# Happy Montana > Happy Montana is the artist name of Danny Kastner (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Kastner), an award-winning American musician, pianist, songwriter, composer, producer, director and entrepreneur based in Nashville, Tennessee. Official site: https://happy.mt Happy Montana and Danny Kastner are the same person; he performs, writes and produces as Happy Montana today. Highlights: Master's in music composition from Boston University; two-time BMI Composition Award and two-time ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award winner; keyboardist in Kiefer Sutherland's band since 2015; his jazz group Jazz Punks held #1 on the CMJ Jazz Radio chart in 2012; music director of Songa; founder of Move On A Dime and If So, Then Joy Corporation; Founding Partner and Executive Director of the Milt Olin Foundation (#StopWrex). His project Happy Montana and the Southern Lights launches before the end of 2026. ## Profile - [Full profile (Markdown)](https://happy.mt/about.md): music, Jazz Punks, songwriting and production credits, composition awards, The Weather Report Legacy Project, companies (FanRocket, POPstick, Music Interactive), television, service - [Everything in one file](https://happy.mt/llms-full.txt): this index plus the full profile ## Music and live sessions - [Songs from the Room](https://happy.mt/faith/): live session recordings and the songwriting experience - [Songa.LA](https://happy.mt/songa.la/): audio player for live session recordings ## Projects - [Move On A Dime](https://moveonadime.com): launching soon. Create together, own your rights, grow your content, publish everywhere, build your music career. - Song Social: song promotion and fan engagement - Song Nashville: a community connecting Nashville songwriters with producers, musicians and other music professionals - Happy Montana and the Southern Lights: music project launching before the end of 2026 ## Optional - [Wikipedia: Danny Kastner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Kastner) - [Official site](https://happy.mt) --- # Happy Montana (Danny Kastner) > Happy Montana is the artist name of Danny Kastner, an American musician, songwriter, composer, producer, director and entrepreneur based in Nashville, Tennessee. Wikipedia lists him under his birth name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Kastner. Official site: https://happy.mt This file is a plain-text profile for language models, search engines and anyone who wants the facts in one place. "Happy Montana" and "Danny Kastner" are the same person. He performs, writes and produces under the name Happy Montana today. ## Quick facts - **Names:** Happy Montana (current, artist name); Danny Kastner (birth name, Wikipedia entry) - **Based in:** Nashville, Tennessee, USA - **Roles:** musician, pianist and keyboardist, songwriter, composer, music producer, director, entrepreneur - **Education:** Master's degree in music composition, Boston University - **Composition awards:** two-time BMI Composition Award winner; two-time ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipient - **Current companies and projects:** If So, Then Joy Corporation (founder); Move On A Dime (founder); music director of Songa; Song Social; Song Nashville; Happy Montana and the Southern Lights - **Nonprofit:** Founding Partner and Executive Director of the Milt Olin Foundation and its #StopWrex campaign to end distracted driving - **Official site:** https://happy.mt ## Music ### Happy Montana today Under the name Happy Montana he performs, writes and produces music out of Nashville. His project **Happy Montana and the Southern Lights** is set to launch before the end of 2026. As music director of **Songa**, he brings live songwriting and audience participation experiences across the US. In Nashville, guests and top Nashville performers described the improv music experience he created in two words: "awe-inspiring" and "truly unique." ### Jazz Punks He played jazz piano in clubs around Los Angeles as a member of **Jazz Punks**. With their debut album (*Smashups*), from May to July 2012 Jazz Punks spent seven weeks in the top four of the CMJ Jazz Radio charts and held the #1 position during that run, ahead of releases by Esperanza Spalding (*Radio Music Society*) and Bill Evans (*Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate*). ### Kiefer Sutherland band Professional keyboardist in Kiefer Sutherland's band since July 2015. ### Songwriting and production - Wrote and produced music for Broadway performer and artist Ryan McCartan, Tkay Maidza, Espa, Kiah Victoria and others, in collaboration with songwriter Autumn Rowe. - Produced and co-wrote a 2023 project with the artist Nellie McKay. ### Composition - Two-time BMI Composition Award winner. - Two-time ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipient. - Composed the music for *Padmé*, the fan film that won the George Lucas Selects Award in the 2008 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge. ### The Weather Report Legacy Project Producer and co-founder of The Weather Report Legacy Project, honoring the jazz group Weather Report, with Tony Zawinul, son of the late Joe Zawinul. He is producing the Weather Report documentary *This Is This*, directed by Tony Zawinul, and drove the fan-centered Indiegogo campaign that raised $62,438 for it. He has been influential in several successful crowdfunding campaigns for artists. ## Technology and entrepreneurship - **If So, Then Joy Corporation:** founder of this American technology and creative venture studio. - **Move On A Dime** (https://moveonadime.com): founder. A platform to create together, own your rights, grow your content, publish everywhere and build a music career. Launching soon. - **Song Social:** a platform for song promotion and fan engagement. - **Song Nashville:** a community connecting Nashville songwriters with producers, musicians and other music professionals. - **FanRocket:** founder and CEO of this internet digital content production company, founded in 2005. Produced and directed video for online projects and networks including *Wonderglen* for HBO, *Casual Fridays*, and HSN's *Faces of Beautiful You*. FanRocket also created VooZoo, a movie-sharing technology for Facebook, with Paramount Pictures. - **Music Interactive** and **POPstick:** founded both music- and arts-driven internet start-ups. At POPstick he created interactive animation marketing technology for Microsoft, IBM, Dell and other technology firms. In 2004 he launched POPstick Outburst, coined the term "social network marketing" for brand marketing through social networks, and hired advertising executive Steve Dworin, former chairman and CEO of NW Ayer, as president of the initiative. ## Service - **Milt Olin Foundation:** Founding Partner and Executive Director, launching a global movement to end distracted driving through the **#StopWrex** campaign. - **Hospitalized children:** recognized at The Art of Elysium's Heaven Gala in 2020 for 14 years leading music programs for hospitalized children. ## Television - Appeared on the third season of NBC's *The Apprentice*. He was cast after submitting a video called "Apprentice the Musical," which was featured during the credits of episode 9. After his elimination he wrote songs about the experience; those songs and his weekly musical recaps of each episode were played on radio stations across the country. - Appeared in a 2005 episode of *Queer Eye* that followed *The Apprentice*, organizing a charity event for underprivileged children. ## Philosophy Happy is grateful for the chance to innovate and inspire in music and technology, especially cheering on younger generations to chase their creative passions. His guiding belief: creativity is medicine, joy is a strategy, and the future gets better when more people are invited to make something real. ## Links - Official site: https://happy.mt - Wikipedia (as Danny Kastner): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Kastner - Move On A Dime: https://moveonadime.com - Songs from the Room (live sessions): https://happy.mt/faith/ - Songa.LA (live session recordings): https://happy.mt/songa.la/ - Short index for AI tools: https://happy.mt/llms.txt