Whitney and the Holograms?

I'm Your Hologram Tonight
Whitney Houston

Yep, it's true! Whitney Houston will be giving Jem and the Holograms a run for their money in 2016.

Get ready folks, Whitney's hologram will be touring. Personally I find this concept weird. I mean they will have to take footage from already recorded Houston performances and recordings to put this apparition together, correct?

Well don't all of you die hard WH fans own all of that paraphernalia already? 

Yeah, I really don't get the lure of paying what is likely to be primo dinero to watch ghosts of the past culled from material of the real deal that is already out there, nothing spontaneous or interesting about that now is there?!

Or maybe there is, but this type of thing is not for this guy. 

Food for thought, have the happiest of Sundays and remember...

"You've given me ecstasy, you are my fantasy
I'm your baby tonight"...

Whitney Online is a Virtual as I Want To Go:
http://www.whitneyhouston.com/us

For The Love Of Whitney Houston

Being that Whitney Houston was the number one influence on him as a singer it was merely a matter of time before singer/musician/artist Matt Zarley dropped a cover of one of her many classics. That day has arrived! Yes today Matt's cover of I Look To You drops on iTunes.

To celebrate I asked Mr. Zarley to give me ten reasons Whitney was his favorite artist of all time.
Of course he gave the awesome type of answers only a super fan could.

Take it away Matt!

1. Her debut album (I played the cassette so much that I actually had to replace it)

2. “If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful” - I was so obsessed with this song. I used to play
the last half from the end of the bridge thru to the end and marvel at her stunning
vocals. https://youtu.be/IzYIBlA7hDs

3. “The Greatest Love of All” music video - The part where she walks across the stage in
her silver evening gown. To this day, there’s something simple yet magical in that
moment.  https://youtu.be/IYzlVDlE72w

4. “I’m Your Baby Tonight” album - This is when we started to hear her really rip thru a
song. Her first 2 albums were very refined; whereas this was the moment we started to
hear her true r&b roots.

5. “Welcome Home Heroes” HBO Concert - This is one of the greatest concerts ever.
She has never sounded better. Billy Porter and I would sit in my NYC apartment for
hours, watching and studying her nuances. This is also when Billy and I so lovingly
nicknamed her SONGSTRESS: ALL THAT IS VOICE. (I’m totally not lying) https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=11x2xf5BE6Q

6. The Bodyguard - This was her peak, vocally. She was the platinum standard of which
most singers of my generation looked up to.

7. Cinderella - I actually appeared in this Disney television tv movie. She was the exec
producer and star of this. Though I didn’t get to work with her (I worked with Brandy
for a month), I love to be able to say I was in the same film with her. :)

8. “The Star Spangled Banner” - THE BEST rendition of this classic. No one will ever top
her performance ever.

9. Her talent and artistry - I don’t think most people really appreciated how gifted she
was. She made it look so easy. She had a gift for connecting to a lyric and really
communicating that story to the listener. She could draw you in to her. Very few artists
can stand at a microphone and just sing….and make you feel something, really affect
you. She had that gift. She didn’t need to fly, flash her nipples, or kiss another woman
to get your attention. Her artistry was enough. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=11x2xf5BE6Q

10. That voice - In my opinion, she was and is the greatest pop vocalist ever. She had that
mezzo soprano range that allowed her to glide thru octaves seemlessly. She knew the
importance of a melody and not to oversing or over embellish a song. She respected
the music. She would always establish the tune first before riffing her face off…which
always felt like it made sense. Her intonation and clarity of tone was off the charts
perfect. She truly had the most beautiful instrument we will likely ever hear. No one
even comes close. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cdEH_tTvug

Look to Matt at:
https://www.facebook.com/mattzarley
https://twitter.com/mattzarley
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/matt-zarley/id262463477

Cheyenne Elliott Brings It!

