jonathandaneillaJonathan Roy, 26

Singer/Songwriter from Quebec signed to Siena Records (a partner of Warner Music).

Why you should care: Canadian artist making good music. Fun, bluesy voice mixed with catchy, palatable guitar riffs. He’s young and he’s talented; Jonathan’s going places.

Sounds like: Coleman Hell, Matt Mays, X Ambassadors, The Lumineers, Stanfields, Mumford & Sons

“JONATHAN ROY, yes, the son of hockey legend Patrick Roy.

Jonathan’s been shooting a bunch of new videos with Siena Records to help gain exposure.”

CLICK HERE to check out Jonathan’s cover of Van Morrison’s “And It Stoned Me.”

Daneilla Denmark (Official Lyric Video) from Jonathan Roy || CLICK HERE to get the track via Pivot/Warner Music.

AV: Tell us where you came from professionally, and why you decided to settle on music?

JR: “I was born into the hockey business. My dad was a hockey player and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I wanted to be like Dad. Dad was bringing me to work, and I thought it was awesome.

I was about 11 or 12 when my mom bought me a drum set and guitars and a microphone. She supported me from day one. \I was focussing on hockey and kinda pushed music aside for a bit. I didn’t wanna disappoint Dad; I wanted to make him proud. I did good. I made it to major junior hockey and ended up playing for my dad. I was about 18 when he pulled me into his office and told me “Hey Johnny, I think you need to focus on education because hockey isn’t gonna work out” and I love that honesty.  That honesty went a long way for me. I know he cares for me and wants to succeed. He really opened the doors for me to tell him that, ‘Hey dad, I wanted to do this [music] for a long time.’”

He went on to tell me about his history and love for writing music. He’d been doing it for a long time privately, but once hockey was off the table, doors “flew open” for him. The passion and hard work began paying off when he caught the interest of a Canadian legend…

AV: Was there a defining moment in life, outside of parental approval, where it HIT you that YOU. ARE. GOING. TO. MAKE. MUSIC? That’s your future.

JR: “It was when I met Corey Hart. I released three albums before I met him. I was doing this musical in Montreal coreyjonathancalled Don Juan and the production company put me in touch with Corey. I wanted to improve my writing skills and I wanted to do something new. I wrote an email to Corey telling him about me, who I was and what I wanted to do and he wrote me back… I went to Nassau to visit with him and his family. He gave me two songs to practice, and he heard me sing. I remember when I opened my mouth, he got up and started walking around and I think that’s where it hit me. I was like, you know what?  ‘Maybe I do have something,’ that’s when I started to really believe in what I’m doing.”

AV: What were the two songs?

JR: “A Teddy Thompson song… but I can’t remember which one. That, and Walk With That Man which is an original song of mine.”

AV: Who are you looking up to personally and professionally in the biz?

JR: “Obviously Corey Hart… Ray Lamontagne. Ryan Adams. I love the singer songwriter stuff… Like, Jack Savoretti. But also the old stuff like, Bill Withers, Robert Johnson…”

AV: Dream line up for a future tour?

JR: “Taylor Swift. She’s done so much for Vance Joy and helped put Ed Sheeran on the map. That would be my number one for sure. I’m also about to listen to Francesco Yates’ new album… I really love his sound.”

AV: Daniella Denmark – are you writing about a person or a place?

JR: “Corey wrote that song. We did about 40 songs in the past three years trying to find my style as an artist. It was the last song to be written.

I was in Quebec City on a date with this gorgeous girl and… it was… the worst date of my life! We had no connection. After a bottle of wine, I got home and started writing this email to Corey… We have that kind of relationship… Anyway, Corey writes me back and says ‘Settle down. You’re 26. You’ll meet someone.’ Corey goes to bed and wakes up at 3am, wakes up his wife and says ‘Honey, I gotta write something!’

In Corey’s dream, I’m on stage performing in Denmark… singing this melody *Daneilla Denmark* (sings) on stage. To the right of the stage, Corey’s watching me all happy and this girl comes up next to him and says ‘You don’t know me and Jonathon doesn’t know me, but I’m Daneilla and I’m gonna be Jonathan’s soul mate.’

So he took that dream and the melody and threw it into a song, and that song became Daniella Denmark.”

AV: Lots of food in the Lyric Video… You’re on the road a lot… What do you like?

JR: “Sushi… and McDonald’s.”

Watch for more from Jonathan Roy & find him online via:

JonathanRoyOfficial.com

Facebook: Jonathan Roy Official

Twitter @JonRoyOfficial

Instagram: JonathanRoyOfficial

*a personal note: this dialogue was transcribed from a 20 minute interview done in KiSS Studios on Wednesday, September 

30th, 2015. Video of both the interview and an in studio performance will be uploaded soon.