I introduced you all to TJ Fox back in July, the singer songwriter from Queens who had a sweet story and an even sweeter sound. Since his interview with A Vocal Accord, TJ has been keeping busy in the studio writing and releasing new material in preparation for his fans to hear as well as playing various gigs. His two latest songs are: "Leave it All Behind" and "The Last Good Memory"
Check out what TJ had to say:
Best of 2013: "A lot of great things happened in 2013. I have been
insanely busy basically gigging 4-5 nights a week anywhere from Manhattan to
the Hamptons, in bars or parties, whoever needs music! One of the
highlights I would say was being able to participate in the CBGB Festival.
I played two separate gigs affiliated with CBGB and I felt like that is a
great addition to my resume. Also, new music will be coming more often as
I have a steady schedule with the producer I work with so stay tuned!"
Coming in 2014: "I will be working on multiple projects in 2014. Projects
such as my own original music, and hopefully featuring in other artists music
to produce a nice collaboration. Other than that, just continuing the
gigging scene and getting myself out there!"
In May, I introduced you all to the sweet and talented Kewin Cosmos. His soulful voice and pure passion in his musical delivery, along with his terrific support system all stood out. Since we've met Kewin he released two music videos: one for a cover of John Legend's "All Of Me" and another for his original work, "Encuentro y Olvido" which is also the title of his debut EP. Here's what Kewin had to say: Best of 2013: "The highlight was being able to grow
a fan base so fast and being recognized for the talent and diligence my team
and I put in! All i can say is 2014 better be
READY!" Coming in 2014: "Well the GOAL for 2014 is to complete and release my first album and expand my music to the world. Just to keep growing with my Team."
Back in June, we met former contestant of NBC's "The Voice", J'Sun, on his journey through his music career after the show. Since then, J'Sun has launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in order to fund his upcoming EP and has been working diligently to make sure this production is something that all of his Limerz (as he calls his fans) will enjoy. Check out this update on J'Sun:
Best of 2013: "My highlight was being on The Voice
Season 4 and meeting really great people in the process. Getting to work with
Shakira and have off camera conversations about myself and my music. It's been
a great year and I know 2014 will be even greater."
Coming in 2014: "I will be releasing the first single
from my debut EP "MAZE" in early 2014 and also working on the entire
EP to hopefully be released mid 2014. There is a lot in store for my new
project which I am currently working on now and I can't wait to share with
everyone."
Back in February of this year we all met the young and high spirited Alyssa Del-Valle. Her journey was marked by her love for Disney music and a struggle that almost claimed her ability to sing. While Alyssa struggled with her hearing at one point in her life, she fully recovered and shared her gratitude for being able to enjoy music once again.
Here is an update on Alyssa to wrap up 2013:
Best of 2013:
"My highlight of 2013 was singing at
Disney. It was the first time I performed at Downtown Disney, and I was able to
work with the Disney Cast members to create a great show!"
Coming in 2014:
"Projects I will be working on in 2014 is that I will be having a Cabaret
show, I will be performing at "Quad Jam" which is a Manhattanville
event, and I will be singing at Disney World again!"
“It pretty much started the
day I was born,” says Jaymu. This
multi-talented artist prides himself in having two different sides to his
artistic style. Limits do not exist for
Jaymu, he believes in doing whatever it takes to reach his goals and makes it a
point to consistently be busy with his music.
At around the age of 12 or
13, Jaymu decided that he would make his dreams of singing into actual
goals.“I started singing and realized
that’s what I wanted to do,” he explains.Through acting and modeling classes, Jaymu was able to become more and
more comfortable with himself as a performer. This boosted his confidence in being
able to make his dreams a reality.“I
started getting real comfortable on stage.Not just singing but performing in general and I felt like that is where
I belonged.”
It is hard to imagine an
artist with two completely different sides to them, especially when these two
sides are so opposite from each other.However, Jaymu is a master of this craft and says that he has never
allowed himself to be limited to just one genre.“One of [the facets to my career], is like an
old school bolero style” he says, something he gets from his dad whom he still
accompanies on trips where they sing in restaurants and do serenades.“My other side is more modern—futuristic and
has to do with mixing reggaeton with other genres.”
While each aspect of his
musical career is distinct, Jaymu admits that he cannot define one single facet
of his career as his favorite.“It
really depends on my mood,” he explains, “Mostly my music is just tied up by
romance because I do like romantic music.So even when I do reggaeton, I mostly stick with romance.”This dedication to romance in his music has
given Jaymu is what drives his passion for music, and the love he has for
performing.
