Music Monday: Steve Moakler

Posted on May 6, 2013 by zigisitch

To make yourself standout on YouTube today you have to do something original, something unique to catch people’s attention. Pittsburgh native, singer-songwriter Steve Moakler did just that. Each time he wrote a new song he added them to his YouTube Channel cleverly titled as a “Bedroom Debut.”

I have to be honest he’s a bit awkward when he talks in his videos, but then again aren’t we all… However, the second he starts singing, I’m all in! He’s mastered his Britpop sound and even has a hint of country twang in there, as a direct influence of his current home in Nashville, Tennessee. He moved to Nashville for music and college, but has since put his degree on hold for his East Coast tour. Click here for dates and venues. I predict this is just the beginning of his exciting, musical journey.

Facebook | Twitter @stevemoakler | YouTube | iTunes

Who is on your YouTube playlist?

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Music Monday: Mary Lambert

Posted on April 29, 2013 by zigisitch

Like many of you I just cannot get enough of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. I can listen to the album on repeat because each song sounds different. One of my favorite songs on the album is “Same Love.”

For month’s now I’ve been saying to myself who is this talented Mary Lambert, not to be confused with Miranda Lambert, and I’ve finally made it a point to find out.

Seattle-based singer/songwriter Mary Lambert attended the Cornish College of the Arts where she honed her classical composition skills and even wrote a complete symphony for the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra. Mary came out as a lesbian at 17 years old, and has since vocalized her battle with body image and LGBT issues in her poetry. One well known poem is “I Know Girls (Body Love),” which went viral on YouTube.

This lead to her pairing up with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to help them write “Same Love” which honors gay marriage. Together, they truly created magic.

In July 2012 Mary released her debut EP “letters don’t talk,” and this past January she released a book of poetry, “500 Tips for Fat Girls.”

Facebook | Twitter: @marylambertsing | Instagram | Spotify

What do you think of Mary, her poems, her music? Which Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song is on your playlist?

Tuesday Tunes: Lie Witness News with Jimmy Kimmel

Posted on April 23, 2013 by zigisitch

I’ve had a bit of a busy week so I unfortunately didn’t have a chance to share Music Monday with all of you. However, I hope this video I’m about to share makes up for it to all you amazing music lovers.

Coachella just ended yesterday and during the show Jimmy Kimmel sent a member of his team to interview festival-goers about up-and-coming bands. The trick was that the bands are so obscure, that they don’t really exist. My fave comment comes from a radio DJ in Canada who claims to spin a fictitious album called “DJ Cornmeal” by Two Door Cinema Club.

Enjoy true music lovers! Enjoy!

Jimmy Kimmel once again we bow to your comedic genius!

Music Monday: Celisse Henderson

Posted on April 15, 2013 by zigisitch

The talented Celisse Henderson made her debut in the nine-month Broadway run of Godspell until the show closed it’s doors in June 2012. I didn’t see the show and actually hadn’t heard of Celisse until now, but I wish I knew about her when the show was playing cuz giiiiirl can sing!

Celisse grew up in San Francisco and currently calls the West Village in NYC home. You can see her popping up at local music joints throughout NYC belting out some incredible tunes while playing the ukulele. Anyone who can rock a ukulele get’s two thumbs up in my book! Her influences include India Arie and Joni Mitchell, which come across in her music (which you can download on itunes).

Facebook | Twitter: @celissemusic | YouTube

…if this video doesn’t pull through, it’s an incredible song titled “Enough“. O she plays piano too! You can see it by clicking here. (Apologies not sure why the embed seems to be a bit off.)

Music Monday: Sasha Allen

Posted on April 8, 2013 by zigisitch

I was in the mood for a good musical this weekend so I watched the 2003 cult-classic Camp. This indie film, written and directed by Todd Graff and produced by Danny DeVito, is about an upstate New York performing arts summer camp based on Todd’s true-life experiences at Stagedoor Manor summer camp.

In my opinion, the film is not that good. The acting is bad and I was confused as to what was going on half the time. BUT, and that’s a big BUT, the vocalists were pretty awesome in particular one girl. The movie opens with her singing and then you are pretty much hooked. Well played, Todd Graff. Luckily, I found her opening song on YouTube so you can see what I mean.

So now that you’ve watched it and are probably also confused about what is going on (I still have no idea), tell me that you aren’t saying in your head, “Who is that girl?!” That girl is Sasha Allen.

Sasha grew up in Harlem and went to LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in NYC. At 17 she signed with Elektra records and then later was signed by Arista Records, but both times failed contracts lead her to pursue acting instead of singing – landing her the role of “Dee” Camp. Sasha has made a career of being a backup vocalist for some of the best names in music including Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Celine Dion, David Bowie and Leona Lewis. Has your jaw dropped from Sasha’s resume yet?!

Well now I’m about to put it over the top…

Rumor has it that Sasha is going to be on The Voice TONIGHT at 8pm ET! Now the even cooler part is I’m curious as how they are going to “play this” because Sasha was backup vocalist for none other than The Voice coach Usher as well! Will he pick her? Will she pick him? Is this unfair to the other contestants? or do we not care because she is soooo good!

Sasha Allen on The Voice

Facebook | Twitter: @sashaallenmusic

To get you prepared for tonight here are some of my fave Sasha Allen performances.

Music Monday: BOY

Posted on March 18, 2013 by zigisitch

BOY has finally arrived! The Hamburg-based duo launched their first North American tour this month at NYC’s Joe’s Pub and then made their was to SXSW! If you live in NYC, their shows were such a hit that they added another show on March 29th at Bowery Ballroom - tickets still available.

BOY is made up of two girls, not boys Valeska Steiner sang in several bands in Switzerland and Sonja Glass was a bass player for several pop bands. They met while attending a summer music workshop in Hamburg.

