Andy Grammer – Indie Voice Blog

Did you miss us? Things have finally settled down. I am in the process of being promoted to Shift Manager at Pizza Hut, which has allowed me to quit my job at Sam’s Club and have a less hectic life. I’m still working a lot of hours, but have regular days off and will (normally) get off earlier. As a result, we should be able to get back to the business of promoting indie music here on Indie Voice Blog. We are very happy to be back.

Let’s kick off our first Monday Mashup of 2020 with some great new songs and videos. Here we go.

NEW PLATFORM FOR INDIE ARTISTS

A revolutionary new music platform has launched, enabling artists to take control of their careers. Beatchain’s premium services help musicians share their talent, connect with fans, and earn money from their music, without having to share profits and creative control with industry middlemen.

Though there are many tools in the market providing services to musicians, they tend to be expensive and limited to a single capability, for example, handling just distribution, websites, email lists or social media management. Beatchain believes artists need all of these capabilities together in one platform. The market has clearly indicated that Beatchain is resonating. Over 40,000 artists have already taken their first steps towards independence by signing up to the Beatchain platform.

“Too many artists are seeing music streaming as a talent show where they upload one song to Spotify with zero promotion, and suddenly they’re being signed to a label or played on the radio,” said Ben Mendoza, Beatchain CEO. “Unfortunately that’s not how the music industry works in the streaming era. To get heard above the noise, you need the complete set of tools to grow and engage your fanbase, get them hyped for your new release, and then direct them again and again to your music, your shows and your merchandise. The unique thing about Beatchain is that you can do all this with one platform, without the artist needing to become an expert marketer or music promoter.”

Beatchain offers three pricing levels – a free Basic Plan, a Premium Plan for $14.99 and a “Superstar” Plan for $19.99. The platform’s wide array of tools remove the need for artists to subscribe separately to a number of other services, which can add up to a significant monthly investment, especially for artists just starting out.

NEW SINGLES

First up is the unique sound of Stefan T. He composed this guitar instrumental and then enlisted an old high school friend to write lyrics for it. He incorporated a hip hop beat underneath the guitar to give it that intriguing sound. Check out “One.”

https://soundcloud.com/stefantofficial/one

Next up is the amazing vibe of Dani Le Rose with her latest single “Flowers” from her upcoming self-titled EP, which will be released on Friday. We are totally in love with her and can’t wait to hear the rest of the EP.

Our third single has a similar “hot” vibe with the haunting sound of British songstress Actrese. We likewise love her groove and think that “Lola” will be a huge hit. What do you think?

Our next single has a gospel/pop feel and an equally incredible vocal zzsound from A Blake. Check out “Witness” and we think you’ll be a believer.

Our final single is from a future superstar that deserves as much airplay as Harry Styles. Check out “Find Me” from LA’s Matt Hansen – we think you’ll go out of your way to catch his live act.

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

There are few things we love more than new music from multi-LA Music Critic Award winners The Spider Accomplice. Their latest, “Enough,” is definitely one of their finest accomplishments to date, and we are so proud to share it with you. Get ready to rock your socks off!

Next up is the new video from Blue Élan Records artist Lisa Lambe, formerly of the band Celtic Women. Her sound is reminiscent of Stevie Nicks, and we are intrigued by “Hunter’s Moon.” This one is a true keeper.

Our third video is the perfect segue and features the incredible sound of Grizzly Coast. We hope they stay around “Forever.”

Our next video is visually stimulating and worthy of multiple viewings. Check out Kris Kelly and his song, “More.”

We close out this week’s edition with the latest from our friend and amazing singer-songwriter Andy Grammer. We think everyone can relate to the lyrics of “Spotlight.”

I have known Aijia Lise Grammer for more than ten years, having met her through her friend Hope Leigh Rollins and booked her for several gigs back when I was doing shows at Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles. Until recently, I had never had the chance to meet her husband, Andy. Thanks to Aijia and with the help of Andy’s sterling manager, Welshie, I finally got that chance when Andy Grammer brought his “Don’t Give Up on Me” tour to The Jones Assembly in Oklahoma City on October 15.

I have been going to meet and greets for the better part of the past 25 years when I discovered this amazing part of the live concert experience. Back in those days, the only artists doing them were country artists, and you merely had to buy a membership in their fan club to get the opportunity to meet your favorite star. However, somewhere along the way, other genres found out about this phenomenon and have exploited it, now calling it the “VIP experience,” and charging upwards of $200 for the privilege.

Prior to this time, my favorite meet and greet outside of the early country shows was Blue October. Grammer’s session was particularly incredible, and is now my favorite. The experience started with a quick meet and greet and photo with him before participating in what he called the “circle of trust.” Grammer talked about his recent losses and the strengths he had gained in going through the pain, and then invited others to share their stories with the group. There were some compelling stories, and we all shed a few tears during our time together. After the circle, Grammer performed a couple of acoustic songs and then opened up his merchandise booth so we could have first crack at it. After that it was time to wait for the doors to officially open and the evening’s concert to begin.

As I was talking with Jennifer from CID, the folks that coordinated the meet and greet, I heard a familiar voice coming from the stage. I looked up to see my dear friend Sean Hill doing his spoken word to open the show. What a treat. It was also a privilege to hang with him the rest of the night.

The opening band was called Nightly and they hailed from Nashville. Composed of Joey Beretta, Jonathan Capeci and Nick Sonato, they put on a rousing show that showcased their talents and warmed up the capacity crowd for what was yet to come. They even incorporated an outstanding U2 cover into their set.

Finally it was time for Grammer to perform. He started the show in the center of the audience by performing a spoken word piece before playing the title track to his latest album, Naive. He then proceeded to perform another 20 songs, including nearly every song on Naive and his megahits “Honey I’m Good,” “Keep Your Head Up,” “Fresh Eyes,” and “Good to be Alive.”

Just before he performed his new single “Wish You Pain,” he shared with the audience what he had previously shared with us during the Circle of Trust, and again invited the audience to share their stories. He picked one member from the audience, listened to her story, and then he and Hill proceeded to write a song on the spot that illustrated that story. It was a very special moment for both the lucky audience member and the crowd in general.

Grammer concluded the evening with a rousing performance of his latest hit, “Don’t Give up on Me.” The evening ended as the audience joined in and sang the chorus back to him. It was the perfect culmination for a perfect concert experience.

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