I grew up in the Hudson Valley. It is one of the two most folk musically rich places in the country, the other being in Western Massachusetts (for a general introduction to American folk click here
or here
.). I performed with my dad in music festivals, coffee houses, and bars all over New England and in some other locations which are more surprising (Des Moines?!). We even recorded a few CDs - one when I was fifteen and another when I was seventeen. I got tired of folk music (though it will always hold a special place in my heart), and as I grew up I wanted to experiment with different music genres. In college I had a few friends who did some jazz/funk/rnb with a huge band. I got to sing backup and lead for a few performances and had a total blast. I discovered the type of music
my voice is MADE for. It was too much fun. I hadn't realized how relaxed and silly you could be on stage until I played with those guys. It's an entirely different dynamic than writing and performing music with your parent (no offense Dad). It was exactly what I wanted out of music moving forward and unfortunately it couldn't last. College has a definite end which came way too soon. In Phoenix I tried to get into music, but nothing gelled and I felt like it was a lost cause as I was planning on leaving after 2 years. Even though I desperately wanted to start playing again, it wasn't the right time. Here in East Bay, Christian and I are seriously thinking about putting down roots. So I began looking for a few different avenues for a musical outlet. But what type of music should I pursue? East Bay is to artistic expression as the Australian Barrier Reef is to coral ecosystems.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. You're probably asking yourself how a folk turned funk singer would have even considered techno vocal parts. It's no mystery. When I started dating Christian he immediately exposed me to the world of techno. I've always liked music with a beat - anything I can dance to makes me happy, especially if it has a good vocal part (what can I say, I'm a singer). Regardless of the level of lyrical wisdom a good beat and interesting composition gets me every time. I became enamored with such greats as Bob Sinclair
, Paul Oakenfold
, and Benny Benassi
. The Ministry of Sound 
annual became one of the most anxiously awaited musical moments of my year. I think we have three of them in MP3 form on our flash drive in the car. Year after year of this got me thinking, if I could sing techno vocal parts, that would be amazingly fun and I wouldn't necessarily have to go on tour all the time (which is why I never pursued the singer songwriter bit - I hate doing performance after performance). I even contemplated attempting to tackle Fruity Loops and drum up some beats myself, but I wasn't sure I had the patience.Enter Craigslist and the infamous ad to which I responded in "gigs." I had been searching daily for something and Mr. Berkeley had placed an ad for a female vocalist in his techno project. Sweet! Somehow I convinced him with my unusual voice to collaborate with me on this project. It wasn't his first choice, because my voice is not a typical breathy, flat Alice DJ type of voice. I've got soul. It required some reimagining on his part, for which I am thankful.
So here I am, in my late twenties, a former folk singer songwriter, going to meet a Berkeley student (who I have a sneaking suspicion is an undergrad) to collaborate on a techno project. This could either be brilliant, or a really bad idea. Cross your fingers and wish me luck. I'll let you know how it goes.
P.S. I don't think the coffee helped my nerves.
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