Michelle Hemmer
Nashville, Tennessee, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Material: What if your ex-lover (the one you cheated on) picked up a guitar, grabbed her best friend and formed a musical duo to tell the truth about life’s important issues — love, happiness, disappointment and, of course, your infidelity? That band would be Dakota –– two
ballsy songbirds belting out their musical messages raw and unplugged. After the love is gone, (or more accurately, shattered), songs abound from these girls like "The Clown" and "Guess What." The latter, a dry and witty payback anthem to a cheating mate is their standout number and set-closer.
Musicianship: Michelle Hemmer uses her strong, clear alto voice to charge through the tunes while accompanying them with rhythmic acoustic guitar. Claudette Powell sings the high
harmonies, her voice flowing and genuine.
Performance: Dakota has the musical presentation of a couple of flower children singing anti-war protest tunes beside a Volkswagen van in Haight Ashbury. The girls look earthy and wholesome with long hair flowing as they sway to the music, but there’s also energy in this duo, and more impressively, an edge that says, "Listen to our voices, we’ve got something important to say."
Summary: Dakota is about as rootsy as it comes. A scaled-down musical style brings to life songs that are as real and genuine as the performers. However, all is not as it appears to be. Dakota may look like the girls you met at a peace rally, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find a couple of gutsy chicks who are telling it like it is and refusing to take flack from anyone.
- Music Connection
Dakota is listed as one of the TOP 100 Unsigned Bands in the 2003 Addition of Music Connection Magazine. - Music Connection
Discography
The Demo (4 songs) - Performed as "Dakota"
Guess What (12 Songs) - Performed as "Dakota"
Another Round (13 Songs) - Performed as "Dakota'
Michelle Lynn (15 songs) - Performed as "Michelle Lynn"
Beautiful Seconds (13 songs) - Performed as "Michelle Hemmer"
Photos
Bio
Michelle Hemmer, Ohio born singer & acoustic guitarist.
When I write, I am telling stories of my life, the lives of people I know, and situations that I have either experienced or observed from a far. My favorite artists are the ones that can make you laugh in one sentence while breaking your heart with another one.
Songwriting is something that I not only LOVE to do...I NEED to do it. It is an outlet for me...getting every crazy thought from my head onto a piece of paper that I can either turn into a song or laugh about later. Singing & performing is also a love of mine. Listening to music growing up, I was only introduced to top-40 radio, and I loved it. However, I didn't really know all the music I was missing out on until college when someone played "Me and Bobby McGee". I was blown away. What was this kind of music? I went looking for more and found it in classic rock bands like "The Eagles", "Fleetwood Mac" and "The Mamas & the Papas", until finally stumbling onto the "Indigo Girls." That changed everything for me. I wanted to sing, to play guitar and I wanted to recreate that harmony-based music that I had gone so long without hearing. Harmony is just everything to me, so when I write I always keep in mind harmonies & counter melodies.
I've had songs placed on Nickelodeon & the WB, and continue to pursue work in the world of TV and Motion Picture licensing. I also am looking for more outlets for my songs through other artists.
Influences Include: Indigo Girls, Counting Crows, The Eagles, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Little Big Town, Ben Folds, Heart
Michelle Hemmer's music can be heard on several Television Shows including Nickelodeon's "iCarly", "Victorious," "Zoey 101," "Drake & Josh", and WB's "Related."
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