| New Singer's Amazing Debut :INTRODUCING AVERY SUNSHINE |
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Posted: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:46 pm
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New Singer's Amazing Debut :INTRODUCING AVERY SUNSHINE
By Walter Greene
It is a special time when a new singer/musician/songwriter comes on the scene and their gift literally make you stop and take notice. You feel touched to the core, by the way your soul is stirred by the incredible words and sounds that emerge from their being. One such performer on the cusp of musical greatness is AVERY SUNSHINE. If you haven't been blessed by the sound of this beautiful Atlanta resident, run to your music outlet, Internet or wherever, and buy her debut self titled CD. Guranteed you will not be disappointed. Avery Sunshine may be the new kid on the musical block, but her ability to take a song....any song, build it, feel it, produce it and share it, is an experience that every music lover will cherish. "I want my audience to leave the venue feeling better that when they came in. They should have fun and feel inspired," said the singer the day before her performance. To say she accomplished her goal would be putting it mildly. It went way beyond.....
NEW YORK SHOWCASE
At the East village hangout Drom on a cool Wednesday night, the audience was buzzing about Avery's special appearance. When she emerged from the curtains in a burst of vivid color and took her seat at the piano, the room went wild....some people knew they were in for a treat, first timers were curious, but felt the positive, energetic vibe. Avery performed selections from her CD, opening the lively set with her VH1 and radio sensation: `All In My Head' which is one of her most popular songs. `Ugly Part of Me' `I Got Sunshine' and `Pinin' soon followed. The show included popular hits like; Aretha's `Jump to It,' Michael's `Rock With You' and Luther's `Never Too Much', with Avery swayed the audience in a lively participation session. Avery also performed the most amazing rendition of Psalms 23rd you'd ever heard. By the end of the set, everyone was on their feet cheering and screaming for more. Avery obliged with a medley of popular hits, moving effortlessly from sweet and mello, to jazzy, gospel tinged sounds, soaring to a powerful bravado that seem to rock the rafters. Boasting a flair of neo-soul, and, drenched in consciousness with a whole lot of gospel interference...Avery Sunshine is the new Jill Scott..Erykah Badu and Tramaine Hawkins, all rolled up into one.
BAHAMIAN ROOTS
Avery Sunshine was born Denise White in Chester, Pennsylvania, a town nine miles south of Philadelphia, under the astrological sign of Gemini. Her parents were entertainers in their own right and loved entertaining at home where Avery said there always seemed to be something going on. Her grandfather, Willie Horton is from the Bahamas and migrated to the US where her mother (his daughter) was born. Avery sang in church growing up and recalled the first song she sang was `Silent Night' during the Christmas pageant in her hometown of Chester. She was eight years-old and attending elementary school at the time.
GETTING HER SHINE ON
Avery graduated from Spellman College with a degree in phylosophy and appeared at the Black Arts Festival in Atlanta. Among her many musical performance were at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado and performing a memorable whirlwind of four private events during the 2009 Inaugural of President Barak Obama.
Maturing in a musical environment propelled Avery to singing background for Karen Clark-Sheard and performing with other noted artists like; Anthony Hamilton, Michael Buble and opening for Ledisi and Rachelle Ferrell. In 2005, Avery was hired as lead keyboardist for Tyler Perry's stage play `Meet The Browns' and was hired as the voice on the soundtrack for Paramount Pictures `The Fighting Temptations.'
COMPARISON & ADMIRATION
Along with Lyricist, guitarist, producer and musical partner Dana L. Johnson, Avery has charted her course in the music industry. She wrote everything on her CD except `Pinin' and said she does not mind the constant comparison to Philadelphia's soul diva Jill Scott. "I don't mind, as long as somebody is digging what I'm doing. It doesn't matter what genre of music I'm doing either. Its music! It's feel good music, it's soul, not necessarily Aretha or Al Green soul, but it comes from the inside, it comes from a real place, a good place like Oleta Adams. She's one of the artist that made my musical palette change.....other music artists that I admire are Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Liz Wright, Michael McDonald, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Prince for his energy and D'Angelo who is the one singer that I will like to work with. If I were a guy, I'll write like him, play like him and sing like him," revealed Avery.
AFRICA EXPERIENCE
In celebration of Avery's debut CD, her promotional tour has taken her to Japan, Switzerland, Australia, London and Africa where she performed in Ghana on the Cape Coast. "It was incredible being in the dungeons where slaves were held just before being shipped away from the Motherland. There was a weird feeling of doom and despair, but to be able to walk out of it was like a new awakening, and then to perform there was incredible," recalled Avery. Performing at several venues in the US, as well as global is like living the dream of sharing your gift to the world. Another memorable appearance was when she opened for the legendary BB King at the Royal Albert Hall in London. At the end, Avery was invited back to London to appear before 3/4 million viewers to sing a gospel song on BBC Television. "Its interesting when you open for someone famous and nobody knows who you are," said Avery, who touched the crowd of 50,000 people that night with her music. By the end of her set, they were on their feet waving lighted cell phones that Avery said looked like 50,000 candles in the dark. "It was definitely - a moment...good afternoon!" she laughed.
OWN RECORD LABEL
To young artists who aspire to have a musical career, Avery advises; "Tell your story - when you tell your story, that gives people the green flag to tell their story. There is another part of this `business' that also should be noted. As an artist I experienced a turning point when the album was finished, that's when you have to understand the business side as opposed to the musical side." Moving forward, this dynamic young singer stressed that a new CD will develop and come from her and musical partner Dana L. Johnson, just like how the current CD manifested. "As the path is being lit, we are following it, when it comes you'll just know. We're not going to rush it. As with our current CD we wanted to get a record done, so people will have a reason to come to the shows. We are an independent record label `Big Shine' records, so we don't have the pressure like artists on big labels have. The advantage is that we decide what and when its going to be put out. The work is harder, but it does pay off."
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