| Influences | Pre-school: Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley... Best friend's piano, age 4; Momma singing Mona Lisa, Jeepers Creepers, Side
By Side... Nature
Pease Elementary School: Dancing on The Uncle Jay TV Show, 6; Mother dying, 7; 1965 Everett piano, 8 ~ 1st song by ear - Tammy; Brother's Ludwig drum set, band practices, 9 ~ Gloria... The Sound of Music, the Monkees, School May Fete dances, Reed’s Music Store downtown, 10; Mrs. Byrd - art teacher, KNOW AM Radio, 1st 45 record - When A Man Loves A Woman by Percy Sledge, Favorite songs on piano - Georgy Girl, A Time For Us, Classical Gas...Wollensack reel-to-reel tape recorder, 11; 1st LP - Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man, 12; 1st live concerts - The Beach Boys with the Five
Americans and the Buckinghams, The Cowsills
Fulmore Junior High: Talent show winner on drums, Wrote fiction about musicians, 13; Live shows - Elton John, Steppenwolf, all the Battle of the Bands
Travis High School: The Split Rail Saloon, 1967 Gibson guitar, 14; Simon & Garfunkel, the Doors, CSNY, Eric Burden & the Animals, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Bob Dylan... Armadillo World Headquarters, Percussionist - All-District/Region bands, solo and ensemble medalist ~ Carmina Burana... Mr. Botello and Mr. Waggoner - band directors, KOKE-FM Super Roper Radio, Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Murphy, Doug Sahm, Dickie Betts, Willis Alan Ramsey, Jesse Winchester... Miss Smoot - Senior English ~ District Ready Writing Contest first place, 16; Live shows: The Carpenters, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Shawn Phillips, Dan Hicks, Mike Nesmith, Jerry Jeff Walker... "Wish I could name them all!"
UT-Austin: Percussion scholarship, new marimba, 17; Live shows: Willis Alan Ramsey, the Lotions, Jackson Browne with Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby...
"I turned down the scholarship offer - but only after losing the battle over the policy girls could only play the cymbals. I had to give up the marimba, but I figure I can still hear today because I didn't become a drummer.”
Leaving Home at 18: The next decade plus was filled with getting
married, going to Europe, working, getting divorced,
working, going back to UT, getting married, having
two home-born children and taking care of her father.
"The two most influential people in my life,
my father and brother, were always turning me on to
great music...Dad would take me to the Split Rail
Saloon on South Lamar to see Jimmy play drums with
Balcones Fault. When the Armadillo opened in 1970
we'd go to the beer garden to listen to music regularly.
So, live music was always just the norm for me."
Live shows: Neil Young, Willie Nelson,
Asleep at the Wheel, Michael Murphy, Caught In The
Act, Eric Clapton, John Prine, Eric Burden, Shake
Russell, Jack Saunders, Dana Cooper, David
Rodriguez, Guy Clark, Mary Cutrufello, Poi Dog Pondering, Rusty
Wier, Shawn Colvin...
In 1992, her father's death was followed by a
move from Austin to McDade, 30 miles east of
Austin.
"I had tried many times but I had never written
a complete song. My father dying put me in a serious
depression from which music and writing healed me.
In 1992 I completed one song and after moving in
1993, the songwriting dam broke.
The second song got me out of bed in the
middle of the night and the lyrics just flowed onto the
page...verse, chorus, verse, chorus, refrain, verse,
chorus...BAM! The next morning I sat down and
played it just like I had known it all along."
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