YouTube Stars!

Anna Interviews The Silver Spoons

1) Hallo Augustin, could you please introduce your band, tell us about what type of music you play, where you're from and give us a brief history of the formation of 'The Silver Spoons'?
Hi Anna, we consist of 3 siblings and a brother from another mother. We play a rather alternative rock, which started with Hal writing songs which I felt as a 15 year old were too good not be taken seriously. So I whipped my choir voice into shape, Hal began conducting on his guitar, we threw Sarah behind the drums, had our brother slapping that bass and then played our first gig within 3 months!

2) Hi Hal; could you tell our readers why you called yourselves 'The Silver Spoons,' does it have to do with the expression 'to be born with a silver spoon by any chance?
Bit of a difficult story to tell as no one quite remembers it the same way. From what I recall, Augustine came up the Silver Buckles (as in shoe buckle) and someone said the Silver Spoons, this being such a sardonic name (we were all born with a tin spoon), so we kept it. Originally we were called "Melton Constable" but no once could pronounce it or understand it (even we, when on stage, would forget it), so that was no good.

3) Sarah, in an immensely male dominated drumming world, have you met any prejudice as a female artist so far and who are your influences?
I don't know how many times I've heard "you're okay..for a girl". Though it annoyed me immensely at first I got used to the fact that men can't accept women being good at something they usually are good at themselves.

4) John, you're the only one who isn't a sibling of the other band members, what's your experience being part of the band and could you tell us about the shoot of your mental video 'tainted colours'?
My experience is nothing but awesome so far. I dont really mind being the "one who isn't a sibling". At least I don't fight with them that much hahah. And sadly I wasn't part of the band at the time of shooting the music clip for "Tainted Colours" so I can't tell much about it. Only that it really got me interested in joining the band.

5) Augustin, what inspires the lyrics to your songs and who writes them?
The majority of songs we play are written by Hal the rest by me. To write a song one must be walking the fine line between the conscious and subconscious mind, you get the same feeling when you take control in a dream. For me its like self therapy, if done correctly the outcome is from the heart, truthful and pure. That been said we get inspired by whatever happens to be on our minds at the time, which is mostly girls, ha.

6) Hal, you guys play a lot of live concerts, could you give is your favourite memory of a performance?
One of my favourite was Kuře v hodinkách (Prague) which was packed and the atmosphere was wicked. Although, we recently played Karlovy Vary and Brno and I have to say those were really good fun!

7) Sarah, what about a great memory from the tour?
One evening Augustine had mysteriously disappeared and Hal had gone to bed I was left with John and instead of being left to talk to John alone I was spoken to by all...that was my favorite moment.. Well partying with bands such as The Fellas is an insane experience, otherwise after getting off stage once we were confronted with a bunch of fans who wanted to take photos with us, autographs, and interviews. It was all quite overwhelming!

8) John, how much of what you play live is improvised?
Usually it is the few bass solos here and there and very rarely when a string goes off hahah.

9) Augustin, if you could collaborate with any musician (or band) dead or alive who would it be and why?
That's not an easy question to answer, but I guess Id have to say the Beatles in the late 60s. I love their approach to song writing and whacky lyrics.

10) Sarah, what do you think, in its essence is what ties your band together?
Of course most of the band is my family so I have a connection automatically in this way, but apart from that we all want to be a success musically and have some laughs as we try getting there. Whenever I have nothing, I always feel "oh well..I've still got the band".

11) Hal, do you guys have any rituals, before getting up on the stage?
My ritual is to worry, haha. Seriously though, we all eat a yogurt with our personally engraved silver spoon.

12) John, where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Still playing enjoying music and generally.. I just hope nothing brings me down till I reach that point of life. That's pretty much all I can see from here. I'll just wait for what the future has in store for me...

13) To all of you: What's your present state of mind?
Augustine: I'm generally very excited where the band is going. Sarah: Feel like we've moved a step further and it feels great John: I pretty much agree with Sarah. We have improved a lot in general and it can be felt with each gig we perform in. Hal: Psyched about what will come next!

Labels: alternative, Annaconda1984, Beatles, interview, Jefferson Airplane, psychedelic, Rock, The Beatles, The Doors, The Monkees, The Sliver Spoons

posted by KennyCrane at 10/05/2015 12:19:00 AM 0 Comments

Here is something you should see. President Obama was just interviewed by three YouTubeStars, so of course we had to cover it! This is not a typical three minute video. Invest 45 minutes of your time to see what issues these YouTube Stars asked President Obama about.

The first third of the video is the interview by Hank Green of President Obama. Hank Green is half of the popular YouTube channel vlogbrothers which he does with brother and author John Green who wrote, The Fault In Our Stars. Hank created VidCon, Project For Awesome, and DFTBA Records. Here are the issues Hank covered: State of the Union speech, Lobbyists, Drones, North Korea, Marijuana, Obama Care.

