Iari Melchor
If each new day is a blank page waiting for a new story to be written, then it explains why diversified artist, Iari, is hard at work creating an opus about the world he sees spinning around him, and his part to play to inspire positive change in his community. Singer, songwriter, actor, and teacher, Iari sees art as a powerful medium to convey thoughts and emotions and ideas past barriers that distinguish race, culture, and gender.
What Iari Melchor comes to realize is that art – real art – conveys a central theme or message, be it through music, film, literature, painting – whatever! There comes a point where that theme or message transcends the art form itself. And it is this realization that, coupled with a strong desire to share his thoughts and ideas with the world, drives him to reach out to others through different mediums and genres. He just wants to communicate with as many different people as possible. And, different forms of art speak more eloquently to some folks than others. This ability to communicate is powerfully demonstrated on Iari’s new CD/DVD release, Winter. Iari has grown up listening to and always marveling at the way Stevie Wonder or Elton John could just sit down at a piano, either by themselves or leading a full band, and completely enrapture an audience with their music. They could be surrounded by thousands of people, but their music and their delivery is so personal and intimate because their lyrics speak so directly to us on a personal level.
And, it’s this level of intimacy he really wanted to capture, because what his songs are about: the nobility of our humanity despite all of our imperfections; our need to be real with ourselves and with others in spite of our habit of wearing masks; our need to love and be loved; our need to find our own way in this world…all of these ideas are, he thinks, universal to everyone. Certainly, these are things that resonate with him. In an industry that largely values style over substance, it is to Iari’s credit that he understands that it’s the messages and meanings in the lyrics that connect and resonate so powerfully with the listener; that his vocal delivery is merely the vehicle for the messages; his music only the backdrop to a story that he continues to write scene by scene, day by day.