From the very beginning, Anthony Joseph Stack could never truly identify with being a boy.
Born on April 8th , 1979 in Nashua, New Hampshire, Anthonys formative years were riddled with hatred and misunderstanding from every angle which included both physical and mental abuse on many levels.
While the Stack family were always on the move due to job obligations and keeping silent from the abuse, Anthony never had the chance to establish relationships with other children thus leaving him alone but not lonely. By 11 he was already composing music and lyrics 'My lyrics alarmed my parents as they were blatantly sexual, with opinions on everything from religion to politics. They forced me into therapy and tried their damnedest to turn me into a good, god-fearing conformist. They failed and I only got more and more opinionated. I was getting beaten up with a self-realized smile on my fucking face. I had never been so but miserable in the body of a man.
While attending a small, private Roman Catholic school named St. Mark's, Jesus was drilled into the minds of the masses every day and night, even on the weekends. Although Anthony had nothing against the religion, he could tell it was not for him. First off, I had absolutely no interest in girls, and secondly, after all the abuse I had been through, I felt violated by all the talk of fire, brimstone, and salvation. One day, my theology teacher was going on about the transfiguration and how the Eucharist actually became a part of Jesus. To make matters worse, we were supposed to take the Eucharist in the mouth. With my sexual awakening being forced early on, I could not believe that people were hypnotized by this concept.
"Mrs. Hardman, how do I know which part of Jesus I am putting in my mouth? That is totally grody," I exclaimed.
By the time his parents sent him to Jesuit, an all-boys college preparatory school, the shell was beginning to crack. Over the freshman year the trials and tribulations of being a teenager with the added pressure of being a gay teenager uncomfortable in his own body - that shell was completely shattered. What emerged from the shell was an extremely outspoken, flamboyant, feminine version of Anthony that bordered on being completely obnoxious.
Turning once again to the piano he was writing full compositions complete with lyrics and the works. While still in high school female singer-songwriters like Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, and the lot coming out of the woodwork. Hed found that his style had a place and he started trying to make a name for himself.
Fast forward to 1997... After graduating high school he had been offered scholarships to several universities and his music had already been written up in the Dallas Morning News. A buzz was ready and the stage was set for success, but Anthony could not stand his anatomy any longer. At 21 he legally changed his name to Winter Laurel Stack to represent the cold past giving birth to a new persona, a verbal chrysalis of sorts and worked a normal day job to afford the surgery. Winter had the first surgery with Dr Eugene Schrang in Neenah, Wisconsin. By the age of 22, she afforded the second half and was completely female. The state of New Hampshire gave her a new birth certificate stating that Winter was female through and through. She could finally start living her real life.
Things started looking up for Winter when she met R &B songstress Erykah Badu at a restaurant in Plano, TX. She referred Winter to Dallas Sound Lab and although being her first time in an actual studio, and the demo was rougher then sandpaper, it still garnered plenty of attention. As a matter of fact, it caught the attention of Valerie Jones, the owner of Sound Oasis Productions.
"I made plans to move out to Los Angeles so as to be closer to Valerie and the music industry when out of the blue, I was swept off of my feet by a man named Christopher Mullenix. Chris had previously been a homophobe I met in the locker room during highschool, but I had taught him that the LGBT community wasn't about forcing views on anybody. Over the years, we became friends. After high school, he joined the Army and I went about my life. One day, he came back to town and I caught his eye. Later that year, after he was deployed to Iraq for seven months, we were married. My music career took the back seat once again while I adjusted to married life and moved around with his Army-appointed stations. He finally left the Army and has since become my manager."
Winter has since started creating a buzz in the music industry again, working with such artists as Patti Rothberg. New material is soon to be recorded with John Congleton of "the pAper chAse".
There is an empty space with her name on it and Winter has every intention of filling and expanding it.
|
Online Now!
