Melanie Dekker
Melanie Dekker (born June 1, 1971 in Calgary , Canada ) is a Canadian singer-songwriter with Dutch roots from Vancouver . In terms of style, it is mainly located between pop and folk , but is also inspired by country , rock and blues .
Career
Early years
Born in Calgary, Melanie grew up in Vancouver from the age of five, where she still lives today.
Dekker says she got into making music through an experience when she was thirteen in high school , where she saw a girl who was about five years her senior playing the guitar and singing. This moment touched Melanie Dekker so much that she wanted to move people with music too, and so she started playing guitar and singing and at home played the songs she loved. As a teenager, Dekker often performed the cover songs she had learned in a restaurant in her small home village Deep Cove, thus laying the foundation for her later career.
Immediately after high school, Melanie Dekker enrolled at Capilano University in Vancouver for a scholarship in the jazz program without knowing what to expect. Dekker felt challenged because 90 percent of the course was attended by male students. She completed her two-year degree with a Commercial Music Diploma in Jazz & Pop and Music Therapy.
chronology
Melanie Dekker grew into a successful live artist during her studies in the 1990s. In the following years she worked in western Canada a. a. a name at festivals and other events. From 1992 to 1995 Dekker sang as the front woman in the rock and top 40 country cover bands Gold Rush , Palomino and Double-Take , with whom she performed all over British Columbia and Alberta , western Canada.
In 1996 Dekker lived in the Whistler ski resort (British Columbia) , where she also worked as a DJ / VJ at Buffalo Bills Night Club . Melanie Dekker had to take a musical break there, as permanent damage to her vocal cords threatened - three years of almost non-stop touring had left traces in her overworked voice. After three months of rest, Dekker started performing solo and writing his own songs, and slowly turned away from cover versions .
In 1997, Dekker's debut album Impulsive followed , an acoustic pop / rock CD that she wrote and produced with John Roles and recorded with John Ellis. This album was available throughout western Canada.
At the turn of the millennium, from 1998 to 2001, Melanie Dekker devoted herself to several projects, including working as a music therapist for the Stroke Recovery Association of BC , where she looked after stroke patients. Dekker was also a member of the popular girl group 4 Play , later renamed Cherrybomb , for two years , a music project from Vancouver with which she released two albums and toured Canada, the United States and Europe. Furthermore, Dekker released a limited edition of her second indie album Uh-huh and one of her songs, When i think of you , made it into the soundtrack of the Canadian movie Better Than Chocolate .
After Melanie Dekker surprisingly took first and second place in the Pop-Rock category with her songs Blue Blanket and Hollow in September 2002 at the MOVA Arts Festival International Songwriting Competition in Guntersville, Alabama , and at the end of 2002 she won Canadian Music with Hollow Magazine Song Search had won her solo career.
In 2003 she started a month-long European tour through Germany, Holland and England. They got the idea for this from German fans, who saw the singer live in North American winter sports regions and convinced her to perform in Europe. Shortly after this tour, Dekker released her indie album Just Because in February . The song Speechless made it into the soundtrack of the Canadian film Little Brother Of War and the track I said I became a hit, stayed in the Top 50 of the Canadian BDS Airplay Charts for 13 weeks and topped the Australian Indie Charts for four straight weeks . In spring and autumn, two more tours followed in Canada / USA and Europe with dozens of concerts. Canada's wedding magazine Real Weddings picked up a demo song I'll Wear Your Ring by Dekkers in late summer and named it a potential wedding song of the year . In November Dekker made a guest appearance at Bryan Adams' concert in Kamloops, Canada .
In 2004 Melanie Dekker released the live album live + lekker , which contained selected live recordings from her European tours in the previous year. A month-long European tour followed in the spring. Also in 2004 she wrote a song with actor Sean Penn . Her song I Said I was part of the popular American soap opera All My Children . That summer, Melanie Dekker attended a major benefit concert in Vancouver, the Motown Meltdown , which featured 30 of Vancouver's most talented artists to raise funds for the Shooting Stars Foundation , which supports AIDS patients. Dekker also appeared in the opening act for the Whistler concert by country singer Faith Hill . For a benefit concert for the US Wound Soldiers Foundation in Hamptons, New York, USA, Dekker, who was to perform there, wrote the love song Fall in / Wounded Soldier, a song that caused a stir years later and the final touches she gave him briefly missed the concert before landing the flight. At this concert, Dekker was spotted by Bill Zabit, owner of the then Californian label Zabit Records and Sonoma Mountain Entertainment , who offered her to produce songs under highly professional conditions in his new studio with Scott Church, a respected producer . Dekker was signed by Zabit some time later.
