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Miavox: My moniker in the Dance Music world by pure accident.

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You may call me either...or just...Mia.

:THE WAY INSIDE:

I was performing publicly by the age of ten. A sister, twelve years older than I was a singer and a painter so as a child there were many influences all around me. From her, to my parents love of Standards of the 40’s and 50's to these older siblings who would fill my ears and head with the sounds and imagery of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, early Rolling Stones and Chicago, and Santana as well as Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, The Stylistics, Odyssey—(different siblings, different musical tastes) to a beloved uncle who was himself a professional dancer who mentored me and made sure I studied ballet and listened to Jazz. My own early musical discoveries, intermingling with the others were Prince, Blondie, David Bowie, Pat Benatar, Donna Summer.... later Kate Bush, Jane Siberry, Cocteau Twins, David Sylvian and the list goes on....I would listen and study words for hours, trying to divine their meaning. A tone was being set.

Still quite young I headed to NYC to continue my studies. After completing a two year program, I stepped back from music and defined myself as an actress and focused on legitimate theatre. My stage work included off-off Broadway black box theatre spaces and out door festivals in classical, contemporary, and experimental forms. I still enjoyed my classes and there was an energy and vitality -- the rhythms of the streets here-- that was very much a part of that time. Now living downtown, in what was Manhattan’s edge, everything seemed to expand. Inside and out.

At some point, as it does for artists exploring all mediums, it became clear that I needed to accept my early childhood impulses and return to music again, this time without the confines of conservatory or cookie cutter ideas. I jumped at the invitation to work with my friend Craig Richey, an accomplished classical musician, who asked if I would explore his pop music with him. Over the next three years we performed and recorded together with many talented musicians and collaborators. At which point I decided to create and front a Jazz Quartet. Being in awe of the musicality of the greats--Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday and Dusty Springfield et al, I performed standards of the great American song book with talented side-men and players who would come sit in. At times I’d turn to new arrangements of earlier influences, such as a Bossa Nova version of Zeppelin's No Quarter. I liked exploring this way and played old fashion lounge settings, most regularly The Bubble Lounge and the now missed and much beloved Fez.

A strong desire to return to my previous club dancing days that had begun on Lansdowne Street in Boston, and later Red Zone, Vinyl, & Sound Factory in NYC was showing itself. It was the need to express through dance again that lead me to the now legendary gathering Body&SOUL. What I heard and experienced at Body&SOUL would change everything I've done since. Most time was spent on the dance floor, yet in meeting so many producers and musicians there, it became a natural progression, though a surprise to myself even, that I'd be asked to make recordings for labels like WAVE & NRK. While there, the exposure to so much Afro-Brazilian influenced music opened me up to a drive to explore Rio de Janeiro.. With the support and good energy of all those around me I made what was a huge move and there I lived and worked and studied for two years...learning the music, the language, and the culture of Brazil. I recorded for the label TRAMA in Sao Paolo, owned by the son of the great Elis Regina appearing on a project called Muito Soul for Anderson Soares. And I performed in various clubs with my band Cassino Hot Lounge or, simply, Casino, an electronic driven project & six piece band. With another set of musicians, a weekly restaurant gig returned me to American Standards, Pop tunes, and also meeting the challenge of some of the great Brazilian compositions. It was a wild ride, yet homesick for my people, my city, and my musical tribe I returned to NYC and my love of Dance Music. And how and why we gather here.

:RETURN HOME:

And, oh yes....like many of YOU reading this.....I STILL LOVE TO DANCE.

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