the voice – Pigments of Sound Sensation

June 30, 2020June 30, 2020

Sawyer Fredericks: Growing His Own Roots in Folk

Initially posted for Nippertown

Based out of Fultonville, Sawyer Fredericks and his haunting singing and songwriting skills have been in the nooks and crannies of “the 518” for a while. He was singing open mics and farmer’s markets long before he earned a four-chair turn during his “I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow” blind audition on season 8 of The Voice. Several weeks before he later claimed the prestigious title of the winner that season, being the youngest one to win at that point at only the age of 16, he repeatedly achieved spots in the Top 10 of the iTunes charts. His vocal prowess led to his strong covers of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River,” Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” May Erlewine’s “Shine On,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” and Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” taking top ten spots in the charts in positions ten, four, three, three, and two respectively. Republic Records later stated that Sawyer broke many sales records for The Voice, selling nearly one million downloads on iTunes during his run on the show.

Since then, Sawyer has been carving out his own path in indie music in a genre self-described as “free range folk.” Like alchemy, Fredericks fuses elements from blues, roots rock, jazz, and folk to form his own distinct sound. Give a quick listen to this gentleman, and let Fredericks’ sand-textured vocals and honest lyrics whisk you away to the illusion of a simpler time.

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020

Madison VanDenburg: From Second-Runner-Up To Running Full Speed Ahead (Part 2 of 2)

This is part two of my interview with superstar Madison VanDenburg, initially written for and posted on Nippertown. (On blog here.)

Madison Vandenburg at Upstate Concert Hall in April 2018 with her guitarist Tom.

EE: How did you choose your audition song(s)?
MV: I was in a voice lesson and I had been playing around with “Speechless” [by Dan & Shay] for a while because I had fallen in love with the song, and me and my boyfriend had seen this specific performance of them doing it at a radio station. It was the best I had ever heard anyone ever sing in my entire life. And I said, “I wanna do this song.” It was strange for me because I had never really strayed from the twenty or thirty songs I go through in my setlist. It’s usually what I always use for anything, including auditions. It was totally weird for me to go for this country pop song. My vocal coach was like, “Go for it! I think it sounds good.” I was just like, “Might as well try it!” and it worked out. I think I was going to do “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys. We were supposed to prepare two songs in case the judges wanted to hear more. But they just passed me on the first one, which I was really grateful for.

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Madison VanDenburg: From Second-Runner-Up To Running Full Speed Ahead (Part 1 of 2)

Initially written for and posted on Nippertown

Photo: Elissa Ebersold. Madison VanDenburg, Aurora Games, Albany, NY, 08.20.19

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. Who could blame them with incredible talents such as Moriah Formica (The Voice, American Idol), Sawyer Fredericks (The Voice), and now more recently, the incredible Madison VanDenburg coming out of the woodwork and taking second runner up in season two of American Idol at only 17. No, sorry, scratch that. Not coming out of the woodwork. Coming in like a Category 5 hurricane.

So, if you haven’t seen how absolutely mind-blowingly talented Ms. Madison is, well this interview is sure to be a good place to learn all about her. Madison is a queen of melisma and control, and damn good pitch. Her voice sucks you in, and she sounds exactly like she does on TV. No autotune needed. She is incredible to see perform live, and I am fortunate and humbled to know her and watch her forge her own path and conquer her dreams.

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?