MEET THE MUSICIANS who elevate our sound to awesome...
JUSTINA SHANDLER is a singer-songwriter, performer and teacher. She has performed her original songs at Lincoln Center and Rockwood Music Hall in New York (with members of Sara Bareilles’ band), at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN and at various comedy clubs in Los Angeles. Justina teaches songwriting to incarcerated men at Dade Correctional Institution. She also teaches songwriting and music theory at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where she obtained her Master’s Degree in Media Writing and Production. She has toured the country with her original music, which can be streamed on all major platforms.
Look for Justina’s music in season 6 and 11 and beyond!
Rachel Angel is a singer-songwriter and poet
“I started writing music when I was about 17 years old. I studied voice and theater from a very young age and got into the Beat poets when I was a teenager. I was an avid journaler and writer of poetry. Then I discovered Bob Dylan, picked up a guitar, and it all clicked.
Through Dylan, I realized that you could put poetry to music and so it only seemed natural that I would start writing songs. The first song I ever learned on guitar was “Blowin’ In The Wind.” Some of my earliest influences were The Beatles, Neil Young, David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, The Silver Jews, and Patti Smith.”
ÊMIA is the indie electronic-pop brainchild of 21 year-old singer/songwriter and producer Anh Le. While her confessional and conversational lyrics remain true to that of a traditional singer/songwriter, her infectious melodies and lush production add a modern twist. Her music is a consequence of years of listening to her favorite piano girls like Sara Bareilles and Vanessa Carlton and her current loves such as Nina Nesbitt, Lido and Tennyson.
Over the past decade, she has gained prominence online through her YouTube Channel ( previously known as Anh Le Music) and through her features on the tracks of notable EDM producers. She has worked with producers such as Le Boeuf, Raider, and middle school. In the winter of 2016, her cover of "Wake Me Up When September Ends" was featured on MTV Europe. Today, she has over 3 million views on YouTube and over 15,000 subscribers and recently partnered with TC Helicon. She is currently releasing a new single every single month.
Season 15 music is by Emia
The Amadians were formed in 2016. Courtney Fox (vocals), James Roth (guitars), Ian Powell (bass), and Kyle Fox (drums) have spent the past three years trying to distill the best components of everything from pop, rock and blues to funk, soul, and jazz, into the sort of songs that not only get inside your bones but that awaken that primal urge inside us all to just cut loose.
Season 10 and 13 theme music is by the Amadians.
Xaire Vii is a Miami-based musician, poet, teacher, and performing artist. Xaire co-hosted the prison series in season 12.
Season 12 theme music is by
Xaire Vii + Marnino Toussaint
Marnino Toussaint is a South Florida-based RnB and Hip Hop singer, rapper, and songwriter who uses a fusion of Hip/Hop, R&B, and poetry to create contagious sounds and relatable narratives that delivers something for everyone.
Marnino has been on the stages of Tedx Miami, Broward 100's Duende!, and has worked alongside actors Omari Hardwick and Victoria Justice, author Mary Pope Osborne, and has opened for Hip Hop legend, Chuck D. This year, Marnino had the opportunity to perform at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, California as part of their ceremony honoring musical legend and activist, Harry Belafonte.
While he loves to sing about love, Marnino lives to inspire activism and connectivity in his community.
Marnino gives back to the community by teaching poetry and songwriting workshops in partnership with different arts initiative across the United States including Exchange for Change.
KOI is a writer/producer/engineer from Baltimore, MD who mixes old school with new school, cemented together with excellent wordplay, to create a colorful sound.
"Love is what continued to fuel me even in the darkest moments of this journey and love is what continues to inspire me as a musician and as an artist."
Ari Herstand is a musician, actor, and blogger. Herstand has played over 600 shows, toured with the Milk Carton Kids and Ron Pope, opened for Ben Folds, Cake, Matt Nathanson, Joshua Radin and Eric Hutchinson, and performed with Thirty Seconds To Mars on the Ellen Degeneres Show. He's had countless songs placed on TV shows and charted in the top ten on iTunes - all as a DIY musician. Check out Ari's Take to follow The Biz Behind Full-Time Independent Music.
Listen to
HOME TONIGHT our theme music for Season 4
Taryn Southern is a musical comedian, actress and video blogger. She is the creator and star of Taryn TV.
Taryn is one of the early pioneers of digital concepts--Project MyWorld to DirecTV in 2006 and subsequently, Private High Musical to MTV in 2009. Her online videos have received more than 100 million hits and earned her both a Spike TV Guy's Choice Award and a IAWTV and Steamy Best Actress nomination. My personal favorite is I Think I Farted.
Taryn's first musical comedy album made the Top 10 List on iTunes the month of its release and her single CRUSH made Top 100 Radio. She currently is working on a book (Self Help For The Digital Soul) and a talk show with Kelly Ripa's production company.
