Jojo Draven is an Indonesian-born American musician and

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

composer. She is a cast member of the

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, b ...

. She has worked with illusionist Criss Angel as his sole musician in his touring show The Supernaturalists. She was also the guitarist for the Shrapnel Records/Geffen Records recording artist all-female heavy metal band Phantom Blue and was the co-founder and original member of the all-female

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style ...

The Iron Maidens The Iron Maidens are an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 2001 as an all-female tribute act to English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The band currently consists of drummer Linda McDonald, bassist Wanda Ortiz, lead vocali ...

Biography

Born in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

, Indonesia, Jojo Draven started her music career as a keyboardist for several rock bands in the country. She learned to play guitar in her last year of Senior High School, after being told that she was too old to start learning a new instrument. Shortly afterward, she joined an all-female rock band as the guitarist and main songwriter and found some success touring and recording with the band before relocating to the U.S. where she studied at the

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachel ...

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. There, she became the protégé of

Alex Skolnick Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tr ...

, guitarist of the heavy metal band

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller nov ...

. In 1996, Draven joined the all-female band Phantom Blue as their main guitarist. She remained with the band until its demise in late 2001. On June of that same year, she and drummer Linda McDonald joined vocalist

Jenny Warren Jenny Warren is an American singer, best known as the co-founder of the all-female tribute band the Iron Maidens. Biography Jenny Warren first had an Iron Maiden tribute band called Wrathchild. The idea came when she discovered the website o ...

, bassist Melanie Sisneros and guitarist Sara Marsh (formerly of Bandit) to form the

("World's Only Female Tribute to

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

"). Her stage name in the Maidens was "Adrianne Smith," a female version of Iron Maiden guitarist

Adrian Smith Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio. Smith grew up in London ...

. Draven's tenure in both Phantom Blue and the Maidens earned her three Los Angeles Rock City Awards for Best Female Guitarist. Shortly after the release of the band's self-titled debut album in 2005, Draven left the Maidens to pursue a career in composing film scores – many of which have been produced and/or directed by her husband, Danny Draven. She was featured in the album ''Warmth in the Wilderness'', a tribute album to pay homage to Jason Becker, appearing in the album alongside

Marty Friedman Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 unti ...

Paul Gilbert Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which h ...

and

Vinnie Moore Vincent Moore (born April 14, 1964) is an American guitarist and a member of the British hard rock band UFO. Biography Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware. He began his professional career at age 12 after receiving a guitar as a Chri ...

. In 2001, she recorded "Baby's on Fire" featuring Ralph Saenz (lead singer for Steel Panther) on vocals,

Ray Luzier Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

(drummer for

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 b ...

and David Lee Roth Band) on drums, Tip Petersen on bass, and Jojo Draven on guitar. In April 2011, through an audition process Draven was hired as guitarist for the

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, beating many other male candidates. In March 2015, illusionist

Criss Angel Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos ( el, Χριστόφορος Νικόλαος Σαραντάκος; born December 19, 1967), known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. Angel began his career in New ...

came to a Blue Man Group show and upon seeing Draven on stage told her that he wanted her to play for his touring show. By April 2015, he hired Draven and she went on a residency tour with his Supernaturalists show.

Career as score composer

In 2001, Draven composed her first film score for the motion picture ''Hell Asylum''. Since then, she has gone to score other independent films such as

Patient Seven ''Patient Seven'' is a 2016 American horror anthology film with segments directed by Danny Draven, Paul Davis, Ómar Örn Hauksson, Dean Hewison, Joel Morgan and Johannes Persson. The film is inspired by 1972 British Amicus Productions anthology ...

starring Hollywood's favorite bad guy

Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, and has also portrayed sympathetic characters. E ...

. In 2016, she joined other accomplished female composers in a Los Angeles showcase honoring long-time composer Deborah Lurie, in which Hollywood director Joss Whedon was in attendance and promoted the ladies. In 2018, she signed a four-picture deal with Candybar Entertainment, a family entertainment production company, breaking her away from the horror genre. Jojo_Draven_Profile_Photo_2018

Discography

Phantom Blue

* '' Caught Live'' (1997) * '' Full Blown'' (1998)

The Iron Maidens

* ''

World's Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden ''The Iron Maidens: World's Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden'' is the debut album by American all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens. The album features selected tracks originally performed by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Michael Ken ...

'' (2005/2006) * '' Girls Got Rhythm!'' (Compilation) (2006) ** "

Run to the Hills "Run to the Hills" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as their sixth single and the first from the band's third studio album, '' The Number of the Beast'' (1982). It is their first single with Bruce Dickinso ...

" * '' Route 666'' (2007) ** Appears on the live DVD portion.

Collaborations

* ''Warmth in The Wilderness'' (Tribute to

Jason Becker Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...

) * ''Gitar Klinik 2'' (Various artists)

Filmography

* ''Hell Asylum'' (2001) * ''Cryptz'' (2002) * ''Darkwalker'' (2003) * ''

Ring of Darkness ''Ring of Darkness'' is a 2004 fantasy horror film directed by David DeCoteau and starring Ryan Starr, Matt T. Baker, and Adrienne Barbeau. Although never released into American theaters, the movie was released worldwide, and translated into se ...

'' (2004) * '' Witches of the Caribbean'' (2005) * ''Ghost Month'' (2008) *The Invisible Chronicles (2009) *Reel Evil (2012) *Patient Seven (2016) *The Three Bears and The Perfect Gift (2018)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Draven, Jojo Living people Indonesian women composers Indonesian film score composers Indonesian composers Indonesian guitarists Women guitarists Year of birth missing (living people) People from Java The Iron Maidens members Phantom Blue members