While it may take a lifetime for some to figure out the things they are good at and the things they love, there are some who are born into it and can happily say they have spent their lives doing what they’re meant to do.
San Diego musician and singer-songwriter Michael Jay Dwyer is no exception. He knows.
He has always known.
While it may take a lifetime for some to figure out the things they are good at and the things they love, there are some who are born into it and can happily say they have spent their lives doing what they’re meant to do.
San Diego musician and singer-songwriter Michael Jay Dwyer is no exception. He knows.
He has always known.
For someone who has been a musician for more than five decades, his spirit remains young, and his sound is fresh, evolving with the times yet retaining that deep-rooted essence of the very same elements that drew him to music to begin with.
He probably had no choice, but he would have it no other way.
Born into a family of artists—his mother was a singer and piano player, his father a poet and a cartoonist—Dwyer’s sound began and continues to be highly influenced by the sounds of Roots and Americana Music.
In fact, one of his earlier recollections of his musical experience dates back to his junior high years, when he won a talent show he participated in, playing “Ode to Billy Joe.” His first song played in the guitar was “Hey Joe by Jimmy Hendrix.”
And while he keeps that old-school spirit alive, he nonetheless evolves as an artist.
“My evolving has been in appreciation for a wider spectrum of music,” he said. “For different genres and artists”
San Diegans can see for themselves every Tuesday evening, when Dwyer can be found giving the audience at Hacienda Casa Blanca’s in El Cajon a taste of his acoustic guitar sound, and a taste for the Americana and Folk sound he loves.
“Roots and Americana music really lend themselves to the singer songwriter in a deep lyrical exploration,” He said. “[At Hacienda Casa Blanca] I sing a lot of songs about Tequila.”
Dwyer’s friend of 44 years Diane Lowery can certainly attest to his love of music. She recalls meeting him in their choir class at Mt Miguel high school all those years ago.
The first impression was one she never forgot.
“He carried his section,” she said. “It was a large choir of about 100 kids, and he never showed any nervousness, it was all natural. Some of us just had an innate ability for music.”
Lowery and Dywer remained friends throughout the years, and she said she has seen him evolved as a musician, yet has witnessed that he has remained true to himself at the same time.
“He is the same, just better,” she said. “And he is better gives more because of life. He has stayed focused on the thing he loves.”
Dwyer has written hundreds of songs and has recorded eight albums over the years. He also has collections of poems, one of which he wrote sitting at a Starbucks every day for a year, observing the things around him.
Writing songs is no different, he said.
“It never happens the same way twice,” he said. “Sometimes a music line will come and it will dictate the whole song. If it’s a music line a bit somber, then it will be a sad subject matter.”
Dwyer compares the process of writing a song to be what he imagines childbirth is like—a long and painful process. He said the process could sometimes take years to complete. And the end result could be a painful one as well.
“When a song is ready, you feel it within yourself. You’ve run out every ounce of emotion you can,” he explained. “However, you also know when you’ve written crap. You know you can do better, and it gets really easy to toss your work as you get older.”
Life, he insists, has brought him the best material.
“The best stuff I’ve ever written is when I’ve been in dark places,” he said. “Hard, tough places in life when you’re emotionally compromised. That’s when all the good stuff comes.”
Sadly, he said, life has also shown him how appreciation for art has dwindled.
He said he would like to see the San Diego music scene to place more value on the art of live music, and be willing to pay for it.
“I wish there were more music venues willing to pay for music and give value to the art,” he said. “There are so many wonderful singers and musicians that are willing to do it for free, but this communicates that art has no value.”
Nonetheless, he says his decades of experience have, indeed, taught him some valuable lesson he is willing to pass on.
“I believe it’s important for the singer-songwriter t always be true to themselves and write from the heart,” he said. “Don’t get caught up in a trap of trying to write what’s ‘cool’ at the time and stay away from trendiness.
Authenticity is the most important dynamic a writer can bring to a song and if nothing else you can rest at the end of the day knowing you displayed your art with integrity.”
