Hi! My name is Melody and I am a singer/songwriter and journalist. I am originally from New York but now reside in the Midwest. I am a big, warm, passionate and playful kid at heart so anything that involves being a ham and runs me the risk of making a complete fool of myself tends to appeal to me: Singing, Dancing, Acting, Writing, Entertaining children (and annoying grown people) with puppets, Making home movies (now, getcher mind out of the gutter lol), Collecting miniatures (such as doll houses, but I'll deny it!), gardening and burning an assortment of baked goods in my attempt to better myself in the kitchen (does everyone have the fire department on speed dial or is it just me?), painting, and just being outside enjoying the sun on a lazy summer afternoon, taking smart ass people up on suggestions to go fly a kite. (Hey, as I tell them, I happen to love kites. I'm a bit of a corn ball, caught somewhere between beauty and geek. I don't mind being different and appreciate that quality in other people. (How boring would the world be if we were all identical?) Despite my goofy, fun-loving nature, I also know when to take things seriously and consider myself a very responsible person. I am a mother after all and my son is priority number one. With all of the sadness and stress in the world I seek to be a source of happiness and comfort to those around me. I love people. I love animals. We have a lovable little dog, a red eared slider (aquatic) turtle, a 15 Gallon fish tank, two canaries (a cats dream buffet) and a verifiable jungle of plants and flowers inside and out. I surround myself with life. I love Medieval faires, period movies, cuddling on stormy nights, cast iron cookware, antiques, all kinds of books, oo la la goth guys--better yet, Christian goth guys, chocolate, more chocolate, chocolate covered chocolate, cheese (please pray for my arteries), brussels sprouts (oddly enough) and strong people with good and tender hearts.
My dislikes are fewer, and include seafood, flying, deception and being rushed. Patience is a virtue.
Indeed I cannot avoid my own struggles. Anxiety at times keeps me homebound. I am determined to conquer it, as I have so much to give and so much to take from life. I am determined to a fault when it comes to my career. God has a plan for each of us and I will put my faith in Him. He has never failed me.
Life is a precious gift, a momentary miracle. Therefore I intend to live fully, laugh often and love with every bit of my heart!
I AM SXE (Straight Edge), which means I do not smoke, drink, use drugs or engage in casual sex. (Outside of a committed relationship.) I have no problem with others who do; It's just not my bag.
I am also the parent of a wonderful teenage son, who is, despite his mothers hair color (haha) remarkably gifted, testing in the top 1% in the nation for IQ. I haven't beaten him at any game (video, board or otherwise) since he was 5. He's the greatest love and joy of my life. I had a second child I lost to miscarriage in 2006, my little angel in God's care.
My astrological sign is Capricorn and my personality type is ENFP Idealist Champion, according to Keirsey's temperament sorter. Have I included enough information? :-)
Jewel is in my humble opinion one of the most talented women on earth. She absolutely astounds me. I recently discovered Theo Eastwind's music and I'm hooked. The New York Subway system just became much more inviting.
I listen to it all, preferring 80's pop and dance.
On my MP3 Player I have selections from the following artists--and also many other freestyle artists, too many to mention here: The Newsboys, Josh Groban, Ian Iyce, Lasgo, Yaz/Erasure, Madonna, U2, Depeche Mode, Times Two, Nine Inch Nails, Sheena Easton, Olivia Newton John, Naked Eyes, Davy Jones/The Monkees, Shakira, Ian Crawford, Dave Lichens, Twisted Sister, Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Bon Jovi, Bowling For Soup, Bob Ricci, Cyndi Lauper, Patti LaBelle, Boy George, Savage Garden, Digital Underground, Carley Simon, The Bloodhound Gang, Bette Midler, Barry Mannilow, Blondie/Debbie Harry, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Dead Or Alive, El DeBarge, Eddy Money, The Newsboys, Black Eyed Peas, Glen Cambell, Dolly Parton, Willie Belson, Reba MacEntire, Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Cook [My father], Michael Damian, Deana Carter, Faith Hill, Wynona Judd, Gwen Stefani/No Doubt, The Ramones, Jenna Drey, Lift Off/Gio Galang, Elvis, Elvis Presley Jr, Jelly Bean, Lionel Richie, TKA, Nelly Furtado, Don Anson/Renix Crew, Rich Mullins, Ready For The World, C&C Music Factory, Joey Kid, Collide, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson and too many others to list. All the late 80's and early 90's freestyle groups and artists.
Movies
Comedies and Sci Fi, mostly. Yup, I'm a super cool Sci Fi freak. I dream of guest spots on Stargate Atlantis.... I hate scary movies. I always end up dropping my popcorn or leaping terrified into the arms of my date with a scream. Which, no doubt, is why scary movies are so popular with guys. You sneaky guys.
