Tip Jar: Staying True To Yourself While Navigating Non-Stop Career Twists And TurnsBy DeeAnn

My journey as a singer/songwriter and recording artist is a bit unconventional because changing life circumstances led me to perform in various genres at different times over the years before I found my current creatively fulfilling niche, which incorporates the jazz sensibilities of my family’s roots into a soulful R&B/pop sound. 

I found singing in the choir growing up in the Catholic church boring, but the experience taught me a lot about working with vocal harmonies that would come in handy later in my career. My dad Frank DiMeo, a popular jazz singer in the Buffalo area, was my first musical mentor, while my mom turned me on to Barbra Streisand. Music was an essential foundational part of growing up in my family. I was always in the school choir and took as many music classes as I could. Helping form a 16-piece swing group in high school, in which we sang everything from ‘60s to Broadway music, got me even more hooked and allowed me to sing my first solo song. I learned more about blending harmonies through a quartet I created as an offshoot. I had been writing music from the time I was 15 or 16 and when I started recording music in my 20s, I arranged a lot of my own harmonies. 

Dreaming of becoming a professional singer came naturally to me in my teens and I was hoping to apply to several music colleges, hoping even that I would be accepted at Julliard, but my parents’ separation and then divorce at that time made attending college out of the question. My dad was this 100 percent jazz guy, but when I started looking for opportunities to make a living in music, the greatest opportunities were in Top 40 cover bands. I was good at it and I could adapt to multiple styles in what was considered pop music - but doing it for a long time stripped me away from how I envisioned myself as an artist. 

One of the musicians I worked with suggested I try singing country music, and I absolutely didn’t want to—until I realized just how great female artists like Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, and Martina McBride were. I started out only wanting to sing a few country songs per set, then got better at it and I envisioned a potential road for me in the genre. I started singing the National Anthem at county fairs throughout New York state, and the Erie County Fair hired me to open for country legend George Jones. I took it seriously enough to record some music (I didn’t write) in Nashville, and to this day some of the country I recorded plays in other countries throughout the world. Despite the diversity, every step took me one step closer to figuring out my musical identity.  

I’ve always admired women who can balance busy musical careers with family life, but when my husband and I decided to have children, raising them became my focus and I stepped away for a while. When the bug hit me again, as my son and daughter got a little older, I started teaching music at a Catholic school and even became a popular funeral singer. I seriously missed the stage, the lights, communicating with audiences and the passion I put into performing. 

For my soul to survive, I knew I had to make some changes. Here’s where the so-called “branding of DeeAnn” gets even tricker. I felt these deeper life experiences gave me a desire to sing something deeper and more soulful—and that led me to sing the blues! But I quickly realized that I couldn’t sing the blues all night long, so I fell into jazz, which of course made my dad very happy! I incorporate those jazz experiences, including my ability to scat into some of the R&B/pop music I make today.   

One of the biggest problems in not being true to myself was that I didn’t believe I could be a songwriter, even though my musical journey started out that way as a teenager. Meeting my first producer RiShon Odel, who has worked a lot with renowned smooth jazz artists Najee and Brian Culbertson, made a huge difference in getting me back in touch with this side of my artistry. Just as my confidence was at a low ebb, I sent RiShon the melody and lyrics of a song I had just written, and he created an incredible arrangement that developed into “Stay Here with Me,” which is to this day my all-time favorite original song I have released. He put so much soul into it. It was originally released on my 2019 live EP Stay Here and I released it as a single in 2024. I titled my debut album Desperately Seeking DeeAnn, first as a nod to the Madonna movie Desperately Seeking Susan but mostly because it captured the struggle of trying to find myself as an artist—and finally reconnecting with the vision I had for my life and career when I was younger before I joined all those cover bands. RiShon also produced my second album, It’s My Time. 

RiShon helped me believe in myself as a songwriter again and he brought my songs to life with some really dope musicians from his band Fifth Element who gave everything an R&B/gospel feel. The painful loss of my son William to a motorcycle accident has been a driving force for my artistry both spiritually and creatively because I sing much deeper and more soulfully and authentically, with so much emotion emerging from a place of pain. The albums I recorded with RiShon helped me lock in on who I am as an artist and taught me the value of not playing it safe. I bring the same blend of visceral emotion and freewheeling adventure to the three recent singles I recorded with my current producer Ted Perlman that re-imagine three of my favorite songs, Al Green’s “Simply Beautiful,” Sade’s “Kiss of Life,” and Brenda Russell’s “Piano on the Dark.” I feel like those songs, and the originals Ted and I are working on for my upcoming full length album, are authentically me. It’s been a long process, but I finally got here—and so can you! 

TIP No. 1: Always stay true to yourself, be honest and follow your gut because you might have different people trying to pull you in various directions based on what they think they know about you. No matter what you may be doing to make a living in the music industry, if you have solid ideas in your head about who you are as an artist, be consistent and stay real as you develop your authentic style. Trust in who you are because audiences relate to you best when you’re authentic and honest. They can tell when you’re faking it or just going through the motions.

