An aspiring local musician is hoping her first music video will help catapult her to the next level of country music fame.
Dani-Lynn Trentham, who uses her first name as her stage name, spent three days late last week shooting a video for her song Twisted that will be released on YouTube once the final editing and mastering is complete.
The shoot took place in a number of locations in and around Olds including at Olds High School, CKFM radio, Otto's and of course at her family's rural residence, among others.
It's an exciting time for the outgoing and friendly 15-year-old OHS student who recently wrote and recorded three new songs, including Twisted, which has been mastered at a recording studio in Toronto and is ready for release thanks to producer Greg Godovitz.
“(The video) will be released on YouTube and we're shooting for CMT (Country Music Television) so we're hoping it's going to get there,” Dani-Lynn enthused while taking a break from her video shoot. “It'll be hard to wait afterwards, for the video to be finished … but I think waiting to shoot the video was just as stressful but also so exciting. I couldn't sleep.”
Despite her youth, she's a veteran performer on stage and points to one of music's biggest performers as her inspiration to pursue a career in music.
“Taylor Swift kind of inspired me and you can probably hear that in my songs and my style, but when I was younger Hillary Duff was my idol and I just want to be that type of idol for others,” Dani-Lynn explained. “I want to be that good girl for the younger girls so they can chase their dreams too.”
Singing has always come naturally to the petite singer/songwriter who has been “singing since I could talk” and she's also quickly catching on as a guitar player to add to her on-stage repertoire.
And even though she's just getting started in chasing her country music dreams, Dani-Lynn has already been busy working with some heavy hitters in the industry during trips to both Los Angeles in 2009 to record her first CD and on a visit to the home of country music, Nashville, Tennessee.
It was there that her writing talents began to grow and expand.
“When I was younger and tried to write it really didn't come to me, but when I went to Nashville I was co-writing with a bunch of people and when I came back, it was just there and I could write songs like nothing else,” Dani-Lynn suggested.
And while her passion for her music sometimes leads to missing out on the more social aspect of her school and personal life, it's more than compensated for by the support she receives from her friends as well as the local community.
A number of businesses, groups and individuals have all been active and supportive in helping the local product pursue her dream.
And it's that dream of sharing music that keeps her motivated and smiling.
“I don't necessarily have to be the richest or anything, I just really want people to hear my music and I want people to be inspired by me,” Dani-Lynn summarized.
More information and samples of her songs can be viewed and heard at dani-lynn.com.