Television
Sit-coms, Sci-Fi Mostly. Alias, 24, House, CSI, Without A Trace, Supernatural, Smallville, AI, So, You Think You Can Dance?, The Next Best Thing, Little House On The Prarie, I Love Lucy, Star Trek, SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Farscape (although at some point, the series went wacky), Antiques Roadshow and other PBS educational programs.
Books
BUY MY MUSIC HERE:
The SHY NO MORE Remix Album:
http://www.cafepress.com/shynomore.198130494
The JAZZY LITTLE CHRISTMAS Album:
http://www.cafepress.com/jazzylittle.194294066
A regular creative Jane of all trades, Melody has worked professionally as a recording artist, creative and PR writer, songwriter, model, dancer, puppeteer, occasional comedian and in her spare time creates art and imprint designs for a cafepress store. She has also been a guest radio DJ in New York and is pursuing acting.
Her ambition should not surprise, for she is by blood the daughter of country-bluegrass legend and founding member of The Grand Ole Opry “Jimmy Cook” [He is best remembered for his work with Country’s most unforgettable: Roy Acuff—with whom he recorded "Wabash Cannonball", Ferlan Husky—with whom he recorded "On The Wings Of A Dove", and Hank Williams Sr.—with whom he recorded "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain", in addition to his boyhood friendship with Elvis Presley and founding both a record company and radio station WJDC in the 1950's.]. The 19th of his 21 known children (including two sets of twins and a set of triplets) she is also the maternal grand-daughter of early Rainbow Room Chanteuse and NYC Radio star Elsie Bramer (who was later of "Jerry And The Delmars") and the great-granddaughter of Vienna, Austria opera star Hofbraur, who became one of Barbershop's first pioneers when he emigrated to New York. Named Melody by her birth father, her legal name was changed to Melanie at age 2 when she was adopted by another wonderful family, who raised her in the same musical family tradition. Raised happily on Long Island, she chose to use her birth name as her stage name, as it seemed to better suit a singer.
As vocalist and pianist, she writes both pop/country and dance music, but she is well studied in all the arts. She studied piano, music theory and even songwriting privately with the renowned Dino P. Ascari (founder of The Malverne School Of Music and Author of "Effective Piano Teaching") for more than a decade. She studied jazz and tap for several years with popular Long Island dance instructor "Miss. Margerite" and appeared in a number of recitals. She started out singing as many young entertainers do--singing in music and public school shows and later in church, first as a member of the parish folk group and then as Cantor (leader of song). She also performed in church musicals with "Creative Ministries".
Wildly ambitious by nature, Melody was thinking big while still tiny--winning a national honor society essay award at 12 and by 14 had written, scored, co-directed and appeared in a school sponsored, full length film titled "Anything For A Dream."
Best known for her work in "Freestyle" and "Dance-Pop" music, Melody first made a name for herself as a teen in New York in the early 90's. The first two of her songs to air in regular rotation on New York mainstream radio were "A Little Bit Wild" and "Too Good" in 1989, followed a year later by "Face In The Crowd", "Lady Killer" and "Primitive Love"—which made it onto compilation albums of the time. Her very first live nightclub venue performance was in the then popular Long Island club "Parasels"--a performance attended by Hot97 FM's Kim Howard, who reported live on-air from the show, announcing Melody as a "Hot New Star". Vocally, she is most often compared to Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Susanna Hoffs. She is proficient at writing and performing in various genres, including Pop, Techno/New Wave/Gothic, Jazz, Blues and Country.
To honor one of her earliest musical inspirations, Melody composed and recorded a song titled "The Mysterious Mr.Jones" for and about Monkees frontman Davy Jones, which she hand delivered to his manager backstage at one of his Jones Beach, NY appearances. (Much to her surprise and delight, the song was later used during the filming of the 'fans' segment of a television documentary profiling the 60's singer's life and career.) In addition to opening for members of Public Enemy in 1990, she appeared as a guest on two national television talk shows (in 1993 and 1996) and New York radio as a guest and guest deejay, once co-hosting WSHR’s all night Christmas marathon.
Although she may not be identified with “intentional” comedy, her natural sense of humor seldom goes unnoticed. One of her greatest honors was to be invited to perform musical comedy at the legendary Long Island comedy club “The White House Inn.” She jokes about her little known affair with the art, explaining “My parents knew I was warped early on but what confirmed it for them was when, at 16, I competed in the Long Island Teen Talent Competition in comedy, providing my observations of life as a teenager. While one of the four judges was crying with laughter and applauding madly, of the other three I can only say this: I’d never seen such confused expressions outside of high school algebra class. Oh, I bombed badly but loved every minute of it.” She has considered the prospect of developing a sit com with friends in the business.
