Struthers’ Danielle Lyn gives it her all for career

Her family told her to give her career her all or go back to school.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

Fledgling singer-songwriter Danielle Lyn may have called her debut release, “The 76 West EP,” but perhaps “The 76 West to 71 South EP” would have been more apropos, considering the 2005 Struthers High School graduate appears destined for Nashville sooner or later.

Influenced by a unique mixture of Marc Broussard, Jonny Lang, Aerosmith and Hanson (hey, we all have guilty pleasures!), Lyn has been champing at the bit over the past few years in preparation for this moment.

“I’d go out and do cover songs at local clubs and bars when I was 16,” said Lyn, 20. “They’d allow me to do it, but it was weird because I wasn’t doing any of my own stuff. And then after I graduated from high school, I went to Youngstown State University, and I was just always distracted. I just really wanted to try to go out and do this myself.”

After three semesters at YSU, in which she switched her major from journalism to communications, Lyn finally decided to pursue her dream earlier this year. More importantly, she had her family’s blessing.

“They’re super-supportive, and were kind of pushing me to do it more than anything else,” Lyn said. “They were the ones who said, ‘If you want to really go for it, we’ll help you out. But if you’re going to stop going to school and working on this full-time, you really have to put your all into it, or you’re going back to school.’ So that’s why now it’s just been nonstop. I’m doing everything I can and seeing what happens.”

Lyn’s ride began earlier this year when she teamed up with 10th Street Productions producer Jason Levis (formerly of Cherry Monroe) and started writing material that would eventually become “The 76 West EP.” Among the tracks are the bluesy “So Done” and the collaboration with CBS Records artist Keaton Simons on “The Way She Lives.”

Band link-up

Earlier this summer Lyn found herself a backing band, which has already played a handful of live dates. In fact, the act is scheduled to perform at the Mahoning River Blues Festival on Saturday.

“I’m hoping that we fit in there,” Lyn said. “I’ve always been really influenced by blues, and our music is something new. There’s not really anything out around Youngstown like what we’re doing. There are a lot of local bands that are really good, but everyone is kind of in one genre, and we’re out there doing all kinds of different stuff.”

With live shows planned around the region, including a Dallas show in October, Lyn is hoping to attract label interest, and, specifically, Music City label interest. Though stardom may be elusive, Lyn appears to be moving in the right direction. In high school, she was voted not only the most likely to be famous but also the most talented.

Whether it’s expectation, desire or a mix of the two, Lyn is ready for whatever the future holds.

“I guess my biggest fear would be having to go backwards, go back to school and get a 9-to-5 job,” Lyn said. “I never thought I was fit to do that. I’ve always been one of those people who was really into traveling and just being out there and doing something different every day.

“My biggest fear is definitely having an ordinary life, and being forced to do that. So I’m crossing my fingers.”