In May 2005, their label released an EP of their planned album Revealed . After that, Melanie Dekker, who has been on stage every other day for almost eight years, went on a European tour again. At the end of October Dekker performed at a private benefit concert by jazz singer Diana Krall for the William J. Clinton Foundation , where he met former US President Bill Clinton . It was more or less by chance that the successful US producer David Kershenbaum came into the studio to see Revealed's work at the end of the year , and when he heard Dekker's songs he was so enthusiastic that he offered to co-produce the album.
The year 2006 was a long time for Revealed , so there was no room for Melanie Dekker for her annual European tour. The album was released on September 30th and presented at a huge American Red Cross fundraising event in Alameda, California on board the former aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-12) , now a museum ship. Also on the CD is the song Fall in / Wounded Soldier . Dekker and her record label pledged to donate one dollar for every album sold to support selected foundations that support wounded soldiers and their families. The songs Little Miracle and Haven't even kissed you yet achieved top positions and recognition in various music competitions .
In late spring 2007, Melanie Dekker toured Europe with her Revealed album. She starred in an episode of the Canadian television series Making it Big , a type of talent show in which media talent produced a music video with her. At the end of the year Dekker toured Germany solo. Over the year she had accumulated new songs, which she published on her own on the acoustic album Acoustic Ride at the turn of the year .
In 2008, Dekker teamed up with Kevin Kennedy Music Promotions (USA) as a booking agency and Fortune Records (European sales). She promoted her album Revealed on two European tours . Dekker received two nominations for the 2008 Los Angeles Music Awards (LAMA) for Humanitarian Artist of the Year and Music Video of the Year . The background was Dekker's social engagement with the now four-year-old song Fall In / Wounded Soldier , about whose video nomination Al Bowman , LAMA founder and producer, said: Fall In / Wounded Soldier is probably one of the most moving love song videos that I've ever seen. "
In 2009 Melanie Dekker toured twice through the predominantly Scandinavian region. In November she was completely unexpectedly awarded a Medal of Honor for her exemplary services through the song Fall in / Wounded Soldier . The Chief of Defense Staff Medal of Excellence was presented by the military commander of the Canadian Armed Forces. At his invitation, Dekker flew to Afghanistan over Christmas . There she gave eleven concerts in front of Canadian and US soldiers within two days. She documented the experiences of this trip in a private video that she published the following spring under the name Christmas in Afghanistan .
In the winter of 2009/2010, Melanie Dekker and Len Rooney produced a small series of videos documenting their lives in their hometown Vancouver and published them online under the names Season's Greetings , Bye Bye Wisdom Teeth , Vancouver Polar Bear Swim 2010 , Melanie Dekker HMCS Vancouver and Melanie Dekker @ the Vancouver Olympics 2010 . In March Dekker helped raise funds at charity events as part of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games . On her spring tour, titled Here & Now , she released the EP of the same name. Dekker used some recordings from this spring tour for a live CD, which she released in September under the name Lekker Dekker Live 2010 . Part two of the Here & Now tour followed in autumn , which mainly led through Northern Europe. Here she wrote the love song Until the Wind Stops Blowin in Denmark together with Robbin Thompson, an American singer-songwriter
In early 2011, Melanie Dekker went into the studio to record new pieces for the album Here & Now , which was released in March. With that she went on the third and fourth Here & Now tour through Europe in spring and autumn , which included almost 50 concerts in autumn. The songs on the record could now be heard on many popular radio stations in Canada, Germany and Holland.
In spring 2012 a European tour followed, which consisted of over 50 concerts in German-speaking countries as well as Holland and Denmark. Dekker was supported by John Mann , a member of the Canadian folk rock band Spirit of the West , for a dozen concerts on this tour , and she also played a few double concerts in Denmark with the American Americana hit-singer-songwriter Edwin McCain . The first songs for her new album Distant Star were written in the summer . Melanie Dekker also appeared in Estonia for the first time as part of a small open-air tour. The song Worry Gets You Nowhere, carried by a banjo, was also composed at the Viru Folk Festival there .