She made further strides in establishing herself as an artist while living and working in the Hamptons with the late folk rock singer-songwriter Carlos McCausland (1960-2004), with whom she had a son, now 13. For a time the couple owned and operated "Time Out Entertainment" together, providing Karaoke and track acts. In the early to mid 1990's she performed regularly on Long Island's east end with and without Carlos at various venues and resturaunts including "Mimosa", "Montauk Downs" Golf Course, "The Pointe De Vista", "The Montauk Theatre Group", "The Blue Marlin" and with John Rinell at world famous resturaunt and resort "Gurney's Inn". She was also interviewed on East Hampton Radio and recieved a mention in the East Hampton Star.
As a journalist she has won minor awards, her work included in anthologies, and in several major publications—most recently the Boston Globe. In addition to doing PR for other entertainers (including being editor in chie and contributer to IANLAND - Ian Crawford's fanzine which was distributed on both coasts) and freelance for smaller record labels including LawTown Music and Funusual World, she is presently both penning her memoirs and working on an authorized celebrity biography.
As a song-writer, actor/model and back up dancer she has worked primarily with Rudolph Valentino's grand-nephew Ian Crawford (recording artist, model and actor who appeared in Patrick Snee's "The Sleep Cure" & "Widows", with Mira Sorvino.) She performed with him at several events in the NY tri-state area, including those for Big Brothers & Sisters Of America (at Dowling College) and The Make A Wish Foundation. As a model known for her nearly knee length blonde hair and equally long legs, she appeared as a bar girl in Ian's music video for the song "Do You Like What You See?", for Sony Records. She hosted and performed at Long Island's Earth Day Celebration in 1992. She was years ago selected as an MTV Dancer but ultimately declined the gig when on the first day of taping she learned that a friend had been murdered and was too grief stricken to go on. As an aspiring actress, she auditioned for roles in a few major motion pictures. Her first successful reading came in 1993 when—while signed to the Dixon Agency as a leg model—she landed the lead in a TV movie, opposite Rosie O'Donnell. With the working title of "The Lot", it was the pilot for a series in the same vein as Beverly Hills 90210, but was to be based in Miami. Although the project closed early in production due to a lack of sufficient funding, she showed the industry that she had among her other talents, serious acting chops. Melody hopes to have another opportunity to act professionally.
Her personal and professional pursuits have been the subject of several articles in Suffolk Life, The New York Daily News, The Weekender and New York Newsday in addition to Boston's Rumbo News and Nohmasohma. She is also remembered admirably in a publication chronicling the career of Public Enemy for having 'grace under pressure'. Originally hired as an opening act for band member Andreus 13 during his 1990 “Look Out!” Tour, she unexpectedly was called on to carry the second New York night of the tour alone following a tour bus accident which hospitalized several of the other stars. While being considered for a contract by EMI Records in 1991 she was both booked at Budweiserfest in NYC and booked at the Meadowlands to appear with Salt N Pepas as a Special guest on their televised special, but these plans fell through due to a change in management. This was a discouraging setback, but Melody is nothing if not determined.
Although working as an independent artist for much of her career she did not quite make Billboard, she did enjoy time on the online charts. In 2000, her song "Temptation" reached number one 'highest rated' and 'most downloaded' for all genres on the Lycos Music Independent Music Charts, and with "Is This Love?" and "Another Lover" remained in the Pop Chart top ten for two years, until the charts were discontinued. In the early 2000's these songs could be heard on London Radio.
Melody has collaborated with a number of other artists over the years. She most recently teamed up with dance music sensation Bylli Crayone, co-writing his number one charting club hit "Dizzi Boi", which was remixed by the renowned Orangefuzzz. Her brand new solo projects include her "Jazzy Little Christmas album" and the hot new original dance single titled "SHY NO MORE", produced by Brian Taylor with remixes by Greek Production Legends ClubGoers and others. Already causing a stir among industry people (including someone at Billboard Magazine!) the remix CD was internationally released digitally by Boston-based FUNUSUAL RECORDS in June of 2008, to great reviews (the still youthful singer is being compared to Britney Spears, Cristina Aguilera and Madonna). The song, which debuted in the Top 40 in Japan, will also included on the LAWTOWN MUSIC Compilation album. February 3, 2009 will mark it's in store CD maxi release, and will be available through all fine music retailers in the USA, UK and Japan.
She will be releasing a full album of her newest material, recorded in her own home 24 track studio, late in 2009. She collaborated with her boyfriend, Tulsa's own punk-goth icon Robert "Sojourner Fathom" Kight on the sultry love song "Fathom Deep", which was inspired by their courtship. She wrote both "Another Shade Of Blue" and the beautifully haunting "Angel", during their short-lived separation. The tentative track listing for her new pop album will be as follows:
"Fathom Deep"
"Angel"
"Another Shade Of Blue."
