Exposed Vocals Interviews “The Color Loud”

“The Color Loud” is the up and coming music duo from Grand Rapids, MI. The group is comprised of “Ghostipher Wallace” (Keith Edward) and “D-nell” (Darnell Colbert). The two musicians have over 30 years of music experience combined. Including D-nell’s time with his R&B group “Next II None” who were contestants on season 3 of the popular talent show “America’s Got Talent”. In the years being a member of “Next II None” D-nell has performed live for many big names in the music industry, including opening up for Justin Bieber at Fifth Third Ball Park. Ghostipher has massed a library of work with 10 mixtapes and 2 studio albums to his name, all of which he recorded at his privately owned studio “Run Thru Records.” Ghostipher has also appeared on local television, radio, and performed at some of the biggest venues in his hometown.

 

Two years ago while collaborating on a project they discovered that both artists had the same drive, work ethic, and passion for music. During this time they developed their sound and decided to work together indefinitely. As “The Color Loud” the groups first performance was opening up for “Bone Thugs N’ Harmony” at the famed Agora Music Theatre in Cleveland Ohio.

 

Presently the group is pushing their debut work of art “That Loud Shit” which was officially released May 2016. An album with a fresh take on urban music that includes a mixture of D-nell’s rich soulful Rhythm and Blues sound and Ghostipher’s rugged but smooth unique rap styles. The album includes the hit single “Ex Gets Drunk” a song that was created specifically for radio play so the duo’s music can be enjoyed by music lovers of all ages around the world. Currently “Ex Gets Drunk” has been played over 100 thousand times on Soundcloud and gaining more popularity by the day. The song is featured on “Hip Hop TXL” Vol. 74, The Underground Fix Vol. 240, and Dj Young Cee’s “Best Indy Of 2015.” The hit single is now in rotation on numerous FM and internet radio stations around the Globe. “Ex Gets Drunk” is also available for sale and streaming on every major music platform in The United States

 

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

The Color Loud: [Ghostipher] “We both grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan a small industrial city in the midwest.” [D-nell] “The sound of music and the way it makes you feel is what intrigued us from the beginning.” [Ghostipher] “So it was only natural that the two of us were gonna do something involving music. Whether it was writing songs, sound engineering, music production or whatever.” [D-nell] “We just happened to cross paths and became a music group.”

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

The Color Loud: [Ghostipher] “After we started making music together me and “D-nell” knew that we had to have a catchy name that stood out to describe the creative and colorful sound of our music. A few days of brain storming and going through countless names I shouted out “The Color Loud!!” ever since then the name stuck.”

 

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

The Color Loud: [Ghostipher] “Online music sharing is cool, but it doesn’t generate very much money unless you know how to promote or market the songs effectively to gain momentum for the overall project that you’re working on.” [D-nell] “We’ve given music away, and still do on occasion because that one free song can possibly make the listener purchase your album, merchandise, or even more important become a fan.”

 

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

 

The Color Loud: [D-nell] “Do as much as you can for free until you develop your sound or brand. By doing that it will help hone your skills and gain some attention.” [Ghostipher] “Also take full advantage of every free outlet possible online, especially with social media.”

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

The Color Loud: [D-nell] “Most of our inspiration comes from every day life and the things we go through either on a personal level or from the situations of people we know.” [Ghostipher] “Current events and what goes on in society also determines a lot of what we come up with. Our usual process involves working in the studio every day, studying music, or just talking about music theory. [D-nell] “Then we find or make a beat that fits with our subject, after that we record the vocals, edit, mix, and master all the recordings ourselves.”

 

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

The Color Loud:  [Ghostipher] “Sure do, www.thecolorloudmusic.com check us out!! We use every possible musical platform that we come across, it’s important to be out here. Your music has to be everywhere so it can be heard by as many people as possible. Our biggest presence is on iTunes, Soundcloud, Reverberation, Jango, Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music since they are some of the biggest in the game when it comes to music streaming, downloading, and digital sales at the moment.”

 

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

The Color Loud: [Ghostipher:] “Take the money and invest in our brand. [D-nell] “A year off?!?! lol yeah we’re not going to do that!!”

 

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

The Color Loud: [Ghostipher] “First thing we did was go online and googled “radio stations that played independent music” it ended up getting us some free spins, web site features, and placement in places where we couldn’t physically be. What works for us the most is our continuous self promotion and work ethic because our main goal is to be everywhere.” [D-nell] “Making relationships with people in positions to boost your career also helps with promotion and getting your music out there.” [Ghostipher] “Sometimes you gotta pay to play.”

 

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

The Color Loud: [Ghostipher] “We just released our debut album “That Loud Shit” in May of this year. We are currently working on a new free mixtape entitled “The Color Loud vs. Lexi Banks.” We also have another mixtape that we’re working on that showcases some of the best talent Grand Rapids has to offer. Between all of that our “masterpiece” project will probably be dropping sometime in 2017.” [D-nell] “We are making sure there will be plenty of “The Color Loud” for years to come.”

 

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

The Color Loud: [D-nell] “Can you please repeat the question?!?!” [Ghostipher] “Probably nothing.. To be honest we’ve spent so many years creating music neither one of us can even answer that question.”

 

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

The Color Loud: [Ghostipher] “Work more, sleep less, and keep pushing.”

 

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

The Color Loud: [Ghostipher] “Fans should be looking forward to hearing new music, a video, possible documentary, and more live performances. If all goes right our fans will also be able to hear our music on Pandora and Music Choice this summer.”