Next up was GloZell Green. Interesting that the first two interviewers have the last name of Green. Green energy is a hot topic in the Obama Administration. GloZell's popular YouTube Channel consists of comedy and song parody videos. She has also released a few music singles. GloZell covered these issues: Cyber Security, Police and African American males, Cuba, Same Sex Marriage, Obama's Legacy. Memorable lines from GloZell include, "Castro - the guy puts Dick in Dictatorship" and "I have green lipsticks, one for your First Wife."

The final interviewer was 19 year old Bethany Mota who has been vlogging on her YouTube Channel since she was just 13 years old. She became popular for her haul videos where she talks about, and shows off, things she got from various stores; as well as hair and makeup tutorials. Bethany was also on Dancing With The Stars in Season 19. She was bullied as a young teen and that came up in one of her questions. Bethany covered these issues: College affordability, Cyber Bullying, Boko Haram, Chinese internal internet restrictions, why should young people be interested in politics. Very good answer from Obama, at around the 40 minute mark, on relating politics to how every day people negotiate, spend money, make decisions, compromise, try to live together, treat each other with kindness, look after one another, how are we fair to one another. Bethany ends with a lightning round, where we find out that President Obama watches a lot of sports on TV when he has time, Obama wanted to be an architect or an NBA player when he was young, and Obama would like the super power of flying or would like to be able to speak any language. With Google Translate, this is almost possible! The video ends with the obligatory group selfie!

Here is the video! Watch it and share it with your friends. The SHARE button is at the bottom of this post. Consider having a discussion about any of these issues with your friends and you may also want to comment on the video. The three minute funny, cute or music related videos are great, but issues videos are important too!

Labels: Bethany Mota, GloZell Green, Hank Green, haul, interview, John Green, Obama, president, President Obama, selfie, vlogbrothers, vloggers

posted by KennyCrane at 1/23/2015 10:57:00 PM 0 Comments

Germany vs USA

As an introduction, here's what their About page says: "Germany vs USA explores the contrasts and joys of two unlikely friends, Jim and Alex, as they learn more about each other's cultures, languages, and the greater friendship between Europe and America. Insightful, whimsical, educational and always genuine (not to mention unscripted) the show aims to bring a slice-of-life perspective to viewers around the world." And now, Anna's article!

Alex and Jim met at the Goethe Institute in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, where Alex was interning and Jim was taking a german language course. Soon they became friends and founded a language software company and their first youtube channel: walkaboutlanguages. They also started podcasting those episodes on iTunes, making it into the top five educational programs with their healthy mix of information and entertainment. Their rapidly thriving show Germany vs USA and with it their channel had to be shutdown at the peak of its bloom, however, due to irreconcilable differences with the third founder, regarding copyright. Despite the fall-back, they believed in themselves and the concept of the show and bounced back with ardour and creativity, producing exhilarating episodes from different cities of both countries, on their new channel: AlexandJim.

Germany vs USA is a bridge between language and culture addressing a broad range of fascinating topics. It's educational without being too overloaded with information. The episodes are topical and have a freshness and unpredictability to them, which comes from being unscripted. Jim and Alex are knowledgeable, their arguments are smart and well thought through, always backed up with a versatile b-roll, of maps, music, pop up texts and pictures, so it never gets boring. Over the years, they have managed to preserve constant quality with their broadcasts. The show is a bit like Trail Mix, sweet and healthy in an an enjoyable, non-overpowering way and very memorable. I would also compare it a little bit to a Kinder Surprise Eggs (Kinderüberaschungs-Eier) but if they contained a much higher percentage of awesome one-piece collectibles. The episodes they film outside, often in topic relevant locations to the installments, like forests, trains, boats or cafes are especially interesting to watch since they are more likely to have unexpected surprises in them.

Alex, being German represents the arguments for Germany, often wearing striped tops or shirts with logos and sitting on the left on the screen. Jim, on the right, likes to wear caps and speaks for USA. Their arguments are supported by the typically German or American visuals like candy or beer. They are not always from the countries, moreover, they show a range of what is typically consumed there. You can see a little bit of a sneak peak in their catchy intro, with the melodious song 'How s the Wather' by "Come On Go With Us".'Their mascot, Hugo the Frog, who sits next to Jim, is their executive producer, keeping a close eye on the happenings. If you're wondering why there's a football in every episode, it's because their microphone is hidden in it. You have to agree it looks so much better than having a regular microphone stand between them. Both of them get eager about football (which you can see in some of the episodes) and Jim often spends his weekends playing pickup football. I love it most when one of them learns a new fact about the other ones country he never heard of' says Julian Reineke, a viewer of the show. ' Every once in a while they disagree over a difference of how they were raised, and it makes me laugh as much as they do over it. If we were all the same, it would be boring. They have good hearts and they tackle everyday issues without bias. I've learned more than I ever would have thought I could from a simple discussion between friends.' Nancy Reiss (47), another viewer points out in the interactive Germany vs USA Facebook group.

