In an article entitled "What Hollywoods most hated man is listening to" Rolling Stone magazine asks Perez Hilton what is on his playlist. Amidst a strong selection he mentions that he has Meiko, stating that he had her:
"......perform at my concert in LA, she’s phenomenal. She’s a singer-songwriter, but more interesting. A little Rachel Yamagata-ish, but not really."
Meiko also gets some very favorable reviews in the comments section for the article. More infact than anyone else. One person in particular mentions that he bought the album after hearing 'Hawaii' on Grey's Anatomy last week.
Meiko's song 'Hawaii' featured on Grey's Anatomy on Thursday the 18th of October. This is a song from her album 'Meiko'.
The talented individuals who put together the soundtrack for Grey's Anatomy are to be applauded for being so farsighted and spotting emerging talent before the rest of the mainstream media.
'Hawaii' is available from iTunes either singly or as part of the album 'Meiko'.
Meiko's song "How Lucky We Are" has been named iTunes Discovery Download of the Week. This means that you can download the song free! If you like it please consider buying the rest of the album. Songs like "Hiding" are absolute gems. You can download "How Lucky We Are" for free using the link below for the next few days.
You can read about Meiko's brief but eventful detour into Canada here.
Highlights include 'fishing' in the pitch dark, a canoe ride, and an encounter with a border guard who decided to keep her on Canadian soil just a little longer than planned.
Meiko is currently on tour with Mat Kearney. You can watch one of his videos here on YouTube:
Tonight Meiko and Mat are playing Hope College (Holland, Michigan). Tomorrow they will be at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. You can keep up to date with their other tour dates here.
Mat Kearney's album "Nothing left to lose" is available on iTunes.
There are some pictures of Meiko available to view on Flickr.
The extremely talented Stephen DeVries recently uploaded three pictures of Meiko here.
The appropriately named Flickr user 'laindiemusic' has pictures to Meiko performing live at the El Rey Theater from July 14 of this year.
Flickr user Vadox has a couple of pictures of Meiko taken at the Vail Film Festival.
Jason Taylor has a single picture of Meiko taken at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
Surely a taste of huge things to come, Meiko is today featured on iTunes! Her album, "Meiko", released on the 1st of September, is headlining the Indie spotlight. The global spotlight iTunes offers will hopefully allow others to discover and enjoy the album.
The album "Meiko" has garnered many reviews, most of which are overwhelmingly positive. Many reviewers report that they have bought the album after seeing Meiko live. Many also focus on her unique, soulful voice.
This is a very heartening sign in times when most current music is horribly contrived and manufactured, and built on a base of publicity rather than talent.
To see a natural talent shining through amidst such commercial murk is a beautiful thing.
You can keep up to date with the latest Meiko tour dates here.
The last episode of popular relationship/medical drama Grey's Anatomy featured Meiko's song 'Reason to Love you'. The episode was entitled "A Change Is Gonna Come" and first aired on 09/27/07. The various Grey's Anatomy message boards have been abuzz with people asking about the song and the artist. The soundtrack which is released after every Season is sure to give Meiko even more exposure. The song is available on iTunes.
Celebrity gossip extraordinaire Perez Hilton has tipped Meiko to be the next big thing. So enamored with her the article features two of her songs and a brief biography.
Meiko featured heavily this year on Nick Harcourt's KCRW show Sounds Eclectic.
Meiko's track 'Piano Song' (click here for a live version) was the song of the day on July the 13th of this year.
There is a video of Meiko performing live at Eddie's Attic posted on YouTube here.
Earlier this year the Editor of Paste Magazine, Josh Jackson, saw Meiko live at the Sundance Festival and declared that he witnessed a
"....gorgeous set from Meiko, a waitress at Hotel Café and from what I heard
last night, my pick for their next big success story. If Nic Harcourt hasn’t
begun to champion her yet on his Morning Becomes Eclectic show, it’s just a
matter of time."
Source:http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/ctrl-v/archives/2007/01/
The songs on "Meiko" are as follows:
1. Reasons to love you
2. How lucky we are.
3. Heard it all before.
4. Piano song.
5. Hiding
6. Sleep
7. Said and done
8. Walk by
9. Under my bed
10. Hawaii
On her Myspace page Meiko lists her influences as:
"Patti Griffin, Sade, Cranberries, Fiona Apple, Indigo Girls, Nina Simone, K's Choice, Carol King, Portishead, Cocteau Twins, Holly McNarland, Red Fish Blue Fish, Fleming and John, and Shep Sheppard."These influences are clearly reflected in her songs.
Meiko is a hugely talented singer/songwriter who is at fast gaining the recognition she so fully deserves.
Born in small-town Roberta, Georgia (population 808 according to Wikipedia), Meiko's first introduction to public singing was at the age of 8 in front of the congregation of an all black Southern Baptist church.
The name Meiko was inspired by her Japanese grandmother.
Learning at first to play the guitar on her father's Gibson, he bought her her own when she was 13. From then on the songs have flowed, a seamless mix of pop, folk and alternative.
Her work as a waitress at LA's famous music venue 'Hotel Cafe' allowed her to introduce herself onto the scene. She has been a hit at venues across California, her voice, original songs and unpretentious manner delighting the crowds.
A video of her posted on YouTube showcases her unique vocals and songwriting talent. You can watch it here.
