I first met Stefanie Jane when she came into my studio with a few songs scratched out on pieces of paper and melodic ideas in her head. We fleshed out her songs over a period of 6 months or so and got a decent sounding demo out of it. Then she up and moved to Dallas Texas. Since she’s been in Dallas she’s been going full tilt. She has released a full blown CD entitled “See Me Change” that addresses social issues that are close to her heart. Stefanie reaches into her past to pull out songs that really rock and yet have an inner tenderness to them. We’ll be talking to Stefanie about producing her new CD, her social causes and how she finds time to write and perform while taking care of a family.

Enjoy!

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With her roots in folk and the feel good sounds of  the 60’s and 70’s, Malena Zanjani brings a freshness and modern sound to this style. Her delivery is upbeat and positive and her songs deliver those types of messages one would find in a fortune cookie. But it’s a fortune we’re happy to find and one that we might fold and keep in our wallet. We’re going to talk to Malena about being a young singer-songwriter and the challenges to writing songs that are relevant yet mainstream.

Enjoy!

ps – think about dropping a dollar or two in the donate jar to help us keep this podcast well oiled!

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Solo artists Matthew Powers is a creative enigma. What is he? A musician who plays bass as a sideman with some high profile acts? A singer-songwriter who pens some very delicious melody-driven pop songs? A composer of synth-heavy dance music? or maybe a writer of guitar how-to books and a sci-fi novel serialized on hi blog? Well we’re going to have a conversation with Matthew about his creativity and listen to a few tracks from his eclectic catalog.

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Toronto based singer-songwriter Kim Jarrett has a voice that fuses decades of pop music in a familiar and welcoming sound. Listening to Kim’s music takes me back to the soft FM stations of the 1970′s while still evoking the modern era and her own style. Kim Jarrett is an award winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and session player. We sat down to talk about the music scene in Canada, her upcoming CD and being an indie musician. Take a listen to this episode and please leave a comment – let us know what you think.

*note that there is an episode discrepancy on the audio – this is episode 30. I must have been so absorbed by Kim’s music that I forgot where I was!

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When you listen to Morgen La Civita’s music the first thing you ask yourself is ‘Where is this girl coming from?’. The music is hard to pigeon-hole and presents a challenge to the listener when trying to divine the source of her inspiration. Americana? Yes. Blues? Yes. Popular song? Yes. Middle Eastern? Yes. Morgen definitely presents us with a melting pot of styles and influences nicely tied together with a sultry voice and excellent production value. In this episode of Unsigned Underground we talk about changing directions, writing contemporary songs while reaching into the past and Morgen’s upcoming CD “From the Basement”.

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In this episode of Unsigned Underground we’ll be talking to Adam Stokes, songwriter, musician and world traveler. Adam has been all over this country spreading the word about his music and he’s been living down south – way down south as in Guatemala where he took up residence and toured Central South America while his wife worked as an archeologist. We’ll be talking about how living in another country can influence your songwriting, writing his second album and when he’s going to get back out there on the road. Listen and leave a comment!

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So the calendar turns it’s way to the end of another year and as we usually do we look back and see where we’ve been and then look forward to where we’re going. Resolutions be damned!!! Musically it’s always a good thing to look back so we can pat ourselves on the back and say – We done some pretty good work there, man!

So let me throw some titles out there that caught my ear and the ears of a few of my musical friends. These are some selections from 2009 that are great examples of independent songwriting and producing. I look forward to hearing what 2010 has to offer.

These CDs are listed in no particular order, they’re ALL damned good! Please click on the album art and visit the artists’ websites and buy the music. Support Independent Music!

Happy New Year,
~Darryl

Thanks to Cameron Mizell, Steve Lawson, Cindy Smith D’Adamo for their suggestions.

“Old Man Dreamin’” by, John Batdorf
Track – ‘What D’ya Got?’

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“Happinesss + Victory” by Donna Fullman
Track – ‘Stone’

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“Solitary Songs” by, Miriam Jones
Track – ‘Helicopter’

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“On Your Back Porch” by, Lauren Zettler
Track – ‘Shapes’

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“Moonlight and Theremin” by, Karen Ramos
Track – ‘Raincoat’

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“Bony Jars” by, The Bootz Orchestra
Track – ‘Our Daughters’

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“Vinyl” by, D’Haene Band
Track – ‘Wouldn’t You Like To Know’

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“Chase You” by, Mike Stocksdale
Track – ‘The Old Band’

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“Uncovered” by, Coco & Lafe
Track – ‘Introduce Myself To You’

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Tim Gleeson’s approach to music is simple: a good story, a little love, a memorable melody and some spare change. I put Tim’s new CD “No Sad Songs” on and I felt myself relax into the comfort of the back porch in mid-July. Nothing is over done and yet the songs all feel full and ripe. Tim is no slouch when it comes to performing having toured with Sister Sledge, a career as an LA session man and opening for Jazz singer Anita Bakers’ Rapture tour. Listen to Tim andI talk about the new CD and how he’s handling being an indie musician these days. Let us know what you think.

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I’ve been itching to get a producer on the show for a while and I’ve finally tricked one into coming on, well not really, I just asked nicely. Cameron Mizell is actually a friend of Carla Lynne Hall’s (see episode 20) who I recently interviewed. Carla told me what great work Cameron does with his own music and then she also told me that he works with other indie artists as a producer. I checked out his website (www.cameronmizell.com) and also his blog (www.musicianwages.com) and was blown away by his guitar chops and the variety of music that he had his fingers in. Take a listen to this interesting conversation about what a producer does and how they help an artist approach their own music. You’ll be hearing music not only from Cameron, but Lauren Zettler and Erika Lloyd as well. Please leave a comment and visit the artists websites and buy their music!

~ Darryl

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Got Bass? Got Voice? We’re going to lay a little jazz on you for a change, but it’s jazz with a twist. Jon Burr and Lynn Stein of Jon & Lynn are a jazz/pop duo from the NYC area that combine the distinctive sound of the upright bass and voice into a mesmerizing combo that makes you think that there’s a big band playing instead of just the two. John’s virtuosic playing encompasses melodic and rhythmic aspects that makes his upright sound like a complete rhythm section all the while complimenting Lynn’s spot-on-sexy vocals. Minimalist in nature, but not lacking for complexity, Jon and Lynn make the most out of what they have: bass and voice.

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