Resume:
- Sugar Buzz: 2009 – Present
- Jicky Jack: 2000 – 2003
Bio:
It began in lovely Aitkin, MN with a hand held audio recorder with a flimsily attached mic – at age 3 I had recorded “Farmer in the Dell” and, dare I say, I rocked it. I also did some Twinkle Little Star, Jingle Bells and even Neil Diamond on that tape- just to round out the “set”. The only other thing you can hear on the tape is my father trying to take it away from me and my reply “ I’m not feeeshyet” (I’m not finished yet) – shades of things to come.
Anyway, fast forward a bit through high school – lots of performance there I was Rose in Bye Bye Birdie and then University of MN- Duluth college days of Jazz Choir – we toured high schools and I got my first chance to perform with a smaller subset of the group – I took the lead on “Boy From New York City”. It was there I got my first and only request for an autograph. I still smile at that one. I’m sure whoever she is, she’s cleaning out her hope chest and has come across this thing thinking “Oh Lord, whatever happened to….and why in the heck did I ask for her autograph?” Wherever you are, just know it made my DAY!
After moving to the Cities from Duluth, I made a second living at karaoke competitions – but my addiction to music had hit a fevered pitch – I needed a new and bigger “fix” and so I joined my first band.
It changed names and players several times, and the band finally dissolved (boo!) – I gave that all up …until… you guessed it, a karaoke competition. I realized then I could NOT kill the bug that was “showbiz” – and only one thing beats karaoke – and that’s a LIVE BAND. (and yes, I still compete in the occasional karaoke competition and hold a few national and international titles.)
So Halleluiah! I picked up my tambourine, learned a few chords on keys and I’m back with a vengeance…. Or not …I’m really back to have fun, truth be told. I’ve found a talented, great group of guys to do just that with, so I’m forever grateful….& they seem to dig my warped sense of humor so I’m IN!
What you’ll see from me: a lot of vocal range, (I love challenging songs vocally) and “where does she get all that energy?” is the question I’m asked most frequently. SIMPLE ANSWER: it’s simple joy in singing and performing. The worst day of doing that is better than the best day of doing nearly anything else. It’s my wish you all feel the joy we exude when we play.