavenues for, like, smaller
artists to kind of blow up.

Speaker 3 (31:35):
Yes, it's exposure at this stage, not so much about
the money.
Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (31:40):
But it also doesn't create long-term careers anymore
, right?
Am I mistaking?
Because I feel like back in the70s, 80s and 90s there were
artists that had 20, 30-yearsuperstar careers, like Prince
and Michael Jackson and thesebands that were ACDC, these
bands that were just bigger thanlife, and you don't exactly and

(32:01):
here fast forward to 2025,there's not a lot of
contemporary big mainstreambands that last more than five
years, and I think it's becauseof streaming.
I kind of want to hear youropinion on what streaming has
done.

Speaker 3 (32:16):
I've heard, I think, a good.
I've seen artists go fromplaying at a jazz club to next
thing, like, for instance, therewas an artist called Passenger
who had the song Let Her Go andthat just I don't know if it got
billions of streams, butovernight.

(32:38):
But he wasn't an overnight.
I met him many years ago and Iremember before his show, lovely
gentleman called Mike Passenger, his stage name.
He was doing a show and justbefore you know it was in
soundcheck.
I said what are you up to next?
You know what have you gotcoming on?

(32:59):
And I think he'd been doingsongwriting for many, many years
.
It was very experienced.
You could tell from the way heplayed and his music and I don't
know how big his fan base was,but I'm sure it blew up when
that Let Her Go song came outbecause I followed his success
and he said to me oh, I'mopening for an artist called Ed

(33:19):
Sheeran and I go, who's that?
At the time I said who's that?
And then, next thing you know,becomes a big thing and I think
for an artist like him who playsguitar by himself, he can hold
a crowd by himself.

Speaker 1 (33:37):
streaming was a way for him to just reach the stars.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
And then artists need to, especially soloists like Ed
Passenger, artists likeaspiring people like me that are
trying to navigate it all.
Um, I think we we need to be onthe road, we need to be touring
because we have to use theyoutube and streaming as a way
for people to hear us, but thenwe need to get out there and

(34:00):
play, play, play yeah, yeah,handshake and even get to like
know, like you were talkingabout the chamber.

Speaker 2 (34:06):
but even if you went and got to know, like business
owners that are, you know, havea, have a venue, like okay, red
Barn is right down the streetfrom me, so I mean they're going
to have live music there.
So I don't know if you knowthem or anything, but that would
be cool because I talked to theowner not too long ago and he
was telling me that they'regoing to have all kinds of like

(34:28):
genres of music and they reallydid a great number on that place
.

Speaker 3 (34:32):
It's designed really beautifully.
Oh lovely, so it'd be kind ofcool to do that.
I'll have to check it out.
I played a lot of clubs outhere and it's been a real treat.
They are so fancy out hereReally.

Speaker 1 (34:46):
There's a lot of money in these country clubs
around here, so what you'resaying, though, is that,
basically, you've got to stay onthe road to make money.

Speaker 3 (34:52):
Right.
Is that what the profit?

Speaker 1 (34:54):
source is Shows.

Speaker 3 (34:58):
I saw this.
Yeah, you've got to keep your.
It is a bit of a half-halfbusiness, half-artist thing.
You have to be a bit of anentrepreneur to navigate this
crazy, uh, music business, musiccircus.
But we love it, we love what wedo.
But I saw something on Instagramand this girl she was, she's on

(35:21):
the radio consistently inLondon and I forget the artist,
but I think she invested like 10or 10 or 20K into taking her
bands onto the road and she hadlike so many tickets sold at a
big festival but she ended uplosing money on tour and then
she brought it to America and itwas the same thing because she

(35:43):
had such big overheads.
So I think there's a lot ofartists that are on radio and
doing like visually so great,but it's still a struggle for
the music business in itself,which has kind of warped, and I
hope it changes.
But I'm sure there is ways toget around that and to take it

(36:06):
Like.
The great thing about socialmedia is you can take your music
straight to the fans and theycan buy it, and I think that's
the beauty of it these days.
But you can't really be in themusic industry for money because
it really has to.
The money comes once peoplefeel the, the art, and I still
believe the art comes first yeah, well, it should absolutely

(36:26):
yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
So like that reminds me when you were saying like you
want to go straight to the fans, right?
I love TikTok.

Speaker 1 (36:33):
I learn a lot in like a minute Okay.

