The Light Parade: Love & Harmony

I came across this fantastic duo in early 2012. It must have been around this time. They create vocal harmonies that you can drool over and Alex's rhythmical guitar playing is the perfect match for that harmony. The first video of theirs that I stumbled upon was a cover of "Sweet Dreams" (Eurythmics).The way they raced into the song with Alex's snappy guitar and Kara's melodious voice captured me, and the way they slowed it down at just the right time kept me there, and subsequently led me to look through all their videos! It may be cheesy but after checking out their cover collection, I had sweet dreams. Here is that awesome cover of "Sweet Dreams" for you to get caught up in too. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTp9HWAhh5E

The harmony between their voices, the guitar and their voices, and themselves as people is what magnetises people to their videos, and I imagine, their performances. I haven't seen many updates from them lately on their youtube account or Facebook page, but hope that they'll come with something new soon, because they've got something fantastic together. It's so great when two artists come together a musical fusion that could have never been achieved by one or the other alone. May that be a message to all the bands thinking of breaking up out there. If you've got something special, stick with it.

The next cover of theirs that I lost myself in was "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2) mixed with "Standy By Me" (Ben E. King). Their harmonies were perfect once again, but this time Alex's guitar style wasn't as funky as in "Sweet Dreams". Somehow he reached that perfect balance between laid back and racing to find the right pace. I personally love it. Another aspect of the cover that I fell for was the whole set up of the video. Once again they face each other and create such a connection that affects the viewer, but also created a lighting that is reminiscent of two lovers sitting by a campfire. Take a look at this beautiful cover the two of them created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcOT_gSXIA0

Beautiful, right? Now, I've heard a couple of the Light Parade's originals and the one that grabbed me personally was "It Can't Be Me". It could be the honest laugh they have together at the start of the video but I think it's the jazzy, funky harmony they get together on the song. Alex's vocals are reminiscent of an old soul singer meeting John Mayer/Jason Mraz and Kara's company perfect the sound of the song. Quite honestly, it's the kind of song I can imagine in a romantic comedy and thus a perfect song to write about on Valentine's Day. Check it out and have a wonderful Valentine's Day wherever you may be. Come back tomorrow for another fantastic youtube artist. And don't forget to subscribe to Alex & Kara's youtube channel, check them out on Facebook and enjoy the lovely harmonies they create.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs-DUhPN9tg

Alex Hamel