You can hear neighborhood resident Jason Michael sing at Club DaDa or Club Clearview. Or you can turn on your television and hear him sing while your children watch cartoons — namely, the theme song of “Clifford, the Big Red Dog” on PBS. “Kids love this program,” Michael says. “They love this song.” Michael, 35, recorded the song about five years ago when he and his wife, Nicole, lived in Los Angeles. At the time, he was working hard with his rhythm and blues band, Jones. A friend who worked at a recording studio that produced several theme songs for children’s shows, including “Rugrats,” called Michael and asked him to come in for a tryout. “Clifford” was in the works, and the creators were having a hard time finding the right voice for the theme song. “They had like 30 singers try it, and they didn’t like them,” Michael says. But his voice was exactly what they had in mind. He walked into the studio, looked at the music, and immediately recorded it. It’s ironic, he says, because he spends hours rehearsing and recording his own music, but he spent only half an hour on the Clifford song. “I didn’t really think about it,” Michael says. “It was a gig.” And a gig that paid off. The song was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for best daytime children’s theme song. Michael says he and his wife were struggling financially at the time, and the money he earned for that half hour far exceeded his earnings for any other gig. While in Los Angeles, Michael also did a few voiceovers for ABC, but he spent most of his time on tour with his band, even opening for big names such as Uncle Kracker, The Fixx and Tina Marie. The Michaels moved back to Dallas a few years ago for a more normal life, and his current day job is renovating older homes and selling them. But most of his band moved to Dallas with him, and Jones frequently plays in local clubs. “I love music,” Michael says. “I can’t remember wanting to do anything else.”
To learn more about Jones, go to www.myspace.com/thejonesband.
