Velvet Vaughan - Phillip Michael Scales - Roddy Colmer
Velvet Vaughan shares her first single 'Sleep Walk' whilst she works on her debut album, the song combines alt rock with some country vibes and is very impressive. === Phillip Michael Scales song 'Find A Way' is both soulful and refined, as are the vocals and the musical arrangement allows his voice to shine through. === We have a video to accompany 'White Little Lights' by Roddy Colmer and it adds to the story line for what is a stunning and beautiful song.
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Her father, a legendary session guitar player and mother, a respected background singer and multi-instrumentalist, brought her on the tour bus when she was 6 months old. Vaughan grew up touring the country with her parents, watching side stage as they performed with acts such as Lucinda Williams, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Reba McEntire and Marty Stuart. At 18, Vaughan moved to NYC to study Acting and English Literature at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
During a particularly strong bout of homesickness her second year there, Vaughan began writing songs, drawing inspiration from influences such as Dolly Parton, Carole King, and Stevie Nicks. After writing and singing for herself for several years, Vaughan decided it was time to let others hear the songs she had carefully crafted. She sourced a band of close friends in the Brooklyn music scene, and began recording and playing shows within a month or two. "Sleep Walk" is her first single, and she is currently working on her debut album.
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Growing up, Phillip-Michael Scales had an uncle who played guitar for a living. He knew it was a big deal but didn’t understand the significance that his uncle’s name was B.B. King. Even though Phillip-Michael played guitar, he shied away from soloing and most things blues. Instead, he fell in love with songwriting when an English teacher told him “A great writer can make their reader identify with anyone.” The trouble was he couldn’t find his story in the blues.
Born with a fierce independent streak and a passion for performing, Scales fronted his own indie bands, wrote and recorded his own music, and worked to make a name for himself on his own terms. All the while, his uncle just smiled a knowing smile and encouraged him to “stay with it.” As Phillip-Michael began to discover “the blues” in his private and personal life, their relationship grew closer.
It wasn’t until his uncle passed away that Scales began incorporating more of the blues into his music. “These days I’m finding more of my story in the blues. A lot has led me here between politics, my identity, and of course: Legacy.” The result is a sound he calls “Dive Bar Soul” which takes a bit of indie rock story telling and couples it with the passion of the blues.
Scales has opened for Fantastic Negrito, Anderson East, Guster, David Cook, Bethany Joy Lenz, Matt Hires, Billy Rafoul, Crystal Bowersox, Tyler Hilton, Jon McLaughlin, and Cory Brannan.
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For Roddy Colmer, the musical road has taken many twists and turns. He left Toronto in 2005 with his rock/reggae band Rebel Emergency and moved to New York City, where they spent a year recording their first album with Grammy Winning Producer “Commissioner” Gordon Williams (Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse). They teamed up with Jamaican Dancehall Artist “Panic” to become “Panic & The Rebel Emergency” and toured The USA and Jamaica until during a soundcheck in San Diego Panic was arrested on stage and sent to prison for 15 years for mistakes from his past. The band regrouped in Toronto and continued on, releasing 3 more albums as Rebel Emergency, touring Canada and opening for such artists as The Roots and 311.
The band took a break in 2012 and Roddy released his first solo album “The Little Things” and then started a new project called ‘Most Non Heinous”, an electro-rock band with artist/producer Matthew von Wagner (USS). MNH released 2 albums and had radio success with their single “Weird Science” which reached #25 on the Canadian Rock charts. Colmer released his latest album “Afterglow” in 2019, introduced by the melodic first single “Written in Stone”. Working without the creative constraints of a deadline, partnered with a focus on honest and resonant songwriting, the album took a year to record, with the bulk of the recording done with producer/engineer Devon Lougheed (Hey Ocean, Smashing Satellites) and additional recording and mixing done with Matthew von Wagner. Highlights include “Make it to Forever”, a melancholy duet with the very talented young Universal artist Nefe, the slow-burning “Little Glimpse”, which was co-written by the brilliant and accomplished singer/songwriter Jocelyn Alice, and “Yes I Do”, a perfect easy summer song written and recorded with artist/producer Ben Nudds.
The album was released by Flying Colours Music and reached #2 on the iTunes Canadian Singer/Songwriter charts and #90 on the overall Album charts. He also started the Rock project “Century Surfers” in 2019 with Jamie Gutfreund, which has released 3 singles including “The Storm” which debuted on the Top 50 Alternative Chart in Canada. Colmer’s newest solo single “White Little Lights”, Produced by Ben Nudds, weaves lyrics about love and loss into a haunting melody. The song builds into a stirring crescendo, blending darkness and light and ultimately leaving the listener feeling uplifted. The song was boosted by the talents of Jason Pierce (Our Lady Peace) on drums, and Stuart Cameron (Matthew Good Band, Crash Test Dummies) on guitar. Colmer is also an active contributor to The Howard Stern Show, with his parody songs receiving consistent airplay. He plans to Keep writing and recording in 2020, working towards full EP releases for both his solo work and Century Surfers project.
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