Danny Cano, graduating senior in CSUN’s renowned Entertainment Media Management program, always has been drawn to rock music, quick throughout his teenage years to find new bands or a new hole-in-the-wall or pop-up venue. He knew he wanted to make music himself, but growing up in a low-income family, that kind of career felt out of reach.
But by his second year in CSUN’s Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, the singer and guitarist had formed a band, CANO, with a group of friends and coworkers: Jake Waitley, who recently took over for original lead guitarist Devin Fort; bass player Dylan Cronin; and drummer Hauk Hiemdallsman. With his band, Cano has gone from waiting in club lines behind velvet ropes to playing on stage at open mics — and then, to some of Los Angeles’ most storied venues, such as the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘How am I ever going to do it?'” Cano said of his first attempts to start a band. “I would think, ‘Maybe it’s impossible.’ You always see people on stages, you see people do cool things, entertainment things and you think, ‘How the heck am I supposed to do that?’”
Cano first started making music in middle school when his family gifted him a guitar for his birthday. He was active in other performing arts, such as theatre, throughout high school — great training for the stage, he said. After high school graduation, Cano pushed aside his self-doubt and bought a brand-new guitar. He performed at any open mic he could find, from tiny stages to corners of coffee shops. With each performance, Cano grew more comfortable singing in front of people, and his confidence in his music grew.
During college, the band got their first paid gig at a dive bar in Santa Monica called The Trip. They landed the Viper Room gig not by luck nor happenstance, but through initiative and confidence in his work: Cano reached out to the establishment, pitching the bookers on his band. He had his “elevator pitch” on their sound and vibe ready, Cano recalled — which seemed to be the key.
In 2023, as he formed his eponymous band — not to be confused with CANO, the Canadian progressive rock band of the 1970s and 1980s — Cano learned that communication and cooperation were key among bandmates, he said.
Cano enrolled in CSUN’s Mike Curb College in order to pursue a career on the business side of the music industry. While forming a band and studying electronic media management, Cano broadened his horizons and learned the scope and many moving parts of the music industry, he said. Playing open mics and gigs by night, going to class and studying by day — as well as holding down a part-time job — Cano realized he must hone his time-management skills if he had any hope of completing his bachelor’s degree.
Cano’s advice for anyone trying to break into the music industry — or just about any path in the arts — is to be true to who you are, and use that to make yourself stand out. “Showcase your unique personality,” Cano said. “So many people are doing creative things, but a lot of times people only focus on that creative thing and they expect an audience to find them.”
As he looks toward graduation next month, Cano said, he plans to use his degree in Entertainment Media Management to start a career in music producing and will continue to hone his music.The group has a busy slate of shows coming up this spring and beyond. To listen to CANO’s music, check out CANO on Spotify.
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