Speaker 2 (36:35):
And that's like all my attention span can handle, so
it's perfect for me.
But I mean, you know, you go onthere and you can pick your
music and they're from artistslike you've never heard of and
it's like man, there's somereally good stuff on here.
So I think like social mediahas really opened our eyes too.
But yeah, it's just kind of asnippet, but I think that's a

(36:55):
way to reach other people,because then you can say, oh,
this artist and you like thatmusic.
Let's go see what they're doingRight.

Speaker 3 (37:02):
And reels as well.
People are so taken in withlike 30-second video and that's
so powerful.
Videos are so powerful in thisday and age, so that can you can
go become a viral sensationovernight from one video these
days.
So that that's the great thing.
We have all this opportunityyeah in front of us all the
indie artists that's the reverseside of it, right.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
It's very democratic now, like if you're good and you
put it on social media, youwill gain Right.
You'll gain attraction withyour career, and that's the one
good thing.
A label can't freeze you outanymore, you know you can't.
Yeah, it's an equal playingfield as long as you're doing
good work and we had anentrepreneur on last week.
Right Remember, Outcome overprofit.

Speaker 2 (37:42):
Yeah, it's the same he was artsy these artists are
very passionate about theirproduct.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
That's what I'm kind of picking up, but I think you
know, for somebody in the musicgame I mean, it's just all about
.
It's all about your art rightTo really drive the product and
the profit.
You know.

Speaker 3 (37:59):
We really we're counting on the people.
Actually, us artists arecounting on the people to carry
the music, Because if the peopledon't like it, we don't have a
job.

Speaker 1 (38:08):
Right yeah.
So, the days of theexperimental album are over.
Right, you can't do theBeatles' White Album anymore.

Speaker 3 (38:16):
You got to do a.
I can't do a 10-minute solo.

Speaker 1 (38:18):
You got to do the tried and true formula.
That's going to get views, youknow.
So that's another thing.

Speaker 2 (38:23):
Well, and I have a question because obviously music
here in the desert is known forwhat?
In April Coach.
Because obviously music here inthe desert is known for what?
In April Coachella.
We have Coachella andStagecoach.
So have you gone?
What do?

Speaker 1 (38:34):
you think you haven't gone?
Are you kidding me?
I haven't gone yet.

Speaker 3 (38:38):
You've got to go this year You've been here, how many
years and you haven't gone, ohonly been one year in the desert
, just about a year and a halfin the desert.

Speaker 1 (38:45):
Oh, okay, so you were down here.
Oh, so you just moved down here, okay.

Speaker 3 (38:48):
Yeah, palm Springs.
Okay, you have an excuse youhave an excuse now I really want
to go to Stagecoach becausethere's so many.
There's such a great lineup andCoachella.

Speaker 1 (38:57):
I like both of them.

Speaker 3 (38:59):
I know we got to get you to Coachella.

Speaker 1 (39:04):
Have you guys been to those festivals?
I went to the first 10 years.
I didn't pay to get in.
It's past the time where theycan arrest me for this right.
But yeah, we had like guys work.
It was very like.
It wasn't like it is now.
No, not all corporate and likestreamlined, yeah it was a
madhouse out there, so you couldjump the fence.

Speaker 3 (39:21):
Is it camping like Woodstock?
Yeah, you can camp as well.

Speaker 1 (39:32):
It's more glamping now now, but it used to be like
a little bit more grimy and notas organized and not as
corporate.
But yeah, the first what Ithink I went to the first 10,
like 7 or 10, yeah, oh wow,because when they came out I was
still in college and it waslike we're having this, we're
having what in our, in our, inour coachella valley.
So I drove back down fromcollege to go to these things
because it was just such, likecrazy, that we would have a
world-class event in theCoachella Valley.
And here we are, like what, 35years later?

Speaker 2 (39:54):
oh, wow okay, five years later, well, maybe 20 25
years.

Speaker 1 (39:59):
Yeah, the first one was like 2000, 2001, 2000, 2001,
I don't know, yeah, so I was atthe first.

Speaker 3 (40:05):
Well, that's on my drain list.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
I want to play at Coachella but you know they have
a locals.
They look for local talent.

Speaker 3 (40:12):
They do, they do.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
Oh, okay, absolutely, I know a DJ that has played
there, just because I mean he'sgood too, but he's local.
So they gave him like anopening slot on like the first
Friday.

Speaker 3 (40:22):
Oh, wow, okay.

Speaker 1 (40:24):
So they definitely are looking for local talent.