The year 2013 began for Melanie Dekker with the video of her piano ballad What A Fool I Am , before she set off for Europe on her five-week Sunshine from Vancouver tour in February . Back home in Vancouver, Dekker worked for a few months in the studio on the songs of Distant Star and prepared the European autumn tour of the same name, which with 55 concerts was the Canadian's biggest to date. The now finished album was first pre-released during this tour and then officially went on sale in Germany on November 11, 2013 via the Membran Entertainment Group .
In mid-January 2014 Dekker published the self-produced video for her song Worry Gets You Nowhere and officially released her new album Distant Star on the North American music market on February 15 in her hometown of Vancouver , which had already sold 10,000 times in Western Europe. The music video for the title song of the same name on the album, filmed on Mallorca in Sóller, followed in mid-April 2014.
Honors
In 2009 Melanie Dekker was awarded the Chief of Defense Staff Medal of Excellence by the Canadian Armed Forces General Walter Natynczyk for the services and support provided by her song Fall in / Wounded Soldier .
Albums
Melanie Dekker
| publication | title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Impulsive | MMI (Me, Myself and I) |
| 1999 | Uh-huh | |
| 2003 | Just Because | |
| 2004 | live + lekker | |
| 2006 | Revealed | Sonoma Mountain Entertainment |
| 2007 | Acoustic ride | EEE (Elephant Ears Entertainment) |
| 2010 | Lekker Dekker Live 2010 | |
| 2011 | Here & Now | |
| 2013 | Distant star | |
| 2015 | lekker, eh; live in europe | |
| 2018 | Secret spot |
Melanie Dekker at 4 Play
| publication | title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4 play | Independent |
| In your head |
Europe live tours and tour members
Melanie Dekker usually accompanies one or more musicians to her live concerts, and depending on the venue, she is also supported by befriended guest musicians. The core of the tours in recent years has mostly consisted of the following artists:
- various guitars: Jason Nett, Eric Reed, Jim Holland, Stefan Rapp, David Sinclair
- Bass: David Marion, Allan Rodger, Dino Dinicolo, Patrick Meldrum, Jason Nett, Billy Mendoza, Martin Rose, Frank Staudacher
- Keyboard / Piano: Tara Ward-Moran, Eric Reed, Allan Rodger, Mike Bell, David Pickell, Sven Rowoldt, Thomas Fuchs
- Drums: Sam Cartwright, Dino Dinicolo, John Stoltz, Terry Paton, Mani Nassefat
- Background vocals: Vicky Sjohall
- Violin: Elyse Jacobsen
European tours (2003 to date)
| year | title | countries | Tour members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Just Because Tour | DE, NL, UK | Dino Dinicolo, Stefan Rapp |
| Just Because Tour 2 | DE, NL | Stefan Rapp | |
| 2004 | Melanie Dekker Tour | DE, NL, CH | Stefan Rapp |
| 2005 | Melanie Dekker Tour | DE, PL | Jason Nett, Sam Cartwright, Patt Meldrum |
| 2007 | European Revealed Tour | DE, CH, AT, CZ | Stefan Rapp, Sam Cartwright, David Marion |
| German Acoustic Christmas Tour | DE | solo | |
| 2008 | Nordic Spring Tour | DK, SE, DE, CZ | Jason Nice |
| Wishful Thinking Tour I | DE, NL, DK, BE | Stefan Rapp, Mani Nassefat | |
| 2009 | Wishful Thinking Tour II | DE, DK | Jason Nice |
| Wishful Thinking Tour III | DE, DK, NO, SE, CZ, UK | Vicky Sjohall, David Marion, Stefan Rapp | |
| 2010 | Here & Now Tour 1 | DE, AT, NL | Mike Bell, Elyse Jacobsen |
| Here & Now Tour 2 | DE, DK, NO, SE, FI | Mike Bell, Elyse Jacobsen, Sam Cartwright | |
| 2011 | Here & Now Tour 3 | DE, DK, NL | Stefan Rapp, Martin Rose |
| Here & Now Tour 4 | DE, DK, CZ, AT | David Sinclair, Stefan Rapp, Martin Rose | |
| 2012 | Here & Now & Everywhere | DE, A, CH, DK, NL | Allan Rodger, Stefan Rapp, Sven Rowoldt, John Mann |
| 2013 | Sunshine From Vancouver | DE, DK | David Sinclair, Sven Rowoldt, Allan Rodger |
| Distant star | DE, NL, DK, SE, AT, CH | David Sinclair, Thomas Fuchs, Martin Rose, Allan Rodger, Stefan Rapp | |
| 2014 | Euro Tour 2014 | DE, NL, SE, DK, CZ, A | David Sinclair, Thomas Fuchs, Sven Rowoldt, Frank Staudacher |
Web links
swell
- ↑ Tanja Güfel: “Creativity is far from exhausted” In: Vorarlberger Nachrichten , September 11, 2015.
