Damon Sharpe Takes the Stage
Musician Damon Sharpe gets candid about his life and career in the spotlight.
With a reputation for musical greatness and a lifetime of experience in the industry, LA native and DJ Damon Sharpe is no stranger to the limelight. His tenure as a performer began at a young age when his family packed up their home and moved to the West Coast to support his role in the band Guys Next Door, and ever since doors have been opening for Sharpe because of his talent. From producing and creating songs for some of the biggest names in music like Ariana Grande and Jennifer Lopez, to garnering over a million listeners on Spotify for his own music, Sharpe is here to stay and shares with Rival just what working as a musician means for him.
“I’ve always been an entertainer with an equal interest in behind the scenes and business,” Sharpe tells Rival editors. It’s rare to find such a well- rounded artist whose passion for being on the stage is matched by their passion for being behind it, but Sharpe is just that. At a young age his parents moved his entire family out to LA to follow Sharpe’s passion, and he says that he “owes everything to them.” The long journey that followed was thanks to that big move and to Damon’s unending persistence and love of music. He was a featured member of the band Guys Next Door, and as a teenager found himself on the covers of magazines, with his own TV show, and signing a record deal overnight. His moment in the teen idol spotlight was short-lived, though, and Damon says it came to a crashing halt as quickly as it started: “I literally went from taking photos with Will Smith to two years later serving him a Pepsi as a waiter. I am so thankful for that humbling chapter of my life.”
Undeterred, Sharpe knew that his purpose in life was to make music, and he was determined to do that any way that he could. The talented artist became a staple behind the scenes in the music industry for years, dedicating himself to producing and writing for other artists in his circles. “It’s been an amazing experience so far and I’m just getting started,” Sharpe says about working with major names like Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, and Pitbull, “I love crafting a sound for an artist and also learning from each of them.” One of the songs that he’s created for Lopez was performed at the Superbowl 2020 Halftime Show, which of course was a major accomplishment for Damon.
“There is no way to describe the feeling of hearing thousands of people singing along to a song you created,” the artist says. “I feel so blessed it makes me feel emotional.” And that emotion is what makes Sharpe such a poignant and talented songwriter. He taps into his emotions each time he puts pen to paper, and you can hear the feeling vibrate through the words sung on his tracks. “That is the beautiful part about writing and creating in general,” he tells Rival editors, “the process.” He says that his process to creating a new song is unique every time; sometimes it’s a chord progression, sometimes a title on his phone, sometimes it’s something as simple as a melody fragment that inspires him.
We shifted at that point from his creative process and experience to Sharpe’s current goals and aspirations as a musician. With over one million listeners on Spotify, Sharpe has made the difficult transition from behind the scenes to focusing on being a performer himself, which he says he’s always been. “It’s such an amazing feeling when you’re been through so much adversity and then start seeing things come to fruition,” Sharpe says. He states that after so much hard work he’s grateful for any success that comes his way, and it makes him work even harder to achieve more. One of his success stories is his single “Lifetime,” a song that he dedicates to the love he has for his wife and newborn daughter. The song was a passion project between Sharp, Josh Cumbee, and Zonderling, and they worked together in a true collaborative fashion to bring the piece to life.
In addition to Lifetime, Sharpe touches on his current deal with Armada Records and any future endeavors he’s looking forward to in the coming months. “Armada is amazing,” Sharpe says, “and they truly love what they do and support their artists whole heartedly.” He says that the entire label has shown him love and encouraged him in his transition from behind the scenes to more of forefront role as a musician and DJ. “On June 12th I also have a new single coming out on the Armada Unites project called ‘Let’s Get Real,’” Sharpe says. He says that the message behind the feature is very relevant to what’s going on in the world right now. Of course, no interview is complete these days without touching on the global pandemic. COVID-19 has swept the world with catastrophic force, and many artists and creators are feeling the repercussions of not being able to perform in large crowds. Damon says that despite the setbacks, the momentum and trajectory that he has going will not be stopped: “I am too positive and motivated to let this pandemic derail my lifelong goals,” the artist tells us. True to his word, Sharpe has been hosting a large number of “live DJ” sessions on Instagram during the quarantine, which have garnered plenty of positive feedback from viewers. “Doing livestream DJ sets are the closest thing to playing live at this point,” he says, “and it’s awesome to get immediate feedback from the people throwing comments your way. There’s such a connection between the DJ and the online crowd.” This type of new connection is being forged across the entertainment industry every day, and Damon is taking advantage of every bit of it.
Of course, Damon wasn’t getting away without discussing his immaculate sense of style with Rival writers. When asked to describe his style in three words Sharpe chose eclectic, fun, and unique. This perfectly sums up his portfolio of photoshoots and online fashion editorials that he’s done for various magazines like Avant, who featured him just this April. “I would have to say my favorite part of the magazine shoots is trying on new clothes and working with my stylist, Kelly Johnson,” Sharpe tells us. He says that his signature look is most likely the eye- catching statement suits he wears on the red carpet, and his favorite brand to wear at the moment is Balmain.
Favorites
Favorite instrument to play? Programming in Pro Tools :-)
Favorite record of all time? Michael Jackson “Thriller”
Favorite song that you haven’t produced or written? Drops of Jupiter” by Train
Favorite song that you have? Lifetime
Favorite current Netflix guilty pleasure if you have one? After Life
NEW RELEASES
Check out :
https://armadaunites.lnk.to/AlbumPR which features Damon's track "Let's Get Real" on ‘Armada Unites’ as mentioned in the article
Also, make sure to tune into Damon Sharpe’s radio show Damon Sharpe presents Brainjack which debuts today! The show will be available as a monthly podcast on Insomniac Radio and will be streaming on all platforms!
WHERE TO LISTEN
FIND DAMON SHARPE on SOCIAL MEDIA
IG @damonsharpe
FB: https://www.facebook.com/officialdamonsharpe/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/damonsharpe
Interview By: Ashley Dawson https://www.instagram.com/lapin_studios/?hl=en
Photo Credit: Matt Doheny https://www.instagram.com/dohenyphoto/?hl=en