Speaker 2 (40:34):
We've got gotta get you hooked up with somebody over
there, golden voice, if you'relistening, local talent right
here, you gotta, you gotta hitus up.
But yeah, there's definitely.
Yeah, that'd be awesome.
I mean, well, you know what youshould do.
On last season, we had chrismiller on and he is in art.
He's a photographer great.
He worked his way up andstarted being one of the first
guys to photograph coachella ohwow, so he.
So he's met many, many artistsand he got to get front line.
So you should check out thatepisode.

Speaker 3 (40:56):
I will check it out.

Speaker 1 (40:57):
Awesome, We'll talk to Chris for you see if you've
got any connections.
But no, there is an opportunitybecause they do look for local
artists.

Speaker 3 (41:05):
Oh, that's great to hear, yeah definitely so.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
be on the lookout, people.
We might have sparked somethinghere.

Speaker 2 (41:12):
Let me ask you a question about your website and
you're on Instagram and thingslike that.
Are you able to book youthrough your website?
You know what I mean?
Like hey, or I mean I guess youcan inquire, yeah, inquiries,
yeah, okay.

Speaker 3 (41:26):
Yeah, they can have inquiries.
There's a contact page and anemail there as well, and I will
be performing with my band thisyear at the Tennis Open.

Speaker 2 (41:35):
Oh, next month, in March, yeah, a couple of weeks.

Speaker 3 (41:37):
Yeah, last year it was like an impromptu thing that
happened I got invited to singAmerica the Beautiful in the
Stadium One and that was a realhighlight of my year, because
I'd just moved out here.
Yes, you're right.
How did that come about?
My agent Ray, they got me inthere to do the America the

(42:06):
Beautiful and the Desert Sun putit on there and it was really
incredible, oh wow.

Speaker 2 (42:09):
That's pretty nice right that's awesome.

Speaker 1 (42:12):
So you're gonna do a repeat performance this year.
Are you gonna be doingsomething different?

Speaker 3 (42:16):
uh, so this one would be for ticketed people that
come and watch.
I believe I'm going to be doinga band show.

Speaker 1 (42:22):
Yeah, are they gonna have on the on the tennis court
or no, not on the.

Speaker 3 (42:26):
They have like a side stage.
Yeah, they have a stage andeverything.

Speaker 2 (42:29):
Wow I think it's like right, where they have all the
like car shows and everythingand they have like food vendors
and all that.
It might be in that area.
I don't know, I haven't beenthere in a while.

Speaker 1 (42:39):
That's cool.

Speaker 2 (42:40):
Well they'll hear us anyway.

Speaker 3 (42:41):
Yeah, that's going to be a nice little.
So, yeah, people can come outand hear us.

Speaker 2 (42:48):
Okay, I have another question how do like?
Let's say, if somebody like, doyou say I have a two-hour
minimum, or how do you do that?

Speaker 3 (42:58):
Every show is different.
I just kind of whether it's aprivate party or you know it's a
club or people inquire aboutyou know, sometimes they want a
country night, sometimes theywant a rock night, so I kind of
am able to cater to a lot ofdifferent clients.
That's awesome.
So just hit me up and I canusually make it work.
Have you tried Big Rock inIndia?

(43:20):
I haven't played there yet.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
No, we've seen many bands and they're all really
great and they have like a stageand people just go and eat and
hang out and listen to music.
So that's kind of a cool littlevenue there, okay yeah.

Speaker 1 (43:32):
Our favorite venue.
My favorite venue here is theDate Shed.
Have you ever been to that one?
Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
Is that even around?

Speaker 1 (43:37):
It's still around, but it's not open very often.
It's right there on the polofields, okay, and it's an
amazing little club that theybuilt out there for artists when
they come out to Coachella tohave like a little like VIP spot
, and then they open it.
They used to open it upthroughout the year and it was a
my favorite little spot here inthe valley you know, I don't
know if it's even still open.

Speaker 2 (43:56):
I don't know.
But what about like okay, nowI'm going for, now I'm thinking
of ways to like get your book sowhat about um?
What about, like Thursdaynights in downtown Palm Springs?
Like I wonder if you could likerent a little booth and just
play the music and people arewalking by and catch a tune here
and there and they're like theyinquire.
There's a ton of people walkingaround that might be kind of

(44:18):
cool, right?

Speaker 1 (44:19):
Downtown India.
Have you seen that scene?

Speaker 3 (44:22):
yet.
Yes, I played near there inThermal.
They had the beautiful horsesand I would be on the big stage
there.
Yeah, I've had a lot ofdifferent concerts out here.
It's been very exciting.

