Call it a talent show nightmare, but for the Sketchy Randoms it was the dream.
When the rap/acoustic duo took the Spring Sing stage back in 2002, they delivered a performance of their song “P.I.M.P.,” also known as “Pimpin’ is my Pleasure,” in its original and entirely uncensored form before getting kicked out of the competition.
UCLA alumnus Javier Dunn, former Sketchy Randoms member who had been Sara Bareilles’ guitarist for seven years, has said he often only performed for the entertainment value, rather than professional pursuit. The experience of playing guitar as part of a touring band has paved the road for him to break away and finally become his own artist. In the last year, Dunn signed with a record label and is coming out with his debut album, “Trails,” set to release June 25.
“The song was a horribly juvenile song,” Dunn said. “We promised we wouldn’t swear throughout the whole rehearsal (process) but during the actual show, we went back to the original song. We got disqualified but, whatever, that was our whole goal.”
Ben Stapleton, Dunn’s freshman year roommate and longtime friend, said it is moments like the Spring Sing performance that embody the singer’s running streak of anti-establishment and, with that, his commitment to his own musical identity.
“Javier is a singer-songwriter who you know will cover (Dr. Dre and) Snoop Dogg’s ‘Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang,’” Stapleton said. “That’s what makes him cool, and he’s not going to sacrifice himself for the system.”
At the same time, it has taken a while for Dunn to figure out where he wants to take his musical career despite the praised talent and obvious passion. In his first quarter at UCLA, Dunn even tried out for the Jazz Combos in the music department but never went back to see the final results.
“I was so afraid and not confident,” Dunn said. “Basically, that day, I realized I wasn’t good enough to be a music major. It’s what I thought, and I decided to just focus on academics and do music around town instead.”
Dunn said although he knew he always wanted to be a musician, practicality had always interfered with reality, and his parents encouraged him to have an academic degree as a backup. After graduating, Dunn performed a variety of odd jobs. It wasn’t until he met Bareilles through a friend and began playing guitar for her that the idea of being a full-time musician was realized.
Although Dunn said he always wanted to be an independent musician, traveling around the world with Bareilles to play music has been an experience he never thought would happen and admittedly a comfort zone he didn’t want to break away from.
“Sara always encouraged me to be my own artist but I was (thinking) why would I do that when I can travel around the world with her and play in Madison Square Garden?” Dunn said. “But the reality is that you can’t do all of that (yourself) until you start to work towards it.”
The push to break away happened last spring when Dunn produced four new songs in two weeks. Dunn had released an album, “Winnetka,” back in 2006, but he said many of those songs were written during his time off the road and most felt incomplete.
Dunn deviates from his traditional acoustic guitar this time around and begins instead with beats and synths. Dunn experimented with layering together these elements until he had replicated the sounds he had been hearing in his head for years but had not been able to orchestrate in a cohesive manner.
“I was listening to a ton of like Kanye West and Frank Ocean and the new Gotye record – a lot of music that was program heavy. I had always listened to that kind of stuff but never felt in tune to make that music,” Dunn said. “(This time, the music) was from this whole new side of the brain, (like I was) producing this new R&B song and then turning it into something that was more like me.”
At the same time Dunn was experiencing a sonic revelation that catalyzed his courage to develop this sound, Bareilles also expressed her desire for a change with the production of her future work.
“It was the mama bird pushing me out of the nest after I had been wanting to fly, and it was a blessing,” Dunn said. “Now, I honestly feel like this is the best music I’ve ever made. I feel like if there is a time for me to do it, it should be now.”
Jesse Thomas, a colleague and friend of Dunn, said breaking away from a stable job in the music industry is not an easy decision to make when every musician’s goal is to stay afloat and have that steady income.
“I admire that he reached that point that he was strong enough and had the guts enough to pull away and really dive into his own music,” Thomas said. “I see him continuing to climb to the top but not in any sort of desperate way.”
In honoring this creative breakthrough, Dunn said he now looks toward building his fan base through traveling the world. His first task will be to build his name by finding a touring artist in need of an opening act.
For now, Dunn said it’s also about balancing the struggles of being in an emotionally and financially foreign situation with the hope that everything will fall into place. Whenever these struggles overwhelm him, Dunn reminds himself: it’s just music.
“Nobody’s dying. I’m not saving any lives and how lucky am I that even though I’m broke, this is my living,” Dunn said. “I think it’s just to pull music from somewhere – God knows where – to make it and hope that people dig it.”