Meet DownToJam: a Toronto-based app that uses dating app algorithms to find your John and/or Paul and/or George and/or Ringo.

Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69” follows a young man’s rock and roll dreams to their bitter, premature end. By the song’s end, the ‘guys from school’ have all ditched the band – and their collective dreams. In the last verse, Adams’ now significantly older protagonist looks at his dusty old axe as a metaphor for days gone by and opportunities lost.

But what if Adams’ denim-vested hero could just punch a few details into his smartphone, find all new bandmates and keep the dream alive? Enter DownToJam; a website and smartphone app that matches you with an entire network of potential bandmates to help keep your rock and roll fantasies alive. It’s time to fish that old six-string out of the crawlspace.

Founded by Toronto’s Shaan Singha, Neil McWilliam, and Troy Fullerton in 2013, DownToJam offers musicians an opportunity to create a profile, and connect with a network of like-minded users. Think of it as a dating app for musicians. Plenty of Phish, if you will.

Your profile can include your skill and commitment levels, the gear you use and even samples of your work for reference. So whether you gig regularly, or just want to hit a jam space every few weeks for some Springsteen covers, this app makes it happen. We chatted with Fullerton about the app’s creation, success to date and outlook on the future.

What got the process to create DownToJam started?

We started DownToJam because of a personal need to connect with musicians and a lack of resources that existed to help do so. After failing to find compatible musicians through various classifieds, my friend Shaan thought up the idea to create a website that functions the way online dating sites function, in that they aim to connect compatible partners. We figured the same functionality could be adapted to help compatible musicians find one another. This was back in the spring of 2013. Shaan and I began brainstorming how the site would function, and we soon approached Neil McWilliam to help us build it. The three of us formed an official partnership shortly thereafter.

Which apps inspired you during the development process?

We looked at various dating web apps and analysed popular social networks. We tried to understand what made them effective and how the designs optimized user experience.

What’s kinds of tech backgrounds do you come from?

Neil McWilliam is the sole web developer of DownToJam. For years before DownToJam, he owned a business that specialized in website design and development.

What background do you all come from artistically?

Neil and I have both played guitar for nearly 20 years, and have performed in bands for nearly half that time. We have a lot of playing experience and a little touring experience as well. Shaan is a hobbyist musician and mostly into DJ’ing. But Shaan brings a lot of graphic design skills to DownToJam, which helps round out our small team.

What kinds of musicians typically use DownToJam?

We have nearly 20,000 musicians on DownToJam, from beginner to pro and everywhere in between; though, the majority of users identify as intermediate to pro. We also have a wide range of musician types, from vocalists to guitarists to drummers to pianists.

What kinds of musicians would you like to attract more of?

All musicians are welcome on DownToJam. It’s always exciting to see the pros come on board, but DownToJam is for everybody. Any musician that takes the time to sign up, put their music out there, and start trying to find their next jam partner or bandmate is fine by us.

What did the initial version of DownToJam look like?

It tooks a couple months to build a beta version of the site. In the fall of 2013, we launched a version we were happy with and that had no bugs. We wanted to see the public’s reaction to our service, and when our expectations were validated by the high number of signups over the first few months, we started tweaking the design and adding/deleting/modifying features. The core features haven’t changed very much, but we still continue to tweak the design to always ensure our users have a great experience on the site.

How has it changed and improved over time?

When you have a solid foundation, it makes it easy to refine the site. We continue to improve our matching algorithm, our search engine, and implement as many changes as possible that come in from our members.

What kinds of features are you looking to add in future releases?

The most exciting addition to DownToJam.com is our Backstage Pass program, which we’re launching on September 6th. DownToJam is partnering with music-related service providers and vendors who are offering exclusive discounts on their services or products to members on DownToJam. These are discounts you won’t see anywhere else. We’re bundling the discounts into what we’re calling Backstage Passes, and selling them for an unbeatable price. In one pass, you might get an hour free at a rehearsal space + an hour free at a recording studio + 15% guitar strings at a local retail shop + 50% off music video production + 40% off lawyer services related to your band, and so on. Musicians will save hundreds and thousands of dollars when they purchase some of these Passes. We’ll be launching our program in Ontario, Canada to start and then in our more popular regions over time.

What kinds of user success stories has DownToJam created? Which are your favourite examples?

We did an interview a little while back with a Toronto-based singer/songwriter who met her current band through our website. She received a message from one of the members of the band who saw her profile on the site, liked the songs she had posted, and asked her to audition. She nailed the audition, got hired on, and within a couple months they were co-headlining a show at Toronto’s Mod Club, a reputable venue in the city. They’ve since played a number of gigs, including charity events, school proms, and bar shows. Great band and I can’t wait to see them take it to the next level.

What user stories have pushed you to reevaluate and revise the app?

We encourage our members to reach out with any feedback they have. We tend to receive minor requests, and are more than happy to accommodate them in a timely manner.

DownToJam is available in the Google Play store