Speaker 1 (44:36):
Yeah, because downtown India they have those
music clubs.
Have you heard of the LittleStreet Music Club.
They got down there.

Speaker 3 (44:44):
Yes, I have a friend, dakota, that is a comedian and
he does a lot of shows there.
So I'm still meaning to go downand meet more comedians and
watch a show some stand-up.

Speaker 1 (44:54):
I'd love to watch some stand-up out here.

Speaker 3 (44:56):
That's awesome.

Speaker 2 (44:56):
Got a lot of comedians out here.

Speaker 1 (44:57):
Yeah, I know, you know what.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
We had no idea right until what.
Tell her about it.

Speaker 1 (45:02):
Well, we just walked into a show one day right?

Speaker 2 (45:04):
Well, he met one of his ex-players and he's the one
that was like you need to comedown here because he owns this
vintage store in downtown Indiacalled.
Urban Donkey and it's a coollittle store.
Everything's unique.
And so he was like, hey, it'scomedian night.
He was saying they do thatevery week, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (45:22):
Yeah, they do it every week, I think they do.
Yeah, they do it every weekUpcycle comedy or something like
that.

Speaker 2 (45:28):
I don't know, but we went and it was actually really
good.
I mean, we met one dude.
He was so funny, right.
Yeah, I was like we need to gethim on the do it?
We just sit here and laugh thewhole time but there's a,
there's a little burgeoning uhart scene down here.
I think absolutely, yeahthere's definitely music and
comedy and art and you know youfit right into that.

Speaker 3 (45:49):
You fit right into that.
You fit right into that scene.

Speaker 1 (45:52):
I think it's going to work out for you.

Speaker 3 (45:53):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (45:54):
You're kind of a newbie to the desert now right.

Speaker 2 (45:56):
Definitely a newbie.
Okay, I have another question,Because I'm all about questions,
right, oh gosh.
So like if say we hired you forsomething right, and then if I
said so then, you're going tosay, hey, do you want this or
that right?

Speaker 3 (46:12):
You're going to say classic rock, and I'll probably
say classic rock, yeah, if it'sa club or a restaurant or a club
, usually I get hired and theywant a three-hour set and I
discuss my set list with them.
Sometimes I just want covers.
I discuss my set list with them.
Sometimes I just want covers,sometimes a mix of both
originals and covers, and I justI tell them the styles that I

(46:35):
do, from country rock, a bit ofjazz.
Sometimes they want FrankSinatra, sometimes they want,
yeah, more of my music.
It just depends.
It just depends.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
Yeah, every venue is different.
So like say, you're therestrumming along and somebody
says play this song.
Yes, what do you do?

Speaker 3 (46:51):
then I do take a lot of requests.
I know I have about 300 songsin my I've written 300, but I
have probably about 200 coversthat I have.
You know how the hell do youremember all the words?
Seriously, since I was 16, I'vebeen storing them because I had
a lot of cover shows inAustralia so I had to do a lot

(47:12):
of pub gigs where you get singJimmy Barnes that's a big artist
out there or, yeah, a lot ofclassic rock I got requested in
my high school years so I learna lot of those you know, kind of
dire straits, all that stuff.
Yeah, I get requested all sortsof music out here but they love
the country and and, uh, theylove the jazz.

(47:33):
So I get a lot of requests forthat.

Speaker 2 (47:36):
Yeah, I would go the jazz route you want to know
what's so funny is our um like13 year old son.
He loves music, like his dadand my nephew, who's also 13.
Yes, talk to him and they'relike you don't know anything
about music because you don'teven you listen to music with no
words.
Oh my gosh, I'm like oh my gosh.

(47:57):
Just instrumentals.
It's hilarious.

Speaker 1 (48:01):
Those little punks don't know nothing, but that's
just, you know, that's the age.
That's the age, it's theevolution of growing up and
thinking your dad's not cool,I'll be not cool for a little
while.

Speaker 3 (48:13):
I even heard that there was a punk hardcore scene
out.

Speaker 1 (48:17):
Here too, there is, they do the mosh pit.

Speaker 2 (48:19):
I heard that was a thing out here that's from
Bieber.
I'm telling you across thestreet.
Okay, I mean what is it?

Speaker 1 (48:25):
No, they're more metal.
But there's actually a punkshow downtown, indio, I think.
Okay, coming up.

Speaker 2 (48:31):
Yeah, a little hardcore.

Speaker 1 (48:33):
A little hardcore.
Yeah, it's more punk.
I don't know what's thedifference between punk and
metal I play at La QuintaBrewing as well.
Oh, do you In.

