Session singer

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I love podcasts and I was asked to write, sing, and produce the theme to the Cover to Cover podcast with comedian Chris Franjola. It's just been fun to hear this wacky pop-punk theme every time I listen to the podcast.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just finished a really cool song demo. It had a Kylie Minogue vibe with lots of breathy harmonies.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: To be honest, I haven't figured out how to search for them by name. Recommending others is one of my favorite things to do so when I find out, I'll let you know.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I started out recording analog but all of my work is now digital. I understand the sonic benefits of analog, I just don't work with anyone who is presently doing sessions on it.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I promise I'll give your project the same amount of focus I'd give my own. I also promise I won't accept your project if I think I'm not the right singer for it.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I've chased fame, recorded for Warner Brothers, and had lots of exciting experiences but I'm really a hermit. That may be an exaggeration but I really enjoy being home. I'm married to a musician, have a dog, cat, and two pet hens, and it's just fun to open my email, see what I'll be singing that day, and making people happy. It's really the perfect job for me.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Sometimes they'll ask if I've heard of a specific artist. If not, I'll go check them out to try to get the vibe they're looking for. Most of the times, I'm giving them so much information, I'm not getting many questions.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: I bet some people think I just sing the song down once. The song is 3 minutes so it probably took about 15. HA!!! With all of us, we're learning the songs as we go. Sometimes there's sheet music, sometimes a keyboard playing a guide, and sometimes the songwriter is singing. So it takes a bit of work to move the melody into something that communicates the song. Often there are some weird parts where someone has written too many lyrics or odd words to sing for a song. By having a lot of experience, you know little sneaky ways of fitting lyrics in and not making them sound so awkward. But it takes time. Especially if you care. And I really do. It makes me happy when people say they love what I do.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: If they give me a demo with another female singer already on it, I try to find out what in particular they didn't like about the performance- if it's not obvious. Sometimes clients will say, "I trust you, do what you feel." That usually works out fine but I often ask them about artists or music styles to fine tune my approach.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Take your time. Someone may sound great on a demo on their page but try to find something where they're singing in a style that your song is in. Don't be afraid to ask them about it. Like, if you love their voice but there's nothing on there with them singing like Justin Timberlake ask them if they can send you something. Try to get a feel if they will be someone you can communicate with and make sure they have the time to focus on your project.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just finished a really cool song demo. It had a Kylie Minogue vibe with lots of breathy harmonies.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: To be honest, I haven't figured out how to search for them by name. Recommending others is one of my favorite things to do so when I find out, I'll let you know.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I started out recording analog but all of my work is now digital. I understand the sonic benefits of analog, I just don't work with anyone who is presently doing sessions on it.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I promise I'll give your project the same amount of focus I'd give my own. I also promise I won't accept your project if I think I'm not the right singer for it.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I've chased fame, recorded for Warner Brothers, and had lots of exciting experiences but I'm really a hermit. That may be an exaggeration but I really enjoy being home. I'm married to a musician, have a dog, cat, and two pet hens, and it's just fun to open my email, see what I'll be singing that day, and making people happy. It's really the perfect job for me.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Sometimes they'll ask if I've heard of a specific artist. If not, I'll go check them out to try to get the vibe they're looking for. Most of the times, I'm giving them so much information, I'm not getting many questions.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: I bet some people think I just sing the song down once. The song is 3 minutes so it probably took about 15. HA!!! With all of us, we're learning the songs as we go. Sometimes there's sheet music, sometimes a keyboard playing a guide, and sometimes the songwriter is singing. So it takes a bit of work to move the melody into something that communicates the song. Often there are some weird parts where someone has written too many lyrics or odd words to sing for a song. By having a lot of experience, you know little sneaky ways of fitting lyrics in and not making them sound so awkward. But it takes time. Especially if you care. And I really do. It makes me happy when people say they love what I do.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: If they give me a demo with another female singer already on it, I try to find out what in particular they didn't like about the performance- if it's not obvious. Sometimes clients will say, "I trust you, do what you feel." That usually works out fine but I often ask them about artists or music styles to fine tune my approach.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Take your time. Someone may sound great on a demo on their page but try to find something where they're singing in a style that your song is in. Don't be afraid to ask them about it. Like, if you love their voice but there's nothing on there with them singing like Justin Timberlake ask them if they can send you something. Try to get a feel if they will be someone you can communicate with and make sure they have the time to focus on your project.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I started playing in bars as a teenager. I was discovered by a jingle producer in NYC and sang jingles for Coke, Sprite, Woolite, Loreal, Lays, and hundreds of other products. I've written songs for other artists, sung with Garth Brooks on The Grammys, and won $100,000 as the Female Vocalist Champion on Star Search. Now, I mostly record from my home studio and I love it!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Although I've sung jingles as a bratty teen, my voice is kind of smooth and sweet.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: The late Linda McCartney got a lot of crap for her singing ability but the harmonies she did with her husband were really cool and not easy. I would love to sing those amazing harmonies with my favorite artist of all time, Paul McCartney.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: All elements of a production are important but take the time to get the vocal right.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Big ballads, Musicals, Country, Kid voices, pop songs, space-y operatic soundtrack stuff.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I can sing crazy high. I don't know if it's my strongest skill but I'm often the last hope to a songwriter who can't find a singer to hit the notes in their song. HA! I actually think my ability to come up with cool background parts is my strongest skill. I've arranged big gospel choirs with me singing all the vocals and have created really interesting parts for country, rock, and pop songs.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a lot of professional experience and I'm a huge music fan. I've sung on thousands of albums, song demos, jingles, and live gigs. I understand that a vocal performance on a hit song is not about hitting the right notes. It has to connect on an emotional level. Even if it's a jingle for mouthwash. You have to bring some magic to it. You have to put yourself into the lyric and the intention of the song and act it as you sing it.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First, I get a sense of what the client is looking for. If I'm singing lead and the track hasn't been recorded, we discuss keys and agree on one. I try to get the clearest idea of what the client is wanting to hear by their description and also sometimes asking for references- like a youtube clip or mp3 of a song to try to figure out the sound they have in mind. I sing the project, send a quick mp3 rough mix and see if I'm in the ballpark. If so, I complete it, check every track for clicks, pops, or clunky notes, and send the files. I usually send more files than expected so they can choose if they want that extra harmony part or those ad libs.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My husband is a professional drummer who's worked with Beyonce, Sting, and Stevie Wonder. We have a large professional studio where we cut tracks for bands. I record in my own vocal studio. I've got everything I need to produce clean vocal tracks for clients. (MAC, Avalon Vt737sp mic pre, Apollo Universal Audio, Blue Dragonfly mic)

