It is not every day that you encounter a musician who personally meets up with you if you’re buying an album. But this is how Johnoy Danao rolls.
This Bridge ex-frontman turned solo artist does most of his marketing and publicity, all while composing his own songs and playing gig after gig. He started grabbing audiences’ attention with his renditions of mainstream hits like Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’, Bruno Mars’ ‘Just the way you are’ and Robbie Williams’ ‘She’s the One’, among many others. Though he still includes these crowd pleasers in his current sets, his own compositions ‘Ulan’ and ‘Ikaw at Ako’ are also getting their share of fans. Amidst the clutter of independent artists in the industry, Johnoy stands out with his Jack Johnson-meets-Dave Matthews voice. His throaty vocals, both soothing and sexy, coupled with his superb songwriting skills, has established a solid legion of supporters which pushed him further to gig circuit popularity.
His debut solo album ‘Dapithapon’ is not just a testament that his musicality spans beyond being a cover artist. It might actually be a ray of hope for OPM. Penned in Filipino (save for ‘One Day’), the songs will make you appreciate the beauty of our language even more, not to mention that a couple of them actually have nationalistic undertones. With simple melodies and heartfelt lyrics to sing along with, it is not difficult to fall in love with Dapithapon the first time you play it. No frills, no unnecessary enhancements, the record is just pure, raw talent at its finest. Whether reflective or playful, Johnoy does not beat around the bush and cuts straight through the core. A personal favorite would be the single Dapithapon where he sings with a pang of melancholy that towards the end it actually hurts.
Listening to his record is one thing, but watching him live is a totally different experience. There were moments during the set when James and I would just look at each other and say, “okay, that was our cue to cry.” His sincerity radiates even in the most secluded corners of the bar, where we were most unfortunately located. If he wanted to, he could sing a string of BS and would still sound like a man proposing to the love of his life. Not that he would actually sing such.
Inside a jampacked (it was Standing Room Only as early as 9:30 PM…on a Monday night!) The Distillery, we caught up with Johnoy to talk about his album, his favorite basketball teams and his plan of covering a Katy Perry song.
