Groove with the Funk: Gussie Miller

Sit down, get ready, and tune in to this artist’s smooth bass lines, and lively horns and let fantastic vocalist Gussie Miller wrap you up in quite a mood. Listen here to his band’s upbeat and funky song, “What More Can I Say.”

 

 

Gussie Miller has been in the entertainment industry from the time he was a child. His background in music comes from his time growing up in a musical family. Early in his life he was taken under the wing of some notable studios and came to understand the workings of commercials, TV and film production. From then on, he branched into the music world. He went on tour as a background singer for some pretty famous artists, such as Cher, Lavern Baker, Janelle Monae and Seal. His voice is on tracks with these artists, as well as others such as Marcus Miller, Gino Vannelli, and break out artists Jessica Celious and Lance Todd, among many others. Watch him here rocking out with famous actress Janelle Monae at the Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood.

 

 

If you listen to Gussie’s voice, you can just hear the years of experience he carries. His melodies are smooth, and articulate, but never boring. And check out his range – it’s pretty incredible. Many of his songs begin in slower, deeper, lower melodic lines and ascend until you don’t think that Gussie could sing any higher. His vocals drip with talent, hard work, and sheer enjoyment. You can hear him smiling in his voice while he hits high notes none of us could even imagine reaching. Most of his tracks display his sheer, natural gift and extraordinary control of his vocal chords. Listen closely to how much he commands control of pitch and places pieces of vibrato perfectly in each line. Here’s him performing “Give it All” for the NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest.

 

 

In addition to his features on multiple albums with other artists, Gussie has also had some of his music played on various TV shows and movies, such as Cop Rock, South of Sunset, Family Matters, Doogie Howser M.D., I Think I Love My Wife, and Everybody Hates Chris. Gussie, however, in all of his years as an accomplished professional musician, had not released an album until 2016. However, he finally released his self-produced album Forever Plan that year on the Artis Musicai label, which he recorded with “Motown engineer” Ralph Sutton. The album is an amazing collection of songs, all different, but never going too far from Gussie’s distinct sound. Listen to this recording of Gussie singing “Wantin’ You,” from Forever Plan, in a live rehearsal with his band.

 

 

Gussie’s work for Forever Plan paid off. It’s now available on multiple online streaming platforms, and is for sale on many online music-selling companies such as Amazon Music, eMusic, iTunes and GooglePlay. Gussie is currently working on live shows and touring, but is excited for 2018, when he plans to release his next CD. Watch out for him around Los Angeles, check out his page, and try to see him live. Guaranteed, you will not be disappointed, and furthermore, you won’t be able to stop bouncing your head to the smooth, jazzy, funky beats he’ll glue right into your head.

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Pianos Can Sing Too: A Quick Look into Pop Piano Covers

It’s not every day that we get to hear piano renditions of hit songs. All we hear on the radio these days in the way of individual instrumental solos are classical pieces or a 10-second solo in another song. That’s why you should check out these two accomplished Gigmor pianists, Michael Bogomolny and David Galvan, both experienced cover artists, in their fantastic covers of popular songs. First, here is a stylish video of Bogomolny covering Santa Esmeralda’s “You’re My Everything.”

Now, watch Galvan in his impressively multi-dimensional take on Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book, in the form of a medley. Not only does he make it sound as though there are four hands playing the piano rather than two, he also manages to capture the essence and bounce of Chance the Rapper’s style and sway. Somehow, he manipulates the keys, adds his own style and rhythms, but never steers to far from Chance’s iconic beats. Galvan’s seemingly effortless performance is bound to make you do a slight double take.

Now, let’s bring it back to Bogomolny. With this song, you might remember it the best as a soulful, powerful John Legend hit – maybe one of his most famous and well-known. It graced the hit radio stations for months and got stuck in the heads of many, many, people at some point in time. However, here we have something different. Bogomolny captures the style of Legend in this cover of “All of Me,” but adds his own style to deepen the experience of a piano cover of a pop song. The emotion from the original lyrics sings through his hands, and tells its own story of the overwhelming pain of love – all vibrating up from the keys.

If that was not enough, take a look at one more great cover by David Galvan. He covers Drake’s “Too Good,” but takes it to a whole new level. Not only does he radiate Drake’s sounds, but he adds a completely new dimension only achievable by closely examining the melody on piano. Listen as he, like in the other videos, manages to sing the lyrics through his emotive playing and passionate rhythmic precision.

If you enjoyed that or are interested in more of their works, please check out both David and Michael on Gigmor. Hopefully you got a small taste of the world of pop music brought down to basics by some sweet, simple strokes of the keys.

Feature – Solo Costa Rican Artist Meli Malavasi

Gigmor artist, Costa Rican singer, Meli Malavasi, often combines rock and punk with the elegant smoothness of Latin vocals to create songs that are undeniably catchy and attention-grabbing. However, some of her works carry slow harmonies mixing with modern, syncopated guitar and drum rhythms that sway and pulse with passion. Check out “No Vuelvas Mas” which means “Do Not Return Anymore.”

Meli’s talents extend over a large musical range and across two languages. She is an accomplished songwriter, and writes songs both in Spanish and in English. Her versatility as an artist and songwriter has taken her far already. She was the winner of the International Songwriting Competition, in which she beat out over 20,000 other songwriters. Here she is singing “Open Your Eyes” at the Holiday Inn, Burbank.

Meli is already an accomplished performer, as she has performed in many notable venues such as The Mint, House of Blues, Amara Cafe, The Hotel Cafe, The Gibson Showroom, Levitt Pavilion, and many others. She also was given the opportunity to participate in The BMI/Warner- Chappell Songwriting Camp at the Gibson Showroom, and got to have some of her songs placed in TV shows “Bad Girls Club” and “American Pickers.” She was awarded with “Best Female Dance & World Artist” at the Indie Music Channel Awards. Malavasi is very flexible and versatile in her music, and often covers songs. Check her out performing “Invisible Sun,” a song by The Police, live at Drumfest in Costa Rica.

Most recently, Meli has worked on finishing her new Latin EP, Girasol. The album, now available on Soundcloud, was produced by Emmanuel Briceno, Musical Director from the 21-time Grammy Award Winning Band “Juanes.” It is comprised solely of emotional Spanish songs, driven by her multi-dimensional voice and graceful timbre. Though her previous music-both her originals and covers-was explicative of her talent, Girasol does it on a completely new level. Even if you do not speak or understand Spanish well enough to hear and absorb her lyrics, her emotional vocal style tells its own powerful story; with these songs, even if you don’t understand, you understand.

Be sure to check out Meli’s profile on Gigmor, check out her social media, and listen to her new EP. She has a few upcoming performances in Los Angeles, so for those interested living in LA or visiting soon, be on the lookout for Meli Malavasi and her unique style!