Music... Friends... Family... Inseparable...

As I type these words, I feel the inspiration of an early hobby turned profession. The room is filled with historical treasures from my musical world. Ukuleles, guitars, banjos, tin whistles, spoons, bodhrans, violins, a Nepalese madal drum, harmonicas, a trombone, mandolins, ukelyns, an accordion, a zither and 3 rubber duckies all beckon me to spend every waking hour exploring each instrumental nook and cranny. I was born in Los Angeles, Ca. where I spent my early elementary school years in Huntington Beach. I learned to play the Tonette while in the 2nd grade. It was my first instrument. I "wrote" my first song in the bathroom when I was 4. The bathroom acoustics were remarkable and I just knew the song was a hit. At the age of 8, my family moved to the small Midwest town of Ord, Nebraska. I spent my first few months of 3rd grade at a two-room country schoolhouse with Kalyn, the only other person in my grade, We put on "amazing" concerts and just waited to be discovered. The cows, horses, chickens and our parents enjoyed the music. While in the 3rd grade, my father gave me an old Hohner Harmonica he played while in the air force. I loved playing that old mouth harp. I would play for hours, laying on a hammock and watching the windmill... In the third grade I also learned to play the piano by ear. I would play with gloves on in the cold winter days because the piano was in the unheated garage. It was also during that time that my sister Karen And I would sing songs from the Sound of Music in harmony together. (Later I fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing Maria in the Sound of Music at the Lincoln Community Playhouse) There were horses in the neighbors backyard who would come to us when we would sing. It was a happy musical beginning. In the 4th grade my early instrumental "career" nearly had a tragic end when I was encouraged to play the clarinet. I was TERRIBLE at the clarinet. It squeaked in a hideous manner. It was not the instrument for me. In the 7th grade my family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where I quickly got rid of the clarinet and happily learned the drums. It was fun being the only girl that played the drums in my school. Karen Carpenter became my idol. What a talent! 

During these musically formative years, I also experienced my first real "gigs". My friends Danielle and Brenda and I all drove Gremlins and loved to sing. This was all we needed to form our first band, "Three Way Stop". Nothing stopped us from breaking out in song... in the grocery store, malls, Moose and Elks Lodges, restaurants, McDonald's drive-thru, nursing homes, nursery schools, random homes... We parked side by side in our green, white and brown Gremlins...

 and sang for hours.

Everything changed the day I first played my sister's guitar. Original songs would flow out of my fingers. Words would roll off my tongue. With the guitar I found the ability to express my feelings and thoughts through song. I've continued enjoying the guitar, drums and harmonica, as well as learning the mandolin, bodhran (the Irish frame drum), spoons, kazoo, mouth music and even a little banjo and ukulele. Most of my life was spent in Lincoln and though I am a Midwest girl at heart, I have never felt more at home than in Las Vegas. I've been in Vegas since 1994 and am proud to call this quirky little city, "Home."

I have traveled extensively over the years, performing mostly Celtic music in festivals, fairs, pubs, colleges, parties and casinos as a soloist and with the Celtic duo, Mullivan's Edge (featuring the amazing tin whistle and flute talents of Tammy Van de Bogart), I am very blessed to be surrounded by such talented friends and am thrilled to perform with Killian's Angels, Willy Wainwright and True Rhythm Irish Dancers.