Singer songwriter born and raised in Manchester, Chris has been singing all his life heavily influenced by soul jazz and gospel.
Despite no musical background in his family Chris knew his
place was on the stage weather in theatre or popular music & always had a passion for music.
Chris started to get work around the age of 17 after the
success of channel 4s musicool which he was fortunate enough to be apart
of, and since then he has performed at events around the UK showcasing
his soulful voice. Aswell as musicool Chris has also been lucky enough
to work within music touring with artists and opening for acts such as
Neyo and T-Pain not to mention touring with Josh Groban as a backing
vocalist for his sold out uk tour.
One in A Million’ is the song that sparked Charm to realise her
talent. Born Charmain Andrews, Charm was once low in confidence, that was until she found
her sense of self through singing. Now on her way to becoming queen of
the live music scene, Charm’s voice really is ‘one in a million’.
Using her formative years to experiment, Charm was drawn to others
using music as an expression. Her friendship group quickly became that
of rappers, singers, producers and musicians. The talented artist was reluctant to
settle for being simply a vocalist and developed her skill of
songwriting. ‘The pen would control my hand. A beat would play and my
pen would not leave the page, it was as if the song was already
written!’
The lovely, quirky singer songstress Mila Falls is all out dressed to impress and has a personality to match!
The talented lady is a singer, songwriter and producer.
As a writer Mila Falls has had her tracks in USA films such as "Bring It
On". Recently she has been finishing her debut album. This features
co-writes with some of the worlds Grammy Award winning heavy-weights
with credits such as Britney Spears, Beyonce and Outkast.
Catch the wonderfully gifted Mila performing an acoustic set @ Fat Talent LIVE this Sunday
Thank you to all who have been in touch re my last entry. I had a great time in L.A. but to me it was always a business trip,so I didn’t do much sightseeing(plenty of time for that later). Instead I got to see how people, right in the mix of the industry, spend their time.
By the third day in I was getting up a little earlier than normal to get ready.You never knew when you were going to get a call to go somewhere and meet someone, so I had to be ready all the time.This was both exciting but also a little tedious.I get what they mean when some artists say, ‘It’s not all glitz and glamour!’Sitting in full make-up, trying not to get your clothes creased, while waiting for the phone to ring, was not fun.And then, in a flash, the call would come through and you’d be bundled out of the door, headingdown Freeway 101 towards Wilshire Boulevard or maybe Downtown to get a new outfit for a show the next day.
Now that bit was fun!Being driven around and watching the skyline change from the tops of posh high-rise apartment blocks to mountainous views with houses perched right on the edge of a cliff. Beautiful!
Now the cars on the freeway were something else!The cars were huge to start off and the drivers in L.A. are CRAZY! I have never seen such awful driving!We’re talking bumper to bumper! So close you can see the sweat forming on the driver’s neck in front of you!And that was probably the safest time to drive! At least there was no room for the mad manoeuvres these people would make when there was about an inch in between cars!I think the speed limit was 65kmph but who knew?No-one stuck to it!Each driver would go speeding down the freeway and then slam on the brakes so they came to a halt about a millimetre from the car in front.All good if you've got ABS, but if the man behind you hasn’t and you slam them brakes on... it’s carnage!An experience I found out the hard way as we drove from Calabasas to Ventura.
My driver (not mentioning any names) slammed on his brakes and he stopped in plenty of time, but the guy behind us had to use the back of our car to stop.As I saw the car plummeting towards us and heard the brakes screaming, all I could do was cover my ears! Real smart I know, but as my life flashed before my ears, clearly I was more concerned with not wanting to hear what death sounded like!So I covered my ears! Genius!We escaped, thankfully, with not even a scratch on the bumper!The cars out there are made with this erratic kind of driving in mind, don’t you know.
The second time it happened we were on our way to Venice Beach.The guy behind began screeching uncontrollably but then managed to swing his car onto the path alongside the road and pulled up next to us.My driver apologised and explained how it wasn’t his fault.The other driver simply smiled proudly as he said, ‘Don’t worry ‘bout it....lucky thing I’m a boy racer’.The girl sat beside him (completely un-phased) grinned and nodded in agreement.I had to look around to make sure I wasn’t on the set of the next ‘Fast and Furious part 35’.
Following my two week stint in California, I have come back with a clearer idea of what I should be doing to get towards my goals.Don’t get me wrong, I have always been focused but often I got to the stage where I had so many ideas and so many suggestions,that I didn’t know where to start.Or I’d get started, get side tracked and then forgot things.My mind is pretty crazy so I needed to narrow down the list.
