Make the record of a lifetime

My first band was called Leather and Lace.

It may have been a bit inappropriate considering we were 8 year old girls, but hey, it was the 80's!

I formed the group, wrote my first song and choreographed a dance for our debut performance.

Laughter and screams filled the air as kids rushed out onto the playground. The girls and I took our places across from the swings.

1, 2, 3...

“When the moon goes up and the sun goes down the earth just turns itself around..”

We shook our hips and sang our hearts out.

Some kids enjoyed it, some didn’t care at all, but 1 kid snarked:

"You didn't write that!"

"Yes, I did!" I proclaimed.

Even though it was just a small comment, it stung. I wanted to be liked by everyone.

These little moments if left unprocessed can wreak havoc on your self esteem and impact the outcome of your life.

This is what I explore in the song "Magic" which will be on this upcoming album.

The artists’ journey is often a winding road full of both darkness and light. A series of traumatic unprocessed events at an early age led me to turn to drugs and alcohol as a means to escape the pain.

At age 18, I had a near death experience, nearly dying of a drug overdose.

"Million miles" which will be on this upcoming record was written following that experience.

It took me years to talk about what happened.

A profound healing session unleashed the pain and helped me to understand, process, and move through it.

I remember thinking that I wasn't going to get to do what I came here to do, which was to heal, create, express and help others do the same.

I'm so grateful that I was given a second chance at life.

What a gift.

I now have the opportunity to bring these songs and others to life with a 4 time Grammy winning music engineer and a Grammy nominated producer! (Wow, I’m so grateful!) Brian Montgomery’s client list includes Paul McCartney, Regina Spektor, Roberta Flack, and Medeleine Peyroux.

My intention is to create the greatest piece of art I've ever made and to connect deeply and honestly with my listeners by telling my story.

My partner Tony Bernardo and I wrote these songs together. I write the lyrics and melody and he writes the instrumentation. I wanted to write something "classic" sounding.

The music is big band jazz style.

The overarching message of the album is about healing and taking responsibility for your life.

It's about accepting all parts of oneself. It's about breaking cycles of trauma.

This is my mission, my message through art. I hope that many people will feel resonance with these songs.

I look forward to connecting and sharing more of my story with you. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and thank you for your contribution.

I appreciate your support!!!

For those interested, here is the budget breakdown. This is an estimate. I'm hoping to raise around 1/3 of the money needed. I will be paying for the rest myself. If I happen to raise more, that would be amazing!

Tracking (3 Days in Studio)

Bass $1200

Drums $1200

Guitar $1200

Keys $1200

Strings $1000

Trumpet $850

Trombone $850

Alto Sax $850

Tenor Sax $850

Bari Sax $850

Total for Musicians $10, 050

3 days at Sear Sound Studio in NYC $6000

Media $250

Food $400

Producer $2000

Transportation $250

Music Preparation $500

Engineer $2040

Mixing/Edit

$85 an hour

Mastering

Studio and Engineer $2500

Producer $2000

Grand total (not including mixing/edit fees) $26,135