The ninth annual NPR Tiny Desk contest is back in search of an independent artist who is serious in their pursuit of music.
NPR hopes to give indie artists a platform to start their careers just like three-time grammy winning artist Fantastic Negrito was able to do after winning the very first Tiny Desk Contest in 2015.
Located in Montebello, indie band The Crymes plans to participate in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. The Crymes officially started towards the end of 2019, beginning of 2020, and have since released a self-titled EP and their most recent single “Your Eyes (The Most Sorry Goodbye).”
The band consists of six members; Anthony Sanchez, Diego Moreno, Damion Alvarez, Dan Ortega, Israel Hernandez and Anna Solis. They create their own sound within the shoegaze genre, a subgenre of indie and alternative rock, inspired by their individual tastes.
The group hopes to establish a connection with fans where they can enact emotion in them, and of course, gain a loyal fan base that will one day sing the words to their songs back to them.
NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest could be their start to gaining even more traction.
“We were talking about goals we had for the year for the band, and I was like, ‘Dude, it’d really be cool to get like on an episode’,” said Diego Moreno.
In the meantime, The Crymes will be playing at The Smell on Feb. 19 as well as The Haven on April 7.
Indie band Liminal Spaces, consists of four members including guitarist Christopher Rodriguez, bass guitarist Briana Sanchez, drummer Nolan Kennedy, and guitarist Desi Ongpi. They have been making music together for almost a year in March.
Coming from various lengths of history creating and appreciating music, their sound is still evolving being alternative rock and punk as they primarily play in the punk music scene.
Being a younger band, they only have two released singles, “Wake Up” and “Lonely.” The members of Liminal Spaces are hoping to pursue music together in the future having an EP, “The Backrooms,” lined up to come out in March with four songs on it.
Liminal Spaces plan on filming its own Tiny Desk Contest submission. They hope that even if they don’t win the contest that they will be able to gain an audience, get more opportunities to play more shows, challenge themselves as a band and inspire others.
“It would be a good experience to just fully just be in the music, you know,” said Briana Sanchez.
NPR gives artists of all levels the opportunity to showcase their music. Their Youtube channel features big names like Mac Miller and Erykah Badu to their most recent winner Alisa Amador.
“Tiny Desk has always been a big, I don’t want to say goal because it’s, it’s so far out of reach. But it’s always been something I’ve looked up to,” said Kennedy.
Until then, they’ll be playing shows at Pico Rivera on Feb. 18, Monterey Park on Feb. 19 and Downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 25.
In order to participate in the contest, artists have to film a video performing an original song they’ve written, sitting at or behind a desk and upload that video to Youtube. Then, fill out the entry form which will close at 11:59 p.m. E.T. on March 13.
Another way to check if submissions meet all the qualifications is to take the rules quiz. The quiz will ask questions about the artist, the people featured in the submission video, if any, and the song itself.
Contest winners get to play at the NPR office in Washington D.C. as well as participate in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest On The Road Tour.
“A big inspiration like Thom Yorke is on NPR like that. And I have a chance to, hopefully, do a Tiny Desk concert in Washington, and hopefully, play headline shows like that,” said Rodriguez. “It’s like a dream seriously. It’s something I’d really say I worked hard for and I could definitely tell my parents and they’ll definitely be proud of it.”
“Previous artists that have gone on to win have been able to use this opportunity as a launch pad for their burgeoning music careers and be seen and heard by real players in the business,” said Stephanie Myers, NPR’s marketing and event freelancer. “Best of luck to all who submit.”
Following the close of the submissions period, the board of judges consisting of members of NPR Music and Tiny Desk alumni will judge the submissions from March 14 until April 21. The winner will be officially announced on May 9.
The Tiny Desk Contest is only open to those who are 18 or older, live in the U.S., U.S.V.I., or Puerto Rico, and is an indie or unsigned artist. More details can be found under the Official Rules page on the NPR Tiny Desk Contest website.