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Hi everyone, and welcome to Vocal Arts, the podcast that explores the world of professional voice artists. My name is Peter Barber, and I’ll be your guide along this path of vocal performance. I’m primarily a professional opera singer, music producer, and bass vocalist. Over the course of my career, I’ve trained and performed with world-class singers. I’ve learned all about the physiology and function of the human voice from leading voice scientists. I started a successful group of four bass singers called The Bass Gang, and I’ve grown my YouTube audience from 0 to over 100,000 subscribers via musical analysis videos. Beyond that, I currently sing opera professionally as a Studio Artist with Arizona Opera. I’ve performed in basically every genre from EDM to chamber choir, and with an undergrad major in audio engineering, I can comfortably bridge the gap between live performance and studio recordings, from the grandiose space of a 3000-seat opera house to the intimate, sound-proof booths used in voiceover. But perhaps most importantly, I’m an artist, fascinated by the various careers in vocal performance, and inspired to learn more about them from the best and brightest vocal talent the world has to offer. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, and no matter what your involvement is within the world of vocal arts, I hope that here, on this podcast, you can both learn something and enjoy. This is Peter Barber, and I’ll see you next time on Vocal Arts.
Episodes
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
The Music of Arcane feat. Alex Seaver (aka Mako)
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
Composer, songwriter, and producer Alex Seaver (aka Mako) has created a unique niche for himself in the entertainment industry. He has released two best-selling albums; performed at Coachella, Lollapalooza, and EDC; and collaborated with the likes of Sting, Pusha-T, Avicii, Madison Beer, and Alan Walker.
A classically-trained musician, Seaver earned a full scholarship to Juilliard. Upon graduation, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film music. Alex has established himself as a songwriter and composer for Riot Games’ League of Legends, beginning in 2017. His first track, “Legends Never Die” (performed by Against the Current), has earned over 400 million streams on Spotify alone, while his role expanded with Netflix’s League of Legends-based animated series, Arcane (2021). In addition to scoring the hit show with Alexander Temple, Alex co-wrote songs for the soundtrack, alongside Pusha-T, Sting, Wooded, Bea Miller, PVRIS, and others. Please welcome Alex Seaver.
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Luke the Voice feat. Luke Taylor
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Luke Taylor is a bass singer from Thornton, Pennsylvania who is pursuing a songwriting career in folk and western genres. He has amassed a following of over 4 million people on TikTok from his bass singing videos, as well as performed on American Idol -- he is known throughout the world for his deep, rich voice. Luke is also a member of The Wellermen, and is studying voice at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Peter and Luke chat about bass singing, going viral on social media, vocal technique, career goals, getting recognized in public, philosophies on life, and much more. Please welcome Luke Taylor.
Wednesday Dec 27, 2023
Viking Vocals feat. Danny ”Big Brev” Brevik
Wednesday Dec 27, 2023
Wednesday Dec 27, 2023
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
Military Bass feat. J.None
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
J.None is a singer, songwriter, and producer. Featured in the September 2008 issue of “GQ”, he was selected to perform for Grammy Award-Winning super producer Timbaland. J is very giving when it comes to his gift -- he has performed at various community concerts sponsored by Kollission Records, donating all proceeds to the Children’s Kings Daughters Hospital Miracle Network. In 2011 he attained International recognition for placing in the Top 32 on Simon Cowell’s newest talent show The X-Factor as ¼ of the young Pop group 4Shore. Audiences love his hilarious demeanor on stage and his buttery-smooth vocals. J auditioned for Season 14 of the hit Fox singing competition American Idol and advanced to the Top 48. Currently, he is singing bass for The United States Navy Band Sea Chanters, working on original music and producing/writing for other artists via Soundbetter.com, including his nephew, "Naz G." You can find J.None’s newest music on all digital outlets, available now for downloading and streaming!
Peter and J.None talk about his life in the Navy band, singing with VoicePlay, setting and managing career goals and expectations, his experience on X-Factor and American Idol, and much more. Please welcome J.None.