"Broken"
"Say Good Night"
"Never Say Never"
"Obsession"
"Playing With Fire"
"Cinderella Song"
"Shy No More"
"Is this Love? (The 2008 Busy mix)"
"Be My Baby"
"Shake Your Tree"
"Magic"
"Method To My Madness"
"Lovesick"
"Pretty Little Nightmare"
"Invincible"
7 can be previewed in the "7 song live acoustic set" posted online on the second music page below.
Melody has won several awards for her music and writing, including:
• Long Islands 1990 Teen Talent Competition (for "Forever" an original ballad she performed) sponsored by Newsday and WLIH Radio. Debbie Gibson was a previous teen winner.
• New York’s 1993 Star Quest Competition as a finalist, landing a modeling and music contract with the Dixon agency.
• Voted 1994 Jutebox Café’s Talent Competition’s final vocal winner by Sony Music and WBAB FM Radio.
• She has earned the distinction of being named one of entertainments “Top 100 Acts” -her name added to the plaque of honor hanging on the wall of Long Island's famous comedy club "The White House Inn", alongside acting-comedy greats Jerry Seinfeld, Rosie O'Donnell, Billy Crystal, Kevin James and Eddie Murphy.
• Is hailed for her "uncommon versatility” by actor-director-producer Richard Dixon in his forthcoming Hollywood how-to book "The Talent Factor".
Melody hopes through hard work and dedication to prove herself worthy of the legacy she's inherited and worthy of success in her own right. To learn more about Melody, please visit her official web sites:
New Pop CD: www.myspace.com/mizmelodymusic
http://www.myspace.com/melodynewmusic
www.Official-Melody.com
Cover Songs: www.myspace.com/melodyscoversongs
www.myspace.com/mizmelody
Dance Music: www.myspace.com/officialmelody
Pop Music Demos: www.myspace.com/melodypopcountryproject
Older Pop Music: www.myspace.com/11513184
LITTLE KNOWN FACTS: By Blood, Melody is of German, Gypsy, French and Native American descent. She was honored with the Indian name of "Standing Spirit", bestowed by her Sioux friend, Jim Standing Bull Poorthunder, Sitting Bull's great-great-great grandson.
Melody is also (through adoption) the great grand niece of early Baseball player Smiling Mickey Welch, who was the sports very first pinch hitter. In the mid 80's, as his only surviving dependents, her family was invited to attend the centennial celebration of his induction into the Hall Of Fame, to receive the new plaque dedication in his name. In the time since she has been consulted by two authors writing 2 books on the History Of Baseball.
She has actress Sarah Jessica Parker to thank for her desire to become a performer, after seeing her as Annie on Broadway in 1978. "She was brilliant. I was amazed to see a child like myself doing something so amazing and determined to do the same. I have never met her but if I ever do, I will thank her for inspiring and introducing me to a world I never dreamed possible."
Brenda K. Starr was also an early influence, mentoring and encouraging the young singer while still in her teens. "She was so kind to take me under her wing and I could never tell her in words what her belief in me has meant. I hope I will eventually make her proud."
Who I'd like to meet: Nice people like you. The brilliantly warped creator(s) of those Pixar Dinosaur and pig fart animations. At the risk of sounding 7, they tickle me something fierce!
Hey! Thanks a lot for adding me.. I've got a couple new songs up on my page called "Picture Un-Perfect" and "Austin". Let me know what you think of them if you get the time!! Keep in touch & stop by anyyyytime =) Christen <3
GRACE ADAMS HERE I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF VAUGHAN'S MUSIC. IT'S A PLEASURE HAVING YOU ON THE JOURNEY WITH US. THESE DAYS VAUGHAN STAYS QUITE BUSY BUT PLEASE KNOW ALL COMMENTS AND MESSAGES SENT TO HIM... HE IS ALWAYS SURE TO REVIEW. STOP IN WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
hey hey hey! how r ya? did i tell u this already? sorry if i did, i'm such a blond sometimes hehe! anyway i have a poll in the about me section of my profile. i would luv luv luv to know what ur fav song is. the winning song will be the one we send to radio! WooHoo! soooo i would luv ur opinion! well thanks so much for ur support & i hope u have a fantastical week! <3 KP
Thanks for the add! I really appreciate all of your support! If you haven’t done it yet, check out my ALL NEW website @ www.GeorgeDucas.com or find me on Facebook. And if you signup for my mailing list I’ll be able to send you a free “lipstick Promises” ring tone to gear up for my new CD!! Have a great week- talk soon. George
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