Photo credit: Ron Pruitt
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
“I was walking down the street in my feet”… It was kind of a punk song, and I pretty much just repeated that lyric throughout. I still remember the melody. I was 9. Ha!
Where do you rehearse?
For years, for the full band, I was just renting rehearsal spaces around LA to rehearse in. But I have definitely held plenty of rehearsals in my living room when drums were excluded! I also can’t tell you how many times I’ve rehearsed in parking lots, on car tailgates, or even IN the car (Grand Rapids Michigan comes to mind, when it was like 20 degrees outside, just before a radio performance).
Describe your first gig.
Just a guitar player and me at the famous Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA. I was nervous as hell, but it was exhilarating to finally be on stage singing my own songs after desiring to do it for years. I was spoiled from the jump, because their sound person is always excellent. I’ve played there a handful of times since, and it always feels like home!
What was your most memorable gig?
I played KCRW’s Mountain Stage in Charleston, West Virginia which was an incredible show, but my favorite part was actually AFTER the show. The crazy talented house band of Mountain Stage took us to their very very divey local bar after, and let us sit in for a set late that night with the bar’™s also INCREDIBLE house band. That was the most fun I’ve probably ever had on stage and it was a memory I’ll never forget. No videos exist but I wish we had filmed it!
What was your favorite day job?
When I was 20 I was managing a hair salon in Beverly Hills and it was SO much fun. There were tons of celebrities, which of course made for lots of incredible stories. One day, I was at the front desk humming to myself and around the corner pops Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. He came over and told me he heard me singing and that I had perfect pitch! I was pretty chuffed. I’ll never forget it.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
A few things: Time absolutely flies (this applies to life obviously as *well* as the industry), learn to play guitar, and write, write, write, endlessly.
My radio promoter years back, who had been in the biz *forever*, told me: “Wear the heels, ALWAYS”. It may sound silly and old fashioned- but as a woman in this male dominated industry, it resonated. In a total powerful, feminist, Dolly Parton kind of way.