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
The Legend of Korra feat. Janet Varney
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Janet Varney is an Emmy-Nominated actor, comedian, writer and producer. She can be heard as the voice of Korra on "The Legend of Korra” on Netflix, where she can also be seen as Summer in the comedy series “Country Comfort." On HULU, she fights dark forces starring opposite John C. McGinley on "Stan Against Evil" and appears as Becca on FXX’s "You’re the Worst.” She also created, wrote, produced and starred in the critically-acclaimed IFC online series "Fortune Rookie.” And as of this summer, you can also catch her recurring on Apple TV+’s “Platonic” opposite Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne. Onstage, Janet performs with Rachel Dratch, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Oscar Nunez and more in their improv supergroup Theme Park, and alongside Paul F. Tompkins, Busy Philipps, Paget Brewster and more for the Thrilling Adventure Hour. Janet co-created/wrote/produced “Neil’s Puppet Dreams” starring Neil Patrick Harris. You can also find Janet on YouTube for Geek & Sundry’s “Escape!" which she co-wrote, produced and hosted. She also hosts three hit podcasts: The JV Club with Janet Varney; Avatar: Braving The Elements; and Truth and Justice with Bob Ruff. She is Co-Founder/Creative Director of one of the largest and most acclaimed comedy festivals in North America, SF Sketchfest: the San Francisco Comedy Festival, now in its 20th year.
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Behind the Music (of VoicePlay) feat. Layne Stein
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Layne Stein is an arranger, beatboxer, vocalist, audio engineer, and video editor for world-famous acapella group, VoicePlay. Peter and Layne talk about Layne's arrangement process for VoicePlay songs, the development of the group since its origin, the impossibility of predicting which releases will be commercially successful, how to add creative spin to a classic song, PattyCake productions, how VoicePlay creates a song from start-to-finish, and much more. Please welcome Layne Stein.
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Opera Star feat. Lisette Oropesa
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Analysis Essentials Series: ”We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s Encanto
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
One of the most popular Disney songs ever made -- I couldn't resist jumping on the reaction bandwagon when this first came out. However, I added a lot of analysis to the music, singing, voice acting, etc. as usual, and it has resulted in one of the more popular analysis videos on my channel. Please enjoy the analysis.
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Covered In Metal feat. Jonathan Young
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Jonathan Young is a singer, songwriter & music producer who independently grew to a fanbase of over 2 million fans with his viral music videos, reimagining songs from nerd culture, writing fantasy-themed power metal music, and collaborating with iconic brands like Dragonball, Beyblade & Magic: the Gathering. In addition to his own discography, Jonathan also runs a production company that offers services & consulting to other music content creators.
Peter and Jonathan talk about everything from music composition to the evolution of YouTube to rock belting. Please welcome Jonathan Young.
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
Bring the Bass feat. Matt Sallee
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
Above all, Matt Sallee considers himself a team player. His instantly recognizable bass tone rumbles straight from the soul as a strong and supple foundation for collaborators to shine just as brightly as he does. The show-stopping vocalist, artist, and member of Pentatonix instantly captivates in any arena—whether on the stage of a legendary venue or solo in the recording booth. As such, acapella represents not only a creative, but a personal and spiritual calling for him. He made his debut with the group on the platinum-certified A Pentatonix Christmas: Deluxe in 2017, which boasted highlights such as “How Great Thou Art” featuring Jennifer Hudson. His voice boomed on a trio of successive Billboard 200 Top 10 albums, namely PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. I [2018], Christmas Is Here! [2018], and The Best of Pentatonix Christmas [2019]. Plus, he lent his songwriting to The Lucky Ones [2021] in addition to performing on Evergreen [2021], which garnered a GRAMMY® Award nod in the category of “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.” Outside of music, he remains an avid basketball and football fan and dedicates as much time as possible to his family.
Peter speaks with Matt about his musical upbringing, what it's like being a part of Pentatonix, the pressure of filling the shoes of Avi Kaplan, misconceptions about the bass voice, being a versatile artist, gratitude, and much more. Please welcome Matt Sallee.