Entries from February 2008 ↓

This week’s Musician of the Week comes to our attention via our blog reader Huntre’s suggestion - Melissa Rice. Melissa has a YouTube channelwhere she has over 20 videos of herself singing, playing the piano, and sometimes just being silly. Her videos have earned tens of thousands, and sometimes hundreds of thousands of views. She’s got a powerful voice, and some definite skills on the keys. And she’s another musician along the lines of Esmee Denters who is proving that even using the most basic equipment, from the comfort of your own home, you can develop a following, and maybe even a career. Melissa’s YouTube channel has had, as of this blog entry, over 195,000 channel views and 2,364 subscribers. This is what the new music “industry” hopefully will be about - people with talent putting it out there, and the public responding, without mediation from labels. So thanks, Huntre, for your suggestion. And everyone, keep them coming. Post your comments below about Melissa, or give you own suggestion about who you think should be next week’s DocuTune’s Musician of the Week.

I must admit . . .the first time I heard the intriguing voice of Ingrid Michaelson was on an Old Navy commercial for sweaters, singing “The Way I Am”. The song was simply arranged and catchy, with the feel of a timeless classic. It stuck in my head.

The next time I heard her was once again on television - on Grey’s Anatomy, in fact, where her song “Keep Breathing” was placed in a musical montage for the season finale. I didn’t make the connection that this was the same person, however, until I happened to stumble upon her MySpace page a couple of months back. It was then that I fully came to appreciate the talent that is Ingrid Michaelson.

Ingrid Michaelson remains an independent musician, which is admirable and may be smart, considering some of the fortuitous placements of her music in commercials and TV shows she’s gotten without big label support and thus with a label taking a bite out of the revenue this generates. This seems to be a good business model for young independent musicians to try to emulate. Her songs have been heard by millions, and seem to have preceded her name and face recognition into fame. However, now that I’ve given the full compliment of her work a listen, I can see that she’s not far behind. This is the kind of act I’d like to catch now in a small, intimate club before she’s a household name.

Here it is, as promised . . .the unveiling of our very first DocuTunes “Musician of the Week” (insert drum roll here . . . ) Kate Taylor. In this video, Kate records her rendition of “Crying in the Rain” at the home studio of her nephew, and fellow musician Ben Taylor. Ben and singer/songwriter David Saw also accompany Kate on guitar. This video actually comes from the DocuTunes vault, and was shot/edited by my husband Ken and I on Martha’s Vineyard. We were happy that it was the most recommended video contender this week by you.

Every Thursday we’re posting a new great music-related video, and we need your help traveling the web far and wide to come up with suggestions! Keep us posted on what you think is great by posting the URL of your favorite video in the comments section below. If you’re a stumbler, please consider giving us a thumbs up so we can get more people in the mix to weigh in

One of my favorite things to do while surfing the net is to check out what good home-grown talent is rising to the surface on YouTube and other user generated video sites. The internet is creating an opportunity to democratize music like we’ve never seen before. With this in mind, DocuTunes is launching “DocuTunes Musician of the Week”. We’re asking you to post links below in the comments section to your favorite music related videos you’ve come across while poking around online. Feel free to submit whatever moves you, from the absurd to the sublime, the young musician singing into their webcam to the slick music video. Every week, we’ll pick a winner, and profile their video on the blog. The first winner will be announced on February 14th, 2008.