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I grew up singing. Or complaining. Or bugging my younger brother. What can I say? I was just a normal kid with limited access to television, much like all kids in those days.
It was an easy going childhood for a tomboy and I had dreams of being a horse (not OWNING a horse, but BEING a horse), of training Seeing Eye Dogs for the blind (we'd put a homemade version of the special guide harness on the family mutt), and of COURSE, my all time favorite DREAM..to be a professional SINGER!
I knew it from the time I was 5 years old. Mom said I'd sing my favorite songs at the top of my lungs while swinging as high as I could on the swingset out back of the house.
MUSICAL STYLE, you ask? I guess I feel most fully alive when I'm improvising or re-arranging tunes that tell a great story. I LOVE jazz. I love to play the guitar on the kind of songs that remind me of my musical roots or some event that happened in my life. I love horn bands and I love to swing hard, love to scream hard, love to entertain a crowd. It's pretty simple, really.
Like many musicians, I've always known what I wanted and luckily I've been able to DO just what I wanted in this life.
So.. no regrets and thanks be to God!
JANELLE LAUNCHES HER NEW SINGLE PERFORMANCE!
____________________________________________________________ ___ It's been a lot of work getting back into the guitar playing..let me tell you!
However, flexibility IS the key to life, isn't it? I'm having lot of fun exploring this new format and will be posting my upcoming appearances very soon. MUCH THANKS to my talented friends for letting me sub on their steady club gigs, as I completely enjoy learning new things! The guitar has been a source of comfort MANY times during my life and it feels so natural to be playing again...Life is GOOD!
A FANTASTIC TIME WAS HAD PERFORMING WITH THE LONG BEACH MUNICIPAL BAND DURING THEIR EIGHT WEEK SUMMER SERIES!
____________________________________________________________ __ When sax player MIKE WHITMAN called me up a few weeks back and asked if I would like to be a featured singer with this legendary BIG BAND, I jumped at the chance. My appearances included four concerts in four days at different venues around the Long Beach, CA area.
This band employs many of the top musicians in the LA area and features arrangements by the famed BILL LISTIN, so it would be an understatement to say I was honored to be asked.
You need a BIG VOICE for this gig folks, but with each show I felt more and more comfortable!
Appearing in the video is conductor LARRY CURTIS, who is a very talented musician/educator and made me feel completely charmed and welcomed.
MUCH THANKS TO MIKE WHITMAN, ED MARTEL for working with me on the charts/arrangements and to singer TONY GALLA for giving me heads up on the scene! I caught his stellar set the week before mine...WHEW!! The bar is set awfully HIGH out here in CA, with local favorite BARBARA MORRISON also being one of the regular talents that appears in this series.
If you get a chance and you live in the LA area, you've got to check out this band's summer concert season next year. The crowds can number into the thousands! Those LONG BEACH FOLKS LOVE THEIR LIVE MUSIC and I'm ever so grateful for it.
CHECK OUT THE LIVE FOOTAGE FROM THIS EVENT(AS VIEWED FROM THE SOUNDBOARD) ON MY VIDEO PAGE
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(Drumroll...)
And now for the !!!!
HAVE TOURED THE WORLD, BEEN IN THE STUDIO OR ONSTAGE WITH:
NATALIE COLE (2000 to 2003), MANDY MOORE (MTV springbreak CANCUN), JOHN PHILLIPS (The Mamas and The Papas '97 to 2000), THE L.A. PHILHARMONIC, MICHAEL BOLTON, RICHARD MARX, CHUCK RAINEY, HANS ZIMMER, Guitarist MICHAEL THOMPSON, Guitarist CHRIS STANDRING, Engineer AL SCHMITT, DAN HILL, LAUREN CHRISTY/GRAHAM EDWARDS (The Matrix), CHRIS CASWELL, PHIL RAMONE, AL KASHA/JOEL HIRSCHHORN, DIANE WARREN, TIMOTHY LEARY, RUSSELL MEANS, RICK MOROTTA, SHEL TALMY, KELLY MONEYMAKER, DAVID HASSELHOFF and CATTE ADAMS..to name a few!
Have appeared on THE TONIGHT SHOW with JAY LENO, THE TODAY SHOW, THE ROSIE SHOW, FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS and have worked with such clients as ROYAL CARIBBEAN, DISNEY, SHOWTIME, MTV, IBM, WB NETWORK, KUSHNER LOCKE AND NBC.
Be sure to memorize this dear reader, as there will be a test later.
I RECENTLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY (thanks Kel) TO RECORD A THEME SONG FOR A NEW CABLE SHOW ENTITLED "BOBBY "G" WITH PRODUCER DANNY STEIN. VERY "SHIRLEY BASSEY" INSPIRED AND A HECK OF A LOT OF FUN! THE SHOW IS GEARED TO AIR IN 2008, SO I'LL KEEP YOU INFORMED.
The tune "HERE COMES THE WAGON AGAIN" from my CD "DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH" got placed in a DVD release of MELROSE PLACE SEASON 2.