Germany vs USA is watched by a wide range of people who can also contribute by suggesting topics or sharing videos and articles which suit the topics of discussion. 'They're fun but they also deal with things that aren't covered in something like a school class, the little everyday stuff that make up a culture.' Holly Furgason (52) points out. 'The videos are so much fun to watch and remind me of my time in the US, the experiences I had and the discussions with my friends there. They just bring back good memories to me' adds leprechaunishable (25).

Interview!

Alex would make a great presenter for a Children's Educational Channel but I could also see their show lighten up the boulevard and reality trash possessed TV stations, so I decided to ask them a few questions regarding the future of the show.

1. What are the future plans for Germany vs USA; do you have any goals you want to achieve in the near future?
Answer: . We have been involved with GvU for over 5 years now. Initially, our goals were very lighthearted. We wanted to share. We truly love one another’s culture and are very close friends from very different backgrounds. It made for a great platform. Now that we see the community grow, we feel that we owe it to them to have more focused goals. That is one reason why we have been releasing episodes for more than a year without a break. Our next step is to branch out and give the community a larger platform to enjoy GvU. We want to provide them with an opportunity to share their experiences and stories. That is what makes traveling and culture so wonderful. The new. We hope to accomplish that in 2015.

2. If a TV station offered you a format, provided they would leave you with the same liberty you have in producing the episodes, would you consider it or do you guys want to keep it limited to YouTube?
Answer: The initial response is absolutely! Though, we have both been involved in projects where external factors led us into directions we didn’t want to go. Even though that was never the intention. So, I think if the situation was correct we would consider it. But do people still have TV?

3. How much research and preparation does each episode take (I assume it varies but roughly)
Answer: It does vary. We like to be slightly prepared but not over researched. We won’t talk about an experience if we haven’t had it. And we don’t like to discuss our knowledge or thoughts before we shoot. We try to really pull from an authentic conversational circumstance. A lot of times we are talking for close to an hour, if not over, and then have to cut it way down.

I did not know they filmed this long but I'm glad because what they end up selecting is wonderful. Last but not least, 'they show differences you only recognize if you know both cultures and countries well, not so as a mere tourist. They also represent both sides as being friends. It is a very nice, informing and non-aggressive way to teach about cultural differences.' Kauderwelsch77 (39) points out. We wish them best of luck with the show and hope that the love and dedication that is put into each episode, pays off.

Labels: AlexandJim, anaconda, Annaconda1984, education, GermanyvsUSA, interview

posted by KennyCrane at 11/10/2014 05:22:00 AM 1 Comments

I have heard many covers of Adele songs on YouTube, but the one I keep coming back to listen to is by MsTiffanyLexus. She does a heartfelt and powerful version of "Set Fire to the Rain." We made it our Featured Video this week on our YouTube Top 100 Chart and I'll embed it right here for your listening and viewing pleasure. Tiffany created a nice video to accompany her singing, consisting of nice pics and facts about herself. I thought that I would like to ask a few more questions of Tiffany, so I sent her a DM on Twitter asking for a short interview to be conducted right on Twitter, and she agreed to do it! I thought of a few things to ask and tweeted them to Tiffany. She tweeted back some great answers! Most were in multiple tweets but below I concatenated them into one reply per question. The interview went very well. We both enjoyed tweeting out our parts of the interview.

So here is talented YouTube musician MsTiffanyLexus singing "Set Fire to the Rain" - followed by our Twitter based interview!

KennyCrane KennyCrane @mstiffanylexus Still listening to "Set Fire to the Rain" by YOU; Love it! Did u pick this song for a reason; is it special to u in some way? Jan 11, 1:12 AM via web

mstiffanylexus Tiffany Lexus @KennyCrane Gosh, thanks so much! Well, I heard it for the first time the morning I recorded it, & idk, something about it actually did connect with me & really made me want to cover it. The song, to me, is about falling for someone whom.. Has caused a lot of heartbreak? And instead of crying about it, you, ya know:), set fire to your tears - metaphorically conveying the hurt & confidence to get over them, even with the verse about how her heart keeps going back to him, or, "waiting for [him]". And, I have experienced stuff like this before, so, I quickly favorited this song for the connection I had w/ it & the inspirational lyrics. :) Jan 11, 3:32 AM via Twitter for BlackBerry®

KennyCrane KennyCrane @mstiffanylexus Did you sing all the awesome vocals or did someone else sing back up? What kind of mic do you use?

mstiffanylexus Tiffany Lexus @KennyCrane I did sing all of it ^.^ hahaa. Except, there was this ONE part at like 1:40 in the video where some random background voice com es in and says "Never knew, Never knew" XD. LOL It sounds nothing like me either so.. I'm sure you heard it XD it came with the instrumental version I downloaded, I later found out. XD haha And I own the MXL 990 & 991 microphones:) I used just the 990 here:)

KennyCrane KennyCrane @mstiffanylexus Do you come from a musical family and have you taken any voice lessons?

