Tag Archive for Grammy's

With the score from Disney-Pixar’s Up garnering more and more attention as it sweeps every awards show this season (the GRAMMYs, Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globe Awards to date), it’s clear that movie scores are more than just the alternative to vocally-focused soundtracks. Film scores have always been around, but often times songs contributed by industry pop stars and up-and-coming acts get all the glory. During the past few years, many scores have proven strong enough to carry a film and captivate audiences. Now it’s time for them to get the appreciation they deserve.

Continue reading ‘Under Supervision: Scores That Won’t Bore’

On January 31, 2010 at 8PM, CBS will air the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. With over 100 award categories in genres like Rock, Pop, Rap, R&B, Gospel, Bluegrass, Metal, New Age, Tejano and Hawaiian music, there is one thing that stands out to me — there is no Punk category. But should there be?

Continue Reading Punk On The Rocks: Should There Be A Punk Grammy?

“How do you react to those words… ‘And why aren’t you famous yet? You’ve had a few years to do it. Cause then I could say I knew you and you wouldn’t be so so so so boring… so boring.’”
~from the song “I Love You, Richard”

Richard Saunders writes songs, plays piano and sings with his band the too-cool-for-yous. He’s not boring at all. In fact, he’s a jazz vocal virtuoso.

One doesn’t need to check out his incredible array of awards to know it. Although, they are pretty hard to ignore. In 2008, Richard was the first-ever vocalist selected to sing with the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and participated for the second time in the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY jazz choir. In the same year, he won silver in the jazz voice category at the NFAA youngARTS week. Not to mention Richard is one of only twenty high school (yes, HIGH SCHOOL) students that the US Department of Education has selected to be a Presidental Scholar in the Arts.

But forget the awards for a minute. Listen to Richard’s music and you’ll have a hard time  convincing yourself for a second that you aren’t in a well-known jazz club, from decades and decades ago, checking out one of the greats. His music is described as “soulfulicious.” We take that as a mix between “soulful” and “delicious.”  We bet you’ll agree after checking out the songs below.

Did you catch the Grammys? Well you’re not alone. In fact, according to the New York Times 19.7 million viewers tuned in. More interesting, however, is the post-Grammy surge in numbers for all participating artists. The fact of the matter is when you win an award like a Grammy you get much more than just bragging rights you’re also going to see a significant increase in album sales.

Indie artists don’t need to win a Grammy to gain some momentum in this industry. In fact, I’ve got a few stories for you that prove just that. Plushgun, our favorite Electronic Indie band, signed to Tommy Boy Entertainment as a result of their OurStage story. Coconut Records increased their album sales by an incredible amount and Scissors for Lefty has been given the chance to play at Noise Pop this year thanks, in part, to their participation on OurStage.

Coconut Records:
No doubt you’ve heard of this forward-thinking, catchy artist. I bet you didn’t know that he was once an unknown OurStager himself. After winning the Grand Prize in October of 2007, his song “West Coast” was featured as one of the top 10 “favorited” songs on OurStage. Then he appeared in a feature interview (part 1 and part 2) for OurStage with our very own Quinn Strassel. The story was picked up by blogger and online personality Perez Hilton. Coconut Records immediately saw an increase in album sales by about 1500% on iTunes. By offering unique Polaroids with each album purchase, Jason Schwartzman added a personal touch for his fans and put his name into the mainstream as a dynamic artist.

Plushgun:
Your favorite electro-indie pop band is no stranger to rising success. This group is the very definition of increased success through OurStage. As a steady contest winner month after month for almost an entire year, Plushgun certainly proved their consistency as a rising talent. The next step was to play some high profile gigs. They were afforded the opportunity to play at CMJ in 2007, and SXSW in 2008 through the festivals’ partnerships with OurStage. Their strong stage presence sealed the deal with Tommy Boy Records (who had been following them for several months online). The rest is history.

Scissors for Lefty:
This indie rock band was already moderately well-known before becoming a member on OurStage. Last year, they played at SXSW as a part of the Rachel Ray feature stage. This band was no stranger to the spotlight. However, after joining OurStage and ranking high in the Noise Pop Channel, Scissors for Lefty has now been selected to play the 2009 Noise Pop Festival.

Whether you’re a band trying to hit it big, or an artist just trying to add a few fans to your following, keep in mind that you don’t need a Grammy to achieve success. Artists like Coconut Records, Plushgun, and Scissors for Lefty are great examples.

This multi-talented singer/songwriter may appear to have coasted through the music industry “under the radar” as of late. However, if you haven’t heard of her yet, you will soon.  Her recent successes on OurStage in our female singer channel are only the beginning of the mark she has left in the industry. Born on a Navajo Indian Reservation, Moreno has been musically inclined and classically trained since the age of two. Recently her song “Hey World” was featured on the MTV series “The Hills”. Her success as an artist, however, isn’t the only feather in this musician’s hat. Her most notable and recent achievement is the Grammy nomination of her song “Every Day” as performed by Rascal Flatts. Overall, her success as an artist as well as a songwriter establishes Moreno as one of the most important rising musicians in her genre today. Check her out on OurStage and jump on her bandwagon!