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: I"m a big fan of so many styles of music. The Beatles influenced me by their songwriting, musicianship and vocal ability, plus the way they went from short concise pop song production to experimental albums with genre expanding themes and production.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: My most common request is for a lead vocal plus harmonies, followed by a request for just harmonies. I've sung emotional and rangy ballads to sounding like a little kid for a musical. I love singing all of it.

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I love podcasts and I was asked to write, sing, and produce the theme to the Cover to Cover podcast with comedian Chris Franjola. It's just been fun to hear this wacky pop-punk theme every time I listen to the podcast.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I started playing in bars as a teenager. I was discovered by a jingle producer in NYC and sang jingles for Coke, Sprite, Woolite, Loreal, Lays, and hundreds of other products. I've written songs for other artists, sung with Garth Brooks on The Grammys, and won $100,000 as the Female Vocalist Champion on Star Search. Now, I mostly record from my home studio and I love it!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Although I've sung jingles as a bratty teen, my voice is kind of smooth and sweet.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: The late Linda McCartney got a lot of crap for her singing ability but the harmonies she did with her husband were really cool and not easy. I would love to sing those amazing harmonies with my favorite artist of all time, Paul McCartney.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: All elements of a production are important but take the time to get the vocal right.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Big ballads, Musicals, Country, Kid voices, pop songs, space-y operatic soundtrack stuff.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I can sing crazy high. I don't know if it's my strongest skill but I'm often the last hope to a songwriter who can't find a singer to hit the notes in their song. HA! I actually think my ability to come up with cool background parts is my strongest skill. I've arranged big gospel choirs with me singing all the vocals and have created really interesting parts for country, rock, and pop songs.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a lot of professional experience and I'm a huge music fan. I've sung on thousands of albums, song demos, jingles, and live gigs. I understand that a vocal performance on a hit song is not about hitting the right notes. It has to connect on an emotional level. Even if it's a jingle for mouthwash. You have to bring some magic to it. You have to put yourself into the lyric and the intention of the song and act it as you sing it.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First, I get a sense of what the client is looking for. If I'm singing lead and the track hasn't been recorded, we discuss keys and agree on one. I try to get the clearest idea of what the client is wanting to hear by their description and also sometimes asking for references- like a youtube clip or mp3 of a song to try to figure out the sound they have in mind. I sing the project, send a quick mp3 rough mix and see if I'm in the ballpark. If so, I complete it, check every track for clicks, pops, or clunky notes, and send the files. I usually send more files than expected so they can choose if they want that extra harmony part or those ad libs.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My husband is a professional drummer who's worked with Beyonce, Sting, and Stevie Wonder. We have a large professional studio where we cut tracks for bands. I record in my own vocal studio. I've got everything I need to produce clean vocal tracks for clients. (MAC, Avalon Vt737sp mic pre, Apollo Universal Audio, Blue Dragonfly mic)

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: I"m a big fan of so many styles of music. The Beatles influenced me by their songwriting, musicianship and vocal ability, plus the way they went from short concise pop song production to experimental albums with genre expanding themes and production.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: My most common request is for a lead vocal plus harmonies, followed by a request for just harmonies. I've sung emotional and rangy ballads to sounding like a little kid for a musical. I love singing all of it.