Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Danny Henry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Danny, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
I am a shy person. As much as I will punish a piano and will sweat a gallon during a performance, off the stage, I can be awkward, clumsy, and talk too fast when I get nervous or excited. I’m a 6’1″ ball of anxiety who has always tried to fit it, but rainbows always stick out in black and white. Growing up, I was desperate to fit in with a crowd, but it always proved to be hard. I had a lot of energy and was listening to Pet Sounds while the other kids listen to death metal and emo music. The way that I grew as a performer the most was by performing at shows on the same bills as this sort of bands. While metal music blared at DIY concerts in sheds in Milford, Connecticut, I would stand at a keyboard and play “California Girls” by the Beach Boys or a pretty piano song and take the people making fun of me and feed off of it. I began playing concerts at fifteen and would get jeers throughout, but just kept going, kept practicing piano, and did what I loved with a fiery passion. So what if I don’t fit in a room? I have been there and tried that. But I have something that no one else has, and that’s my ability to be Danny Henry better than anyone else and I EMBRACE that. I’m different, I’m weird, and I just keep going. You live once and you might as well be yourself and to hell with anyone who objects.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have played piano across the United States, in dive bars, big stages, doughnut shops, and laundromats, singing my heart out to anyone who wants to listen. It’s an exhausting show that I put on with tender moments that warm the heart or send you into a state of melancholy bliss. First and foremost though, I am a songwriter. There are better piano players than me, better singers, but no a soul can write like I can. To judge writing is all based on perspective, so to say someone is good or bad, is all up to opinion. I take pride in my ability to quickly come up with melodies though, and witty lyrics that have sincerity and heart. I long to make people happy with the songs I write as well as get people to know me during my time here and after I’m gone. If you go to my concerts, there will be high-energy moments, wardrobe changes, and pageantry that ranges from opening up the show with a live petting zoo with farm animals to filling a refrigerator with candles on top of shelves lined with aluminum foil as the lights are turned out and I serenade the crowd while standing on top of a casket I had built. You never know what you are going to get. Part of it is the middle child that yearns for attention, and the other part is a drive to be the best person in the room at all times. I love writing, waking up with a melody, and sharing what’s going on in my head and my heart. I hope to do this for the rest of my life and get better with time. You can find me playing all over Los Angeles, with a monthly residency at the Kibitz Room. I’m currently writing and recording a new album as a follow-up to my last studio album, “Off-Vaudeville”. I really hope people like it.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I try and be kind, even when I’m in a bad mood. We all have bad days, but sometimes, kindness can make someone else’s day and make them feel better, so why not try and be like that as much as possible? I’m a Hufflepuff who pets every dog I see and I treat fellow musicians the way that I want to be treated. I listen to those around me and I always try to help. Life is short, and none of us are here for long, so why not try and not be a dick? I’m determined. Things in life that aren’t practical doesn’t mean that they are impossible. I’m someone who will always give everything I love to do 200% and keep going if I fail. Not being afraid to fail is the key to getting to where you desire to go in life, and as someone who tries to learn from my failures, and boy do I have many failures, I long to do what I love for a living for the rest of my life and no other factors will prevent me from pursuing this. I taught myself how to play piano, I moved out to California with two garbage bags of clothes and no friends, to chase my dreams.
I think my ability to write a song is a special skill. I’m able to come up with words and a melody in pretty rapid succession, no matter where I am. It’s fun for me and relaxing. I think it’s something that I have just gotten better at, but I have vivid memories of coming up with a song at four and running out to the living room and singing it to my parents after they had put me to bed. I’m sure I was doing it before I could remember. It’s what makes me different and special and I know I can do something that others can’t.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
I have no connections in the current music industry. I don’t have a substantial following on social media. I fund everything myself by working two jobs. I wish someone would take notice and let me write them songs. I think that if people knew my music existed, people would listen and they’d like it. I don’t know what to do and I hope luck strikes and the right person will take notice and help me. It’s a defeating struggle, and I’m going to keep going. I’d adore writing songs for other people. This is what I love to do and I’m damn good at it and I wish I could get people to care.
Contact Info:
- Website:dannyhenry.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: @dannyhenryisreal
- Facebook: facebook.com/dannyhenryisreal
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCagiJ0UXB0q-aiQFqvbsVaw
Image Credits
The main photo in black and white is by Anna Kovaleva. She also took the one where I am standing on the piano bench, the one where I’m laying down in front of the piano, and the one where my I am wearing sunglasses at the piano. The shirtless one and the one where I’m holding the sign that says “Danny Henry is Real” is by Matt Bugaj. The one where I am playing piano and my hair is wild is by Kelsey Rogers
