Chavar Dontae

Most contemporary musicians find the easiest way to make it big is to cater to a target audience and to maintain the same sound, style or message throughout their careers; but not all artists adhere to this silent rule. On the other side of the amplifier there are artists like Chavar Dontae, a Toledo-based musician, who not only displays a variety of musical ammunition but is a revolutionary media man in charge of his own destiny and career.

Following the 2006 release of the critically acclaimed, "One of Those Days," Dontae is finally ready to bring his unique sound to the masses with his first full-length album, "Indie, Soul, Rock n' Roll."

Dontae's career as a professional musician began at Bowling Green State University, where he was awarded a talent scholarship and earned a bachelor's degree in music performance.

While attending Bowling Green State University, the singer/songwriter studied jazz and classical guitar and learned to play multiple instruments, including guitar, piano, bass, drums and trumpet.

Before making the career-altering decision to become a solo artist, Dontae created the self-titled band, Chavar Dontae, where he first decided to try his hand at vocals.

As the lead guitarist and front man of the band, Dontae began recording his five song EP, or demo record, "One of Those Days," a project he described as classic rock with melodious, soothing lyrical harmonies.

"It's both happy and dark, but in the end you know everything is going to be alright," Dontae said.

With the help of Dylan Ely, a professional engineer whose resume includes production for Linkin Park and R. Kelly, Dontae released his EP and began touring and promoting the project around the country.

"One of Those Days" took two weeks to create with all instruments and vocals done solely by Dontae.

After impressing audiences for the past ten months, Dontae said he is finally ready to release his first full-length album, "Indie, Soul, Rock n' Roll."

"The title says it all," Dontae said. "This album is important to the music industry because of all the styles it encompasses while staying true to a rock record."

The new record, with tracks produced by Ely, includes several new tracks as well as a few re-mastered versions of songs from "One of Those Days."

"['One of Those Days'] was like an adolescent, and this album ['Indie, Soul, Rock n' Roll'] is a grown ass man," he said. "It has a whole new vibe. It's more chill - polished but not over produced."

Dontae's latest album, which he hopes to release this winter, has marvelously done what most albums attempt to do - combine the elements of well-played music with elements of popular music. Catchy lyrics, ranging vocals, shifty guitar solos and pulsing bass lines are only what lies on the surface of the record, Dontae said.

"This [album] is going to change the game," Dontae said. "The crazy thing about it is that it crosses over different genres. I could play at rock shows or hip- hop shows, and the music will still come across. It scares me how good it is."

As the release date for the album draws closer, Dontae's schedule has increasingly picked up. Dontae said his past few weeks have been spent recording the album, flying back and forth to studios cross country, assisting with live mixes on the "Projekt Revolution Tour" and playing shows.

Dontae's artistic entrepreneurship does not end with his own projects. Throughout his career, he has made it a point to collaborate with artists from various musical backgrounds.

From helping artists on the rise with instrumentation, to jumping on tracks with other musicians, Dontae has no boundaries when it comes to music. Recently, he has been experimenting with hip-hop and has been featured on several mix tapes and albums. Dontae can be heard on the chorus of "On Everything I Love," a rap single by Ohio MC Jesty Beatz, featuring Bizzy Bone from Bone Thugs n' Harmony.

Never limiting himself to one field, Dontae's talents extend well beyond the music industry. Outside the audio spectrum, Dontae specializes in fashion, photography and much more. He has Chavar Dontae Apparel, his personal clothing company where he designs custom-fitted apparel and specialty graphics.

"Every piece of clothing is different, and I make most of it by hand," Dontae said.

He is also a professional photographer and has shot promotional pictures for models and musicians and is the executive producer and co-star of the Feature length documentary, Cinema Musica, a film showcasing musicians from Ohio.

"I've never been the type of cat to wait for opportunities," Dontae said, "I go out and make opportunities happen." - Independent Collegian

Okay ” to call this debut by Toledo, Ohio's Chavar Dontae "local" might be a bit of a stretch (I once caught some flak for classifying the Glass City as Fort Wayne's farthest-flung suburb), but it's not like he's mailing it in from NYC or something. No, by no means is Dontae mailing anything in with One of Those Days, an EP that bursts at the seams with easy grooves and smoky, sinuous soul while still managing to hold onto its indie credibility. It's a cool, accessible, uncluttered, and very real-sounding.

So much modernR&B (at least on the mass scale) has become all about image and vocal athleticism instead of relying on the solid songwriting and earthy soul that helped to birth rock n roll and make the 60s soar. One of Those Days supplies the antidote, albeit in a bite-sized, simplified package. You won't hear any window-shattering high notes or overproduced beats here; it's all fairly organic and wholly inviting. The opener, Slow Down, pulses with a G. Love-style combination of funky groove and laid-back style, like cruising some old-school Detroit iron with just a toe on the gas. So Right floats along on clean guitar strums, rocking steady underneath Dontae’s blissed out chorus of You are so right for me.It's unabashed good times.

The outset of Friends veers dangerously close to recalling You Make Me Feel Like Dancing before settling into a smooth and, well, friendly groove. Dontae's flawed, vintage Prince-meets-Kravitz croon, flitting in and out of falsetto, becomes more interesting on each spin; this EP takes a little living with to get under your skin, but the patient listener is rewarded. The slow burn of What's Your Name doesn't go to R. Kelly lengths to make its point; it's much more gentlemanly in its approach ("I wanna know your sign / and your mind / I wanna chill with you"
). The lilting guitar and lyrical sunshine on the title track of this short-player might just salvage a blue mood if you let it. Go to myspace.com/chavar or www.chavardontae.com for more information. (D.M. Jones) - WhatzUp- Heartland Art, Entertainment & Recreation

Every once in awhile, I like to randomly pick active users from our database and take a listen to their music. Today I found Chavar Dontae (ShowClix user chavardontae).

Chavar is an independent singer-songwriter and talented jazz guitarist from Toledo, OH. His music has a combination of funk and soul with a hint of jazz and pop added in. He has a nice voice that makes for easy and enjoyable listening.

Chavar recently released his own EP entitled “One Of Those Days“, in which he composed, arranged, performed and produced by himself. Rather impressive if you ask me!

Visit his MySpace profile to have a listen. I especially like his single “Slow Down“.

Support good music! - the shlog- a live entertainment blog from the people behhind ShowClix

Here is a up and coming artist from Toledo, Ohio,USA, with his new Ep ONE OF THOSE DAY'S with a mixture of funk and r&b style grooves and has the voice to back it up, a real cool cat with songs like "SLOW DOWN" and "ONE OF THOSE DAY'S" you can feel how much funk Chavar has running in his veins, excellent stuff.
Star Rank: ***** Excellent
review by T.Halpin - www.musicreveiw.com