The performance aspect of
his career is what Jaymu enjoys most about music.“The people’s reactions,” are what motivate
him to keep going and remind that with perseverance he can succeed.However, his most memorable performance was
one he did this past August with reggaeton artist Jory Boy.“Originally, I was only supposed to open for
him but then the day before the actual event Jory Boy said that his chorus guy
didn’t come—he didn’t make it, so since I knew most of his songs, I was his
chorus guy I sang all of his songs with him the next day [at the show].”
It is moments like this that
make the sacrifices worth it at the end of the day.His motivations, while he says they come from
all areas of his life, come mainly from his family—especially his mom.“She is definitely my main source of
motivation,” he says.Jaymu’s message to
the world is simple; he wants people to believe in the power they hold within
themselves and to never limit themselves to simply what is in front of
them.“You can do whatever you want
to—whatever you like, you can get into it.”
In this coming year, Jaymu
plans to continue working hard and creating new music for the world to hear.However, he admits that he may never be satisfied
in his career saying, “I always like learning stuff and doing new things so I
just go goal by goal. That is pretty much the point of life.You don’t ever want to stop doing that.”
Experience is something that
comes with time, and time is just what singer songwriter Aaron Short has
had. Growing up in England, Aaron was
surrounded by a much different range of sounds than what we are used to here in
the United States, this has allowed him to create his own unique style that you
can hear in his work.
In his early years, a friend
of his grandfather, taught Aaron to play the piano.Later, in his early teens, Aaron decided that
he would learn to play the guitar, “and ever since then I have been more
focused on the guitar and singing.”This
combination of guitar playing and singing, along with his experience over time
has honed his skills and allowed him to truly be able to define who he is as an
artist.
Aaron says his greatest
musical influences came from the kind of music that he was surrounded by when
he was growing up in England during the 90s.It was his musical encounters with music by guitar bands such as the
Beetles and others like them, which influenced Aaron’s love for the guitar the
most.“The Brit-pop movement—at that
time you had a lot of guitar bands and that’s all I listened to, I listened to
that kind of music.I’m not sure that
was very successful in America, I think America was more about Nirvana and grunge bands.”
Aaron goes on to say, that
the influence of technology has changed the way people listen to music, and
even goes on to point out that if the Internet were around as he were growing
up, his musical influences might have been different because of the access to
music from all around the world.“Growing
up I did not have access to American music so it did not influence me,” he explains.
As time went on, Aaron had
great success playing many shows in England and even being able to have his
songs featured on TV.However, being the
determined, hard working person that he is, Aaron decided that he needed to do
something to challenge himself more.And
so, he moved to New York—a city with bright lights, and dozens upon dozens of
people trying to make their dreams come true. “England is a small place, with an
amazing music scene, but then again it can be very small and when you come to
America, and you have the opposite problem there are so many places you can go.”
His experience in New York has
been quite successful and he says that he is happy with the decision he made to
move and does not regret it in any way. He notes that his experience in England was one of the elements of his career that has allowed him to get shows, and also to have confidence as an artist. [In New York,] I feel like people want
to give you a chance, and they want to try things out and that’s a good thing
for a performer.”Being surrounded by
the different people and cultures that are in New York has allowed Aaron to not
only, expand his fan base but also, expand upon his musical talents and tap
into interests that he may not have been exposed to had he stayed in his
hometown.
So, who is Aaron Short? His
answer is simple, “I’m definitely a singer guitarist who does pop music—for
sure.But we grow with experiences and
with the Internet and traveling you are exposed to different things.”
Currently, Aaron’s single
“Dignity”, which was produced by Rossen Nedelchev, is something that
he has done as part of a larger project that is coming in the near future.Aaron says that Rossen has been a pleasure to work with, “He pushed me to record this with him, and it’s been
great for the band because I realize that I like how he produces.I like how he works and what we have
done.I really like this new song and I
like what we have done with it and I want to do more songs in that style.”
The larger project for this single would be
an album or an EP, which is currently in the works.However Aaron has a vision in mind—rather than
it just being him, he says he would love to work with a band that plays with
him at functions.Only time will tell if
this dream ends up being a reality but for now, you can catch Aaron playing at
different venues all over New York City.
Check out what TJ had to say:
Best of 2013: "A lot of great things happened in 2013. I have been
insanely busy basically gigging 4-5 nights a week anywhere from Manhattan to
the Hamptons, in bars or parties, whoever needs music! One of the
highlights I would say was being able to participate in the CBGB Festival.
I played two separate gigs affiliated with CBGB and I felt like that is a
great addition to my resume. Also, new music will be coming more often as
I have a steady schedule with the producer I work with so stay tuned!"
