Reading, PA, native Jenifer Kinder has been singing for as long as she can remember. Her family says she would run around the house singing t.v. commercials and songs that her parents or siblings would listen to. She remembers her first experience of singing in public vividly. She was in first grade and the school she attended would pick one classroom a month to record a song in music class. That song would then be played for the entire school over the loud speaker during the morning announcements. Music teacher, Julia Spangler chose Jenifer to sing a solo when her classroom's turn came around. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time and Jenifer never even mentioned it to her family. Only 6 years old, she remembers being embarassed by the attention that the recording brought in school. Her brother, Chris, who also attended the school, poked fun at her but later he confessed to their mom that, "It actually sounded pretty good." Her music teacher thought so too and began to nurture Jenifer's young talent, encouraging her to sing in the school choir and participate in the yearly talent shows.
Not too long after discovering her voice, Jenifer took a big interest in Broadway musicals. This is where her real love for music began. She would sit in her room for hours singing along with the soundtrack to "Annie" over and over again to the point that the neighbors would complain and ask her parents to "shut her up." Her parents realized this wasn't a passing fad and wanted to be supportive of her passion for singing. They were advised to enroll her in voice lessons to make sure she was using her voice properly. She began studying voice at age 8 with David Rutt, a Reading School District music teacher. Rutt would always refer to her as his "little tiger," noting what a big, strong voice she had for such a little girl. Though he knew of her love for Broadway, Rutt made a point to explain the importance of learning to sing all types of music. Over the next few years she became heavily involved in local musicals with the Reading Civic Opera and Genesius Theater, landing lead roles in "Annie," "The Music Man," and "Peter Pan."
She continued to sing at different venues, whether it be volunteering her voice to charity events, talent shows, school plays, or even holding her own little concerts on her front porch for anyone who was willing to listen. It was at age 14 things started to come together. She was introduced to Waterfall Music Group producer/songwriter Scott Verret and began recording jingles and commercials for some of Berks County's most successful area businesses, as well as doing the theme songs for Easter Seals and The United Way. It wasn't always all business though. Scott would let Jenifer come to the studio to record songs she really liked to sing just for the fun of it. Being a teenager in the late 80's, she had idols like Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, and Whitney Houston. During one session, Jenifer took a cassette of (then newcomer) Mariah Carey's "Love Takes Time" along and made a recording of her voice singing over top of Mariah's. It wasn't until that night that Scott saw the potential in Jenifer. He said he was "blown away" and soon set up a meeting with her parents, offering to be Jenifer's agent and mentor. A contract was signed and a life -long friendship began. Verret started writing original songs specifically for Kinder to sing. They would record them and send them out to record lables. The response was never what they hoped it would be; either the companies would pass or keep asking for more material. This went on for years but Verret was determined to get her a record deal and though it didn't look like it was going to happen, he never gave up or lost faith, even when Jenifer did.
In her mid-20's ,Kinder was offered the position as the lead singer in a Reading based cover band. It was a big adjustment after all the years spent in a recording studio to sing in front of a live audience. This was something she hadn't done since childhood. But soon the stage felt like her second home and the appreciation that came from her audiences was a huge rush. Her dreams of becoming a national recording artist seemed too far gone. By now, she had 2 children and couldn't imagine not spending every day with them. So after knocking on just about every door in the industry and being turned down, Kinder and Verret decided to take things into their own hands. Over the years, they accumulated quite a number of songs and decided to put together a CD in Scott's studio and try to market it on the internet. In 2004, Jenifer Kinder's debut CD entitled "Show Me More" was released on the www.waterfall440.com website.
Since 2000, Kinder has performed with numerous well-known musicians in and around the area. She is the former lead singer of Synergy and Moonlight Graham and has performed with Erich Cawalla, Philly Powerhouse band, Big Ric and Vegas, the Bobby Mercer Road Show, Burning House, The Tim Heiniman Dance Band, Dave Stahl, Joe Keys, Neil Wright and as a featured soloist with the Reading POPS Orchestra . In addition to performing all over Berks County, she has performed in Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and MGM in Walt Disney World as well as the Philadelphia and New Jersey area. She has opened for Country music sensations Joe Nichols, Mark Wills, and David Ball.
Most recently,she has teamed up with musical partner Erich Cawalla to co-front Reading's newest 7-piece band "The Uptown Band featuring Erich Cawalla and Jenifer Kinder."
Oct 29 2009 10:29 AM- military personal compared.............
You stay up for 16 hours. He stays up for days on end. You take a warm shower to help you wake up. He goes weeks without running water. You complain of a 'headache' and call in sick. He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward. You talk trash about your buddies that aren't with you. He knows he may never see any of his ever again. You complain about how hot it is. He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his forehead. You get mad at the waiter for getting your order wrong. He doesn't get to eat today. Your mad that your class got held 5 minutes over. He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months. You roll your eyes when your baby cries. He gets a letter with pictures of his new baby, and wonders if they'll ever meet. If you don't forward this we will just see how conceited you really are. Just fwd if you're supporting the troops.
