Amanda Hawkins - Vocalist, Songwriter, Musician
The sultry voice of
Amanda Hawkins is with a new label, Strictly Rhythm, a move she hopes will be the next step in her career. Hawkins new project is a collection of new tracks, and reworked songs from
"Who is Jane Doed," mixtape, a moniker she has decided to drop.
"I wanted to be myself," said Hawkins, explaining, "One of the reasons I came up with the whole Jane Doed alias is because I wanted to keep my personal music to myself. Then I realized I needed to speak out, as Amanda."
Hawkings first single,
"Get Back in Line," an uptempo pop song about her potential love interest, "We are definitely aiming at a Top 40 format," says Hawkins.
"I just want to uplift people like the people I grew up listening to did for me," says Hawkins, emphasizing how much she yearns for success, "I want to travel the world and perform for people across the globe."
Unfortunately, Hawkins reveals that her group, Della, who performed at the
Westword Music Showcase in 2011, is no longer together, "We are still great friends, our parents used to jam together, we will always be friends. People just had kids, marriages and we just had a mutual agreement to part ways."
Hawkings is not scorn at Simon Cowell's scorching criticism, calling her talents, "a waste of investment by her parents," during her American Idol appearance, and gracefully replies, "I disagree." Also her alleged collab with Cee-Lo green never materialized for reasons she didn't want to reveal.
The Colorado native found her love for singing at the age of ten, and with the support of her parents, began to take vocal lesson by age eleven, "my parents were very supportive from the beginning, and still are my biggest supporters" said Hawkings.
Hawkings credits her parent's love for music as the influence on her diverse musical tastes that helped the soulful nature of her voice, "my mom would be playing Janis Joplin and my dad Luther Vandross, it was very diverse in our house, artists who really brought soul to the music."
She certainly embodies the soul of music and often surprises people with her strong voice, "I am a very shy person, so I think people are kind of surprised when they see me perform because I'm a different person on stage. I really believe it comes from somewhere else."
Ya Girl Cedes - Radio personality KS 107.5FM, host, event coordinator
Mercedes Howard, known as
Ya Girl Cedes, hosts the night shift on KS107.5 comes from generations of radio personalities in San Diego, but her desire to grow and branch out from a family legecy in radio is what brought her to Denver.
"I was literally getting on a plane back from Milwaukee when my mentor, Tati, called me and told me I should apply for this job in Denver," Cedes said, but she was reluctant to do so considering she has already verbally committed to a job, "she literally got into my email and sent my demo tape to KS 107.5."
Program director John E. Kage was in contact with her almost immediately requesting an interview for the night slot, but either way Cedes was determined to take a job in another city, "I had to grow from out of my dad's name. I needed to branch out and build my own name," said Cedes.
In San Diego Cedes father is known as Tayari, working for 98.1FM Smooth Jazz and although appreciative Cedes had her own reservations, "I just don't want people to be like yeah hook her up that's Tayari's daughter, and do things for me, I want to do it on my own."
Howard started off in radio by taking a traffic reporter internship, that eventually lead to a full time position at the station. She continued to grow in San Diego and, "It was actually unheard of but I was working at rival stations at once," laughed Cedes.
After interviewing for KS107.5 Cedes decided to take the job in Denver, spending most of her time the first year at the station before she decided to continue her father's legacy of community involvement, "he is the face of radio and in the black community at home, and you see a lot of personalities take a job and are not very community oriented, I just had to go out touch the community, I wanted to be part of something."
DJ K-tone had been reaching out to her to get out and network , finally she accepted an invitation to the 2nd annual 5280 awards in 2011, "360 compared to San Diego, an award show, it was insane, Park hill, Bellos, Aurora, everyone was in the building," she said noting taking notice of Rockie, who is now Trev Rich, Pries and Mr. Midas, astonished at the support they received.
She has heard some local animosities for the station by disgruntled rappers, she is encouraged by the artists who have been played on the radio and has advice for those who want to get play, ""Do your research on the process to get your song on, before you do anything, eyes are always watching and be educated on how to submit something for radio," said Howard.
Cedes is now a full on member of the greater community, currently working with the Mayor Hancock's wife Mary Louis on the event
"Bring Back the Art," March 24th, at the Bluebird Theater. The event is a musical contest, only available to DPS students, where the contestant with the best original music gets $1000 dollars.
Howard also started her own annual event,Ya Girl Cedes presents
"Jam in the Gym," starting last year at Thornton High School, with special guest Baby Bash, "I have been fortunate enough to make a lot of good relationships with big artists who support the idea because they know it is important to give back to the kids, that come and rock out," said Howard.