Cheyenne Elliott

Dauman Music/Tarpan Records’ powerhouse new vocalist Cheyenne Elliott debuts on the
Billboard Dance chart at #42 with a bullet this week with “With You”. The hands-in-the-air
club anthem celebrates that special someone who helps us feel alive. While most beats
releasing to dance floors today lean toward Electronic fare, Elliott’s track presents a more
classic, disco vibe. Written by Cheyenne and Lisa Gressett along with Whitney Houston’s
longtime collaborator Narada Michael Walden, “With You” is a fun, upbeat, warm and
inviting song. Narada, named by Billboard as one of the "Top Ten Producers With the
Most Number One Hits", also produced the track. Club remixes are by DJ Jamie Sanchez,
Denny Tsettos with Lenny M. and Giuseppe D., Tunnelmental Experimental Assembly, and
The Booda. “With You – The Remixes” is available on iTunes and all major online music
retailers now from Dauman Music/Tarpan Records.

Cheyenne Elliott hails from a family of musical royalty. Her grandmother is five-time
Grammy Award winner Dionne Warwick. Her cousin is Whitney Houston and uncle is hit
music producer Damon Elliott. Her aunts are Dee Dee Warwick and Cissy Houston. Her
father, David Elliott, is an accomplished musical artist and songwriter. He penned Luther
Vandross’ Grammy Award winning hit, “Here and Now.”

Wow! That's some pedigree! Well let's not keep you waiting here she is Ms. Cheyenne Elliott!

MS: Congratulations on the success of "With You." What I love about the song is normally in dance music the vocals are overshadowed by the music, your vocals on "With You" are not .

CE: No, we made sure that they were very prominent and not too over edited either. A lot of time you have very auto-tuned voices over dance music, we wanted to make it feel very natural but with that dance behind it, which I love!

MS: This is my kind of dance music, I can't handle the other kind.

CE: Right there's too much going on. This is just really raw, my vocals and the dance track. I thought it was a great combination.

MS; Given your background did you come out of the womb singing?

CE: (laughs) Basically, yes. It's a literal thing I have been singing since before I can remember. It's never not been a thing in my life.

MS: How could it not be?

CE: How could it not?

MS: You co-wrote "With You."

CE: Yes, with my Mom ( Lisa Gressett) and Narada Michael Walden. All three of us had a lot of creative input in the song which was awesome!

MS: I've heard your favorite Whitney Houston song is "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

CE: That song makes me feel great, and I love feel good songs. Everything about that song was just her, it's amazing!

MS: You do see how "With You" relates to that song I assume.

CE: Definitely! There's little hints and sprinkles of  "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" within "With You" which we really tried to incorporate in it.

MS: Rumor has it you are a big Fiona Apple fan.

CE: Oh, I love Fiona Apple, oh my God! "Shadowboxer: is one of my all time favorite songs! If you ever ask me to go see Fiona Apple I will be first in line. She is everything to me!

MS: I know you are all about the positive, and Fiona isn't really negative, but...

CE: Yeah, when people meet me and ask me who my favorite artist is and I say Fiona Apple, they're like: "Huh? Didn't see that one coming" it's like a plot twist. (laughs)

MS: How were you the bartender on "Watch What Happens Live" when you are under age? (laughs)

CE: I was the bartender and I couldn't legally drink yet. It was a lot of fun! Andy Cohen was so warm and welcoming. Really the whole staff at the Bravo Clubhouse were so nice and relaxed. I felt no pressure it was a lot o fun!

MS: Is there a cover of song you would like to do?

CE: Oh, I actually do have a cover of "Lego House" by Ed Sheeran on my fan page that we released recently. I love that song, that is music that I personally love, Ed Sheeran, John Legend, Sam Smith, if you look through my iPod those are the top twenty five recently played.

Cheyenne & Her Grandmother, Dionne Warwick

MS: Give a fond musical memory you have of being with your family.