mstiffanylexus Tiffany Lexus @KennyCrane I've never taken voice lessons, no :) uhmm.. No, not exactly xD. My mom is the only one of my family members that shares a great love for music & singing with me. My dad is passionate about cars and computers, so, he doesn't really understand it - He's all logic & we're more into the arts. Cool story, actually.. my mom was offered a recording contract when she was ten years old ! :) she wrote this AMAZING song - though she says it's silly - with it being the 70s, called "Boogie All Night". I'm actually going to have her record it & then I'll compose music to it & we'll post it to my channel ^.^ it's suuuper good:) hahaa. It ALWAYS gets stuck in my head:)! That's one of my favorite things about my mom too - she's a phenomenal writer when it comes to lyrics :) And, obviously, she turned them down, but she doesn't regret it & that's good ^.^ if she had signed, she wouldn't have met my dad & had my brother and I! ^.^ We do write songs together a lot too, so, as soon as I finish writing the music to it, you better bet it'll be on my YouTube channel:D !

KennyCrane KennyCrane @mstiffanylexus Great story, thanks! :-) What instruments do you play and what's your favorite and why?

mstiffanylexus Tiffany Lexus @KennyCrane I playyy piano (though, I will admit, I am a beginner still:) ), acoustic guitar, ukulele, baritone(or euphonium, I heard my band teacher call it today:) ), and clarinet so far. I'd really like to learn how to play the banjo as well, just cause it's awesome xD My favorite would have to be either guitar or ukulele. Something about playing them just feels amazing:) I get all tingly and happy inside:))) <3 which makes me really feel like this is something I was meant to do:))) I love it so much.

KennyCrane KennyCrane @mstiffanylexus Last question! :-) What five words or phrases would best describe your personality?

mstiffanylexus Tiffany Lexus @KennyCrane hmm... I'd say... Optimistic/happy, sily/fun/outgoing, compassionate, adventurous/daring, &.. I'm kind of a hopeless romantic xD

Labels: interview, MsTiffanyLexus, musician, tweet, twitter

posted by KennyCrane at 1/11/2012 05:28:00 PM 0 Comments

[It is now 2:25 AM on Monday, December 27, 2010 and the Contest is Closed. Thanks to everyone who entered by commenting on this interview! You can still comment if you want, but the contest is over and we have announced the 10 winners in our next post, which is here.]



Here is another YouTubeStars interview with a talented and interesting YouTuber. This time, we have interviewed singer Krista Nicole, who has been uploading excellent music videos to YouTube since she was just 12 years old! Krista's YouTube channel is KristaHeartzuz which has over 40 great music videos including her most watched video "Love The Way You Lie - Krista Nicole Acoustic Cover feat. Mars Raps - Eminem ft. Rihanna". Krista makes most of her music videos with her dad accompanying her on guitar. It's great to see father / daughter teams working together to make music!

Krista's newest release is a 4 song EP CD called Dreams which you can download from iTunes, or you can download it or buy the CD from her Store, OR you can
WIN an AUTOGRAPHED COPY of the CD if you enter our contest - CONTEST Rules are below the Interview.


Now, our interview with Krista Nicole!

Hi Krista! Tell us a little about yourself, please.

Well my name is Krista Nicole Hudson, I'm 16 and a junior in high school. I'm involved in the theatre program at my high school and I love being in the fall musicals. I love acting as well as singing. I also really enjoy children's theatre because you get to be as dramatic, crazy and goofy as you want and the kids love it no matter what!

How long have you been singing, playing and writing music?

I've been singing for as long as I can remember. I was always around music. The first song I ever wrote was with my cousin, I was 5 and she was about 8. The song was called "Bubblegum Factory" and I still remember it exactly. I've (hopefully) come a long way in my writing since then, but I'd still really like to learn more about writing songs and I want to write a lot more.

Who are some of your favorite Musicians, both on and off YouTube?

Well OF COURSE Tyler Ward, Julia Sheer, Eppic and Jeff Hendrick. I love how they make all of the songs they cover their own. I also really like BoyceAvenue. John Mayer is a really talented artist and I love his voice and music as well.

How did you get started on YouTube?

I posted my first video when I was 12 years old. I didn't expect anyone to watch them except for some family and maybe some friends. But when I started to get comments it was interesting and exciting to see what people (that I don't even know) had to say! It quickly turned into a hobby of mine to record and post videos! Unfortunately when I started to get more views and more noticed, YouTube found that I was (by that time) only 12, just a couple weeks before my 13th birthday which was the age you had to be to have a YouTube account. [YouTubeStars: YouTube shut down Krista's original channel but she was soon back with her current channel!] I had a lot of subscribers who made "support Krista Nicole" videos and I gained back a lot of my subscribers when I started my new account. I was so thankful!

What do you think is the best video you have made so far?

My favorite video so far is probably the cover I did with Eppic and Jeff Hendrick of Just A Dream by Nelly. They're so talented, and I love that I got to do that collaboration with both of them!




Your dad is often seen playing guitar in your videos. How do you like making music with him?

I love that music is a common interest for me and my dad, and I feel really lucky to have him be so supportive of me. Although sometimes recording with him can be a pain! We can get a little frustrated with each other, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

How did you come to work with Tyler Ward? How was that experience?

