Saxophone is my favorite instrument that I, sadly, cannot play. Today I want to highlight some of the best sax players Gigmor has to offer. Whenever saxophone is added to a group’s dynamic, it is a surefire way to add some spirit to your performance and some soul to your sound. Adding a saxophone player might be the perfect one-up your band needs so check out a few of our favorite videos featuring musicians performing brass-wind.
First up is Peter Van Siclen, an extremely talented songwriter/composer. Peter got his Masters in Jazz Composition from UMass Amherst. Check out his looping cover of “The Damariscotta Shake” on sax and his wind synth. This guy is seriously talented and looking to compose and perform more so be sure to shoot him a follow and reach out.
Next up is a 15 year old Collin Logatto, better known to Gigmor as MrSaxMusic. A Long Island teen, Collin is extremely talented for his age. He has played at CitiField during a Mets game, as well as all over New York. Enjoy the young talent’s solo from Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” and be sure to follow his page on Gigmor.
Willie Moore is proud to call himself a saxophone player. He hopes to meet more people across the industry who can push him to become as good of a musician as he can possibly be. Willie specializes in Soprano sax and loves to play jazz and neo-soul. Check out his smooth sounds below and be sure to follow his page and reach out.
Today’s feature is on up and coming rock band Sail, out of Detroit, MI. They have a ton of awesome covers featured on their Gigmor profile and we actually got to spotlight their “Limelight” cover on our “Gigmor’s Best 80’s Covers” blog post. We had the chance to sit down with their lead vocalist Anthony Fink and their drummer Tom Lowe. They weighed in on the band’s current state and a little bit about their beginnings.
Gigmor: Thanks for sitting down with us today guys. First question. What is each of your musical backgrounds? How did that lead you to Sail?
Anthony: I grew up classically trained in piano starting when I was about seven years old, then I got really into choir and eventually wanted to try it in college. I got into the Western School of Music, I really went for it when I wanted to. Then I decided to leave college to pursue gigging and that’s when I ran into them [Sail]. They like me, I like them, for about two years now we’ve been jamming out and it’s been great.
Tom: I started playing guitar in elementary school, then I started getting into drums in middle school. I kept with both of them for a while after. Aside from that, my first ever band experience was [playing with] a couple of my friends from church. We practiced a couple times a week and played some gigs. Now we’re here, doing Sail, and have two guitar players, a bassist, and a new female vocalist and have a ton of shows lined up.
Gigmor: How’s the songwriting process going so far for Sail?
Anthony: As every musician knows it’s a difficult process as well as a fun one. I actually have my solo EP out on iTunes– I’ve been writing since my freshmen year of high school. The other members are pretty into it too. As far as the band’s writing process it’s more about the collective sound. Each member kind of goes in different directions and eventually it all comes together.
Tom: We haven’t written that much music. We’re still working to perfect our four-hour set. Once we have time to put our own individual stuff on the table we’ll see what we come up with as a group.
Gigmor: Hit any speed bumps along the way?
Anthony: Creative differences obviously, people are going to want to express what they want to do. It’s never anything bad and always gets worked out. But it is imperative that everyone is on the same page in the end.
Gigmor: If you had to pick one, would you play only covers or only originals? Any personal favorites?
Anthony: Right now we want to do more originals, we’ll never not do covers. We love them too. We like to imitate the covers we play with a little bit of a modern flare to it. Some of my favorites personally are “Creep” by Radiohead and “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals, the audience always loves “Limelight” by Rush.
Tom: I’d say originals. A cover band lets you make a living, but ideally I’d say originals. My favorite is probably…..”Soul To Squeeze” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Gigmor: One selfish question real quick… How did you find out about Gigmor? How do you like it?
A: Our manager Cheri is very good at networking, your site seemed like it had a lot of action. We liked what we saw and just hopped in! The site looks great and is pretty easy to navigate.
G: On your Gigmor page we saw you said you were “Willing to Dress for Events”…any absurd requests?
A: Not yet! We would love to and are up for whatever!
T: Nothing weird, just suit and tie for weddings and stuff.
G: Okay, last question. What are the best and worst song requests an audience member has made?
A: There haven’t been many requests, we used to get “Freebird” all the time.
T: I can’t even think of a worst… well I guess it might have been “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. I think it just went bad because that song is pretty synthy and obviously we’re more acoustic. That was more like it didn’t go over well not really a bad request. One of the better requests we got was “Short Skirt Long Jacket” by Cake. I love that song.
G: Well thanks so much for taking the time to sit down with us and best of luck!
Thursday’s spotlight piece is on LaTasha Lee and the BlackTies. They are a retro-soul band whose sound is sure to take you back in time. LaTasha Lee was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and from a young age her mother, Michelle Crayton, knew she was bound for the spotlight. LaTasha continues to shine today, it’s the passion and soul in her voice that channels some of her all time favorite artists into her work.
LaTasha cites many artists as influences to her music. Among others, LaTasha acknowledges Etta James as one of her biggest influences. From blues legends like BB King and Muddy Waters, to more recent R&B successes like Mary J. Blige and Amy Winehouse, her musical style beautifully encompasses the sounds of yesterday.
In 2012, LaTasha made it onto FOX’s musical competition program The X Factor, where she placed in the top 50. The next year, LaTasha Lee and The BlackTies released their self-titled album on record label Carnival Beats Soul. Alongside the album, the group recorded over 25 music videos (of originals and covers) for their Youtube channel. After the buzz from the album, LaTasha Lee and The Black Ties got spots at two of Texas’ biggest music festivals, South By South West and Austin City Limits. Her newest single “I Regret It” is available on iTunes so make sure you send LaTasha Lee and The BlackTies some support!