TIP No. 2: Use social media to share what drives and inspires you as an artist to connect in a deeper way with fans. Take them behind the scenes into your process and things that have happened in your life that give you stories to tell in your songs. Your fans may not want to be saddened by your pain all the time, but they do want to know what makes you create your music. It’s also an opportunity to share other meaningful endeavors in your life. For me, that would include sharing the $84,000 I have raised for a scholarship at my son William’s alma mater, Canisius High in Buffalo, to fund national and international mission trips for male students.   

TIP No. 3: Finding the right producers and collaborators to work with is essential in helping you discover who you are. RiShon Odel and Ted Perlman have believed in me and my talent even when I haven’t. They bring their own experiences working with great artists into their work with me and I benefit not only from their musical brilliance but their life wisdom, which has helped take my own artistry to the next level.  

Building off the success of her sultry breakthrough track “Stay Here With Me,” DeeAnn’s 2025 got off to an inspiring start with numerous accolades in the 10th Annual JazzBuffalo Poll honoring musical greats in her beloved hometown. She was awarded Jazz Female Vocalist of the Year, received the most votes for the still very popular It’s My Time and was chosen runner up for the Most Memorable Performance and the John Hunt Jazz Artist of the Year Award. This extends a run of honors that began in her early days as a pop/rock singer, when she won Best Female Vocalist at the Buffalo Music Awards two years in a row. The post Tip Jar: Staying True To Yourself While Navigating Non-Stop Career Twists And Turns first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Berglind Audio Oolong Saturator JrOolong is a saturation plugin built for music production, mixing, and mastering. It's designed to offer exceptional flexibility, outstanding sound quality and a deeply musical character. Oolong Jr is a FREE version featuring the core functions of Oolong. Free from the usual constraints of traditional analog modeling, Oolong draws inspiration from tube preamps and tape machines–but it's tuned by ear, not by textbook. The result: a sound that's not bound by emulation, but built to feel right. With just a few simple controls, Oolong moves easily from subtle enhancement to bold distortion—from the sweet harmonics of a tube amp to the smooth dynamic shaping of vintage tape—and everything in between. Try it out: https://berglindaudio.lemonsqueezy.com Oolong Manual: Manual Full version: https://www.kvraudio.com/product/oolong-saturator-by-berglind-audio Read More

Music Business News Last WeekMusic business news last week included changes in how Ticketmaster handles ticket resale, proof of Bandintown's massive reach, Musician's guides to Instagram, Sora 2 and image sizes, MMF-US LA Summit, and more.
The post Music Business News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

DeNoiser plug-in from Harrison Harrison’s latest software release introduces a new zero-latency dialogue and voice clean-up tool that’s been designed for audio professionals, post-production engineers, broadcasters and content creators alike. 

New Music Critique: MinaxiContact: minaxitheband@gmail.com

Web: minaxitheband.com

Seeking: Booking, Film/TV

Style: Shoegaze, Psychedelic Rock, Hindustani Music

Absolutely fascinating. Brooklyn-bazed band Minaxi have taken upon themselves to blend shoegaze and psychedelic rock with Hindustani (Northern Indian classical) music, and the results are staggering. Hypnotic and ambient, the sound is chill in the classic psych-rock style, but it also feels spiritual and frankly gorgeous. “Minaxi’s vision is as bold as its execution. The band seamlessly integrates elements of Hindustani and Sufi music with the guitar-driven angst of psychedelia, the shimmering textures of shoegaze and ambient music, and the emotionally raw ethos of Midwest emo,” they say. The post New Music Critique: Minaxi first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Bitcoin price compression will spark expansion: Will BTC explode toward $120K?Bitcoin sellers put a cap on $112,000, but technical, onchain data and the end of October US macroeconomic calendar suggest that the price compression will trigger a violent expansion.

Tiny UPS Keeps WiFi OnlineFor any mission-critical computer system, it’s a good idea to think about how the system will handle power outages. At the very least it’s a good idea to give the computer enough time to gracefully shut down if the power outage will last for an indefinite time. But for extremely critical infrastructure, like our home Wi-Fi, we might consider a more long-term battery backup that can let us get through the longest of power outages.
Part of why this project from [ ] works so well is that most off-the-shelf routers don’t actually use that much energy. Keeping that and a modem online when the power is out only requires a few lithium batteries. To that end, three lithium ion cells are arranged in series to provide the router with between 9 and 12 volts, complete with a battery management system (BMS) to ensure they aren’t over- or under-charged and that they are balanced. The router plugs directly into a barrel jack, eliminating any switching losses from having to use an inverter during battery operation.
While [ ] is a student who lives in an area with frequent interruptions to the electricity supply, this does a good job of keeping him online. If you’re planning for worse or longer outages, a design like this is easily adapted for more batteries provided the correct BMS is used to keep the cells safely charged and regulated. You can also adapt much larger UPS systems to power more of your home’s electrical system, provided you can find enough batteries.

