Shiraz Khan

SEEKING

Band to Join, Vocalist, Vocalist - Bass, Vocalist - Baritone, Vocalist - Tenor, Vocalist - Soprano, Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Other Percussion, Violin, Trumpet, Saxophone, Keyboard, Piano, Background Singer, Harmonica, Flute, Other, Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Dobro, Vocalist - Alto, Trombone, Bagpipes, Steel guitar, Upright bass, Cello, Accordion, Ukulele, DJ, Electronic Music, Clarinet, Harp.

ABOUT

I really don’t know how to describe myself as a musician right now. I’m just going through a phase of experimenting. I am more focused on the voice and the vocals. I do not play any instruments currently, but do own an acoustic guitar and a pair of bongos.

I really don’t know how to describe my voice and vocals either. All I know is that… I don’t want to sound like anybody else. I somehow want to be able to develop my own style. I don’t want to be just another good singer or be just another good male voice. I want to be different. I want have a unique style. I’ve been told that I can’t sing. I’ve been told that I should try and sing in a “normal” voice. I’ve been told that I fake my voice. But I refuse to accept or give into any of those claims. I’m not perfect. I definitely am not. But I don’t want to be.

Music for me is very important. It’s a very big part of my life. Eighty percent of my life revolves around music. I’m singing all the time. All I can talk about is music. I do a lot of exploring and researching when it comes to music, especially voices and vocals. Language does not become a barrier for me. I listen to songs in English, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, French and several other languages. Arabic is a big one for me. I’m a huge fan of several artists though I do not understand Arabic at all. There is something about Arabic vocals that really captures me.

Coming back to the point, I’ve been researching and exploring music for years know, I’ve delved deep into stardom and the celebrity culture… And one thing that I have come to conclude is that… it’s not about how good of singer or how good of a voice you have. It’s about how DIFFERENT you are. How DIFFERENT of a singer you are and how DIFFERENT of a voice you have. There are innumerable “good” singers out there, with beautiful voice, who are able to record some great covers of popular songs… but being good does not cut when it comes gaining attention and standing out. You need to be UNIQUE. And that is what I strive for: to be unique. I’d rather not do music than sound like everyone else. My dream is not just become famous for being a good singer or having a good voice… but to become known for having a unique voice and vocals: for something that no one else can do. Maybe I don’t have it in me. Maybe I’m not there yet. Maybe I never will be. But I want to try.

I like to think my voice is pretty malleable. I can sing pretty high and low. I also like being expressive with my voice. Emotions should be conducted clearly, and I think I try.

Sometimes like singing covers, but that is definitely not what I enjoy the most. I want to focus on original work. I like writing and I think I’m pretty good too.

One of the biggest things I’m lacking in my life right now is a good team. I don’t know any musicians at all. My sisters are all pretty good singers, and I’ve been begging them for years to sing with me, record something with me, but they’re not interested at all. So now I’m looking to meet new people who share similar interested, and just for business reasons, but also to make friends. I think it would be really nice to have friends who share similar passion towards music as I do. I would like to form a group that I can jam with and work on covers, as well as original songs. I believe that in order to get famous… you just need that ONE song. Who knows… maybe it’ll be with one of you.

I’m open to working on songs in any language. I’m really big on Bollywood/Pakistani music, and sing in Hindi/Urdu as well. I’d love to work on Arabic songs as well, and then English of course.

So if you live anywhere near me, feel free to contact me and we can arrange for a time to meet up! If nothing, I’d love to have a couple friends who I can just talk to about music and musicians!

Screen name:: Shiraz Khan
Member since:: May 05 2011; Active over 1 month ago
Level of commitment:: Very Committed
Years playing music:: 1
Tend to practice:: More than 3 times per week
Available to gig:: 4-5 nights a week
Most available:: Days

Influences

Like I said earlier, my focus has always been on vocals and voices, so of course some of my biggest influences are vocal heavyweights like, Aretha Franklin, Cher, Tom Jones, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Adele, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Hudson, Shakira, Kelly Rowland, Rihanna (Mostly for voice, expressions and various accents), Katy Perry (What I’d describe as, imperfectly perfect), Usher, Adam Levine, Nicki Minaj (For expressions) and Alicia Keys.

Some of the newer talent that has influenced me would include, Adam Lambert, Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks, Selena Gomez (Can’t sing, but for the voice!), Leona Lewis, Jess Glynne, Meghan Trainor and Ariana Grande!

I’ve also had some major Arabic influences, such as Najwa Karam, Assala, Myriam Fares, Nancy Ajram, Rima, Cheb Rayan, Amr Diab, Tamer Hosny and Cheb Khaled!

My Indian influences include, Asha Bhosle, RD Burman, Kishore Kumar, Kunal Ganjawala, Subha Mudgul, Shalmali Kholgade, Benny Dayal, Anushka Manchanda, Shilpa Rao, Shefali Alvares, Amit Trivedi, Toshi Sabri, Raghav Sachar, Sohphie Chaudry and Suzanne D’Mello!

My Pakistani influences include, Iqbal Bano, Nazia and Zoheb Hassan, Ali Azmat, Hadiqa Kiyani, Komal Rizvi, Adnan Sami, Annie Khalid, Meesha Shafi, Fawad Khan, Junaid Khan (Call The Band), Farhan Saeed, SYMT, Bilal Khan, Zeb and Haniya, Mustafa Zahid (RoXen), Nadia Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Sanam Marvi, Zoe Viccaji, Fahad Hamayun (Overload), Atif Aslam and QB (A huge, huge inspiration)!

But above all these influences, there has been one that introduced me to everything I know and appreciate! The one that actually lead me to try out the musicians listed above! She is the reason I want to become a singer! And that is none other than the Queen of Bollywood playback, Sunidhi Chauhan.