By Clay LePard
clepard@cbs4qc.com
There were plenty of winners at the Grammys Sunday night; but before several of them made it to the big stage, they were jump started in Rock Island in a tiny studio.
From the outside, it doesn't look like much; but in the music business, Daytrotter, is a sacred studio.
"What we do is a really pure thing," says founder Sean Moeller.
Seven years ago, Quad Cities native Moeller started Daytrotter.
"We bring people in while they are on the road," he explains. "They record four songs for us, and we put them on the website for people to check out."
Nowadays, the website attracts more than 30,000 users every day.
"Showcasing things that maybe were overlooked," Moeller adds. "Its nice to have a lot people paying attention to what we're doing because essentially we can provide that platform so that great artists don't have to get overlooked anymore."
That kind of audience helps bring in plenty of up and coming artists like Mumford and Sons, the Lumineers and Fun.
"Its kind of a little bit of a who's who," says Moeller. "Over the years a lot of those people came in when they were very young."
That's the situation Taddy Porter is in; hoping to see their careers blast off like many before them.
"We feel really honored just to be here," says Andy Brewer. Taddy Porter's second album comes out February 26. "Daytrotter is kind of like the passage way through the music business. I think there is the viewers that watch Daytrotter and know the association of Daytrotter, it's like being knighted. We've been looking forward to this for a long time."
The site has grown with studios in Nashville, San Francisco and even London.
"I don't think we really changed too much," Moeller explains. "It's just been a natural sort of growth."
But with all the success, Moeller says Daytrotter's home is here in the Quad Cities.
"I really don't think if we existed primarily in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, or something like that - I just don't think it would work," Moeller explains. "Where we exist is so central to so many big Midwestern cities that that's essentially how we were able to get off the ground and if we were in any bigger city, we would have really gotten lost in the shuffle"
Moving forward, Sean hopes to see Daytrotter continue to search for new bands and more of the "good stuff."
