Dane Bryant Frazier : Man Of Many Instruments

So far, the only Youtube artist I've written about that doesn't sing was Kelly Rosenthal, who I called "Youtube's Guitar Hero", although together with the other two girls that made up Say Chance, there were vocals. Therefore, this is officially the first Youtube artist I'm writing about who doesn't feature vocals in his videos. That's not to say they are missing something...they are bursting with musical energy and Dane Bryant Frazier's soul. He expresses himself through instruments, particularly through the guitar and does so exquisitely. I came across him on Youtube quite recently, doing a cover of John Mayer's "Heart Of Life". It took me a while to realise he was playing every instrument in the video, but when I did, I subscribed immediately. Don't forget to do so yourself! Check out this mind-blowing cover!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Og-SWjot0

Fantastic right? Well it did remind me a little of the "Sexy Sax Man" when he came in with that smooth saxophone, but putting that aside, it's a brilliant cover. The guitar tone is superb, and all the bits and pieces are in place. It's blatantly obvious that Dane is a perfectionist and probably notices "mistakes" that most others won't notice, but that's what makes all his covers and originals the best they can be. The video editing itself must take a lot of time, and this guy really puts his heart and soul into it.

As I was going through his list of covers I came across "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Beatles). He's got a home made version, which is brilliant, but there is also a live version which I appreciated. When you see someone performing live, you really get a feel for how cool they can be on the spot. Some people are brilliant behind closed doors and once they're in front of a crowd, they freeze up. Well, that's definitely not the case for Dane, who's got everything under control at his gigs! Listen to this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnkNz0p9x0Q

Great cover and loving the guitar tone. All I don't understand is why people are trying to talk over the music. Whatever happened to respecting the music? Nevertheless, what's great about this video is that anyone can see how much Dane works on his performance and still manages to have a lot of fun with it. He keeps his cool, and that's so incredibly important to live performances. And as for the guitar tone I'm getting a feel of Gilmour meets Slash, but that's just my ear. What does yours say?

Aside from his great covers, Dane's got a good deal of sweet originals uploaded to his channel. Some of them sound like they'd be perfect with a vocal on top, some sound like film scores and a couple sound incredibly experimental, which is great. One that really caught my ear is called "The Outside Wall", and the solos in it are quite reminiscent of Gilmour's solos in "The Wall". Nevertheless, there is something incredibly unique about it and I really dig it. I'm truly curious how Dane will evolve in his musical existence, and will definitely be keeping my ears open to his sweet sounds! Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist.

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

Alex Hamel