I was going to do a cover of the song Two Is Better Than One with another talented YouTuber, Derek Cate. Unfortunately things didn't work out with finishing the song, but I still wanted to do a collab with a talented male! My dad came across Tyler Ward on YouTube and asked me if I'd be interested in messaging him and asking if he'd do the song with me. I figured it was a long shot but decided to let him ask anyway. Sure enough he replied and was totally willing to do it. Turns out he's one of the nicest and funniest guys I have ever met! I ended up being really lucky to be able to work with him. He produced my first EP Dreams which I'm really happy with, and I really hope to work with him again in the future.

How do you feel about "haters" on YouTube who leave rude comments?

I try to just ignore the comments from people who just want to be mean. I've read some comments that have really hurt my feelings, but I always remember how many more positive, helpful comments there are, and in comparison, the mean ones shouldn't even matter.

What else do you like to do in your free time, besides music and making videos?

Like any other teenager I just really enjoy hanging out with my friends, surfing the web, going on walks, and also being involved in community theatre and the high school plays/musicals.

How do you feel about fans making YouTube channels about you, like http://www.youtube.com/user/HeartzuzFans? Do you mind having your old videos on these channels?

It's so flattering to have pages dedicated towards me! I really love that. But I honestly try and avoid the old videos of myself that are posted. I'm even a little surprised that I posted some of the videos that I did! I notice every flat and sharp note, every crack, every mistake in my voice. But I guess I have to remember you are your own worst critic. But I also can't stand to see myself from back then. Everyone has gone through an awkward stage, and I think mine lasted for a couple years! Sometimes I wish people didn't have to see me like that. Ha ha!

It's been 14 years, are you ever going to do another cover video of you singing "Louie Louie"? We LOVED the first one you did! (reference to the very cute video: The life of Krista Nicole)

There's no reenacting that; it's a classic.

What projects are you working on right now? Any live shows coming up?

Lately I've been doing a lot of musical theatre. I just finished with my high school's production of Fiddler On The Roof playing the part of Hodel and this month I plan on auditioning for the role of Wendy in Peter Pan. I also signed up to be in the next play at my school, Almost Maine. I love being on stage as a character and singing, it's so much fun. Unfortunately there are no live shows of me doing any cover songs, or originals, but hopefully soon I will be able to arrange a show somewhere.

What are your plans for the future?

I plan on starting some piano lessons and maybe once I get the gist of that I can also pick up guitar. We'll see how things go. I'm looking forward to growing and expanding my music knowledge. After high school I plan to continue doing community theatre and my music, study business music and theatre at a community college, and after that move down to southern California to go to beauty school and continue making music and just see where life takes me.

Could you please provide links to your websites and let us know how often you update each one?

I usually post something on facebook and twitter every couple days. Just updated my website a couple days ago but it had been a while since it was changed.

http://kristanicole.com

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Krista-Nicole/98162366920?ref=ts

http://www.twitter.com/ImKristaNicole

http://www.youtube.com/user/kristaheartzuz

http://itunes.com/kristanicole

[YouTubeStars: Also see this Interview of Krista by Michael Boyce of YouTrax.tv:
http://www.youtrax.tv/shows11thru20.htm]


Now, some survey type questions!

Right Handed Or Left Handed? Right

The Shoes You Wore Today? Gray suede boots.

Your Most Overused Phrase On An Instant Messenger? LOL of course

Pepsi Or Coke? Dr. Pepper. :)

McDonalds Or Burger King? Can I choose neither?

Single Or Group Dates? Group dates! I've never been on a single date.

Have You Been In Love? Never.

Do You Want To Get Married? Maybe many years from now.

What Country Would You Most Like To Visit? I would love to go to Italy or Greece!

First Thought When You Wake Up? What time is it?

Scary Movies or Romantic Comedies? Romantic comedy.

Favorite Candy? Anything chocolate.

Favorite Animal? I think wolves are beautiful!

What Kind Of Perfume Or Colone Do You Wear? Juicy Couture 'Viva la juicy'

Are you named after anyone? Not to my knowledge.

What color is your room? 2 of my walls are gold and one is a dark plum.

Favorite movie star? Will Ferrel is hilarious.

Favorite holiday? Definitely Christmas.




-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-





We will pick TEN people who comment on this interview at random and send them a free copy of "Dreams." The contest begins Monday December 20th 2010 and ends midnight Sunday December 26th 2010 Eastern Time.

Here are the rest of the rules: Comment on this interview here at YouTubeStars using the comment link you will see below (the link says "Post a Comment"), and please include your YouTube channel name at the end of the comment. Do NOT put any links in your comment. Comments containing links will not be approved. Multiple comments are okay but only one will count as an entry. TEN commentors will be chosen at random after the contest ends and will be notified with a Personal Message (PM) at YouTube stating that they have won this contest. Winners must reply to the PM with their mailing address within one week. If a winner does not reply, a new winner will be chosen at random.

