We recently connected with Jerry Danielsen and have shared our conversation below.

Jerry, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

When I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to “do” music for a living. I joined a band and learned how to play bass, then guitar. Quickly, I started to write songs and pitch them to the band.

After a while, I also learned keyboards and was singing as well. Writing lyrics and music, I played with my band all over Los Angeles, and neighboring communities. After recording in some studios, I decided to attend Recording Engineering School and start my own recording studio, Busy Signal Studios.

Taking a huge risk, I quit my “normal” job and jumped into writing and recording. I also became and editor to a popular poetry magazine “Vol. No.”

I was able to get gigs writing music fopr file and TV, as well as musical theatre.

Now I’m getting ready to release a new compilation of songs as an artist, as well as producing music for a variety of other artists. I’m writing music for licensing for TV as well, and I’ve just finished writing a novel about how to deal with your loved ones getting cancer. It’s called “The F**k Cancer National Tour.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Some of the best music out there is informed by a simple fact of life: you live and learn. Just ask Jerry Danielsen. Or better yet, listen to his music. It’s clear that Jerry writes from a voice of living life, be it a film or theatre score, or a song. He is a composer, performer, producer, filmmaker, interdisciplinary artist, poet and educator. He has extensive experience composing music for film and television, theatre, contemporary classical works, jazz, commercial, experimental, as well as music for electronic instruments and traditional orchestras. “CineVerses” is Jerry’s most recent collection of music and short films – using poems from his recent book – “Background Noise,” as the script. All the music is recorded and produced at his recording studio in Santa Clarita: Busy Signal Studios.

Jerry is also the father of Sean Danielsen – front man for Gold Record artists Smile Empty Soul. From an early age, captivated by the Beatles, King Crimson, Stravinsky, Elfman, Frank Zappa and the like, Jerry has been a true innovator. “ I used to lock myself in my room and listen to music, when my friends wanted to hang out. Later I would play guitar in my car for my lunch break, instead of eating. As soon as I got involved in music, I knew this was what I wanted to do.” He started out studying guitar, piano, and bass intensely; led and performed with several rock, jazz, other groups. Continuing on, Jerry attended recording school (Sound Master Audio-Video Institute) and began recording his own music.

At this time, he incorporated much of his music into multimedia shows featuring his own poetry (as a founding editor of Vol. No. Poetry Magazine and Los Angeles Poets’ Press). These opportunities have exposed Jerry’s music to many thousands of people.

He spent the mid-1980s as a production assistant for “Romeo Void” and “Animotion” rock videos while composing, conducting and performing a wide range of music for various exciting events including: LA Street Scene, The Roxy, The Whisky, Club Lingerie, The Music Machine, FM Station, LACMA, 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, Imagination Celebration, Festival of the Masks, Children’s Museum, Taffy Festival, Los Angeles Festival, Thousand Oaks Festival, Santa Barbara Festival, and assorted venues in San Francisco and San Diego.
Additionally, Jerry’s interest in movie soundtracks brought him to further studies and compositions. Having already completed a few scores, (The Visitant, Obliteration, Final Destination Unknown, Body Politic) Jerry also published his music and poetry through Black Bear Press. His other writing includes five published books of poetry. (What?!, Against The Fog, Spiritual Ennui, Transmit Love and Background Noise) 
Jerry also had the honor of performing and working with the composer John Cage.

As time went on, Jerry decided to establish his own recording studio, Busy Signal Studios. There he could manage and coordinate these multiple activities in a central location and work unrestrained as a composer/producer and recording engineer. He then completed the composition and recording of more film and documentary scores, (Maps to Stars’ Graves, The Jack LaLanne Special, Cellar Doors, Terrifying Tales) musical message music and television commercials and jingles. After traveling Europe, he began teaching music lessons while earning his composition degree at California Institute of the Arts. Jerry studied with Mel Powell, Barry Schrader, Morton Sobotnick, James Newton, Michael Fink and Stephen Mosko, to name a few.

Additionally, Jerry has had performance pieces featured at university concerts in the USA and India, and at SCREAM (Southern California Resource for Electro-Acoustic Music).
From the past to the present, Jerry has devoted his occupation to composing, arranging and producing a wide variety of projects. These include more film scores (That Little Monster, Sunyata, College Girls, Game Over, Red Rose Fantasy, Graffiti Verite 6: The Odyssey, Masquerade, Abe’s Question, Harmony, The Little Chair, Background Noise, Marketing To Death and Rage of Innocence.) and music for theatre. (One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, The Majestic Kid, Follow The Sun, Running River and Karma).

He has also worked extensively as a studio musician-arranger and recorded his music with Grammy winner Francis Buckley (Deaf Ears Album) and
 played/performed and/or recorded with members from Frank Zappa’s band, Oingo Boingo, Trapt, Cold, Finger Eleven and of course, Smile Emply Soul.
In the last few years, Jerry has written/produced CD’s such as “Blind Spot,” “Against the Fog,” “Bits and Pieces,” and “Extended Movement,” “Deaf Ears,” “Music: Just Add Film,” and “Feather Rain.”
Currently, Jerry is highly involved in his latest projects – which include writing and producing films with “CineVerses,” (and Braddon Mendelson) writing and recording original music for an upcoming feature film, a theatre musical and working on another CD release of original songs.

As always, Jerry continues to build on his own unique path, growing and expand as an artist.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

If someone isn’t driven to do their art or other creative endeavor, it’s almost always easier to get a steady, more normal job. Self-employment can be hard, but in the music world, it can be very difficult.

You have to do it because you have to! It’s your calling.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’ve had to wear many hats to make my business longevity possible. Trends and even the culture have changed. The economy has had some ups and downs, and covid had a bog impact too.

I’ve written music, recording music, engineered 100’s of podcasts, audio books, and taught music lessons.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.busysignalstudios.com. and https://jerrydanielsen.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerrydanielsen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerrydanielsenwordsandmusic. and. https://www.facebook.com/BusySignalStudios
• Twitter: @jerrydanielsen
• Youtube: @JerryDanielsen