Not one to keep these ideas to myself I figure in the next few blogs I will share a few for those of you getting started or already in the process.Now with my true business head on, I am only going to give you a few tips per blog.Otherwise what’s the point in you coming back right??....
Tip 1.
Material:
Try to have at least two original songs that you can perform.Either write them or buy them. There are lots of songwriters out there. Prices vary but look around.I write songs to order.People simply tell me what style they like, give me a topic and I write them. I know from experience that finding a producer is extremely hard. Don’t be afraid to ask other singers who produced their music.Likewise don’t take it personally if they don’t want to tell you.Not everyone wants to help others to make it.
Think carefully about the content of your songs as well.Your fans will see your music as a reflection of you so be sure your words send out the right message about you.It may not be true but a lot of people I have met in the industry see swearing on tracks as a sign of ignorance on your part, maybe even disrespectful.A lot of places won’t even allow you to perform once they know you do that.Maybe you should think about doing two versions of a track if you really feel you need to swear to express yourself.
Along with the original material try and have one or two covers that you can do really well.Just to in case you want to get in somewhere that only accepts covers.I had to do this in Hollywood and it would have been a mad hassle to try and learn a new song in two days.Once nerves kick in the song words usually go right out of your head anyway.
When picking covers be careful to distinguish between songs you like to sing and the songs that make you sound good!There is a subtle difference.I love Mariah and Christina Aguilera, but would never perform one of their tracks.It’s just too easy to make a mistake.I had to be honest with myself.I can sing but I’m not able to do the same as all singers!I can’t do the same acrobatics as Beyonce but on the plus side I have a texture that she does not use; I have a different sounding vocal.So I work with my strong points.
No-one will know why you picked a song either.When I first started doing covers I deliberately chose songs by artists like Madonna or Britney Spears.Why? Because the melodies are so simple I can change them around and show my range without being compared to the original artist!If anything, because I am a stronger singer, I already have the audience thinking, ‘Oh she sings the song better’.
Hope this was useful.Feel free to drop me a comment (be nice) and don’t forget to check out my web sites:www.myspace.com/yelitzauk
SARAH LEANNE PALMER .....once you have heard her perform you won’t forget her name. She is a singer/songwriter living in London whose lyrical content has so much power and confidence it, deserves to be its own person!
Not just limiting herself to the mic Sarah Leanne Palmer also plays the guitar (electric and bass) and drums whilst still maintaining vocal control.
With all this talent it’s a safe bet that Sarah Leanne Palmer is going to go far. A strong vocalist, song writer and musician! How could she not?
We bagged an interview with the lady herself, and this is what she had to say......
Your musical style is quite varied with upbeat rock based tunes to the more slow bluesy style, what were your musical influences in your adolescent years?
My early musical influences are still some of my biggest influences today. I grewup with Tom Petty, Free, Talking Heads, Creadence Clear Water, Alice in Chains, Alanis Morrisette, Radiohead, Simon & Garfunkel, Steely Dan, Reef, Counting Crows, Jeff Buckley, Genesis, Suzanne Vega,The Black Crowes, Fleetwood Mac and more. My father had loads of videos from ‘The Old grey Whistle Test’ so I watched those endlessly.Artists like Captain Beefheart, Tim Buckley, Lynyrd Skyyrd, and Iggy Pop and so on.
If you were to describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it as an emotion or feeling, what would it be?
In a word…Exuberant.
Being a very creative artist, do you feel some mainstream acts sacrifice creativity and their individuality for the sake of fame?
That may be so, but sometimes I think they have to in order to get where they are.I don’t think the industry is as ‘pure’ or straight as it used to be.
You also play with a live band, which band/s are exciting you musically at the moment?
Kings of Leon, RATM, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Blackbud. Muse, Infadels, My Preserver, Imogen Heap, Gemma Hayes and more.
Do you have any words of encouragement for any unsigned acts or bands who are trying to break through into the limelight?
Enjoy what you are playing / writing.And don’t be afraid to take inspiration for other artists. In terms of getting noticed? Play as much as you can, give out free cd’s and merchandise etc. Cease the day! There is no formula nowadays as to how you get noticed anyway.
As a totally random none related question...
‘Hair of the Dog’ or ‘Aspirin and a litre of water?’
Hair of the Dog definitely!!
Thanks for your time Sarah, is there anything else that you'd like to add?
