About Me
I grew up in a place called Booger Holler, believe it or not. A born and bred, authentic and certifiably country girl, I grew up on my family's farm in rural north Georgia. I come from a very earthy background, with solid feet on the ground and a need for nature. I have to be able to take my shoes off and walk in the grass; freshly cut grass is my favorite smell in the world, and cutting the grass with Bette Midler blaring in my Walkman was my favorite chore. Growing up in Booger Holler, there wasn't much to do besides commune with the animals and let my imagination run wild. We even had a lone peacock that would roam around and every now and then you would catch him walking down the road with his feathers proudly on display. As a little girl I remember sitting beside my mother at the piano, passed down through her family for generations, as she sang Hymns out of a torn and tattered old hymn book, that I still believe she has and uses to this day. As my Mom would sing and play the piano, I would sit at her side, sing along and come up with little simple melodies on the piano in the higher register. I'm sure it sounded like a kid banging on the piano, but to me it was sweet melody. On the other side of the room from the piano, we had an organ, given to us by my dad's parents. I would sit at it for hours and just come up with little songs. It even came with at tape recorder in it, so I could record them. This was my first exposure to music.As a teenager in school I joined choir and the band, picking the saxophone as my instrument of choice. I became quite good at it and quite excited at that revelation. Soon after, I met a childhood friend, whose family was a mock Partridge Family and I became the adopted child. This is when I first learned how to play guitar and began writing songs with actual structure. My first guitar was a hand-me-down from my grandfather until finally I had my own cherry red fender stratocaster. My teacher; a poster size chord chart tacked to the back of my bedroom door. We formed a band, which included the "mock partridge family", myself, and a psychology professor from the local college, as our drummer. We played around locally, including Smith's Olde Bar, recorded a full album at 14 years old, and even got interviewed and radio play at the local radio station. In the band everyone had a say in the writing of the music and playing of the instruments for that matter. Marlena, my friend and her mom played keys and flute, her dad bass and lead guitar, her brother bass. I would switch around on drums, bass, guitar, and sax, taking over on drums while the professor took over the guitar and sang lead on a Beatles song or two and one of his own originals. The reality of music had set in for good, no longer was my audience only the horses, cows, and sunsets.Upon graduating from high school it was time for this country girl to move to the big city. With the ambition of making my music career my real career, I moved to Atlanta, found a day job, went to school at night, and pursued music the rest of the time. I joined the Atlanta Band, Drawing Lines in 2000 as lead vocalist and saxophonist. We played all around Atlanta and landed a spot on Good Day Atlanta. We went into the studio to record a full length album, but by the time we were finished, unfortunately so was the band. I was disappointed, burnt out and needed to take a break for myself. I felt like my dreams were fading. I decided to embark on another dream of mine; travel. I went overseas to Spain. While in Sevilla (Seville, Spain) I lived with a family and took classes from the local university. I was introduced to the music and dance of Flamenco, what intensity and passion! I traveled around Spain and Europe, taking long weekends from school whenever I could. I bought a traveling guitar, handmade from a local shop in Sevilla. Some of the songs I'm finishing up today were ideas inspired by the magical city of Sevilla, and the whole Spanish culture as a whole, begun on that little guitar, in the gardens and Plaza España in Sevilla.When I returned, I finished school with a political science degree in international affairs and decided with Plan B in place, it was time for me to concentrate on my own music, my own writing, and my own band. This is when I met Jimmy G. of Wave Motion Sound Studio. I started going in and putting tracks down for all of my songs, pieces of songs, and ideas. I would play what I had, whether it be a hook or verse, and we would work together to solidify a form and sculpt those ideas into full-length songs. The process of transforming intangible into tangible, shifted something in my soul and lit a fire in me that will forever burn. In the meanwhile, I auditioned for everything I possibly could: Star Search, Popstars, Nashville Star, American Idol, back-up singer, cruise-ship singer, you name it, I auditioned for it. Nothing ever manifested from those auditions besides my confidence, sheer determination, and a Whole Lotta Faith. I truly believe in divine intervention and that when the timing is right, seemingly insurmountable mountains will move to line up so that the wind sweeps down and the wind current will catch the wings of your dreams and place you at the top of those same mountains.So my journey eventually took me away from Atlanta to Chicago. I was there for only a short while, however short and sweet. I had my first real taste of jazz and blues. I went to pursue music full-time for the first time ever. I enrolled in vocal training at the Bloom School of Music, my only formal training since high school. I worked up my jazz repertoire and kept on writing my original material, but Atlanta was calling me back home.When I came back I joined the band, Limelight, a corporate band doing mostly weddings, bat/bar mitzvahs, and corporate events, with which I still perform today. I'll also still go torture myself at the occasional audition. Keeps my ego in check, to say the least. I started performing my own originals at open mics and any gig I could get accompanying myself with the guitar or hiring a band for the full sha-bang. I've kept on writing original material, and finishing old songs left in the stage of incomplete. I've played with numerous types of bands: rock and roll, jazz, variety. I love too many types of genres to pigeonhole myself. I don't understand the necessity of society to put you in a box. That's me going off on a whole other tangent.Now I've come to a place that has brought me where I am today-- that is a severely redundant statement. I am who I am: part jazz, part rock and roll, part country (you know the saying-you can take the girl out of the country, but not the country out of the girl), part blues, something I like to call Soul Jazz Rock. I'm back in the studio and really happy with the transformation that is occurring. There is nothing more exciting than to birth your ideas, those voices in your head, into fruition, into a piece of art, into a song. It is invigorating. I'm working on several projects: one jazz, "The Poetic Justice Jazz Project", one rock and roll cover band, and then my original project which encompasses both. In addition to writing on guitar, I also write on piano, and have ventured to begin accompanying myself on piano as well.New tracks that I have been recording at Groovetunes Studios are almost ready to be posted. I'm finishing up this whole album that has been waiting on its completion for years now, recorded at both Afterdark Designs and Groovetunes Studios. The end is finally, realistically in view. Thank you God. Keep a look out for the new tunes to be posted here. I'm very excited, and hope that you, whoever you may be, who is interested enough to read this little bio of myself, will enjoy and join me in my excitement of my creative expression through music.Peace, Love, Blessings & Music,~Kristen
