Jason Dottley Wants Us to Dance

photo by Alan Mercer

Most of us know Jason Dottley from playing Ty in Del Shores “Sordid Lives, The Series.” He is about to gain a whole new fan base with his music, a dance single titled ‘Hit Play’ that is getting the attention it deserves. I had a really quick photo session with Jason on a recent Monday morning. We took the shots at Newell and Rosemary Alexander’s home. We got in we got out. Jason’s mind was going a mile a minute with countless responsibilities he had to take care of…..talk about multi-tasking, always risky with photo shoots, but Jason pulled it off with panache. I loved working with him and while the hair iron was warming up he talked to me about his identity as an artist.

AM: How did you get involved with recording a dance song?

JD: I’ve always wanted to perform as a recording artist. I grew up idolizing Madonna and that got me started. She was the first ‘gay man’ I related to.

AM: Have you been recording for a while now?

JD: I have had a few dance singles recorded by producers who weren’t right for me. I’m vocally limited. If the producer knows how to work with me I can sound great. So I finally teamed up with the right producer (Joe Hoag) and ironically he has won several Dove Awards for Christian music.

AM: When have you recorded in the past?

JD: I recorded two songs when I first moved to Los Angeles. The second single got me some meetings with dance labels but I was only 19 and as green as green can get. The material might have been good but they were telling me I wasn’t ready. At any rate, during every hiatus I’ve ever had, I would end up in my garage with my laptop in Garage Band writing songs just for myself.

AM: What is your writing process like?

JD: I start by laying a beat down and then I write a melody or I write a lot of poetry so I will start there. This spring when I realized there was going to be time I started writing six or seven songs literally singing into the lap top built in microphone. You can only imagine the quality of this. None the less I felt like the songs were good. I sent them to several producers and then my friend Debby Holliday who’s had 5 or 6 top twenty dance hits told me Joe Hoag would be perfect for me. We clicked and started working together.

AM: Did you have success with Joe Hoag?

JD: It was very experimental at first, and we had various results. We finally had a product that my publicist leaked on MySpace and I did not get any negative feedback. You know how we love to be negative. I’m guilty of it, but I got no negative feedback so I thought, ‘Wow people are digging it.’ There is positive feedback.

AM: What was your next step?

JD: I decided to do a surprise performance at the Rose Room in Dallas this past March, which is my home away from home. I did not want any publicity. I just wanted to perform my song and do my ‘naughty’ routine.

AM: What was that like?

JD: The crowd loved it! They went crazy. I had two women throw themselves on my runway. One woman pulled her top off and screamed, ‘I love you!’ She completely threw off my choreography. The response was so intense and overwhelming that it threw me. The very next weekend I was booked in Nashville where I was told I couldn’t do anything except sing. I couldn’t even touch myself.

AM: Did they love you in Nashville?

JD: The response there was phenomenal. With every step it appears like the single could be successful so I have had to take new steps like hiring a promoter. It was not an easy sell for me. My promoter represents an A list clientele (Celine Dion, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Pet Shop Boys) so he can’t water down his talent pool.

AM: Was he enthusiastic?

JD: It took two weeks before I got a yes from him. I’m just about guaranteed to chart in Billboard. My song has been getting played in Berlin. I have requests to have the song in other European countries. DJ’s are emailing me for the song.

AM: How did you know what to do to get the song played?

JD: I’m doing this the way I heard about from Lady GaGa. She basically toured the country playing any bar for free when she started promoting ‘Just Dance’ so by the time the song got heat behind it people knew who she was. It’s really hard to get any song and artist you don’t know played. I am using this as my template for the pre-promotional push. Once the song is actually serviced by the promoter to all the DJs around the world with all the re-mixes I will stop working for free.

AM: Sounds like you are really enjoying yourself.

JD: It’s been a blast. One of the most fun experiences of my life so far.

AM: Do you consider yourself a singer who acts or an actor who sings?

JD: First and foremost I do not consider myself a singer at all. I think you should be able to sit down with a piano or a guitar and sing. I don’t do that. I think I am enjoying this more than I am enjoying acting, but it could be a result of not working on any acting jobs recently. Is it that I just love working? So I am having to figure out, do I just love being in front of people performing whether it is on film or stage or do I enjoy singing more. I have more control in the singing. I started my own record label. I know that I love performing. Once I am acting and singing simultaneously I will be able to answer that question more accurately. Right now I do not know. I am confused in a good way.

photos by Alan Mercer

Learn more about Jason at his MySpace page
http://www.myspace.com/southernbaptistsissies