Supporting the kids is passionate for her because, "I really am just still a kid at heart, I haven't lost the kid in me, every day I feel like a big kid," she said. Which is so apparent after watching her video series on the KS107.5 website,
"Cedes Dance Off," where she surprises her fellow DJs and makes them bust a move with her, which is pretty hilarious.
Melissa Ivey - Musician, Songwriter, Vocalist
Melissa Ivey is one the rare artist who has held on to her independence and therefore has nurtured her artistic flow, while still being able to cultivate interest in her music on a noticeable scale.
There is a tough decision all artists must eventually face in the music business, try to make music tailored to a format palatable for radio, or stay true to their artistic nature until it catches on to a larger group of people.
Many opt for the first option in hopes it pays off faster but sacrificing their musical integrity.
Now, 10 years after being thrust into the music scene by surprise, she is working on all new material with a solid team of people she has built around her, "Everything has changed, about a year ago I was trying to figure out how to reignite my career and how to relaunch my artistry," said Ivey. She recently started working with project manager from NYC, who is helping her put her new material together.
She is currently visiting Seattle and recording with Xolie Morra, who is helping her to shape her music into a more palatable form without compromising her art, "I feel like people have wanted to mold me and make something that I am not, but I am evolving into this artist, from punk rocker, to a more of that electronic Scrillix meets Tegan and Sarah," said Ivey.
A stark contrast from the nine year-old who learned to play the bass with her mother to Nirvana's "Smells like teen spirit." Then after receiving an electric guitar for Christmas one year, her skills landed her a surprise gig as the lead singer of a punk band, "Manic Notion," overhearing them play while cutting class, she just walked in and sat with them.
"I never saw myself as a singer but wanted to be in the band, so I went to my car and got my guitar, and by 15, we ended up opening up for national acts in the San Jose area,
she reveals, adding, "We couldn't even get into the bar we were packing and selling out, we had to sell merch in the van outside."
Fast forward ten years and Melissa Ivey is at new place in life but appreciates the journey she has taken, especially getting to cultivate in Denver, "I have been fortunate to work with people like the Flobots, and work on creating that collective consciousness," she says about the local music scene, " if you can create that artistic space somewhere in a bigger city great but Denver is a little bit smaller and you can really get your act together and then go on a bigger tour. If I had to pay rent in NY or LA I wouldn't have been able to afford to do that."
Ivey is really focused on using the music as a bridge to connect to other communities and to help to uplift the next generation with her talents. After finishing recording her EP with Morra titled, Speed of Life, she will be performing in Berkeley, CA. Before returning to Denver for her next venture with
Her Many Voices, a non-profit, "they hired me to be the Art and Education Director," said Ivey.
Ivey also will us that as a platform to keep working on youth empowerment in conjunction with touring, going to schools and talking to kids to "activate and elevate their mind and create communities everywhere where I tour."
She will be soon headed to NY to work with Fab Dupont from
Flux Studios who has worked with the likes of M.I.A. and Les Nubian and so forth, which she believes will help bring her next big break through.
Timeko T- Coast to Coast, Fleet and Definition DJ, KGNU, Soulstice Radio
Timeko Tubaya is well known as a DJ through her many affiliations, but she recently was diagnosed with diabetes, and it changed her relationship to her own health and gave her a new found perspective on how she should use her talents.
"I was so focused on the music, I wasn't focused on myself; eating hot wings at 4 a.m. in the morning. My mentor Beverly would say 'You need to take care of yourself,' and I would brush it off," said Tubaya. Beverly Grant is the founder of
Mo Better Greens Market Place on 25th and Welton St.
Known in the scene from her time with Live Wire Urban Radio, Timeko developed a hard work ethic mixed with a childhood curiosity into a life as a DJ, "I felt like with Live Wire I had learned so much, I was devastated when Q,(the owner) said he wasn't gonna do it anymore," Tubaya said of the radio station. She had learned everything about the functionary operations of the station from top to bottom, thinking,"It would be an injustice to learn this stuff and not continue it."
So she went to work building her own career. "I'm very active," laughs Timeko. She is part of three different DJ affiliations, that she has made through the country.
Coast to Coast being the biggest of the groups boasting over 200 million downloads of their mixtape series.
Tubaya also is a
Fleet DJ, a more East Coast based DJ affiliation that she host a radio show with every Wednesday from 1pm-2pm. She also works with a Dallas based DJ group called
Definition DJs, and just came back from working with then during the NBA All-Star Game in Houston.
