moriah formica – Pigments of Sound Sensation

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022

LIVE: Plush (with Daughtry) Gets Standing Ovation From Audience at Their First Ever Live Show (July 31, 2021)

Originally Written for Nippertown.

Clearly I’m publishing this months after it was first published. And since then I’ve been to a few more Plush concerts. So there might be some edits I make with a newer perspective. But I’m not sure. I haven’t reread this since it was written. But so much has happened since my last entry that pertains to this one, and so a little context is needed.

In October of 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, Moriah’s father and mother reached out to me about taking some photos for a secret project. Moriah was putting together a band, and they wanted some promo shots and a demo song to send to record labels. They sat around my dining room table, my cat settling into Moriah’s dad (Josh)’s lap within minutes of them taking a seat. We discussed the project, costumes, locations, poses…and planned a date for all four of these women to come together. They were so newly put together that they didn’t even have a band name yet.

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Moriah Formica: The Reality After Reality TV (Part 2 of 2)

Initially written for and posted on Nippertown. Part 1 (on blog) h ere.

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of the powerful interview with local rock star, Moriah Formica, a motivated and talented musician that was on the reality TV music competitions, American Idol and The Voice. Be sure to read the first part of this exclusive interview by Nippertown’s Elissa Ebersold, of what happens when the cameras stop rolling.

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Moriah Formica: The Reality After Reality TV (Part 1 of 2)

Initially written for and posted on Nippertown

Moriah Formica, if you live in the good old 518 area, is not a new name. She is another one of the many extremely hard-working and talented superstars to find fame, be it local or international, on a reality television music competition show. She is what Adam Levine, frontman for Maroon5, has called a “pint-size powerhouse” and what country superstar Blake Shelton once referred to as someone who received an extra dose of talent when God got distracted when He was sprinkling it onto people. It’s people like Moriah that make me joke that they need to save some talent for the rest of us.

April 16, 2019April 17, 2019

Crazy On Moriah Formica

Moriah Formica, if you live in the good old 518 area, is not a new name. She is another one of the many extremely hard-working and talented superstars to find fame, be it local or international, on a reality television music competition show. She is what Adam Levine, front man for Maroon5, has called a “pint-size powerhouse” and what country superstar Blake Shelton once referred to as someone who received an extra dose of talent when God got distracted when He was sprinkling it onto people. It’s people like Moriah that make me joke that they need to save some talent for the rest of us.

Left to right: Nick Stamas (Guitar), Moriah Formica (Vocals, Guitar), Tony Tirino (Drums), Andrew Blowers (Bass). (f/2.8, 1/60, ISO 1600)

March 27, 2019April 4, 2019

Madison Vandenburg: America’s Next American Idol!?

Madison Vandenburg performs at Upstate Concert Hall with her guitarist Tom.

When it comes to reality TV shows, there’s no such thing as the binary. It’s never just as simple as “I watch it” or “I don’t watch it.” There are so many gradations that float in between “do” and “don’t.” There’s the guilty pleasure watchers. There’s the casual watchers, or the home-sick-in-bed watchers. You could be one of the watching religiously watchers and/or one of the live-tweeting commentating watchers. Or you could be like many and watch when a citizen of your locale becomes a focal point of the show. While I probably more closely fall into the “casual watcher” category, having turned these reality competition shows on and off for the past fifteen years or so, I know the latter category probably encompasses many citizens of New York’s Capital Region these past couple of years. I can’t even blame them with incredible talents such as Moriah Formica (The Voice, American Idol), Sawyer Fredericks (The Voice), and now most recently, the incredible Madison Vandenburg coming out of the woodwork. No, not coming out of the woodwork. Coming in like a Category 5 hurricane. Great talent isn’t such a bad thing to be known for, is it?