Speaker 2 (48:41):
Old Town and.

Speaker 3 (48:41):
Palm.

Speaker 1 (48:42):
Desert oh awesome, yeah, they're being.
I love it over there.
It just random.
Yeah, it's random, yeah, but Ipost it on my website, okay,
yeah, okay, so we'll be on thelookout for that.
You want to check out some goodmusic people?

Speaker 2 (48:56):
yeah, and you know what else you should do, like
with the chamber.
Yeah, I would say like, hey,your next event, like how about
you let me, you know, play for alittle bit?
I'm telling you just getexposure, and then people that
are there are going to inquire.

Speaker 3 (49:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (49:09):
Right this.

Speaker 3 (49:09):
February has been very busy.
It's been great yeah.

Speaker 2 (49:12):
That's awesome, that's awesome.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
Yeah, so what are you kind of looking for right now?
Are you looking for gigs?
Are you looking for privateevents?
What's your oh a bit of both.

Speaker 3 (49:19):
Yeah, you want it all You'll take it all right.

Speaker 1 (49:25):
I would like that's when it's quiet, so I'm looking
for summertime bookings rightnow and april, may, that kind of
thing yeah I think for marchshould be pretty, pretty like
it's a lot of private events inmarch and april, even march, you
know.

Speaker 3 (49:38):
Yeah, we'll see what comes.

Speaker 1 (49:39):
There's a lot of corporate parties that come in
here for those big festivals,right?
So definitely, definitely.

Speaker 3 (49:45):
Uh, there's a lot of market for that down here and
I'm also um, I more, you know,drummers, bass players and
different artists to be able tocollab with, because I do need
to put bands together forcertain things.
So it's been cool to learn thatthere are other players out

(50:06):
here.

Speaker 2 (50:07):
So let me ask you, so like you were talking about
meeting them or playing with theband, yeah, so like, do you put
together a contract for that oryou guys just do the whole
handshake?
What do you do as anentrepreneur?
What do you do in that kind ofinstance?

Speaker 3 (50:24):
Yes, I email my bands .
But the guys that usually Ihave in Redlands they're friends
of mine, so where I knowthey're gonna rock out.
But yeah, um, usually I meetanother drummer through another
reference and they'll be like,hey, my buddy can do the show,
you know, it's that kind ofthing.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
Yeah, that kind of thing, got it that's awesome and
you guys show up we're allmusicians never, never played
together.
But you guys can go to the set.

Speaker 3 (50:47):
We have rehearsals, yeah yeah, because, like my, uh,
my other drummer that I'mgetting for this coming up show
uh, we have a rehearsal soon aswell.

Speaker 2 (50:56):
Yeah how many times would you rehearse for something
that you know, like you're justgetting to know somebody.
How long and and is it alwaysvibe?

Speaker 3 (51:02):
well, we always play by ear, so I I hire musicians
that play by ear.
Yeah, so it's the drummers,because they don't have to learn
the actual the chords is muchquicker than the bass player.
But my bass player that I'vegot, he already knows my stuff
because he's played with me manytimes before, but he's got such
a good ear.

(51:23):
I mean the Berklee, you know,he's got that Berklee trained
theory oh, wow okay.
He's good with the theory too,and he can play that jazz and he
can do it all so.
So that makes it easier,because I don't need to explain
it to, he just gets it.
Yeah, it's nice to find that oh, yeah, yeah, stay with that
that's true in any industry.

Speaker 1 (51:41):
It's good to find somebody talented and just work
with them, right?
Yeah, they're gonna save you.

Speaker 3 (51:44):
That's ben ben that does the bass for me, and uh, we
we did a couple of showsactually in Lake Havasu.
We got invited on a tour therea couple of years ago Well,
maybe it was, I don't know if itwas two years ago now or
something, but yeah, he was mybassist for that tour as well
and that was cool.

Speaker 1 (52:02):
That's awesome.

Speaker 2 (52:02):
You need to rent a boat in Havasu and play your
thing.

Speaker 1 (52:05):
You got all kinds of ideas Houseboat.
See, these ideas are streamingout.

Speaker 2 (52:10):
House mode is a real thing.
It's pretty cool.

Speaker 1 (52:13):
Get one with a slide.
So we're kind of up againsttime, but I do want to hear what
your advice would be tosomebody maybe a younger kid,
you know coming up thinkingabout going into the music
industry, and what kind ofadvice would you give that
person if that's something thatthey wanted to pursue later on

(52:33):
and thank you for having metoday, guys.
It's been really fun awesomewe've gone everywhere, yeah two
artists right here.

