Luke Shaffer, known as Luke James, has moved one step closer to a big break in

Luke Shaffer, known as Luke James

the music industry.

The 2003 graduate of Eastwood H.S. has made it to the Hollywood round of American Idol, and he hopes the honor gains him more exposure and experience.

“If I do well, that would be awesome, but if I don’t, I know that I will have an amazing life experience under my belt that I hope to learn something from,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer got his first guitar when he was 16, but he didn’t start playing it until he was 18. His brother John sparked him to become better.

“I set out to play it better,” he said. “I just wanted to be better than him.”

Shaffer said his mom forced him to join choir class around his sophomore year at Eastwood. He also performed in a few musicals.

“Nothing too involved, though, honestly,” he said about his time at Eastwood.

At around 19 or 20 years old, Shaffer started performing in bars and at friends’ homes. It was at that time he began recording songs on MySpace.

He was then invited to play at Maxwell’s in Toledo. After doing that for a little while, Shaffer started performing at Kamikaze’s in Bowling Green every Tuesday night.

He finished his degree in interpersonal communications at BGSU in 2008. Then, Shaffer began to think about a career in music.

His girlfriend had moved to New York City, and Shaffer wanted a big city to pursue music in, so, he packed up and moved to the Big Apple.

Following the move, Shaffer said his “career” has consisted of taking people’s orders as he waited their tables at a French restaurant in SoHo.

“I’ve played music as much as possible and started playing out and around the city whenever I have been given the opportunity,” he said.

It was over the previous few years that Shaffer had thought about trying out for American Idol.

“I figured I had nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain if it went well,” he said.

He traveled to Louisville, KY last year to audition. He sang “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5. He didn’t make it, but he learned from it.

“I learned a little bit how the audition process works and just to be more confident,” he said.

So he tried again this year in Boston.

“I waited basically all day long in the rain from about 4 a.m. until night time...late man, it was late,” he said of his experience waiting to audition.

He went entirely alone to the audition and sang, “Fall for You” by Secondhand Serenade.

“I thought the song wouldn’t be too popular, and it fit my vocals pretty well,” he said. “I was just trying to sing something I knew as to not mess up the words.”

Following the audition, he heard the words he had wanted to hear, “You’re through to Hollywood,” and it has opened his music up to many new fans.

“It’s about (having) new people discover your music and this is what people are doing,” he said. “I have more people listening to my MySpace songs every day. It’s great.”

Shaffer describes his music as “mostly uplifting acoustic pop.”

“I have songs that aren’t quite as “happy” if you will, but they all have meaning. I try and write songs that have some sort of meaning to me, to someone, to anyone.”

If he had to choose a song that is his favorite, Shaffer said he would choose “Monsters,” which is a lullaby that not too many people have heard. It will be on his album. He would also recommend two songs he recently wrote called “Fresh” and “This Town.”

“It’s just so hard to choose (favorites),” he said. “I have a few songs of my own I really like, but they are all mine and it is hard to choose which one I like the most.”

Through it all, Shaffer said his family has remained “extremely supportive and positive.”

“I can’t do this kind of thing without my family.”

He said he also couldn’t have done this without his girlfriend Cassie Dzienny.

“She has stood by me for years. She is a life saver,” he said.

Shaffer is bound by his American Idol contract from saying anything about how his Hollywood experience has been like. He isn’t bound by his contract from recommending fans to check out his music though.

Fans can do that at LukeJamesLive.com or by checking out his YouTube account at youtube.com/lukejamesshaffer.

Local music fans were also pleased to learn that Crystal Bowersox, of Elliston, received a “Golden Ticket’ to move on to Hollywood at her Chicago audition for American Idol.

Born and raised a farm girl, Bowersox spread her country roots in Chicago before returning to the Toledo area. She has performed internationally in Birmingham, UK; Istanbul, Turkey; and Oxaca, Mexico as well as in Memphis and Los Angeles.

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