By Rick Grant
What: Ingrid Michealson and Matt Nathanson
Where: Jack Rabbits in San Marco (1528 Hendricks Ave)
When: Friday, January 25, 2008
Staten Island, New York native Ingrid Michaelson is a talented 28-year old singer/songwriter who rose from obscurity to prominence by using the Internet as her only promotional medium. In fact, Ingrid is the archetypal independent artist whose self-produced album Girls and Boys reached number 2 on the iTunes pop chart. Ingrid was contacted by a producer for ABC Television’s Grey’s Anatomy through her MySpace site to write music for the show’s season finale. Most new artists work for years to get these major breaks, but Ingrid has the goods – catchy intimate pop songs that capture the imagination of the twenty-something generation. Most of Ingrid’s shows sell out without advertising.
Indeed, Ingrid’s amazing success proves the power of the rapidly expanding Internet, which enables an artist of Ingrid’s songwriting prowess to reach out and touch the right people. However, Ingrid does not take this fast track to the major leagues for granted. She continues to tour and expose her music to live audiences. Clearly, Ingrid’s music speaks for itself, as she nightly lays bare her soul through her cleverly conceived songs. More importantly, Ingrid is realistic to know that the public is fickle and her popularity could wane overnight. Yet, she continues to write personal songs with which young people identify.
Becoming a pop star is not why Ingrid writes songs. She would do it anyway, whether she made an impact on the music business or not, but after talking to her via telephone, I’m convinced Ingrid Michaelson will become a household name very soon. Remaining an independent artist and answering to no one is presently Ingrid’s main goal.
“I’ve played piano all my life but I went to college to study theater. I was going to be an actor, but when I was doing it, I became disillusioned. Since I had been writing music, I decided to pursue that as my profession. I had more control and I didn’t have to wait around on directors to decide what to do. I just felt that songwriting was more of a calling than theater. I started out with a website, Facebook, and MySpace and from there I got a commercial. A producer from Grey’s Anatomy heard my music and it was just what he wanted for the show’s season finale. Today, it’s a trend for TV shows to use fresh new songwriters for their shows.
“So, one thing led to another and then I was on the cover of Billboard, and it snowballed from there. Of course, while all this was happening, I was continuing to tour the club circuit, where I was building up my fan base. Being on iTunes really helped because it’s instant gratification, directing the listener to my site to buy the CD. It’s amazing all three mediums feed off each other creating a buzz. I’ve become the poster child of the independent Internet artist, but I’m not opposed to perhaps signing with a label in the future. But now it would be counterproductive.
“We have had major labels interested in us but I’m not responding to those offers right now. The slant of the Billboard piece was about me being an independent artist using the Internet. So, I’m going with that as my way of pushing forward. Later, if the Internet is not working effectively, I’ll consider signing with a label. But, the longer I stay independent, the more certain I am that this is the way to go. I have complete control as long as I have fans who buy my music. The thing is, I love writing songs and performing them to live audiences and as long as I’m making a decent living, I’m content to be where I am. I’m not sure I want more – what, to have my name in huge lights? My point is–I’ll always do this whether I make money doing it or not,” Ingrid said.
When I listened to Ingrid’s music I became an instant fan. Her song ‘Keep Breathing’ gave me goose bumps, which never happens to me anymore. Ingrid draws the listener into her songwriting consciousness, sharing with them the special feelings that her songs evoke. For that few minutes, the listener is one with Ingrid’s music.
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