So tell us what you think about this interview and what you think of Krista and her music. TEN of you will win a copy of Krista's new CD!

Post a Comment! Good Luck!

Labels: interview, KristaHeartzuz, music, singer. contest

posted by KennyCrane at 12/19/2010 08:04:00 PM 52 Comments

[It is now 12:10 AM on Monday, June 21, 2010 and the Contest is Closed. Thanks to everyone who entered by commenting on this interview! You can still comment if you want, but the contest is over and we'll announce the 2 winners shortly... Here are the two winners: Danielaf555 and leenybella - Congrats to both of you!]



Here is another YouTubeStars interview of a talented and interesting YouTuber. This time, we have interviewed musician Mike Lombardo, who describes himself as a "geeky piano rocker." Mike's main channel is MikeLombardoMusic which has lots of great music videos including his most watched "Hey Molly" original song. Mike's other channel is jeffisold which has vlogs and live footage.

Mike is currently on tour in support of his newest release, the 2 CD "Songs For A New Day" - which you can WIN if you enter our contest - Rules are below the Interview. Tour dates can be found on Mike's website.

Mike is on DFTBA Records LLC, which is co-owned by YouTubers Hank Green from the vlogbrothers channel and Alan Lastufka whose channel is fallofautumndistro.

There is one final notable association between Mike and a well known YouTuber. Mike is dating popular vlogger HayleyGHoover. We have written about Hayley here on YouTubeStars four times over the last 2 and a half years. You can see her latest vlog in which she talks about dressing up as a sheep, here. Watch the delightful Sheep video (or is she a goat?), here. Finally, watch Mike on Hayley's channel, singing his charming original song, "Hey Molly" - renamed "Hey Hayley" for this performance.




Now, our interview with Mike Lombardo!

Hi Mike! Tell us a little about yourself, please.

Well, I play the piano. I like grilled cheese and Halo and bad horror movies. I once tried to ride a shopping cart off my roof.

How long have you been singing, playing and writing music?

I've been playing basically since I was born. We have pictures of me playing at age 2 so I must have started before then. I'm not sure when I started writing. I started a band with some buddies in 8th or 9th grade so around then, probably. We weren't very good though.

Who are some of your favorite Musicians, both on and off YouTube?

I am a big fan of Coheed and Cambria, Toto, The Eagles, Paul and Storm, Paul McCartney, basically anyone who's on that virtuosic level of instrumental and compositional skill. Some of my favorite youtubers are Jack Conte ,my good friends Anna P , Dylan Galvin, and Sara Parsons, and the whole DFTBA crew as well. My favorite of the week is Dr. Noise.

How did you get started on YouTube?

I don't really remember. I used to have an account when I was in college and I just talked and did stupid things on it. That ended up getting deleted. In January 2008 I started posting some live clips and then original songs in the fall of that year. So I've had my current channel for almost 2 and a half years now. I just surprised myself by checking the day. January 1 2008. That seems like forever ago to me.

What do you think is the best video you have made so far?

That's a tough one. Most of the 'popular' ones are old and I'm not happy with them because I've improved since I made them. My favorite just to listen to is the 'That Will Be The Day' demo that I did, I think, because that song is hard to separate from its production. I think the percussion and the full band instrumentation really help the groove and so it was cool to put all the pieces together on that one when I was writing it.

How have your friends and family reacted to your music and your videos?

A lot of my friends from Berklee are focusing on the more traditional touring model and they really don't spend a lot of time on the internet in the way that I do, so they're not really in tune with the whole youtube community. Most of them either don't know I'm involved with it or don't understand how it all works, I suppose. Some of them are just getting into it now, which is cool. My best friend Sam still lives in my hometown and he always asks me how it's going but he doesn't spend a lot of time on youtube either. Most of the time he's either mixing sound for us or sitting in on drums for some local shows. So my internet world and my 'local' world are pretty separated at this point, and that's probably good.

Tell us about your time at Berklee.

Berklee is, as my friend Jesse likes to say, the four years that you suck. It's basically putting yourself in a situation where everyone else is better than you. Not just learning from teachers, but learning from students, and the players there are the best players in the world. It was really eye opening and I think it went a long way towards helping me find my individual sound. By far the most enriching thing was sitting in a songwriting class with lots of great songwriters and hearing how they handled the same assignments.

What has been your experience with the YouTube community in general and with other YouTube musicians?

It can be hard to get in touch with people just because of the sheer numbers that most of them have to deal with, but the people that I've been involved with have generally been really nice, gracious people. All the people involved with DFTBA are super cool and overall, the rest of the musicians and community that I have come in contact with have been very cool people.

How do you feel about "haters" on YouTube who leave rude comments?