- ↑ a b Biography. ( Memento of the original from January 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: melaniedekker.com (English).
- ↑ http://www.radiowerkstattbonn.de/home/?page_id=4&pdv=8
- ↑ a b Storyteller With A Great Sense For Melodies ..... In: hemifran.com , March 2008 (English).
- ↑ http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/melanie-dekker/5/540/578 ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://student.vfs.com/~fridge/melani/second.html ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/cherrybomb-fans
- ↑ http://stormrider.0catch.com/cherrybomb.html
- ↑ http://www.radiowerkstattbonn.de/home/?page_id=4&pdv=8
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m News. ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: melaniedekker.com (English).
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b World-renowned Record Producer David Kershenbaum Working with New Singer / Songwriter Melanie Dekker. In: prweb.com , November 21, 2005 (English).
- ↑ http://tcoverride.blogspot.de/2007/02/fall-inwounded-soldier.html ( Memento from December 17, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.cylist.com/List/405681633/melanie-dekker-live-lekker.html
- ↑ http://www.reviewvancouver.org/motown_meltdown.htm
- ↑ http://www.travelvideo.tv/news/canada/08-11-2004/faith-hill-brings-her-magic-to-the-mountains-of-whistler
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Singer / Songwriter Melanie Dekker Launches Her New CD at TroopFest 2006 Aboard the USS Hornet. In: marketwired.com , September 21, 2006 (English).
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from August 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f Upcoming Live Shows. ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: melaniedekker.com (English).
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.foodnetwork.ca/ontv/shows/making-it-big/episode.html?titleid=78225&episodeid=78225 ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Daniel Daus: Melanie Dekker / Acoustic Ride. In: rocktimes.de , November 16, 2008.
- ↑ http://www.prlog.org/10045059-recording-artist-melanie-dekker-bids-adieu-to-sonoma-mountain-entertainment-and-zabit-records.html
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1yYWnjRgFg
- ↑ a b Canadian Recording Artist Melanie Dekker Raises Funds for Disabled Athletes and Gives Performances for Transportation Minister and Soldiers in Afghanistan. In: free-press-release.com , April 4, 2014 (English).
- ↑ http://www.afghanistan.gc.ca/canada-afghanistan/stories-reportages/2009_12_29.aspx?lang=eng&view=d ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.i-newswire.com/canadian-recording-artist-melanie/27430
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdZQ5rQEk2s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVLleGAPUTg
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IADSsAb2KSo
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vna5_S7Opo
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIUzcervLvM
- ^ Daniel Daus: Melanie Dekker / Here & Now In: rocktimes.de , April 13, 2010.
- ↑ http://www.musikansich.de/review.php?id=9604
- ↑ http://mazacom.blogs.com/melaniedekkerhereandnow2
- ^ Daniel Daus: Melanie Dekker / Here & Now (CD) In: rocktimes.de , March 21, 2011.
- ↑ http://mazacom.blogs.com/dekker_here_and_now_3
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated December 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Blog ( Memento of the original from November 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: melaniedekker.com (English).
- ↑ https://soundcloud.com/melanie-dekker/worry-gets-you-nowhere_premix
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0PNYE9UPtc
- ↑ http://mazacom.blogs.com/dekker-vancouver-sunshine/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvX8L2vhBjc
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHLMagG7Mwc
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.i-newswire.com/canadian-recording-artist-melanie/27430
- ↑ http://student.vfs.com/~fridge/melani/index.html ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dekker
- ↑ http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dekkerm
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.melaniedekker.com/album/melanie-dekker-secret-spot
- ↑ http://idolforums.com/index.php?showtopic=451643&mode=threaded
- ↑ http://backstagepro.regioactive.de/melaniedekker
- ↑ http://www.hna.de/nachrichten/kultur/vertraeumt-herzig-melanie-dekker-theaterstuebchen-2796803.html
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dekker, Melanie |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Calgary |