YouTube is the "New TV". At least for me. I don't watch TV anymore, but I do watch YouTube. And in most cases it it so much better than TV, especially since everything is artist driven. It's not big studios determining what gets produced. It actual people, who want to be creative, just doing their thing with no one telling them what they can and can not do.
The one bad thing, or good, depending on how much time you have to spend, is that YouTube videos lead you on long rabbit trails, this is especially true when one YouTuber you like collaborates with another YouTuber that you've never heard of, and you end up liking them as well. That is how I got to know about almost every musician I currently follow.
Aside from MysteryGuitarMan, who is in a whole different class of video, The Piano Guys started my current love of YouTube music. I can't remember how I found them, probably someone on Facebook posted a video, which led to me subscribing and later watching everything they had. One of their videos was filmed by someone named Devin Graham.
His cinematography was amazing, so I checked out his channel. He didn't have very many videos, but the ones he had were so amazing! His videos are not focused on music, like the rest of these, but it's worth noting that he only uses original music in all of his videos. He has many musician friends who lend him music for his videos. Free publicity for them!
I subscribed almost immediately. He had a video called "Epic Violin Girl." It was awesome and it was "Celebrity Crush" at first sight. :p (Does it count as a celebrity crush, if she wasn't really a celebrity yet?) :p I've since found out that she and Devin are "An Item," so it wouldn't work out between us. So sad. :p
I had never been exposed to much actual Hip-Hop music before Lindsey. Most stuff with this kind of a beat that I had liked before had been classified as dance music. I always just assumed that Hip-Hop was some kind of Rap. (I've lead a sheltered life. :p) But thanks to her, I now know it's completely different.
After I watched the video, I followed his link to her channel and I discovered she had been on America's Got Talent, but had lost. The judges didn't think she was good enough for a live show, which was what the prize for winning was.
Little did those judges know that she would go on to find fame all on her own thanks to YouTube. I just looked up who won that season of America's Got Talent, and I can honestly say that before today, I have never heard of "Soul Singer, Micheal Grimm" the winner of that season. I have, however, heard of the little girl that he beat, Jackie Evancho, who is quite a lot more famous than he is, and is most likely more famous than he ever will be.
I was a little disappointed as I continued to look at Lindsey's channel. She only had a few videos, and none of them were anywhere near as good as the one Devin had made. I still subscribed to her channel because despite her lack of content she was still amazing. My hope was that eventually she make some more, and eventually my hope paid off. Within a few months she started regularly putting out quality music videos, mainly filmed by Devin Graham. I have since gone back to her channel and I think she's taken down the early videos. The only ones left are the good quality ones that she is now releasing. Such as her recent EPIC take on the Phantom of the Opera.
I love the electric instruments in the rock band scene. Especially her purple violin! :D I also love the transitions from Rock to Classical. The quiet moments in the snow are just beautiful. :)
Recently Lindsey did a collaboration with a guy named Peter Hollens. The subject of the music video is a video game that I have never heard of, but the guy's voice is amazing.
Peter Hollens does A Cappella videos. Of course there was the violin in his duet with Lindsey, but usually he uses only the human voice. And he does a lot of collaborations as well. One of his most frequent collaborators is his wife, Evynne.
He has since become one of my favorite YouTubers. I've loved A Cappella music since I was a kid and Rockapella did the theme song to one of my favorite PBS shows "Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego?"
And with that I think I'll end this rabbit trail. That was such a random ending to such a YouTube musician focused post that it just seems right. :) I surprised even myself with that one. I was not planning it, the memory just came to me out of the blue. For those of you all misty eyed with nostalgia, you're welcome. :) Oh, it's just me? Ok then. :p
