On Feb. 12, Patch closed a poll for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, letting you pick the artists you thought would be winners in some of the major categories. So how did you do? According to the results of Sunday's show, Patch readers know their stuff! You did a great job picking winners in three of the four categories listed. Not bad! You accurately chose the Album, Song and Record of The Year winners. Best New Artist was the only category where you came up short. Sulk not, you got 75 percent right. Congratulations! Maybe next year we'll add more categories to choose from. I have a feeling …

  The 54th Annual Grammy Awards will air live Sunday Feb. 12, 2012 at 8 p.m. on CBS. Legendary Hip Hop icon LL Cool J will host this year’s event. In typical Grammy fashion, the self-proclaimed "Music's Biggest Night" promises to live up to its grandiose billing. Expect to see some of the usual suspects as well as some fresh-faced newcomers duke it out for top honors in their respective categories in hopes of taking home that coveted golden gramophone. It’s the music industry’s biggest yearly spectacle. For artists, winning a Grammy is a major credential. And just being nominated also looks …

I've often heard "Adversity introduces a man to himself." If this is true, then Daren Metz was introduced to himself at a very young age. Growing up in a large family of little means, survival was the order of the day. When Daren was 12, his family left Philly and migrated to Detroit. A few years later, he would be on his own. Succumbing to the pressures of doing it all alone, Daren's single mother left home, leaving her children to fend for themselves. The state of Michigan intervened with intentions of distributing the children within its foster care system -- not Daren. Now 16 years old …

  It’s that time of year again! Noooo, not that time of year! Thaaaat time of year! When the Grammy nominations are announced and your favorite artists vie for that coveted golden gramophone, signifying the "best of the best" by recording industry standards! Peer recognition from the artists and songwriters themselves help determine the nominees and winners. Kanye West leads all nominees with seven. Adele, The Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars are in hot pursuit with six nominations each. Lil Wayne and Skrillex each bring up the rear with a respectable five nods. Let’s see who else is in the …

As a friend and colleague of Ivan "Orthodox" Barias for almost two decades, I can attest firsthand to his true passion and love for the art of music. As half of the production tandem known professionally as "Carvin and Ivan", Barias, an ardent student of his craft, cares about even the most diminutive of details when bringing a song to life. His penchant for "quality over quantity" consistently manifests itself in their body of Grammy-nominated work. Drawing from an ever-diverse palate of musical influences, this gifted duo run relentlessly toward the pursuit of creating both timeless and …

When it comes to being tapped into the artistic and cultural pulse of Philadelphia, Stacey "Flygirrl" Wilson is in a league all her own. A skilled and diligent multitasker, she gets seriously busy. But busy is not adequate enough an adjective to describe her functioning within the nation's birthplace. Stacey's ubiquitous presence is both calculated and noteworthy. Her successes are a glowing testament to her focus, appreciation and willingness to bring light and attention to some of the area’s richest artistic resources and in the process, preserve their value and relevance. She is a creative…

When you write and record a song for the late great pop icon Michael Jackson and he loves it, decides to record it, and THEN decides to keep your original demo vocals in the song as a compliment to his own legendary voice, let’s just say you’re on to something. And Marsha Ambrosius has been on to something for quite some time now. As a founding member of the UK’s soulful hybrid duo Floetry, Marsha officially burst onto the American music scene in 2002 with a vocal prowess unmatched by any of her contemporaries. Her voice emanated with a texture that instantly warmed, engaged and consumed you …

Melanie Fiona can sing. Period. Her voice is a throwback to a much simpler time when singers in general were REQUIRED to have a distinct voice and offer something unique in addition to being able to carry a tune. Male or female you had to have that certain "it." This was true especially in the realm of R&B and Soul music. Think: Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle, Marvin Gaye, Mavis Staples, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Dionne Warwick, Deniece Williams and there are countless others. Their voices were instantly recognizable like an established brand’s logo. Now to …

James Poyser is a gentleman of the truest sense in the music business. I met James in the early 90s, and as the frequency of our interaction increased over the years, his sincerity, humility and talent became more and more apparent as his trademarks. Always reliable, funny, friendly, outgoing yet reserved, down-to-earth and a true team player; he is a multi-platinum, Grammy-Award winning songwriter, producer and all-around gifted musician. In fact, we were both nominated in the 2002 GRAMMY Awards category for Best R&B song. He won. I couldn’t have lost to a nicer guy. Monday through Friday on…

Online applications are now being accepted for the GRAMMY Foundation’s 2012 GRAMMY Camp, GRAMMY Camp Jazz Session and GRAMMY Signature Schools programs. The programs are available for high school students and high school music programs as part of the Foundation’s GRAMMY in the Schools initiatives. Best Buy and Converse are key sponsors this year. The deadline to apply for GRAMMY Camp and GRAMMY Camp-Jazz Session is Oct. 22, 2012. Each of these two programs offer powerful interactive workshops designed to give students a realistic view and experience of careers in the music industry. …

