~ Biography ~
[Finding My World...]
I guess I start with the typical rundown of a persons beginnings. I was born on August 12th in San Diego CA.
I moved to Japan shortly before my third birthday. I guess you could say my career started there in the land of cherry blossom trees. I did my first commercial in Japan at age five for what would later become one of my all time favorite foods Ramen Noodles! Also I did my fair share of modeling and print work.
[Finding My Tap Shoes...]
I could easily have been defined as a proper stage kid. I canīt remember a time in my life when I wasnīt
dying to be in show business. I had a typical beginning, lots of talent competitions, dance classes, and
of course musical theatre. I was and continue to be a bad loser. I hardly ever lost a competition, or didnīt
get a part, and when I did I was always convinced the whole thing must have been fixed. I was a stage kid that
didnīt have a stage mother. My mother was the greatest. She sacrificed immensely in order to help me pursue a crazy dream. My poor mom, she had no idea how to curl my hair, how to find a proper talent agent, or any
of the usual stage mom tricks. I was left to guide her with my naive ambitions, and hundreds of frustrating
hours in the bathroom trying to figure out how to look like Baby June, like all of the other stage kids.
[Finding My Spotlight...]
My first big time audition was at age seven on Broadway in good ole New York City. I had two that day. The very first was for Gypsy, and the second was for a show that is still a big dream for me Les Miserables.
I had a little trick every time I went on an audition. I always tried to include a crazy accessory in my outfit that I thought would be memorable. How could they forget the kid with big hat and the funny shoes? That day I had picked out red glitter shoes like Dorothy in Oz. I worked a lot as a kid. Tons of plays, musicals, commercials, pilots, guest spots etc. But at about fourteen I was hit with puberty full swing
and that put my luck on full stop. (And my crazy accessory idea just looked ridiculous on an adolescent girl) The industry prefers eighteen year olds to play teenagers because of child labor laws, so as you can imagine the competition was fierce. This fact, on top of acne and a mean bout of insecurity just about annihilated my dream.
[Finding My Pen...]
It was about this time that someone I idolized convinced me that I had a much better chance of becoming a songwriter instead of a singer. Although it took me years after that conversation to regain my confidence as a singer, I never would have become a writer without it. I never would have started that great period of self-reflection and self-discovery that every writer needs. I donīt think I would have ever believed I wasa songwriter if I didnīt believe for a time that I couldnīt be a singer.
Donīt get me wrong it wasnīt all self reflection and poetry converted to music during this time, I was the all American cheerleading partier in high school. A lot of people donīt admit this but I will any day. I had a little too much fun during this time. The whole Good girls go to heaven but bad girls go everywhere theory was my mantra.
[Finding My Way...]
The day after my 18th birthday I moved to Los Angeles to really try to make it. I moved into a one bedroom apartment with 5 other people, a dog and a bird. We slept on the floor and only ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was very excited and broke. I wanted to go to college at the same time, so during the day I worked as a legal assistant, went to auditions, and at night and on weekends I went to school. The first moment of disillusionment in this business doesnīt happen when youīre hitting the pavement waiting to be discovered. Itīs when you get discovered, sign a record deal and find out that it isnīt easy street from that point on. Itīs really the beginning of the uphill climb from there. I was nineteen when I started releasing records, and thatīs when I realized that I didnīt need to just be a good singer that could write a few lines, what I needed to be and wanted to be was an artist.
[Finding My Music]
Iīm not just called sweetbox, the music of SWEETBOX is me. Every song is a piece of my heart, my personality, and a taste of my soul. Everything you hear is something personal. That doesnīt always register with everyone. I know this when I listen to some of the questions I get asked, and Iīve learned that most people donīt ever really listen to your music like you think they will. I write all the music with my producer Geo and together we try to realize my vision of the music.
The idea behind the music of SWEETBOX isnīt all that unusual. I want to make music thatīs honest, personal, enjoyable, and thatīs true to myself. I believe that there are people who deal with the circumstances they are given, and then there are people who create their circumstances. Iīve always tried to create my own circumstances and strive to do that in my music.