A comprehensive list of 2025 tech layoffsA complete list of all the known layoffs in tech, from Big Tech to startups, broken down by month throughout 2024.

Windows-G E-SubkickSimulator300A JSFX sub-bass enhancer plugin for REAPER that emulates the tone of a subkick speaker-microphone through a clean EQ curve. This means it preserves the original sound character while adding sub-bass enhancement through EQ shaping. Simply route your kick drum, bass, 808s, toms, or any source needing sub-bass weight to a parallel track. Insert the E-SubkickSimulator300 on that parallel track and use the output gain to blend in the desired amount of sub-bass weight. You can then use the high-cut filter to shape it further. You may also insert it directly on a track for creative effects or experimentation. Oh, and that animated speaker cone moving with the audio is something I enjoy watching, just for the eyes. Have fun with it. Grab it for free. Email Support: info.windowsg@gmail.com. ================================================== Using This JSFX Plugin in Other DAWs: If you want to use this JSFX plugin in other DAWs, you can do so using the open-source YSFX plugin. YSFX is available in VST3, AU, and CLAP formats for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Download your preferred format of YSFX from here (Click on "Assets" for the downloads to appear): https://github.com/JoepVanlier/ysfx/releases YSFX comes in two versions: * ysfx-s FX (for JSFX effects). * ysfx-s instrument (for JSFX instruments). 1. Open ysfx-s FX in your DAW, 2. Then click "Load", find your "E-SubkickSimulator300_Windows-G" file, and click "Open." Your plugin will now run inside the YSFX host, working perfectly in any DAW that supports VST3, AU, or CLAP plugins. Read More

Dynaudio reveal the Control series Developed in collaboration with DAD, the Control series comprises two audio processing units that offer a mixture of monitoring control functions, audio routing, EQ, conversion and more, along with a tactile remote control panel.

Spotify is sponsor of Contemporary Black Music category at Music Business UK AwardsStreaming giant is latest partner for the UK industry's most enjoyable night of the year
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Venus Theory releases auras:altis, a FREE cinematic synth library for Decent Sampler
Venus Theory has released auras:altis, a free cinematic synth library for Decent Sampler. There’s a lot to like about Altis before you even hear it: the collaboration between Venus Theory and Jason Graves is rooted in the sound of the Novation Summit, a highly expressive and, in my opinion, underrated synth. Additionally, I don’t think [...]
View post: Venus Theory releases auras:altis, a FREE cinematic synth library for Decent Sampler

You could get over £8,000 of Warm Audio microphones for under £200 in this unbelievable Reverb dealBOO! It’s almost Halloween, and Reverb is offering up some scarily good deals to celebrate. The Fall Into Gears sale sees up to 60% off across plenty of top-quality tech – but you better hurry, since it’s only running until 3 November.
The savings aren’t too shabby, either. A limited Platinum edition of the KORG opsix SE is a whopping 50% off. The opsix SE came as a revolutionary upgrade on the opsix FM, and the £861.19 makes the KORG synth a total steal.

READ MORE: How we remixed The Cure: Tips from Orbital, Trentemøller and more

Moog’s collaboration with Geddy Lee has also had a massive £1,096 cut off the price, now sitting at just £3,209.12. Lee’s MiniMoog Model D is hand signed by the Rush legend himself, as well as having the band’s signature Starman badge on the front and back. The synth also comes with an exclusive red 10 inch vinyl, as well as an exclusive poster.
If you’re not sure exactly what you’re interested in buying, the Reverb sale also has the perfect deal for you. Warm Audio has prepared a slew of Microphone Mystery Boxes, each containing one microphone from across Warm Audio’s vast selection of mics.
The box is just £195.72, and you could get anything from a humble, reliable Jr Series right up to the company’s marvellous flagship WA-8000.
While the deal is already pretty enticing, one buyer will get a very, very special Mystery Box. The ‘grand prize’ box will be filled with all 13 of the possible microphones, which totals up to over £8,000 – not too bad when the box costs under £200!
Head over to Reverb to find more Fall Into Gear Sales Event deals. The sale will run until 3 November.
[deals ids=”3DwYhyF1IA0L39u0GCG2Q0″]
The post You could get over £8,000 of Warm Audio microphones for under £200 in this unbelievable Reverb deal appeared first on MusicTech.

Musicians Guide To Facebook (2025 Edition)Is Facebook still worth it for artists? Yes - if you lean into what the platform now rewards: real conversation, short-form video, and smart, low-budget ads that funnel fans to owned channels.
The post Musicians Guide To Facebook (2025 Edition) appeared first on Hypebot.

Live Music Industry News: UK levy • NIVA Summit • NY Ticket Fees • Bandsintown • TicketmasterIn the latest live music industry news, support for a levy to support UK grassroots venues is growing. The UK government endorses the plan as do many artists and most of the live music industry. Notably silent is Live Nation.
The post Live Music Industry News: UK levy • NIVA Summit • NY Ticket Fees • Bandsintown • Ticketmaster appeared first on Hypebot.