NEW Genre & Artists - August '12

Hey everyone! So we have covered the pop genre last month, and this week is the first week of the acoustic genre! Which means we will be covering and looking at artists that tend to be strongest when playing live or with minimal backing. Some of my favorite artists fit in this category, and they are often the best ones to cover as live music tends to work well with piano.

So here's a list of artists I will be covering this month:

John Mayer.  My first love! Haha no this guy is seriously talented at guitar. Interesting fact- he says happily how he 'steals' Eric Clatpton's ideas for his music. Eric Clapton was his idol and inspiration growing up and there is even YouTube videos of them playing together:

'Crossroads' (From Mayer's album Battle Studies) with Eric Clapton.

John Mayer has released a number of albums now, but if you haven't already heard his stuff I suggest you listen to his album Continuum or recent release 'Born and Raised'. I have been a devoted fan since his first album release in early 2000's. He was best known for his song 'Your Body is a Wonderland'.

Regina Spektor. This girl is pure magic, she is actually a lot older than she looks too! 30-something. But she looks only 25. Regina has mostly got recognized from her song 'Fidelity'

'Fidelity' by Regina Spektor.

Anyway she plays piano like nobody's business, she started off her career playing in bars, and she is beautiful live! Very quirky and full of personality there is no one else quite like her. When I first heard 'Apres Moi' I couldn't help but cry, she is a beautiful composer, singer, and all round instrumentalist. She also is Russian and speaks multiple languages... very talented! Regina has recently released a new album 'What we saw from the cheap seats'. Every album just gets better and better. Look her up, well worth the listen.

Vanessa Carlton. Well anyone who has followed me knows how close Vanessa Carlton is to my heart as a musician. I followed her very closely in my early days and I will always be in love with both her first two albums. After that she went and experimented a bit, with hip-hop producer Irv Gotti to finally releasing her own indie album last year called 'Rabbits on the Run'. Which is very beautiful in both prose, style, production and musically. 

'Carousel' by Vanessa Carlton

This is her most recent release, and was entirely self produced so good on her. I have a lot of respect for her doing her own thing despite commercial pressures. With 'A Thousand Miles' creating a lot of expectation , it's understandable she has always been searching for that one 'something' with her music since then. She is a true artist. 

The final fourth artist I haven't yet entirely decided on, I'll keep it a surprise ^_^ 

Anyway these are just some of my influences, in the acoustic genre at least and there are plenty more to come! As usual I will feature a couple of covers and tutorials too for you lucky lucky people. 

Gotta get back to writing more music for you. Love you all! Talk soon 

K.A.M 

xox