Super talented musician Jeff Bradshaw has been a well-known fixture on the Philly music scene for years. He is a gifted trombone player who does it quite like no one else. The aptly titled "Mr. Trombone" as he is also known, does it all from directing live gigs and recording sessions for established acts, to touring with some of the biggest names in music. Despite constantly having a hectic schedule providing his services for others, he still finds time to record and release his own material. He’s a selfless, consummate go-to guy, always knowing the hottest musicians and being tapped in to …

Eric Roberson is the personification of talent, drive, determination and musical freedom. He is aglow with such a contagious enthusiasm that I’ve never ever seen him once without his signature smile on full display. His insistence at not being confined creatively is both noteworthy and inspiring.  Make no mistake; he is not some embittered individual on the fringes of the music industry with an axe to grind. He’s been there, done that and he knows today’s modus operandi doesn’t work for him. What does work is doing it his way, and along the way, pleasing a growing fan base that couldn’t agree…

Ones To Watch is a new series where I will periodically profile talented artists and musicians in the music industry. The format will include major, minor and independent label status artists. Some may be familiar names, while others may not. The purpose is to shed a little light on some up and comers who appear poised to do great things in the music industry. To kick off the “Ones to Watch” series, I deemed it only fitting to profile the immensely gifted vocalist Adele. Rarely does a singer come along with such a uniquely rich and distinct voice that it stands out crisply amongst her …

So by now you’ve had time to weigh the major vs. independent record company advantages and disadvantages and have decided to you want to become your own record company. Well what are the benefits to doing so? Well, for one as we discussed in the last installment: CONTROL. When you’re the boss, you determine what goes and what doesn’t. You have complete autonomy creatively and artistically. So if you want to sing to a detuned piano for an entire album, knock yourself out. Content, imaging, direction, budget and the logistics of satisfying these areas rest squarely on your shoulders. You can …

If you haven't already, please check out Parts 1 through 5 before your continue with Part 6 of this series: Part 1: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Part 2: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Part 3: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Part 4: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Part 5: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Ok. So let’s assume now that you have a basic working knowledge of computer-based recording and you’ve recorded some songs that you think are good. For the sake of argument we’ll also assume you or your group: have a working image, name, website, are familiar …

Part 1: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Part 2: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Part 3: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Part 4: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? For individuals wanting to create and record their own music, the timing has never been better. Options abound due to the computer’s rapid evolution. Owning a home recording studio has never been more affordable. External hard drives are now much cheaper with more available storage space for tracking and recording. The days of analog tape and mixers are relegated to the nostalgic preferring to hold on to a piece…

In the previous two installments of this series we touched briefly on technology’s role in the recording process and how improvements in it began leveling the playing field for those wanting to record their own music without having to pay the potentially high costs of using a professional studio. Part 1: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? Part 2: Could You Be Your Own Record Company? In this installment we dig deeper on the topic focusing on the progressive digital age. The 80s were very influential in the way music is created and recorded today. During that time period, the focus was on …

It’s an unarguable point that as technology continually improves it impacts and changes so much about our lives. An ever-changing playing field, it can be likened to a constant productive sea of new ideas bubbling forth at a such a rapid pace, it’s often difficult to keep up with it all. In fact, the ways in which we do even the smallest of things is indicative of technology’s role in making our daily tasks, chores, desires and objectives much simpler. Take the cell phone for instance. They’re practically branded a necessity in today’s world. It seems the endless mind-blowing features touted …

The Falls Township 2011 Summer Concert Series closed out its diverse lineup with bee-bop bang The Barbone Street Jazz Band, which took stage Sunday to deliver some of its premium jazz tunes. TBSJB is a talented collective of world-class musicians whose average age hovers around 60. In that circle, a ripe age is not indicative of looming retirement but rather, it serves as a badge of honor and a hallmark of time-tested quality comparable to wine that betters with age. Its members are well acquainted and qualified as curators of the music they perform as most were in their prime during jazz’s …

The Dennis Ostopowicz Band will bring their lively bag of Polka stylings to the Falls Townships Community Park stage in another installment of its 2011 summer concert series. Accomplished musician and Bucks County native Dennis Ostopowicz, also called Denny, heads up the talented quintet. According to Dennis, his musical interest began manifesting itself at such a young age that by the time he was 14 he was an accomplished accordionist. Despite his youth, his honed skills and rapid development afforded him opportunities to perform with various local music ensembles at banquets, weddings, …