So I was told if you’re gonna have a website you need to have a good bio. Well truth be told, I’m not exactly sure what a good bio should sound like. I think this is the part where I tell you about me, but let’s be honest, who knows what to say about oneself when put on the spot? And what is a bio exactly anyway?
Wikipedia explained it as “a detailed description or account of someone’s life and the times, which is or told by that same person.” I know you were all dying to know that.
I grew up in a small college town in KY called Bowling Green. I really can’t remember a time when music wasn’t a part of my life. Even when I was very young, I would walk around making up songs and singing constantly. Everywhere I heard songs—be it at Mass on Sundays, or on the radio in the car, as soon as I got home I would try to figure out how to play the songs on our old clunky upright piano. I still have recordings of me singing and playing when I’m only about 6 or 7. Talk about blackmail!
Music was always playing in my family’s home. I have 5 brothers and they all play various instruments as well, so we grew up playing and singing together. I started piano lessons when I was 8 and continued on and off for about 10 years. That being said, you’d think I’d be an amazing sight reader, but sadly, much to the dismay of my various teachers over the years I’m much more likely these days to rely on my ear, rather than reading music. (those of you who are taking piano lessons though, listen to your teacher and read your music!)
I wrote my first song when I was 8. It was a beautiful little song with all of three chords, written specially for my older brother who dearly loved to tease me by messing up my hair. It was called “If you mess up my hair, I will get you back.” Clearly with eloquent words like those I was born to be a writer!
Though I’ve been writing since that memorable day, over the years I’d like to think my musical style and writing have both matured and grown as have I.
The last few years have been a whirlwind of playing with various musicians across the US and Europe, mainly cover songs—covering virtually every genre, from rock to classical, from country to jazz, from church/gospel to instrumental. It’s only in the last year that I have started playing ‘my songs’, letting more than my music room hear and feel the rhythms and songs of my heart and soul.
People frequently ask me what my ‘style’ is and truth be told, I’m not sure, because no one has really been able to categorize me into a specific genre. Whether that’s a good or bad thing I don’t know! I’ve been told I’m some kinda crazy combination of ‘Pop, Rock and Jazz”; whatever that means!
My musical influences are far and wide, ranging from Billy Joel, Ben Folds, Elton John, Norah Jones, Coldplay, U2, Jennifer Knapp, Michael Buble, John Mayer, Celine Dion, Rascal Flatts, Stevie Wonder, Jewel, Michael W. Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, and I could go on and on and on…
Before I end this obnoxiously long bio, I would just like to share with you what I see in the songs I write. Every song I write is in some way, shape or form, a deep part of my heart. It’s my reflections, my thoughts, my prayers, my dreams and my desires, it’s real, raw and human…it’s my story. The story of guts and glory, of love and loss, of hurt and healing, of hope and joy…for me it’s a way of expressing and crystallizing my emotions and my heart, when there’s no other way to express it. But at the same time, my hope and prayer is that when you, the listener, hear these songs, you stop for a moment and say “Hey, that’s my story! You read a page of my journal and put it to music!” I want these songs I share to be just that: raw, real and human…just that close to the heart…may these songs I share with you be as much a gift to you as they have been to me…
Peace and Love,
Maria S.
