In the eight years since Danny McGaw moved to Ojai, he's developed a devoted following, especially among fellow local musicians. Born in Manchester, he was only member of his working-class family to have musical ambitions. He also had athletic ambitions; he was a talented footballer selected for the professional track. But at age 18, he came to the proverbial crossroads after an injury, and made the fateful choice to pursue his singer-songwriter ambitions.

He's on road for the resumption of a pandemic-interrupted tour of Three Dog Night, hitmakers of such familiar songs as "Joy to the World," "Old-Fashioned Love Song" and "If I Ever Get to Spain," which brings him back to Ojai for a show at Libbey Bowl on August 19th. McGaw was selected for the prestigious slot through the admiration of Three Dog Night's founder Danny Hutton. His Ojai-based son Tim V. Hutton heard Danny playing his regular Sunday night slot at The Vine and asked to join Danny and his band, and so the connection was made. When Tim joined his father on tour, Danny was invited to open.

We talk about Danny's introduction to songwriting at age 10, and his prolific process and discipline, which begins at 5 a.m. and has led to him writing thousands of songs. His latest album, "Set Me Free," dropped earlier this year. His work is available on his website, dannymcgaw.com. Danny also talks about his years perfecting his craft as a busker in Los Angeles, as a regular performer in Kansas City and making the most of the opportunities to get up in front of an audience. 

We did not talk about Jacquard looms, the fiction of Chinua Achebe or guitar picks.