User:Steventetz/sandbox

Steven Taetz
Steven Taetz is a Canadian singer and songwriter.

Background
Taetz began studying vocal and piano performance at an early age while growing up in Southern California. His parents encouraged his music through grade school, which continued as his family relocated to rural Alberta, Canada. Musical inspiration came from the Taetz's grandfather, a country music singer and guitar player, church hymns, and the adult-contemporary cassettes on repeat during long drives in the family car. Taetz's father, Douglas Tetz, passed away of cancer while Steven was an early teen, and his mother worked tirelessly to provide a positive and encouraging home-life for the family.

Taetz first got a taste for the spotlight as a featured soloist in school productions, and pursued music in his undergraduate training, studying vocal performance as his major with professor Dr. Wendolin Munroe(Indiana University). During this time he performed on a regular basis as a soloist and member of the university choir,symphonic band, and an adult-contemporary band called Into the Light which would tour on behalf of the school for PR and recruitment purposes. This touring included featured solos on the radio in Hawaii, a globally televised event in the Rogers Centre(SkyDome),and performing in Carnegie Hall. The band Into the Light also recorded a promotional EP during this time with several tracks featuring him. The tight harmonies and strong emotive gospel style of performance would be a powerful on Taetz's later projects.

Taetz organized a series of successful concert fundraisers called "Malepalooza" events, raising for cancer reseach and showcasing talented male artists. Taetz was inspired by the Lilith Fair tours happening at the same time, and felt that the musical talent in the rural area needed a performance vehicle, and to raise money for a cause dear to him.

Early Electronic Projects
Steven Taetz then moved to Toronto to continue to grow as an artist. After meeting songwriter and Juno-award-winning producer Gavin Bradley through a mutual friend, the two began writing solo material, as well as for other artists. Bradley and his then-dj/producer partner Dwayne Minard asked Taetz to perform at Toronto Pride during a mainstage set alongside Spice Girl Mel C, and electro-pop group Dragonette. This set also included Fritz Helder, soon to be forming the band Azari&III.

During this time Taetz began to collaborate with electronic artists as a featured vocalist and songwriter such as Montreal's Etienne Ozborne and Spain's Peter Brosn, releasing a track on German label SUME Records that charted top 10 on Beatport in the first month after release.

His next featured single. cowritten with [Roberta Harrison], Ken Harrison (also of the Wild Strawberries and Gavin Bradley, was produced by Kenneth Thomas and signed during the Winter Music Conference 2010 to Paul Oakenfold's label Perfecto, distributed by dance label Armada Music, (rated #1 dance label year-over-year by that industry, owned by Armin Van Buuren). The track has exceeded 40,000 units in sales to date, and charted top 100 for iTunes dance sales, with support from [Paul Oakenfold], [Above & Beyond], tyDi, Cosmic Gate, ATB, and many other top-tier dj/producers.

To followup with their collaboration on Drive, Taetz cowrote again with the same team for Meet You Where You Are, produced by Brazilian trance Dj/producer Danilo Ercole. This song featured Harrison and Taetz's vocals blended together in a seamless transtion between the two, meeting in the middle as a single unit. The song caught the attention of Tiesto's former label Black Hole Records which released it in 2012, supported by Roger Shah, Paul Oakenfold, and other leading artists.

Upcoming electronic-pop tracks underway include collaborations with Juanjo Martin of SONY Spain, Juno-winner Simone Denny and Billboard-dominating producer Hector Fonseca, Amannda of Brazil, and many more.

Return To Roots
Steven Taetz began a return to his "roots" in 2011, beginning to collaborate with folk-roots artists on a cross-Canadian songwriting project. He has reached out to award-winning artists from every province to cowrite on one or more tracks, slowly forming a Canadian songbook in the process. This material will form the basis for his upcoming solo debut in this genre, release scheduled for 2013. Collaborators to date on this project include Tara MacLean (Nettwork, EMI Publishing), the band The Once, Theresa Sokyrka well-known Canadian Idol finalist, Juno-nominee Peter Katz, Emma-Lee, International Songwriter award-winner Kim Beggs, Juno-winner Leela Gilday, Adaline, and collaborations to be completed with David Myles, Juno-winner Cara Luft, Caracol, Jon Bryant, and Lucie Idlout.

Singles

 * Back Together - Etienne Ozborne & Peter Brown ft Steven Taetz - Release in 2009 on SUME Records (Germany)
 * Whiplash - Amannda Morra ft Steven Taetz - Release in 2009 on Costa/Universal
 * Drive - Kenneth Thomas ft Roberta Harrison & Steven Taetz - Released in 2010 on Perfecto/Armada
 * Without - RIVIERA ft Steven Taetz - Released in 2011 on Myth}}/[[Perfecto/Armada
 * Meet You Where You Are - Danilo Ercole ft Roberta Harrison & Steven Taetz - Released in 2012 on Black Hole Records