BOY’s debut album, “Mutual Friends”, is an autobiographical album that Valeska explains is about “arrivals, new beginnings, hopes, dreams and aspirations.” So put your headphones on, turn up the sound, and enjoy the journey BOY takes us on! Click here to listen.

Facebook | MySpace

Music Monday: Hannah Georgas

Posted on March 11, 2013 by zigisitch

SXSW is here and I cannot wait for all the amazing musicians that are soon to take the stage! I can’t imagine that feeling…knowing you are on the hinges of discovery. This is one of those opportunities where an amazing performance can really turn 2013 into the year of you.

One of the artists I’m really looking forward to is Canadian singer/songwriter Hannah Georgas. Hannah’s pianist father tried to disuade her from pursuing a career in music due to the trials and tribulations, but lucky for us Hannah had to follow her dream. Hannah’s music can best be described as indie-pop with a twist! She does this interesting thing on several tracks where she uses synth-based overlay on her folk style music. If I was to have to choose one song on her recent album “Robotic” for you to listen to, it would be “Elephant.”

Twitter: @Hannahmusic | Facebook

What SXSW artist are you excited about?

Aidan & Dotan cover “Stay”

Posted on March 7, 2013 by zigisitch

On February 25th Music Monday was all about the talented Mikky Ekko, who performed the duet “Stay” with Rihanna. Shortly after the post went live I came across Perez Hilton’s “Can YOU Sing: Rihanna – Stay” contest. I added it to the post and of course encouraged any of you to submit an entry with the promise I would share it here on Zigi Situations and on Twitter. The deadline to submit is March 11th so if you still have time to enter – click here for entry details.

I received this incredible video from Aidan & Dotan with their acoustic rendition of “Stay.” The song yet again, gave me chills. This might be one of my favorite YouTube video’s of theirs, as Aidan and Dotan’s harmonizing was spot on! Please like the video on YouTube and if you are on Twitter share it as well with Perez @PerezHilton. Good luck Aidan & Dotan!

Now, enjoy!

Music Monday: Mikky Ekko

Posted on February 25, 2013 by zigisitch

Rihanna’s incredible song “Stay” is on the top of my list of favorite songs ever. Yes, that is right “ever” not just favorite of the year. It’s rare that we actually watch music videos since we said goodbye to TRL, but you know a song is really powerful when everyone is talking about the video associated with it – meaning they sought it out. The video to “Stay” can be explained in one word – haunting.

Some would think Rihanna herself wrote the song as it seems to be influenced by her relationship with Chris Brown. Speak of which, SVU fans, this Wednesday’s episode is supposed to be inspired by the couple. I’m intrigued to see how it is portrayed. Click here to view the trailer.

However, the song “Stay” was actually written by the talented singer that does the duet with her and can be seen in the video, Mikky Ekko.

So who is this Mikky Ekko? There actually isn’t that much information on him out there, but a duet with Rihanna…boy is about to blow up. Mikky’s beginnings include a heavy influence by gospel music, as his dad was a preacher in Mississippi. He moved to Nashville and wrote songs for other artists. Then in 2010 he posted the track “Who Are You, Really” online and caught the attention of producer Michael Volpe, aka Clams Casino. The two of them spent time working together. Mikky then released his first official single “We Must Be Killers” on YouTube last July, which ended up on the “Teen Wolf” soundtrack.

Now here is the story of where the mysterious magic happened. Mikky received a call saying Rihanna heard his song “Stay” and wants to feature it on her upcoming album. To date Mikky has no idea how she heard the song. But he does know one thing, his first single is now on the top of the pop charts.

Website | Twitter: @mikkyekko | Facebook | YouTube

UPDATE ALERT: I was just looking at some Oscar videos from last night and I came across Perez Hilton’s latest “Can YOU Sing” contest, and it is none other than Rihanna’s Stay! If any of you that read this are singers, I greatly encourage you to enter! I will also feature it on a blog post here and share it on Twitter as well. Simply comment on this post with your video once it is complete. The deadline to submit is March 11th.

Music Monday: The Grammy’s

Posted on February 11, 2013 by zigisitch

I’m not big on award shows, but every year the Grammy’s just sucks me in! I mean it’s music’s biggest night – who can resist!

My top performance of the night by far was the Bob Marley tribute with Rihanna, Damien Marley, Ziggy Marley, Bruno Mars and Sting. I was literally dancing and singing along – and it looked like the whole audience at the Grammy’s were too. Also pairing Bruno Mars and Sting up together - genius!

Bob Marley Tribute (scroll to video 6 on page)

My next favorite performance also goes to Rihanna. Like the rest of the world, I’m mad at her for getting back together with Chris Brown, but let’s put that aside for a minute… damn girl can sing! Her performance of “Stay” featuring Mikky Ekko took my breathe away.

Rihanna “Stay” (3rd to last video on page)

As a close second to Rihanna, my next favorite goes to Kelly Clarkson. Her Tribute to Patti Page and Carol King, reminds all of us of how talented the original American Idol really is.

Kelly Clarkson Tribute to Patti Page 2013… by dm_5118ea58b33d8

Now for my for my favorite staging, gotta give it to Carrie Underwood. That dress, was pretty gosh-darn cool. Runner up goes to FUN. who somehow didn’t cause an electrical fire while singing in the rain.

The one performance that actually left me a bit disappointed was Mumford & Sons. I love them. I listen to them daily. I just think that on such a big stage, it was missing some pop.

O and for my favorite shot of the night…Jay-Z and his cognac.

Missed the show? You can watch the entire 2013 Grammy’s on watchawardshows.com.

Agree, disagree? Which performance was your favorite? Which performance left you wanting more? Comment below.

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