In this age of instant gratification and short attention spans, online videos have become a staple of entertainment and discovery, with millions of options at your fingertips. Video gives musicians many different kinds of chances to stand out, either through covers, unorthodox instrumentation, or displaying their senses of humor or out-sized personae.
Brett Domino has used all of these approaches, and it has helped him become a YouTube phenomenon. A look at some of our favorite Domino videos shows how much musicians can learn from him.
The first Domino that appeared on our radar was this video medley of Justin Timberlake songs. Aided by musical partner Steven Peavis, Domino makes his way through a trio of pop hits accompanied by a wide range of unusual instruments, including a theremin, iPod Touch (using the DigiDrummer Lite app), kazoo, stylophone, and ukulele. The greatest covers imbue their original songs with a new kind of energy, and in this case, the duo's sheer nonchalance and straight-faced delivery greatly adds to the appeal of the performance.
But if playing on random little instruments isn't your thing, feel free to use your videos to sing the praises of your favorite instruments (the Korg Monotron and Kaossilator, for example). Doing this doubles the amount of high-searched tags you can add to your video, exposes you to new audiences, and, if you're creative (and lucky!) enough, possibly to new sponsors too.
In addition to (or maybe because of) the above videos, Domino also contributes video reviews to Music Radar, and his latest has him reviewing the VoiceLive Touch from TC-Helicon. Using his signature geeky charm, Domino highlights the different effects of the instrument, and goes on to perform Wham's “Last Christmas" using a series of modulated voice sample loops.
Domino has talent, to be sure, but what separates him is how well-defined his personality is on video. Brett Domino may come off as a super awkward music nerd, armed with stylophones, slicked hair and glasses, but this is an exaggeration of his true self. He saw certain traits in his personality and amplified them, creating a persona that is and isn't him, and it works.
What would you look like?
