How lucky am I to be dived into a music project alongside my love, Noah?! I had no idea I’d end up in Olympia, Washington, singing and playing keys in a band called Elevator Operator, with soul family as bandmates. And yet, here I am! This musical endeavor has had a lot of ups and downs but I’m all in and enjoying the ride.
Raised in California in the 80’s, I was lucky and blessed to be born into a musical family. Mom led the church choir and taught all of her five children to play piano, dad sings and had his own performing duo for a while with a friend, and every Christmas we were the kind of family that gathers ‘round the piano to sing carols. Music was often playing in the home ranging from classical, country, oldies and pop. I sang and danced in children’s performance groups which helped me discover my love of performing. I was soft-spoken and somewhat shy, but I came to life onstage in a way that left me feeling like I’d found my passion.
Like many teenage girls, I dreamed of being a singer. I began writing lyrics and melodies as a teen, but most of these stayed hidden away in my diary. By age 22, I stepped towards my musical dreams and applied to Musician’s Institute in Hollywood for their Vocal Program. It’s basically a rock and roll college. This place was a total trip and I was only there for a year, but it actually had a huge impact on me. Through the honest and straight forward critique of my voice teacher and fellow students I became a better performer, and through weekly one-on-one coaching sessions with a pro female rock singer I became a much better vocalist. I discovered the loud side of my voice while attending this eclectic college and for this I am forever grateful.
After moving out of L.A., I was in a variety of fun indie bands and music collaborations in San Francisco, engaged in a rock and roll lifestyle of playing shows and partying. I’ve always had a desire to help others in some way, and I soon discovered that the best way to help humanity and change the world for the better was to begin with myself. So while on the one hand I was partying a lot, I was also reading self-help books, spiritual guidance books, and learning to connect with my higher self as well as my Native American ancestors. I eventually met my spirit sisters, dear friends of mine beyond this lifetime, in a shamanic ceremonial circle of women. Drumming, chanting and singing during ceremony helped me discover another expressive side of my voice which comes out to play here and there in our Elevator Operator songs.
In my 30’s I left everything behind in San Francisco and moved to Maui, Hawaii devoting myself to following spirit and surrendering to the flow of my intuition wherever it led. It was the most transformational two years of my life, excruciatingly painful and extremely blissful. I returned to the mainland a changed woman to say the least: owning my shit, humbled by the universe, heart blasted open and trusting the divine on a much deeper level.
A year after my return from Maui, truly loving life exploring a new city with dear friends in Portland, Oregon, stars aligned and I met my love, Noah. Our connection was so real and powerful it pulled me in like a familiar warm gravity and before long I moved up to Olympia, Washington where he was living with his two boys. Since then, we’ve combined forces in bringing our dreams of love, music and travel to life!