It's just ignorance. No one who has ever worked hard to practice and master an instrument or a song would ever say something insulting about someone else posting music. I think it comes from people who can't play or don't want to put in the time to learn and are jealous of those who have made the commitment. In addition to the rudeness, it's also idiotic: If you don't like what you're hearing, stop listening to it and go listen to something different. Only a moron would continue to take the time to listen to the entire thing, log in, type up and leave a mean comment. It's probably a great way to get in trouble with YouTube, though. Most youtube musicians have very loyal followers and anyone leaving rude comments will probably get flagged a bunch of times by the musician's fans. Now, there are some commenters who will say "I appreciate the skill involved but it's not my style" or otherwise respectfully indicate that they didn't like it. That's fine, and I don't want to speak for others, but personally I welcome the comment. Nothing wrong with not liking someone's music, but that is absolutely no reason to say mean things about them. A lot of my friends are involved in styles of music that I personally don't enjoy listening to, but that doesn't mean they don't work hard on it, or that they are talented and skilled. It just means it's not my personal taste. Some people have trouble distinguishing between "You suck and have no talent" and "I do not like this type of music." I don't like Brad Paisley's music but he's an incredibly talented dude and it would be a mistake to say "Brad Paisley sucks." I made a vlog about that a while back on my second channel because I think it's something that we can all be guilty of sometimes and I wanted to encourage people to be mindful of it.

What else do you like to do in your free time, besides music and making videos?

I really enjoy a good video game, although I just haven't had time lately. Over the summer, I played a ton of Left4Dead with my friends from home, and I'm really into stuff like Max Payne and Mirror's Edge. I tend to really gravitate towards innovative, artsy games rather than some of the more mainstream stuff like Counter-Strike or Quake. Halo is probably one of my favorites of all time. I don't own any consoles, so I just play on my PC. I'm also in the process of watching all of The X Files episodes. I'm currently on season 4. Besides that, I try to spend a lot of time outside - Sam and I love going out in the woods and practicing target shooting and just walking around. It's nice because I have to spend so much time sitting on the computer that getting outside and running around with Sam and being loud is a nice change of pace.

Please tell us about your upcoming tour.

Well I feel that the most important aspect of my music is the live show, rather than the recordings. I kind of think of the recordings as a tool to make sure people are familiar with the songs when they see us at shows. Some artists have to tour to support their album; I put out albums to support my tour. It's what I look forward to most. This summer, we're going to Indianapolis, Chicago, Philly, NYC, and I have a few upstate NY stops scattered around. It's only a 2 week tour but we're looking forward to it. Exact dates are on my site , and our opening act for this tour is our good friend Zarni DeWet. She's a friend from Berklee and she's a totally awesome pianist and songwriter. We're also catching up with a few of my other college friends for various stops along the way, so I'm pretty exited to play with them again. I went through a lot of extra trouble to make sure all the shows are All-Ages, so if anyone is around, please come out, see us, and bring some friends :)

Tell us about your latest album, "Songs For A new Day."

It's a big one for us. It's 2 discs and a movie and we spend a year putting it together. It's by far our best recording performance to date, and I think we've really raised the bar for ourselves. The second disc is a bonus CD. When we were recording our first record, "The Fordham Sessions," back in early '09, we were kind of squeezing it in between final exams and shows with other groups, so we didn't really have the time, budget, or resources to do everything we wanted to do with it. We figured, since we were in the studio anyway, it would be cool to go back and revisit the tunes from the Fordham Sessions and try to record them as they were originally intended. It's not just re-mastered, it's re-recorded, everything, from scratch. Fans of the first album will notice an enormous improvement in the performance and sound quality, and new fans will be able to check out some of our older material. And it was a lot of fun for us to do, as well, so I'm glad we got to do it. There was also a song that we originally cut from the first release of The Fordham Sessions because it just wasn't working with the layout of the record. We revisited that song and got together a good recording of it, and we've included it as a bonus track. I don't believe we've ever performed it, so I think it's brand new to most of the fans. So that's 21 tracks on 2 CD's in total, and also when you order the physical through DFTBA, you can download a 23-minute making-of video that shows the various steps of us recording the album. I think a lot of people don't realize how much work and how many people have to come together to create a CD with one person's name on the front, so we wanted to show a little bit of that.

What is your relationship with DFTBA records?

I've had a great relationship with them. Obviously they don't operate like a traditional label, and so it's much more of a symbiotic relationship. Alan Lastufka, one of the co-founders, is a great extra set of ears for new ideas, and he really likes my writing and ML3's sound so it's great to be working with people who care about the music and are excited to work on it. Obviously, financial interests are unavoidable because Alan and I both do what we do for a living, not just as a hobby, so you've got to be careful of the decisions you're making so you can feed yourself, but I think Alan knows the words to our songs better than I do, so we know he's making decisions about what's best for the music and for the artists, and not just how to "make a ton of money." If money is really that important to you, do not go into the field of professional music. ;)

How did you first approach DFTBA, and any advice for other YouTube musicians looking for a label?

DFTBA is pretty unique amongst indie labels. To my knowledge there's nothing else around that handles things the same way. One thing that they do have in common with most indie labels is they do not accept unsolicited submissions. That means you can't approach them about being signed. If they want to work with you, they'll come to you. Alan wrote a blog entry about it here. People interested should read the article, but the basic idea is a record deal won't make you more successful. It just means you make your payments to someone else and you have to go to the post office less. If you don't build a following on your own, a label will not work with you.

