The making of this Central Coast artist

Breaking into the music industry is tough, but one Central Coast artist is rising by staying true to his roots.

Eduardo Vargas (stage name: DannyV), may appear like your usual 20-something from the 831, but the Watsonville native is far from typical.

For over six years, Vargas has been putting in the work—learning new skills, producing content, building a following.

Now, the 28-year-old artist is reaping the rewards, closing out a packed 2025 with more live shows and growing traction on Spotify, YouTube, and social media.

“This is really the first year that I’ve been doing shows non-stop since the year started and it’s really showed me where my audience is,” said Vargas, who in addition to his music, has a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. “Now, I can collect the data and come back at the end of the year and reflect on the cities that worked well, and the ones that didn’t when we start organizing a tour with multiple stops next year.”

His latest single, “100,000 hours,” is about his journey as an independent artist trying to make it in the music industry.

“The opportunities that I’ve been given weren’t because this happened overnight—I’ve put in the work,” said Vargas, while he sat outside a Watsonville coffee shop. “There was a series of several nights learning how to engineer, how to produce, how to record.”

Vargas got his start making beats while in high school. Then, as he attended Cabrillo College and San Jose State University, he started producing other artists.

“I was selling my beats and when I got to San Jose, artists would ask me do I record artists, too? So that inspired me to buy the equipment and learn how to engineer vocals,” said Vargas. “So, I started this whole musical journey by learning the fundamentals of recording and production.”

After a while of producing for other artists, he wanted something more.

“It felt like it just wasn’t good enough for me—I wanted to take a stab at it and try it myself,” said Vargas. “I had the microphone. I knew how to make beats. I knew how to engineer the vocals. I had all the ingredients to make a record.”

The first single

The DannyV sound is a blend of rhythm & blues and hip-hop. As of late, the artist has brought a soulful feel to his music, reminiscent of the oldies his mother would listen to while he was growing up.

“My mom had this Greatest Hits oldies CD that had Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Persuaders’ “Thin line between love and hate,” so many of those classic records,” said Vargas. “I feel like those records are a core memory of my youth.”

Vargas started writing records in Spanish, influenced by reggaeton which surged in popularity around 2019.

Then COVID-19 hit, everyone started sheltering-in-place, and schools went online. Vargas took advantage of the downtime.

“Since I was going to San Jose State, there wasn’t much time for me to fully focus on music, but when COVID hit, I was able to go to school online and focus on writing and recording,” said Vargas. “I did that for a year and then dropped my first single (Toxic) in 2021 and I got about 10,000 streams the first week.”

His debut EP, “The Lost & Found,” soon followed.

Fast forward to 2025 and the artist has three albums on Spotify, with over 100,000 streams each on his most popular singles.

The strategic approach

Vargas’ approach to the music industry is more method and strategy than hopes and dreams, a reflection of his engineering background.

“It’s essentially optimizing a system and learning how to improve it,” said Vargas.

For the artist, this means using data to pick where he performs, building and leveraging his social media following, and driving further engagement through video and collaborations.

“When it comes to me in the studio the engineering hat completely comes off and it’s all creativity,” said Vargas. “But when it comes to the marketing aspect of it, then my hat switches.”

The underdawg

Vargas is also part of a musical collective called the underdawgs, a group of musicians, photographers, videographers releasing their own content while building a movement.

“It’s essentially a group of musicians from places like Watsonville, Tracy, Los Baños— towns, where you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see talent come out of,” said Vargas. “R.SOL has brought together a community of underdogs per se and uses his skills in videography and photography to give it that elevated look, because obviously, if it doesn’t look quality, then why would you buy into it?”

Vargas and his team bring his music to life through a series of videos, with most filmed in his hometown.

“I feel like I’ve shot in every part of the city by this point,” said Vargas. “Watsonville is obviously a beautiful area, but for me it was more to prove a point — you can be successful from where you’re coming from.”

East Lake, a major street that runs through the city’s eastside, from the downtown to the agricultural outskirts, is a recurring reference.

“East Lake is just the street name, but to me, it represents, being an underdog from a small town, whether that’s Watsonville, Tracy, Los Baños, Prunedale, Salinas,” said Vargas. “With these videos, it’s me saying you can make it from where you’re from and you can do cool stuff.”

This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Watsonville’s DannyV levels up in his rise as a music triple-threat