TeraBrite: Music videos, daily YouTube vlog, Conan O’Brien

by | Dec 24, 2012

The YouTube video above is something I stumbled upon while researching the Canon PowerShot S100. It’s a great little camera — but who are the kids in the video testing it? Their YouTube channel is called VleraBrite, and it is said to contain “TeraBrite daily vlogs!”

As it turns out, TeraBrite is the band name of this duo — D.J. Monopoli and Sabrina Abu-Obeid, from Melbourne, Florida. According to their bio, they recorded a song together in May 2009, combining Sabrina’s female vocals with D.J.’s “heavy” music to create a unique sound.

TeraBrite (a play on “terabyte” suggesting trillion-magnitude brightness) launched into the YouTube realm by recording an intro for the SHAYTARDS Daily video diary, a very popular YouTube vlog (video blog) featuring the daily chaos of an unassuming family with small children. Soon, D.J. and Sabrina were documenting their own daily activities in vlog form. VleraBrite (TeraBrite Vlogs) premiered on January 1, 2011.

Shortly thereafter, D.J. and Sabrina entered this clip, which won “Conan’s VD Explosion,” Conan O’Brien’s 2011 Valentine’s Day video contest. They got to enjoy a romantic taco dinner on the Conan show.

Two years later, they’re still at it. They stream live on Stickam. They post a vlog every day, typically shot in or around what I think is D.J.’s parents’ house. Their lives seem to consist mostly of endless creation. They’re forever shooting, editing, composing, recording, and remixing. In addition to their own music, they do projects for commercial sponsors. They work into the wee hours or all night long, sleeping at odd times and breaking now and then to eat, run to Publix or Walmart, or RipStik around in the fog.

Sabrina is absolutely adorable, with buoyant expressions and clear poise. D.J. is a scruffy visionary, seemingly kept on the edge of exhaustion by the endless rhythms, guitar licks, and social media strategies in his head that he can only partly articulate.

Together, they make for some oddly compelling viewing. Not every vlog they post is a masterpiece, but their quirky observations and natural unpretentiousness outbalance the occasionally random episodes.

Also, they make some pretty enjoyable music. This song — “In Honor of Her Heart” — features the Les Paul Future Tribute guitar with Min-ETune automatic tuning that Gibson Guitar Corp. sent D.J. to play with. It’s a catchy tune and an impressive piece of work — especially when you consider that the track was composed, performed, recorded, mixed, filmed, and edited all at home.

Will all this hard work lead to stardom, or at least a successful career? You have to hope so. D.J. and Sabrina certainly have talent and dedication. I suppose we’ll all see where it leads by following along every day on YouTube.

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