SINGER: Teneia Sanders
FUNDAMENTALS: Teneia Sanders (vocals/acoustic guitar/harmonica), Mark Hamilton (lead guitar), Danny Kiely (bass), Matt Scobee (bass), Mauriece Hamilton (saxophone), Lyn Yates (drums), Paul Culligan (drums), Leigh Ann Yost (backing vocals), April Flynn (violin)
HAILING FROM: Phoenix, Ariz.
CURRENTLY VIBING ON: Soulcatcher
WHERE YOU KNOW HER FROM: “Prom Night in Mississippi,” a documentary by Morgan Freeman following the road to Charleston High School’s first integrated prom. “Before the Goldrush,” a Teach for America benefit compilation.
UNDER THE INFLUENCE: Ani DiFranco, Dave Matthews Band and old school 70s Motown.
WHY YOU’LL LIKE HER: There is a difference between players and musicians. A player will simply play a song to complete it, while a musician is capable of putting themselves in the piece, and projecting it to the audience.
Singer and songwriter Teneia Sanders does more than play a tune. What puts the folk and soul singer ahead of the game is her direction and her raw, distinguished sound.
Doug Browning was Sanders’ high school and college choir teacher. He continued to help get her on her feet with her first project.
“I helped her get out her first album and I actually did some playing on it,” Browning said. “She came in [the studio] with a direction and that’s what you need in this business. You need to know exactly what you want when you walk in there or else the producers are going to do what they want.”
But the professionalism wouldn’t get Sanders anywhere without the talent to back it up.
“One of the things I love about Teneia is that she’s musical,” Browning said.
The singer expanded her talents when she took up guitar in high school.
“I had a friend that played in high school,” Sanders said. “I was inspired by him. I picked [a guitar] up, and never put it down.”
The natural aspect of the acoustic guitar mixed with Sanders’ voice is what Browning thinks will attract audiences.
“The way she plays is just so real,” Browning said. “All of the sudden comes out this acoustic just raw presentation raw in the sense that it is not pretentious.”
Browning said he has always taught her to step outside the model for typical songs that are made to fit in a specific time frame for the radio.
“I don’t want cookie-cutter songs in my life,” Browning said. “I want pieces with meanings, pieces that are compelling. I want to feel it. I want to feel the music I’m listening to, and I think Teneia does that.”
Sanders said she has learned to interject herself in every song, drawing ideas from all aspects of her life.
“I pretty much take inspiration from anything a sunny day, a relationship or a broken heart anything,” Sanders said. “It’s not really hard to get inspiration. Some days we just write better than others.”
When writing songs, the tune typically comes first, Sanders said.
“Usually I start out with guitar, then I transfer over and write,” Sanders said. “I think of what the music is trying to tell me.”
Although she mostly does acoustic work, for her albums she incorporates other instruments but still maintains her individual voice, Browning said.
Mauriece Hamilton plays saxophone and is helping Sanders produce her newest album. He feels it is important for her to maintain her original sound.
“I’d like to think that we captured more of that rawness in what she does,” Hamilton said. “What we’re trying to do with this particular record is try to incorporate the band more. Her first one didn’t really incorporate a band. It was just Teneia Sanders and a producer.”
Browning maintains that Sanders’ work is still true to her personality.
“Her studio work still retains that even though she may have other instruments play with her,” Browning said. “It still has that honest presentation to it. She far surpassed my expectations of her. Just watching her work on her craft has been a joy.”
An earlier version of this article stated incorrectly the artist Ani DiFranco’s name as Ani Desranco.
Got a band you want me to check out? Fill me in: ldisanti@asu.edu
