Ronda J’s WILDWATER LOVE-SCIENCE PROJECT

As a painter I have that rebelious saying, "I paint so I don't have to explain." But painting was not enough as I emerged on the new york art scene in the early nineties. I was influenced by the world I experienced in N.Y.C, part of the last generation to experience what the beats, punks and hardcore scenes had built... I was influenced by, became part of and contributed to this underground. My parents are brooklyneeze but raised me between our farm upstate and brooklyn. I was very influenced by the hippie scene upstate (although my parents made it clear they were technically beatnics) I started taking guitar lessons from " Clare" the folk singer from the commune at six. I loved people watchin down the main street in New Paltz in the seventies. Brooklyn in the seventies was cool too. the graffiti on the wall said rock rulz disco sucks; I was in Bay Ridge where saturday night fever came from so I saw all this. In the eighties my parents moved us (oldest of four girls) to Park Ridge, N.J.... I took that bus ride that the Roaches sing about plenty and suppose that is when I really started relating to Bruce's songs about getting out of Jersey. I went to the Norwegian Lutheran Bretheran In Minnesota for my last 2 years of High School and am glad to say I was enough of an individual to get kicked out. I have to say that if I made their banned music list I would be very happy. Of course I am a prime example of what Led Zeppelin can do to the soul and the corruption of Satan through Backmasking power. When I got to New York in 1990 I had been dreaming of my art life there for years and it unfolded in an uneasy beautiful way. I was studying art at FIT, worked at the college radio station which had the record collection of my alternative dreams. It was working at WFIT that gave me the chance to listen to much that I had only heard about, of course my roomate had seen Jane's at the Lizmar and her boyfriend at the time knew absolutely every band worth hearing; I am giving credit where due. As a DJ I did things like mix Ministry's STIGMATA (live version) and Bette Midler's The Rose, or Springsteen's Born to Run with Jane's Three Days. I painted and painted, worked at the Ritz (with the Cycle Sluts from Hell, Ray Beez the godfather of Hard Core) and eventually couldn't help but get on the mic when my friends jammed. I was rebellious and had alot to say and was definetely in the spirit of the times. I wrote and did readings, met many of the cool artist elders of nyc, was influenced and inspired by the best. It was during this time that my mother died of cancer, my art and self discovery and mourning process were so intricately woven. I began thinking about music differently than I had been taught in any of my classical training, I slowly let myself forget anything I had been taught and began to play the guitar like my grandfather played the Harmonica, Accordian, Piano and any other instrument; by ear. I learned alot from hanging in Studios and sitting there drawing while masterpieces were recorded, being an artist into artist community and I recieved artistic respect that was hard as a women to get. I began performing one song at a time as a sort of high artistic quality burlesque perforance art, as well as getting up with bands for special ronda parts etc. As I do believe in the spine of each song it became neccessary as I became serious about music that I do my time minimally just with guitar in order to hold my own (and my dad has no respect for musicians who can't break it down and be acoustic as well as rock out) so I did the singersongwriter thing but luckily all my contemporaries broke it down too (Mike Ill, Zef Noize, Taps NuGuy, Gina Paiano, Martin Deagan,etc) and we maintained a edgy open mic thing with many poets of our scene(Latch, Cindy, Whitney Lieberman, Lex Bagot, etc).The best ones were Detour in '95-'96 and John Rovito's at Maxwell's in Hoboken(I was envolved in the Hoboken art croud as well) I played the L.E.S. circuit. eventually played two hour sets at the BMW bar every week for two years. By 2000 I decided to go back to college ( I had promised my Mom that I would finish my B. A.), did that and took care of alot of other karmas in the beginning of this millenium, had alot of art shows, wrote alot, didn't perform as much...the towers were blown, Wetlands closed, Friends died and Saturn Returned, I mean the Giulliani administration had hurt art culture significantly, I still am kind of lost in NYC as far as adapting to the new skool.... I wound up singing Back-up for Ari-Up (2002-3)which was an honour and kept my spark going as I finished at Goddard College (Phish, Rob Brezny, David Mamet). I had dreamt of getting an all girl band together so performing Slit songs rocked. I really learned alot from Ari, she is the real deal with the skills and am proud to be an "honourary Slit." I was also doing some really heavy spiritual questing ( I am actually always doing the heavy spiritual work) which of course informs my work. I recently spent 6 months traveling the southwest and then ended up spending a year in texas where I wrote a new collection of songs while recording the middle years of work which are mostly rebellious twangy statement songs with bluegrass/country undertones which I knew would eventually emerge in my work (My father's musical brainwashing). If you listened to the Blues Muse you already know that I also got the blues while hangin' in the forests of Leadbelly country. Forever singing the triumph of spirit, I am basically closer to going where I have been aiming to go musically/artistically all along, with more skills and not forgetting. I am keeping it real and representing...Not limited to my experimental anti-folk like period...down south I went to those place that must be gone to, in order to get the good art. Back in New York now I now plan to hang here, show my visual art from my recent journy, finish recording the new stuff, make my albums available, hang out upstate, and in Vermont. I am now working on some dance House Funk music right now, after all I was a club kid. I plan to spend a year around L.a. shortly after that to write a surf album, "Rondas" should do surf, although evidently the blues don't go away. It will be interesting to see how my life continues as i juggle my visual art and music careers. I used to want to be a fashion designer and evidently this is now a requisite in the music buisness so I guess I will have to start sewing again. I am working on making my work easier to get a hold of. I should mention I am One of the founders of The New Depressionist Movement, In '93 I was on MTV 5x a day for 6 months or longer, exposing plots against Rock and Roll. Illness' Chromium Dub Album, Nova Monkey Ass Junkie, Performed at a Lalapalooza Sidestage in '96. Also am in Mike Ill's Anti-Folk Road Manual.I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4