Luckily, I'm back to performing, now that I'm in Mykonos and despite my recent MacBook crash, I'll be back to business, uploading videos and staying involved as soon as I get a new one. I've decided that from now on, I'll be featuring one artist per week. That gives me a little more time to really appreciate them, rather than giving them a few hours on the day and let me really give you details, that I wish I could do every day. But, of course, juggling an administrative job, my music, and my photography, amongst other things, I can't do that right now. Maybe in the future...time will tell. But for now, it's one fantastic artist per week.
I started the blog off because I'd been looking up covers of songs on Youtube for ages. But, most of the time I ignored the artist's originals. A really stupid thing to do. And, who opened my eyes to it? None other than the incredible Orla Gartland. One fine day, Youtube recommended "Sixteen," by Orla Gartland to me but I thought "No, I'll check it later." The typical response. Next thing I know, I sign on to Facebook and three of my friends have shared "Sixteen" by Orla Gartland. Friends, who never shared any sort of Youtube video before. So, I thought "There must be something great here." And there was. A masterpiece of a song, that I considered to be a one off. But, I was wrong. Song after song, Orla came up with more memorable melodies and lyrics that tell magnetizing stories. I was hooked.
After Orla blew me away, I had to go back to every artist I heard on Youtube and listen to their originals. Needless to say, I was blown away by what I had missed out on. From Ortopilot, to Danny McEvoy and everyone in-between, I kept finding more and more Youtube artists who weren't getting as much attention with their originals, though they were great. In my mind, I had found hidden treasures. I started obsessing with Youtube's artists and looked for the most unrecognized artists out there. But, looking for them was hard, they were buried beneath covers upon covers of songs (particularly Bob Dylan covers). Nevertheless, playing gigs around London helped. I met tons of artists who earned my respect and enjoyed a lot of time around really inspired people, such as Jay Stapley and The Manic Shine. But the big shock came one night in February, 2012. I was invited to play at The Troubadour, in London, and went along, as if it were any other gig. I met a couple artists who thought they were too good for this world and felt confident about putting myself up against their performances. Yet, one of the performers, a singer/songwriter like myself, was sitting quietly in the corner, sipping a glass of water. I walked over to him and said "Hi." That was all we said before the gig. He was on before me. I sat there and watched as this guy magnetized the room with his electricity. A raspy, unique sound emerged from him as he played the guitar as if it were a part of his body. For once, I thought to myself "I do not want to follow this guy. I don't know if I can." I loved the feeling, I loved being around such inspirational people. And, in any way possible, I tried to get my friends to listen to Matt Woods, who caught me by surprise.
And so, I keep trying to get people to listen through the blog. From people I heard in London, to people I found on Youtube, to a recommendation I got from a friend, I can't resist but share these artists inspiration with each other, and with everyone out there looking for something new. And through doing so, I've gotten to know some fantastic people. Danny McEvoy, who has a heart of gold, opened up to me and told me tales of his existence as a musician. He taunted me with his favorite chords and his unease with songs of the 90's. George Possley, similarly, warmed my heart with his attitude towards life, and towards his guitars, his loves. Some artists, gave me thrills, simply by responding to me and appreciating my appreciation for their appreciation of music. Did you follow that? I mean, artists I truly admire and get motivated by, respond with a simple click. How cannot want to continue writing when I get so much out of it and when it gives people something new to listen to? How can I not appreciate all the artistry and time that goes into Youtube? I can't resist but continue. So, from now on, I'll be sharing a fantastic Youtube artist with you every Thursday and looking out for anyone who's got a sound that turns me on. It's not your voice, your performance, the quality of your sound/video or any of that. It's how much you love it. It's how much you are one with it. Here's to the artists, and here's to you!
Alex Hamel
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