By Natasha T. Brown
“There’s so much raw talent…So many of these musicians have a great story, so as a studio that has all the tools, why not give these musicians the opportunity to do it? It’s good karma…so why not pay it forward?”
–Jake Grotticelli, House Studio DC Engineer
You may recall my previous story, published in November, about the House Studio DC Artist Grant and the opportunity of a lifetime and investment from House of more than $30,000 per artist for development of music, marketing, media, videos and much more.
From 342 applications received, House narrowed down the nationwide search to 20 finalists, and today I had the honor of sitting on a panel of judges to select the final six whose lives and careers will change forever.
THE JUDGES.
The judging panel included, “All-around gurus in the music industry,” according to House:
- Legendary Hip-Hop/R&B Record Producer Chucky Thompson
- Record Producer Daoud Baptiste, partner to Thompson and new House Studio DC associate
- Journalist Steve Place from BrightestYoungThings.com
- Musician Samy K. of the (really cool) band Bonnie Rash,
- Saeed Barhoush Hip-Hop Director at George Washington University Radio, WRGW,
- and myself.
Engineer Jake Grotticelli of House Studios led the judging panel, and he noted that with the resources provided by these grants, House wants to take six talented acts to the next level.
Each of us had the opportunity to learn more about the finalists… in their own words and from interviews with House and artist song submissions. The judging process was held at Smith Commons on H Street. While we spoke candidly about each candidate, the professional staff at House filmed the session and created a great atmosphere (with delicious food from Smith Commons and beverages courtesy of Red Bull) of professionals who were happy to offer our time to determine which artists would fit best and grow with one of DC’s most-noted music and media companies.
THE PROCESS.
Finalists were judged by their creativity, musicianship, online presence (and interaction with their fans) and marketability.
We met each artist/act one by one, and you can meet them too, here.
We first listened to the artist interview, then read a portion of the application, listened to music and discussed our thoughts, referring to their social media pages and our own knowledge.
THE COMPETITION.
Within the mix of finalists, there are stories that pulled at our heartstrings, while some artists seemed short sighted and missed the vision and opportunities this grant could provide. But all, of course, are quite talented and very different from one another.
There’s Phillip Hartley, the self-proclaimed super hero, who says he was sent to save the world.
Ophelia Cache, the New York indie-pop singer whose voice is soulful and futuristic. She said of the grant opportunity, “I feel it’s important to have a connection to people who understand the music and the craft.”
There’s also Ian Thomas, a Neo-Soul/R&B Singer who plays keys, guitar, bass and drums. Thomas has a disability called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 3. He uses music to raise awareness of his disability and funds to help find its cure.
The talented young Izzy (Lil Hendrix) caught our attention. He’s a self-taught electric guitarist whose “guitar sings” to blues, rock, gospel and R&B.
Pop/Rock Artist James Britton, a recent Wammie Award nominee caught my attention with talent, sincerity and passion, “Really all I want is a life of music. Whether that’s red carpet everyday, or just paying for meals, I just want music..”
Be sure to listen to and read about all of the finalists. Who are your favorites?
JUDGES’ FEEDBACK.
At the end of the judging session, everyone spoke about the talent as a whole.
Barhoush said, “There’s potential in a select few.”
Samy K added, “To sit there and put your music out there, knowing we are going to tear you apart, says a lot about you…”
Thompson noted that, “I heard a lot of great things. I heard a lot of not-so-great things, but I definitely feel the mission of what’s happening at House is there. I think we’re going to have a great project.”
Baptiste commented, “I really hope this becomes a part of the DC music culture.”
And my take? There’s certainly a lot of talent in the final group of 20, with huge shoes to fill in past grantees, like RaTheMC, Reesa Renee and Black Alley to name a few.
Stay tuned to learn who we selected, discover great indie artists in the finalists and be sure to follow the judges on Twitter. There’s a lot of sophistication here: @HouseStudioDC and judges @Jake_HSDC , @StevePlace, @SamyDong, @SaeedBar, @Baptiste_Music, @ChuckLife365.
Natasha Brown is a writer and founding communications strategist of Think Brown INK, a creative think tank and strategic communications agency, focused on cause communications programs for artists, entertainers and entrepreneurs. Follow her on Twitter @NBrownINK or @TBINatasha or her company @ThinkBrownINK.