Danny
Santos was born in the South Texas town of Beeville, a son of a sharecropper’s
son. He began his career in music after picking up his older brother’s
discarded guitar and teaching himself to play. Soon, he began to emulate
what he heard on the radio and on records, not only one the guitar, but
vocally as well. The local radio stations blared out a diversity of music,
such as Top Forty Pop, Country, Rock & Roll, as well as Mexican Conjunto
and Ranchera. When he began to acquire his first records, he noticed in
the liner notes that a lot of the recording artists, like as the Beatles
and others, were writing their own songs.
“This had a tremendous effect on me; it really blew me away!”
said Santos. “I can’t remember exactly when I started writing
my own stuff…but it was at that moment that I became aware of this
songwriting thing. I never shared my early songs with anyone until I was
in high school. By then, my family had moved to East Texas, and I was
listening to a station called Pacifica Radio (KPFT), out of Houston, when
I began hearing folk music and such notable tunesmiths as Guy Clark, John
Prine, Townes Van Zandt, and others.”
This was in the mid ‘60’s and early ‘70’s, and
by then, Danny had purchased his own guitar from a friend and formed his
first band.
“We were calling ourselves the Tones, and I actually played the
bass and sang. I only knew a few chords on the guitar. I wasn’t
then, and still am not, the best guitarist in the world, so I got bass
duty. That was my last foray into Rock music, and the band only stayed
together for a few months, anyway.”
Danny married his high school sweetheart right after high school and settled
down to raise a family. With the birth of two daughters, he was caught
up in family life, and, although music remained important to him, it was
put on the back burner and largely ignored for a number of years. The
marriage, like many young marriages, did not survive, but he remained
very active with his daughter’s lives when they were growing up.
“But I missed playing my guitar and having music in my life. So
I got back into it, via the church choir at first. Then slowly, I began
to reacquaint myself with the ol' fretboard, and also with a little songwriting.”
After awhile, he began to branch out and started playing some gigs in
local cafes and cocktail lounges, then as a solo acoustic act in the Houston
area. Gradually, he grew to know that this was what he wanted to do with
his life and began to think of music as his “calling”. His
dream grew clearer, and finally, he made a solid commitment to follow
his musical path, wherever it led. When his daughters were older, he moved
to Austin, Texas in 1993. Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World,
was where he knew he could be nearer the kind of musical career he wanted
to pursue.
“I met a bunch of great tunesmiths and musicians, and I have made
many friends here. Some of them were some Bluegrass pickers who greatly
impressed me, and that added another dimension to my own musical direction.
Others were Folkies and Alternative Country types who have also affected
me, musically. This is a lot of what the Austin music scene is, in my
opinion. To date, I think I’ve played every coffee-house, honky-tonk
and barbeque joint there is in Austin! - Twice!”
Danny continues to seek new venues, traveling to areas he has not been
to before, expanding his ever-growing fan base, one fan at a time. Danny
has toured in many areas of the United States, playing festivals, such
as the Kerrville Folk festival, Sioux River Folk Festival, Old Settlers
Music Fest, and the Border Folk Festival. He has also played festivals
in Europe, such as the Montreaux Jazz fest, Over Easy Bluegrass Festival,
and the Frutigen Songwriter Festival. His first two albums, Caution to
the Wind (1995) and Sinners & Saints (2000), have recently been joined
by his latest, which was released in Europe as Headaches
& Heartaches
(2003) and in the USA as Done Gone Got Lucky (2004). Danny continues to
make the Austin area home and to follow his musical path.
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copyright ©2004 Danny Santos. revised November 9, 2004 5:22 PM