a-Tunes » Spotlight

Spotlight: The Inspire ’11 Performers (Tim Be Told, Lyricks, AMP, Jason Min, Sarah Kim, Saving Thomas, Jae Jin)

a-Tunes.net — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:34:29 +0000

It’s been a long time since our last Spotlight but we’re finally back with some more interviews! Back at the top of 2011, we were honored to be a part of a little event called Inspire – here on the East coast for the first time ever. This is long, long overdue but we wanted to be sure to share the pre-show interviews we had with the artists – Tim Be Told, Lyricks, AMP, Jason Min, Sarah Kim, Saving Thomas, and Jae Jin. You maybe seen some of our past spotlight features on a couple of these artists, but the following clips provide a specific glimpse and context of the heart of these musicians before the event. So without further ado we hope you enjoy the interviews! (For photos, check out the FB album courtesy of Helping Hands & Tom of Meet Inspiration)

Tim Be Told

Spotlight: Esna Yoon

a-Tunes.net — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:04:02 +0000

We’re back again with a brand new episode of Spotlight. We had the awesome chance to meet and speak with one of the most talented songwriters doing her thing right now; LA’s very own Esna Yoon. She shares about her craft, her goals, collabing with other artists like Dumbfoundead, Sam Ock, and Summerbreeze, what it’s like trying to make it in LA, her experiences with Kollaboration and more! Stay tuned till the end for a special exclusive performance of her original song “You Fool”.

Thanks again to Esna for the awesome interview, and a special shoutout to Photoria Studios for the accommodation and filming assistance!

Check out Esna at the following:
http://www.youtube.com/user/esnathesinger
http://www.facebook.com/Esnathesinger
http://twitter.com/esnayoon

Spotlight: Decipher

a-Tunes.net — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:10:54 +0000

It’s been a couple month’s since our last Spotlight feature, but we are back with a brand new interview with MUzO Entertainment and Philly native Decipher. We got to talk about a lot of different topics including how De teamed up with Johnnyphlo, working with other artists such as Chan, the dramatic story behind his family, battling and the possibility of Grind Time, what’s in store for Decipher in 2010 and more! Lastly, watch till the end for an exclusive preview of some never heard before material.

Major thanks to MUzO Entertainment. Be on the lookout for Decipher, one of the sickest MC’s reppin it for all of us!

Check out Decipher at the following:
http://www.deciphermusic.com
http://twitter.com/deciphermusic
http://www.youtube.com/deciphermusic
http://www.facebook.com/deciphermusic
http://www.myspace.com/decipher

Spotlight: Sam Ock

a-Tunes.net — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:49:26 +0000

Hello a-Tunes! We’re back with a brand new episode of Spotlight! We had the awesome chance to meet up with Sam Ock at the studio in Baltimore, MD as he took a break from recording to discuss a number of topics with us. You can learn about how he picked up so many instruments, where he stands with his Faith and his art along with his participation in the other musical groups Company Idyll and AMP. We covered a lot of ground but stay tuned till the end for an exclusive performance medley of some his songs.

Thank you so much to Sam for the interview!

Check out Sam Ock at the following:

http://twitter.com/samuelock

http://www.youtube.com/samuelock

http://www.facebook.com/ampmovement

http://www.facebook.com/companyidyll

Spotlight: Johnnyphlo

a-Tunes.net — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:54:57 +0000

For our latest edition of Spotlight we had the opportunity to speak with Korean-American musician Johnnyphlo. Check out the interview to learn a little about the rising star now and where he aims to be in the future. At the end of the clip we give you a peek at what went down at his album release party for Basic Strategy as he and Ailee perform their hit song ‘Rollercoaster’.

Please excuse the poor lighting =(.

A huge thank you to Johnnyphlo and MUzO Entertainment for the interview!

Support Johnnyphlo by picking up his latest album Basic Strategy.
http://bit.ly/aYwdmK

Check out Johnnyphlo at the following:
http://johnnyphlo.com/
http://twitter.com/johnnyphlo
http://www.facebook.com/johnnyphlomusic
http://www.myspace.com/johnnyphlo
http://www.youtube.com/johnnyphlo

Spotlight: Tim Be Told Q&A

a-Tunes.net — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:12:47 +0000

For this edition of Spotlight we did things a little different and went the more conventional route. Last week the band Tim Be Told took some time out of their hectic touring schedule to chat with a-Tunes for a little Q&A. They were a great group of guys to talk with who are clearly passionate about their music. We’re working on having a follow up, in depth video interview in the future but for now here’s a little something to keep you TBT fans occupied =).

A huge thank you to the band and make sure you download their free single Analyze and try to catch them on tour!

You can find the interview and some bonus footage from their tour after the jump!

GT: Hey guys. Just wanted to thank all of you for being here and for taking the time from your busy schedule, I know you’re in the middle of touring right?