CE: One fond memory that was fun that we all got to do, Whitney, Myself, My Grandmother, Whitney's Mom, My Cousins, My Dad...the entire family, got together and recorded a song for Tyler Perry's "Daddy's Little Girl." Having a group of people that is your family all in the studio at once is an amazing experience! You're recording a song, and everybody sings and they're amazing, you are overwhelmed by all of these voices coming together. I was really young at the time and I remember closing the song with a little lick, I was just coming into my own vocally and finding out who I was as singer. I remember Whitney being so encouraging, she couldn't believe the progress I had made in 10 years. She heard me and was really inspiring and motivating, I remember her clearly being uplifting and making me feel great about my little solo. That was one of the greatest moments of my life!

Have Cheyenne "With You" at:

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCheyenneElliott
https://instagram.com/ce927/
https://twitter.com/thecheyelliott
http://daumanmusic.com

Getting To Know: Shara Strand

Shara Strand is your new “American Idol”….well OK, she isn’t and good thing too. How many winners of that show went onto the success Shara will?! Two…Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

Ms. Strand armed with a great voice and a desire to tell stories is going to better the pop world - with her literally titled single “Jekyll or Hyde” and her more ambiguously titled EP, “Born Tonight” Shara has something to say musically and personally.

Hey Shara, I know you are waiting, let me hand you the microphone!


MS: The thing that is interesting to me is you say you look up to Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand & Whitney Houston, personally I think your vocal quality is more Karen Carpenter.

SS: Ohhhhhhh, that’s kind of cool! You know when someone says something like that, right out of left field for me, I would never think about that, but I love Karen Carpenter.

MS: Your vocals are pure and uncluttered, very direct, much like hers.

SS: I’m more about telling a story than I am about vocal gymnastics.

MS: Let’s talk about your EP “Born Tonight” - you said it has been a long time coming and now you feel born in a metaphorical way.

SS: Where did you read that? I did say that. (laughs)

MS: It was in your press release. (laughs)

SS: Oh, OK (laughs) I had a list of titles for the EP - it’s a great EP and it finally came together within the last year. I was listening to the Rosanne Cash song: “Seven Year Ache” she says in the song “You act like you were just born tonight,” I thought it was interesting as there are all these good connotations to it, you are constantly reinventing yourself everyday. There is always an opportunity to learn more lessons and grow.

MS: When you have been working for a long time to bring something to fruition I can see how you would feel like you “birthed your baby” so to speak.

SS: Totally! When it was released I really felt like it was my baby.

http://www.sharastrand.com/

10 Random Thoughts: Eric Himan

Eric Himan is a musician whose star is on the rise. The crooner of such popular songs as "Gonna Make It Work," "Little Boy Blue" & "Dust” is about to release a concert DVD “Under The Ink”- which refers to amongst other things, Eric’s many tattoos.

This writer had the pleasure of catching Mr. Himan in concert at Room 5 in Los Angeles, CA recently on what ended up being the evening of Whitney Houston’s passing.

OK, Eric, the time has come for your 10 Random Thoughts…

MS: It was great to finally catch a show of yours at Room 5, I have heard about you for a while, it was a great gig!

EH: Thank you.

MS: How wild it happened to fall on the evening of Whitney Houston’s death.

EH: Yeah, it was nice to come on stage though and do something in her honor considering it was something that was on every body’s mind.

MS: Ready to get random?

EH: Sure!

MS: Tulsa, OK

EH: Indie

MS: Psychology

EH: Mathematical

MS: Thumbcrown Records

EH: Eric Himan

Photo: Jeremy Charles

MS: Fort Walton Beach, FL

EH: The Beach

MS: Madonna

EH: Timeless

MS: Whitney Houston

EH: Sad

MS: Tattoos

EH: Expansive

MS: Pride

EH: Proud

MS: Performing

EH: Live

MS: Under The Ink

EH: Tender

MS: Oh, Eric that was soooooo random.

EH: Ha!

Get under Eric’s ink more at: www.erichiman.com
“Under The Ink” is out on DVD March 6th

R.I.P. Whitney Houston -

We will always love you -