What does DFTBA do to promote you, and what percentage of sales do they take?

They handle the distribution of my music. That means I write, record, produce, and mix it. Alan masters it (basically making sure the volumes are uniform so you don't have to keep turning up and down your volume knob when listening.) Then they get the CD printed and boxes and when people order it, they mail it out. Basically all the things that I find annoying. This is not the role of a traditional label. Currently their standard contract is 60% of the income goes back to the artist, but that can differ per contract / per artist.

What is the Mike Lombardo Trio (ML3)?

ML3 is basically the group that I record with and sometimes perform with. It's my 'full band.' My drummer, Andy Rumschlag, plays on all the recordings and all the albums, and he's with me on tours. He plays a huge role in planning and logistics, and contributes an enormous amount to our songs, arrangements, and production. I might even say he's a co-producer of the album. Andy's input is a big part of the Mike Lombardo sound. Our bassist Ellen Angelico is actually a country guitarist by trade, but she was a good friend of mine before I got a group together and she agreed to play bass for a few shows. We all loved it and so she stayed. Ellen's an incredibly busy girl so she is very rarely available to tour with us, and she chooses a lower level of involvement in the 'band' decisions, but she plays all the bass tracks on the albums. She's written most of the bass material, as well. Anything that I didn't specifically write into the song, she's come up with on her own. That groovy little fill in the pre-chorus of "Caroline," for example. That's an idea that she brought to the table and we built into the song. When Ellen can't join us for tours, we have had a few different bassists play with us. This upcoming tour, we'll be joined by Alex Smith, another friend of ours from Berklee.The problem with the name 'ML3' became more obvious as we were releasing more stuff. Sometimes we wouldn't have Ellen with us. Do we still bill it as ML3? or Mike Lombardo? And I also realized if everything was released under one name, we could double down on promotion instead of promoting 2 different brands, having 2 different iTunes listings, etc. So while we still refer to our live show as ML3, everything is legally cataloged under 'Mike Lombardo' just so everything is in one place.

What other projects are you working on?

Ooh, lots of stuff. I'm planning collabs with RockstarRaquel, MimsieSky, Tom Milsom, Luke Conard, and a few others that I'm not going to mention yet. I'm also writing for my next album, I'm one of the head admins at the DFTBA forums, I run a musical networking community and podcast with Jeff MacDougall, and lots of other stuff in the works that's too early to talk about ;)

What do you think of that fabulous YouTube vlogger and writer, Hayley G. Hoover?

I think she needs to stop resting on her laurels and make some new videos. I mean, seriously, I want to be entertained.

What are your plans for the future?

I'll be moving within the next year or so, to the midwest. Andy and I are going to try to start a live music venue. I can't afford to do that, yet, so once this tour gets wrapped up, basically lying low and saving up to move.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Here's an awesome acapella tune with Mike singing all the parts. After the song, Mike talks about the tour stops and the new release, "Songs For A New Day." Read on to see how YOU can win a copy of this 2-CD set!




Mike's band is in a contest to open for John Mayer in his Scranton, PA show. Help Mike out by voting for his song, "Abby Never" on the OurStage Judge page. Watch this video and Mike will tell you all about it!






We will pick two people who comment on this interview at random and send them a free copy of "Songs For A New Day." The contest begins today, Monday June 7th 2010 and ends midnight Sunday June 20th 2010 Eastern Time.

Here are the rest of the rules: Comment on this interview here at YouTubeStars using the comment link you will see below, and please include your YouTube channel name at the end of the comment. Do NOT put any links in your comment. Comments containing links will not be approved. Multiple comments are okay but only one will count as an entry. Two commentors will be chosen at random after the contest ends and will be notified with a Personal Message (PM) at YouTube stating that they have won this contest. Winners must reply to the PM with their mailing address within one week. If a winner does not reply, a new winner will be chosen at random.

So tell us what you think about this interview and what you think of Mike and his music. Two of you will win a copy of Mike's new release!

Comment below! Good Luck!

Labels: contest, hayleyghoover, interview, Mike Lombardo, MikeLombardoMusic

posted by KennyCrane at 6/07/2010 01:07:00 AM 22 Comments

Tiffany Jo Allen, one of our favorite YouTubeStars, was interviewed tonight on WBNQ radio. This Bloomington Illinois radio station broadcast three segments of Tiffany Jo talking with DJ Remy over the course of an hour from 7 to 8 PM Central time. Tiffany Jo talked about her music career and her YouTube videos. If you missed the interview, you can still hear it, here, or just click the Play button, below. The interview is in three segments and runs for just under 4 minutes.

Congrats to Tiffany Jo Allen on this nice interview!

Read more about Tiffany Jo Allen on YouTubeStars.com.

Labels: interview, radio, TiffanyJoAllen

posted by KennyCrane at 3/12/2008 09:06:00 PM 2 Comments