I grew up in Adelaide, and lived in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia before moving to New York City in 1994. During my career in Australia, I worked in many different fields ranging from Law, Private Investigation, Accounting and Corporate Video Production to eventually settling within the music industry.
In 1989, while studying part-time to become a sound engineer, I began working in corporate video production for Business Video Communications, South Melbourne. At this company, I was a Production Assistant and Camera Assistant as well as Office Manager. During this time, I learned to build databases and book keeping systems that tracked time, budgets, billing and contacts. I have continued to install databases on a contract basis for various companies both in Australia and in the United States throughout my working life for companies ranging from construction and video production to law firms.
I graduated with a Diploma in Sound Engineering from the world-recognized School of Audio Engineering in 1990. I managed and toured with many bands during the late eighties and early nineties in Australia as Manager/Road Manager/Engineer. In this capacity, I secured recording, merchandise and endorsements contracts and booked national tours as well as was responsible for all touring logistics and promotion as well as live sound.
While living in Melbourne and not on the road with my bands, I worked for Australia's largest independent record distributor, Shock Records in sales and promotion for three international labels: Music for Nations, Road Runner and Earache Records. I was also responsible for writing each weeks new release sales blurbs for all sales staff. While at Shock, I started my own 7" collectors label called SpaceBeer Records, which released three sold-out pressings of local up-and-coming Sydney bands. During this time, I also produced a single for one of my bands in Melbourne, "Bourbon Bound" Brady Bunch Lawnmower Massacre, which reached .. 3 on the Billboard Alternative Charts in the UK.
In 1991, I signed a management agreement with one of Australia's leading punk-rock bands, The Splatterheads. This lead to my move to Sydney where I continued to tour sold-out shows, sign the band to a new independent label, produce a full length album and produce and release a sell out 7" record on SpaceBeer Records. During my time in Sydney and while I was not on tour with my band, I worked at Sydney's premier collectors retail store, Phantom Records where I was the store manager and local buyer.
Additionally during this time, I was employed as a freelance journalist for a prominent national Australian music magazine, Hot Metal/ HM Magazine / Loudmouth as a review and interview writer, delivering feature articles and reviews for local and international bands. My writing work continued as a correspondent throughout the first few years of my time in New York City. I reviewed and interviewed bands such as AC/DC, Tony Hawk (world-champion skateboarder), Bad Brains, Janes Addiction, Megadeth, Corrosion of Conformity, The Descendants, Mid Atlantic Sound, Skate, & Surf Symposium, Nth Carolina, and many others, as well delivering a monthly local scene report covering countless local bands.
In 1994, I moved to New York City where I worked for 2 years for punk / Rastafarian group Bad Brains. At this time, Bad Brains were newly signed to Madonna's record label, Maverick Records. My primary duties with this band and management included tour budgets and accounting to Warner Brothers and Padell, Nadell & Co., tour logistics, merchandise and road manager / personal handler. I toured throughout America three times with this band, both at club level with The Deftones and at stadium level with the Beastie Boys.
In 1997, I became General Manager at New York City's renowned Tramps Club until the clubs unfortunate closure in September 1999. At Tramps, I was responsible for managing a staff of over 50 people, all aspects of event management, sales, advertising, production and accounting. Tramps at the time, was the only venue in NYC that was producing Hip-Hop shows. Artists such as the Wu Tang Clan, Outkast, Pharcyde and Tribe Called Quest were regulars at this club as well as other artists including Prince, Bob Dylan, Smashing Pumpkins, Ray Charles, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson and Vanessa Williams among many others.
After the closure of Tramps Club, Grand Central Marketing hired me on a contract basis to put together a concert tie-in promotion with major label artists Luscious Jackson and Paula Cole for a HBO feature film, "If These Walls Could Talk 2". This job lead to my employment at Empire Entertainment.
I joined Empire in May 2000, to re-vamp marketing materials, construct a new website, produce a sales video as well as improve upon the database system. Since this time, I have produced three websites, three annual newsletters, a corporate reel and a great deal of print material for Empire and Industrial Artist Management. I enjoyed long term relationships with clients such as Merrill Lynch, Mercedes-Benz and Microsoft for whom she has produced large multi-day events for which I have booked and produced speakers and artists such as The President and Mrs. Barbara Bush, Robert Redford, Ben Stein, Chris Isaak, Sugar Ray, Honorable Rudy Giuliani, Lou Dobbs, DJ Rap, Trinity Irish Dancers, Second City, Antigravity, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Michael Davis, Michael Weber, and many other speakers and entertainers. My expertise in the technology / connectivity field, was utilized for several technology events such as the Merrill Lynch Emerging Technology Conference 2000, where 70 vendors from around the world attended to show case their new technologies. Some of my private clients and events include talent booking and production for a multi-million dollar wedding, production for an elaborate 12-hour custom-designed murder mystery game, and designing a three theme winter wonderland holiday party for Mercedes-Benz as well as all aspects pertaining to the opening night of Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way at Radio City Music Hall.
I was also the booking agent for The Rochester MusicFest, which is the largest R&B festival in the north east of America. I booked 2004 & 2005 festivals with multi-platinum artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Gerald Levert, Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, Faith Evans, John Legend, Ciara and 112 as well as Carl Thomas, Calvin Richardson, The Brothers Johnson, Whild Peach, Tweet, Jagged Edge, Raheem Devaughn, Lyfe Jennings, Fatty Koo, Common and Nina Sky.
I have booked and / or produced countless events with many different artists including Patti LaBelle, Mario, Kelly Rowland, Jorge Ben Jor (in Belo Horizonte, Brazil), Chaka Kahn, Bebe Winans, Ashford & Simpson, Lionel Richie and many more.
I am enjoying a wonderful small business with 2 friends, The Purse Hook Inc. http://www.thepursehook.com. Which is great fun and we love that we are able to bring this necessary accessory to women around the world.
I am living in Rochester, NY with the love of my life Frank De Blase, http://www.frankdeblase.com.As of May 2008 I became Tour Manager for Tony Award Winning Artist Idina Menzel http://www.idinamenzel.com. We toured in May, June, July and August across America and are going out again October 30th - November 13th.
