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Autobiographical
musings...
 I've
loved music for as long as I can remember. Probably my first musical
influences were my mom and grandma - they both played recorder in
an early music group called Musica Dolce. My earliest influences
from popular culture were the Partridge Family and the Jackson
Five. (OK, I know I'm dating myself here...) My first instrument,
which I started learning in 5th grade, was the flute.
Those pop icons of the
early 70's were soon supplanted by fabulous folkies such as Joni
Mitchell and Bob Dylan. As I moved on into teenagerhood,
I became a rock & roller, listening to everything from Led
Zeppelin to Heart. At 17, I learned to play the acoustic
guitar, but it took me a few more years to take it seriously. At this
point, I was learning cover songs by my favorite performers, I hadn't
started writing songs yet (though I ws definitely writing some cheesy
poetry...)
At some point in all this
I discovered Rush, who became a major musical influence. Their
socially conscious lyrics, complex musical arrangements, and especially
Geddy Lee's phenomenal bass playing all inspired me - I decided to
become a bass player. This was in my early 20's. I bought myself a
beautiful Fireglo red Rickenbacker 4001 bass. I was very drawn to
the low pitch and serious groove of bass playing.
 Over
the next few years, I played bass in a few different bands: MudHoney
(not the Seattle thrash band - this was our basement band that only
had that one fabulous Hallowe'en gig!), followed by The Skivvies,
a country rock sort of outfit that played quite a few Minneapolis
clubs, and finally Easter
Island, a folk rock band with lots of U2 inspired guitar riffs
- this band took me to cable TV and my first recording studio experience,
recording our demo tape, Sixty
Bucks.
It was also during this
period that I became a songwriter. My first attempts at songwriting
mostly amuse me now, though there's one song I still play occasionally
from this period. I hadn't yet learned how to write from my own experience,
and I wrote some pretty melodramatic lyrics! Like these from "Pretty
On the Outside" (1988): "You are just like a rotten fruit
inside a perfect shell. And when that fruit is opened up, the flesh
just tastes like hell!" Still, it was all good practice. My motto
is that you have to write several "junk songs" for each
keeper - it's all part of the creative process.
During my Saturn Return
(for you astrological types), I discovered world music, feminism,
queer culture, folk music, and moved to California. Whew, lots of
changes! My musical tastes evolved a lot during this time - one of
my significant discoveries was the Indigo Girls, who became
a big musical influence. I still remember the first time I heard "Closer
to Fine" - wow! I was blown away. Other favorites of this time
ranged from Claudia Schmidt to Black Uhuru, and I think
it was during this time I discovered Ani DiFranco as well,
who had just released her first couple albums. I did a year long stint
as a radio programmer at KFAI Radio in Minneapolis before taking
off for the West Coast.
One of my performing excursions
after moving to the Bay Area was with the stilt troupe Women
Walking Tall, working under the artistic direction of Terry
Sendgraff. I learned to walk, dance, and ham it up on stilts that
made me 8 feet tall! One of the highlights of this period was a Mother's
Day performance with 80 women on stilts at Lake Merritt.
In the early 90's I started
playing acoustic guitar in earnest - I hadn't played much bass for
a few years at this point. I took lessons and began writing songs
again, from a much more personal and intimate perspective this time.
Mostly I just played for my friends until I teamed up with Root
in 1997 to form a folk duo. We began performing in local coffeehouses,
a combination of our original songs and covers of Indigo Girls and
others. For three years we played together and had a great time and
learned a lot!
During this time we also
teamed up with Green
and Helen
Chaya to form FolkDiva
Records. Originally to help Green release her debut CD, Multiheaded
Heart. The following year Helen released her debut CD, Over
the Underpass. We knew there was more to come...
 In
2000, Root & I veered off in different musical directions, she
to pursue her dreams of recording engineering, and touring with Green,
while I decided to dive into the world of solo performing. It's been
an interesting journey! With the encouragement of friends & fans,
in 2001 I began recording what I thought of as a solo CD - although
I was gifted with the talents of many wonderful musicians in the process!
From pre-production to getting the final product back from the manufacturer,
the whole process took about a year. I was blessed with the production
talents and friendship of Lisa
Zeiler, and the engineering talents of Lisa Richmond and Josh
Roberts. The end result of all this work was My
Interesting Condition, released in April 2002.
In 2002 and 2003, I played
with a fabulous trio called Clabber
Gyrl - making musical chemistry with fellow musicians Heidi
Harrison (fiddle) and Spring Berlandt (vocals, guitar). We went our
separate ways in late 2003, but we had a lot of fun together!
 In
2004, I went back into the studio to record my new CD Spark.
I worked with Lisa Z, Lisa R, and Josh again. Some of the same musicians
lent their talents to the new CD, plus some fabulous new folks as
well! Spark represented for me a new maturity in my songwriting
and reflects the life journey I have been on. The CD was released
in April 2005! You can buy
it here.
Since releasing
Spark in 2005, my musical interests have expanded into even more directions.
In 2006 I took up playing the 'ukulele and learning Hawai'ian music.
This led to my current participation in two different Hawai'ian music
ensembles, 'Ahamele
and Pua Mele.
 
In the last
couple of years, I've also been singing and playing with the fabulous
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch and Kismat-Mahal "kosmik-ethnik-ekstatik-trance-tribal
fusion muzik" ensemble. I've been having great fun being Evelie's
backup singer and trying to play whatever instrument she tosses my
way!
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