Speaker 3 (52:38):
That's what happens um, well, what I would say to
younger artists, uh, that wantto be singers or guitarists or
musicians, is just enjoy whatyou love.
Don't be too critical of yoursinging voice or songwriting
early on, because it can change.

(52:59):
My voice really didn't matureuntil I was about 17, 18, 19.
It started getting better andbefore that it wasn't my
strength.
It really grew over the yearsto be a strength.
So songwriting is somethingthat just you know.
You're going to get criticismfrom family friends because

(53:21):
everybody's trying to help youand navigate the industry that
they all everybody's trying tonavigate this weird industry
where no one has the answer.
So you're going to getcriticism.
You're going to get positivefeedback but just as long as you
love the music, just findrecords and other live artists
that you can look up to, becausethat really helped me.
I would study DVDs and reallywatch.

(53:44):
My guitar teacher was a biginfluence because in those
pivotal years of 12 to 16, whensomeone else is doing it with
ease, you can get very inspired.
But it's like really nice tosee that in person and witness
someone that loves their guitar,because it just you end up

(54:05):
catching that vibe.
So I would say, just like, findrecords and other artists to
look up to, and don't be toocritical of yourself, because it
definitely evolves over theyears and you'll find your way.
You know, absolutely, it justhappens.
Oh, I love that.

Speaker 1 (54:24):
Well, that's some great advice.
Everybody out there needs torewind that and listen to that
again.
Where can people find you?
If they want to book you for aprivate party or gig or check
your music out.
Where's the best place for themto go on online and find you?

Speaker 3 (54:38):
sure.
So, um, I don't know if you'regoing to put a little banner,
but at danny stefanetticom, mywebsite, okay, and um, I just
had like a whole new kind oflook to it.
It looks a little bit moredesert-y now and a couple of my
shows are up there at the momentand my music and people can
check it out and watch my musicvideos.

(54:59):
I've got a song out there thathas done well, called Moon Looks
Pretty Tonight, and I'm stillwriting new stuff, so there's
plenty of videos up there and,um, yeah, come and see a live
show everybody yeah, definitely,if you need a private, if you
need to have a private event,you want a musician.

Speaker 1 (55:17):
It's your gal right here, super talented, and we're
super, we're super blessed tohave you come on the show you so
much you're I think you're astar in the future.
So oh, thank you gonna be your,your launching pad, so and add
some howling from a desert wolf.

Speaker 2 (55:34):
I know I have one other question that I think is
pretty cool.

Speaker 1 (55:37):
Go ahead.
I just thought about it.
Go ahead, honey.

Speaker 2 (55:39):
Okay.
So say you're playing reggae?
Oh, okay, or what have youright?
Yep, how do you bring it?
Does the Australian accent comethrough?
Like because I've, I've.
Okay, this is what I'm talkingabout.
I've watched movies and theysound like american, right, and
then they're on an interview onyou know abc or whatever, and

(56:00):
then they have like an accent.

Speaker 3 (56:01):
I'm like, wow, they tricked me so, okay, like I'll
show you, I'll show you.
I want to love you and treatyou right.
I want to love you and treatyou right.
I want to love you every dayand every night.
So it's not there.
Yeah, there's no accent, but itjust goes, because I don't know
why.

Speaker 1 (56:18):
Singing has no accent .

Speaker 3 (56:19):
Well, I did something .

Speaker 2 (56:20):
I thought about.

Speaker 1 (56:21):
I love it.
Yeah, singing has no accentpeople, yeah, so neutral.
The British have taught us thisover the years.
You know the British invasionhas taught us that they do not
have accents when they'resinging.
That's cool, I like it.

Speaker 3 (56:32):
Yeah, thanks for telling me.
In between songs I get that alot out here, see, people say,
because in between songs theycan hear the accent pretty thick
, and they say where are youfrom?
I say I'm from here, andthey're like no, no you're not.
Oh, I know it's born inAustralia, but for me yeah.

Speaker 1 (56:53):
Oh my gosh, that's hilarious.

Speaker 2 (56:54):
Well, thank you for letting me ask dumb questions.
No, they're great questions.

Speaker 1 (56:58):
These two artists, man.
They're on their own level butsuper talented.
Check her out, she's verytalented.
She's going to blow your mind.
Go to her website and thanksfor coming out.

Speaker 3 (57:10):
Thank you for having me, guys.

Speaker 1 (57:12):
And we'll see you guys next time on CV Hustle.