Check out Southern's duet with Ari Herstand, I Love You, But.
Subliminal Lens
Alternative music by our dear friend, Jason Elek. Jason is one of the brains behind the Sanibel Island Writer’s Conference. If you’d like to meet Jason and experience the best writing conference ever, join Writing Class Radio in November. We’ll be teaching at the conference Nov 3-6, 2022.
Kevin Myles Wilson is a Singer-Songwriter from Toronto.
"Kevin Myles Wilson has beefed up his Canadiana sound, and it makes the hooks all the stronger. His voice, meanwhile, is like an old friend, delivering insights about life and love with friendliness and warmth."
-Carla Gillis, NOW Magazine
The Sisters Mann
Lauren and Alexandra Mann are artists, songwriters and musicians from Miami, Florida. Lauren's keyboards and rich vocals inhabit a haunting higher register; while Alexandra's gritty guitar playing and vocal harmonies bring out an acoustic rock edge that mix to create their distinctive sound. Their influences range from the Indigo Girls to Simon and Garfunkel to Fleetwood Mac.
Their performances not only mirror their love for their music, but also their love for each other.
ALIEN SEX QUEEN is a 3 Piece Rock/Pop/Punk Band. Three estranged aliens that came together by strange coincidence and suddenly realized they had something out of the ordinary to share with all the earthlings...
BLUEJAY is a passionate mix of indie, tribal, folk, and pop. The live shows are an enchanting romp; a well-balanced mix of pop hooks and compelling tribal cries from the depths of the spirit, all tied together by three-part vocal harmonies and the low singing lull of the cello. Bluejay will woo you and draw you in to their paranormal world of goblins, sex, and horror, like entering a lucid dream. JAY THOMAS on guitar and vocals, OSCAR QUESADA on cello and vocals, and JOJO SUNSHINE on keys, vocals, and drums. Bluejay is currently performing in South Florida venues, playing new songs, as well as tunes from their albums GOBLINS (2010) and MERCURY (2012).
The Boundary Birds are a collective of musicians determined to bring good time music everywhere they go! They have produced five original albums. In an ever increasing global culture drawing from all possible sources of inspiration seems very rational, and the Boundary Birds have no trouble mixing them all with a laid back Americana vibe.
Some Boundary Birds.....
Danny Campbell, James East, Dave Curtis, Mark Campbell, Jamie Kime, Ricky Z Zahariades, Billy Thompson, David Carano, Mitch Manker, Daryl Johnson, Lacy Younger, Tom Curren, Rand Anderson, Buffalo Brown, Carl Schulte, Tim Pacheco, Tonga Ross-Mau, Robin Henkel.
DeBlois / (de-bloys) / Milledge
An American singer/songwriter whose influences include Lucinda Williams, Etta James, Kieth Richards and Carol King. Her distinctive voice is comfortable and loved. A South Florida native, DeBlois lives in San Diego now where her primary focus is writing and performing with The Boundary Birds..
Jason Sager is a singer-songwriter with a piano-driven pop-rock style. Based in New York City, Jason plays regularly in venues around the city.
Adriel Borshansky graduated from Harvard Divinity School. He directed the arts education programs at Seeds of Peace, an international camp which brings together teenagers from conflict regions around the world. He now teaches Ethics and Leadership at a prestigious high school program in Washington D.C.
His songs emerge from his active work as a teacher, a leader, and a forceful advocate for peace.
Misha Mehrel is a musician, film editor, photographer, writer, storyteller and contributing producer of Writing Class Radio.
T.J. North
T.J. is a singer-songwriter from Miami, Florida. He attends the University of Florida. His favorite quote below:
Daniel Correa is a twenty-year-old singer-songwriter from Miami. Some artists entertain. Others captivate. Daniel electrifies.
His lyrics speak to anyone who has ever struggled for a sense of truth. Correa's songs provide an innovative blend of alternative rock and pop, are a high-octane testimonial to the exhilaration, yearning, and angst that defines coming-of-age.
“I want people to listen to my music and hear the honesty in it, to know that I’m not putting on airs or trying to be someone I’m not… that the joy and pain I write and sing about are real.” Daniel confesses that off-stage he’s a bit of an introvert, quiet and introspective, but it’s on-stage where he truly comes alive.
Allie and Abby Fitzgibbon are sisters from Baltimore, Maryland. Their music is transformative, authentic and witchy.
Both have personal histories in the arts and also practice energy healing, which they like to incorporate in their live shows to create an atmosphere of deep connection with self and others. With Abby on the glockenspiel and Allie on the guitar, together they weave heavy harmonies and hauntingly raw lyrics to spread healing and magic to all those who listen. This past winter they concluded a 13 city cross-country tour and are currently planning their next tour to through Ireland.
