Bruin juggles school with album release, tours

It’s not unusual for fifth-year ethnomusicology student
Jonathan Keyes to take a 6 a.m. flight across the country, play a
show at a college campus, and then catch a flight to Los Angeles
the next morning so he can get back in time for class.

Keyes, who will be playing tonight in the Fowler Museum series,
“Fowler Out Loud,” is both a singer/songwriter and a
student who has been balancing a college campus tour with his
school work in the past year.

“I’ve had to miss some school, but it hasn’t
been too bad,” Keyes said. “I get to travel a lot and
see a lot of new places, even though it can be hectic ““
sometimes I’m only at a place for 24 hours.”

Keyes’ college tours have taken him to Indiana State
University, Georgia Southern University and Oklahoma State
University, where he enjoyed a break from the entertainment
industry-driven atmosphere of Los Angeles.

But touring campuses isn’t the only thing new to
Keyes’ career this year ““ he recently released a new
four-song EP on his own record label, had his song, “Island
in the Sea” chosen for the “Dawson’s Creek”
DVD, and had his music played on the rock station 95.5 KLOS.

“Hearing my song played on the radio was really cool. That
was definitely fun,” Keyes said.

Keyes enjoys incorporating his traveling experiences into his
music. His performing engagements have not only taken him across
the country, but also across the Pacific Ocean to Tahiti and
Thailand.

Inspired by such artists as Dave Matthews and Billy Joel, Keyes
also wants his music to be able to reach a large audience, so he
tackles themes to which the average person can relate.

“I’m not singing about mansions or bling bling
““ it’s more about relationships or things that occur to
me on an everyday basis,” he said.

Keyes says his touring experiences have taught him a lot about
promoting himself so that students on the campuses he visits are
aware of his performances.

Judging from the fact that Keyes had been found performing
everywhere from Bruin Plaza to Spring Sing to Dance Marathon, he
has certainly learned how to make his presence felt on his home
campus.

With graduation looming in Keyes’ near future, he is about
to leave the safety net of UCLA and walk into the real world.

But Keyes, who made his first appearance in the Los Angeles
music scene when he was only 15, says that all the hands-on
experience he has had performing has prepared him for the next step
in his career.

“Now is the biggest growth period for me (with my
music),” Keyes said. “I’m about to graduate and
I’ve been touring, so when I play all these shows, it makes
me reevaluate my music and question what I do. Now I’m trying
to make more meaningful songs so people come away (from a show)
saying, “˜That was a really well-crafted
song.'”