Custom and I became fast friends back in 2004. At that time, he was only 18-months removed from charting with "Hey Mister". In the five years since, he's sent me dozens and dozens of unreleased tracks he puts together on his Mac in his Manhattan loft.
Custom, a multi-talented Canadian musician who's just about the nicest guy you'll ever want to meet, sends me these MP3s under two conditions: I must provide honest feedback and I can't share them with anybody.
I've always provided honest feedback, usually overwhelmingly positive because I sincerely love his musical style, but I'm about to break his second condition. I'm going to post a raw, unreleased Custom track here in the hopes that you all will listen and provide honest feedback in the comments. I absolutely love this song, but because I've never shared it, I have no idea if I'm the only one or if this is really as good as I think it is.
This is Custom and Madison singing "Both Hands", an Ani DiFranco song. Listen to Custom's words as he tells an unbelievably true story I unearthed during an interview I conducted with Madison.
Custom put up a beat. Madison sang "Both Hands" by Ani DiFranco. Custom threw up some guitar. This was the moment. One seemingly typical event on an otherwise normal night. Days later, after Custom added a rap that recounted that moment in time and finished the track, Madison heard herself and was reborn. She said goodbye to the deposit she put down on her med school tuition. She said hello to poverty, the life of a starving artist, making ends meet by working many a difficult job. She said goodbye to the life she thought was hers and said hello to her true calling. After a year of writing and playing with a band she formed she signed a publishing deal with Windswept Pacific. Madison is a singer.
Here it is. You can listen, under two conditions: you must provide honest feedback in the comments and you must share this link with everybody.
