SingerUniverse Magazine is headed by A&R executive Dale Kawashima. SingerUniverse Magazine presents a wide range of articles of interest to singers, artists, managers, agents, record producers, plus the music community and fans in general.
This competition not only spotlights the winning singer, but also showcases the Top Five new vocalist recordings/demos that we hear each month. Many A&R label execs, producers, managers and booking agents check out the winning songs each month. (more…)
“This gal can sing and is a mean blues mama!”
- Blues Matters! Magazine
“Melinda brings that mysterious and wonderful yet sometimes hard to describe element to everything she does..that one thing you can’t quite put into words, yet you feel it when you hear her sing and for me to be onstage with her, I felt it just the same..that quality is best described as SOUL! and she’s got it!”
- Danny Mo, Professor Berklee College of Music
“This fresh looking beauty from Pittsburgh, PA mixes the blues and rock in a perfect way till it’s one whole piece of outstanding music”
- Bobtje Blues Pages, Belgium
“Melinda’s cover of CCR’s “As Long As I Can See The Light” lets you really see what she is capable of doing with those talented vocal chords, as she launches, into an RnB based number passionately infused with country and gospel tones and colors.”
-Carol Borrington Blues Matters!
“Melinda’s got a rare high amount of ‘it’ in her voice. She’s got a very dynamic voice, she sounds beautiful and raw at he same time, and she’s got that special thing in her voice that makes us love singers like Janis and Tina.”
- Alexander Knutsen, Guitarist
“The girl can sing”
- Music Connection Magazine
“Melinda’s “Devils Garden” touches the soul of the rocker in all of us. Raw, sexy, powerful, and not just another flower in the garden. “Hard Way” is hard evidence that this girl is loving her craft and plays each guitar riff with attitude and feeling. Her outstanding vocals on “What If” have even more power to carry her through the perfectly polished blues production. Melinda’s 2009 release should be a guarantee to please!!!!”
- Stephen Sloat, Independent Producer/Composer
” Your voice goes down, nice and easy, with a little fire, like whiskey on the rocks.”
- John R., Fan
Melinda in issue 48 of Blues Matters! magazine.
If you’ve never heard of it, Blues Matters! is a magazine based out of the UK dedicated to covering blues music from every corner of the world. They do a really fine job of promoting blues artists, shows, festivals, and albums, and they’re a completely independent organization.
Blues Matters! has just released their 48th issue this month, and there’s a great piece on yours truly in there. It may be tough to get in the States, so there’s a scan of the article in this post, just click on the image for a bigger version…
…or just support the cause and head on over to the Blues Matters! website.
Thanks to everyone at Blues Matters! for the write-up!
Below is a review from Bobtje Blues (of bobtjeblues.com) for Melinda’s EP… seems like he has some good taste :-D…
For those who want to look further then just blues maybe will find their “thing” with Melinda. This fresh looking beauty from Pittsburgh, PA mixes the blues and rock in a perfect way till its one whole piece of outstanding music.
Melinda first started performing with notable local musicians at the early age of 15. They understood in a second that this girl was very talented. From one thing to another, she could not be missed anymore in the blues- and rock scène of Pittsburgh. She went to Berklee College of Music where she won the Aerosmith Endowment Award, from where she moved to Boston, MA. There Melinda became a member of a girl rock band Mass Ave, who was according to Melinda’s biography in the picture of Epic Records.
Nowadays she makes music by her own name, this with the cooperation of Grammy-winner and producer Kevin Bowe (Jonny Lang, Etta James, Lynyrd Skynyrd). Not only can Melinda lean on the great sound of her voice (sometimes a little bit hoarsely, very strongly and above all convincingly), but also her guitar sounds are incredible. You can describe her music as a succeeded marriage between rock and blues. She got her inspiration from Queen, Heart, The Rolling Stones, Lucinda Williams, Otis Redding, Aerosmith, Tina Turner, Elvis, Zeppelin, Etta James, The Pretenders, Howlin’ Wolf and Sheryl Crow.
On her website you can listen to some of her songs, which are going to be released in 2009 on an EP. My honest opinion is that her music, whether its rock or blues, has got a whole lot to offer. The song ‘The Hard Way’ (written by Kevin Bowe, Melinda, and Kristian H) is a song, ready for the rock charts, while “What If” (Melinda & Richard Rosenblatt) is an immense slow soul-blues.
You have to listen this!
Below is an excerpt from Berklee Today, Berklee’s alumni magazine, about the WesFest benefit concert. I’m honored to have been a part of the event this year, playing with my friends Danny Mo, and bassist Claire Finley, who also happens to be this year’s Wes Wehmiller scholarship recipient.
The Wehmiller Legacy
The third annual WesFest concert was held on February 25 at Paladino’s in Tarzana, CA. The WesFest annual concert is a fundraiser that not only brings together a community of great musicians and friends but also raises money for the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship at Berklee. The scholarship is awarded each year to a bass player who best exemplifies the unique musicality and spirit of Wehmiller, former bassist for Duran Duran and others. Wehmiller was a remarkable talent, who in 2005 died of thyroid cancer at the age of 33. Each year, many of his friends reconnect to celebrate his memory. Judging by this year’s response at Paladino’s, it seems that WesFest 3 was the best yet.
The music was fantastic, the performers were on top of their game, and the production was impressive. Mother Eff, an all-star ensemble that includes Colin Keenan ’93 and Griff Peters ’93, opened the show and set high expectations for a great evening.
Led by Berklee Professor Danny Morris, Danny Mo and the Exciters featuring the 2007 recipient of the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship, Claire Finley, performed with Melinda Colaizzi ’04 (vocals), Kristian Habenicht ’05 and Rick Musallam (guitars), and Joe Travers (drums). The set by former Frank Zappa guitarist Mike Keneally was amazing. His band featured bassist Bryan Beller ’92, who produced the event and shared emcee duties with Stacey Ferguson. Kira Small ’93 performed a tight set from her latest CD, Love in a Dangerous World. The music combines southern soul and r&b with a bit of Nashville in the mix. Small’s band featured Dave Cowan ’90 on drums. The headliner, renowned gospel/r&b bassist Andrew Gouche, delivered an inspired closing set, leaving many fellow performers quite content not to have to follow his performance.
With the help of event sponsorships from Epifani Custom Sound, Mike Lull Custom Guitars, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and D’Addario & Company, WesFest 3 raised more than $10,000 for the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship fund. WesFest producer Bryan Beller ’92 has already begun planning for WesFest 4, which will take place in early 2009. -Peter Gordon