TBT: Yea man, thanks for having us!

GT: To start off, could you all introduce yourself?

TBT:

I’m Andrew, I play guitar for the band.

I’m Tim, I play piano and I sing.

My name’s Parker, I play bass.

My name’s Luan and I play guitar and sing background vocals.

I’m Jim and I play drums.

GT: I saw your blog in Iggy about how you try to do some recording on the road while on tour. Do you mind describing what kind of mobile set up you got going there?

TBT: It is literally Tim’s Macbook Pro, a set of headphones, and whatever we could find in the car to make noise. [Laughs] It’s a little more experimental.

GT: So how would you (the band) describe your music and genre?

TBT: I think we would say that we play a genre of music that could be classified as pop/rock with a little bit of soul to it. With a caveat that it’s kind of evolved from where we first started till now. Because when we first started it was literally just Tim doing singer/songwriter type of music but when Andrew and Luan jumped on board it became a little bluesy acoustic. Parker and I [Jim] joined the band a year after that and we started performing and writing more music and just being influenced by all the different genres of music we listen to and this is what ‘s come out of it. It’s just a little more rock than before. Tim’s voice is pretty soulful so whatever he sings will be pretty soulful, no matter what genre. [Laughs]

GT: What’s it like being on tour? Have you embarked on such a packed tour schedule before?

TBT: It’s tiring.. It’s a lot of fun but most of the time we don’t even know what city we are in. We just kind of show up and just play but it’s been a really good experience, a really good bonding time [with the band].

GT: Were all of you friends before the formation of the band or did you all get to know each other better after you started playing together?

TBT: Uh, pretty much the second thing that you said. Some of us knew each other before hand but most of us met each other through the band and we became closer through the music and through just spending countless hours together.

GT: What’s the funniest tour experience so far?

TBT: Oh! We were driving around in San Francisco, trying to find parking and maybe like 45 minutes before we came in Tim told us he had to pee really bad. So we all started describing different bodies of water and how fast they would flow, making water sounds, and yea… that bathroom humor gets us through the day [Laughs].

GT: So was Tim able to hold it in!?

TBT: I just ran to the nearest place, I went to three different stores trying to use their bathroom!

GT: What’s the worst tour experience so far or is that the pee story too?

TBT: The two 24hr drives! We did a drive straight from Charlottesville, VA to Austin TX, it took about 24,25 hours. And then we did a drive from San Antonio TX to Irvine, CA… that took about 22,23 hours… straight!

GT: What’s the story behind the single ‘Analyze’ ?

TBT: When I [Tim] wrote this song, it was actually really late at night, probably 3 in the morning, I was just trying to figure out what was going on in my mind, and reflecting on life or things I’ve been through. The song is just about being kind of confused, not really knowing yourself, just trying to figure out who you are and.. talking to somebody asking them to help you figure yourself out and heal from wounds from the past and stuff. The idea of the song was to be this very contemplative, redemptive kind of thing.

GT: Do you all share writing duties for the music?

TBT: Right now it’s just me [Tim] writing the songs. When I first started out as a singer/songwriter it was very much geared towards the piano driven soul singing. But now I’m starting to write more for the rock… mainstream pop sound, so there is definitely influence from the other guys in terms of instrumentation and that kind of thing.

GT: How has the feedback been for the ‘From the Inside’ EP?

TBT: I think it’s mostly been pretty positive. People seem to appreciate the variety and the different stylings of the EP. Yea, I think it’s been well received overall.

GT: Where can we find more information about the band and the tour?

TBT: We’re on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, iTunes… everywhere. If you go to our main site it should have links to all the different websites and we also have a blog on there.

GT: What’s the best way for fans to communicate with you and keep tabs on what’s going on with the band?

TBT: We’re pretty good about responding to the Facebook fan page. People leave comments and we try to acknowledge them and respond. In terms of tour schedule our Myspace is always the most up to date. But we check the Facebook fanpage the most to interact with fans.

GT: What’s next for Tim Be Told?

TBT: We are recording tracks for a new album that should come out hopefully this year, if not this decade [Laughs]. And uh… yea just more shows, maybe some music videos too.

GT: Thanks for taking the time to chat, anything else you wanted to say before we wrap things up?

TBT: Thanks again for having us. We’re looking forward to your review of our next album!

Spotlight: Manifest & Lyricks

a-Tunes.net — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:43:36 +0000

We are launching a new feature of a-Tunes today entitled Spotlight. This is going to be where we focus on the artists you love and dig a little deeper into who they are.

For our inaugural interview, we had the privilege to sit down with Hip-Hop artists Manifest & Lyricks and we covered a lot of different topics so make sure to check it out!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Be on the lookout for new material coming from the supernova/beautiful cycle camp in 2010!

A HUGE thank you to Manifest & Lyricks, support good music!