Timeko's heavy schedule is a testament to her work ethic and dedication, but she was most excited about being the face of the Mo Betta Greens Farmer's Markets this year, saying, "That's why I was chosen to be a spokes man. I know all those people, my personal testimony is more unique, people know me not to be all healthy like that and for me to transform, to have to go back and say, you guys are right, and saying health is important is powerful."
Tubaya was immersed in the hip-hop scene, revealing, "All these things I was putting before my health now are put on the back burner." But she also says there is a desire to merge both cultures, of the health and music scenes, "Now I have to put both together. as a DJ you feel like you have to play what the people what but It seems like it is my responsibility to give the people something else sometimes too and get them interested in their health."
She does recognize that people like DJ Cavem, Mike Wird and many others like them have been talking about health problems in their music for sometime, "Cavem was sending me stuff like that for years," she says emphatically, "now I really am paying attention."
Tubaya also has a new perspective on her role in other areas in the community, "I realize now that I have to sometimes take a gig that may be for less money, at the end of the day I could say I helped out some young girls instead of saying 'Oh yeah she had that place cracking."
She also talked about how the music played in the club and the mixtape scene sometimes cultivates a culture of people who are not creating healthy messages, "I think it's a copycat mentality, they don't like anything unless they see someone else like it, bandwagon mentality, everyone wants to be liked and want to be accepted.
I have an 16 year old daughter and I don't want her listening to that are derogatory. Songs stay in your psyche and become who you are."
Timeko is certainly active with a show on KGNU Sunday's from 12am- 4am with DJ Holiday Sparx. She also posts her podcast every at 2pm on www.Soulsticerado.com.
Lady Speech - Poet, Songwriter, Artivist, Radio Host
Quianna Ray aka
Lady Speech, or Speech by her friends, is one of the most vibrant, free-spirited and fiery people in the scene. A vicious poet, and member of the cover group Lady Wu, she pushes progressive topics, speech is known for dropping poems about sex and is not afraid to say anything.
Speech often performs a poem called, "Pussy," drawing surprise of the crowd, some more than others, depending on the show. The Panties Sex Positive Talk Radio hosted by Lady Speech airs every Wednesday on www.Tradiov.com and pushes the boundaries of acceptable topic matter on sex, feminism, acceptance and whole lot more.
Some of the topics like masturbation, childhood sexual abuse and anal sex, are certainly considered to be taboo on a larger level in this country, yet Speech insists that dialogue on these topics is necessary to help people, and therefore their kids benefit, because of the awareness it brings, "Be open and age appropriate, study your kids and know where they are at. Read a book about it and provide the information for them, or they will get it somewhere else," said Speech then continuing, "Dictate the resources, set the tone, if you know you can't do it, find someone who can."
Speech understands first hand why these things are important, she explains, "I am a survivor of horrendous things, we need to speak in order to heal. We are in so much pain, we carry it every day , and I speak these things to promote healing."
The true confidence she exudes, so apparent, it's too authentic to be superficial, built through overcoming great walls of pain in her past.
Drug abuse of her mother ended with her mom landing in critical care, so Speech was sent to live with her father at an early age, a move that she says took a turn for the worse. "It started off good for the first few years but then the abuse started," said Speech.
She was physically abused for years, this is where she found her solace in writing, "One day I just picked up the pen and started writing. I cried the whole time and when I was done the pages were soaked, almost unreadable," said Speech.
She continued the writing, and in high school she began to hone her skills in debate class and through poetry. Although she lived in Aurora, she would make the journey all the way to East Denver, spending lots of her time at Brother Jeff's Cultural Center on 22nd and Welton St., and
"The Spot," on 21st and Stout.
Speech was also highlighted by The Source magazine for her work with "The Spot," and the community, before she ever first graced a stage, an act that empowered her to break free from the abuse, "It was a freeing experience, it was a liberating space, it gave me confidence and strength."
Ego-Tripping is the name of the event put on by
Brother Jeff in 1999, she went home and faced her father. That night she ended up getting kicked out of her fathers house but the love of the community and her new found strength in performance based poetry left her feeling strong enough to face the world.
Her latest lengthy post on Facebook is the essence of who she, starting with the powerful statements, "I am a creator. I am boundless." This is the norm for someone like Speech who lives without the chains of ego and guilt for her actions, "Silence is a killer. Often the story of women of color, especially black women, goes untold. That's why I'm Speech and I vowed I will never be silent again."
She will have a website up in April, and is working on her second published book, titled "Love, Guns and Other Things: A Book of Poetry."
