To visit Dina's
website click here.

Bother Me

Cutting Edge Voices' Focus on
Bother Me  by Dina Gathe

Razor-sharp guitars, sexy vocals and sparkling song craft: Dina Gathe fuses a wealth of influences into a singular modern rock sound that is both unique and accessible at the same time. Think No Doubt meets The Pretenders and Evanescence.

On her debut CD, “Bother Me”, she invites you to experience songs that are thought-provoking, energetic, fun, funky and edgy.  Dina’s straight-to-the-point lyrics and vocal moods shift playfully between straight-up in-yo-face rock, sarcastic life observations, and a fun, childlike sense of wonder as her guitar guides you musically through the journey.

Although a stint working in corporate America paid lucrative dividends and offered up lessons in marketing and branding, Dina knew what was missing. Forsaking the power suit and expense account, she founded Soundstruck Music in 2001 with partner Patricia (PK) Koprowski, and began recording and producing new material. Dina has two songs on the "Females on Fire" compilation CD (www.femalesonfire.com ) while another tune, "Solid Ground" has recently been tapped as the opening and closing theme for Charter cable's weekly series, The Rustam Report, hosted by Denise Ames.

 CEV:  Since this is your debut album how about a run down on how and why you got into music as a way of introducing yourself to those out there who don’t know you yet. 

DG:  Music has been in my veins from as far back as I can remember!   

We always had instruments in the house when I was growing up, and many of my cousins and friends played music.  I consider music to be one of my closest friends and certainly the one friend who knows me better than anyone and has been around the longest!  I had piano lessons when I was about five years old...played trumpet in marching band (yes, can you believe it? haha) and ALWAYS loved playing the guitar.   I started toying with songwriting in my teens, and I was lucky to have a great musician cousin (Dana Gathe) who lived down the street from me and was patient enough to teach me a lot of things on the guitar and introduce me to some music that ended up having interesting influences on me....like XTC, The Beatles and Frank Zappa.........


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Bother Me
by Dina Gathe

To visit Rachel's
website click here.

The Ashling

Cutting Edge Voices' Focus on
The Ashling
 by Rachel Merchand

Ash-ling (n): a dream or vision

This Gaelic title appropriately describes the debut full length album of Rachel Merchand as it draws on her journey from dreams to reality. Ten beautifully honest songs pour forth from her soul, speaking of love, struggle, and the pursuit of truth. The lyrics are striking and the melodies provoking, as she gives the listener a glimpse into her heart.

Dawning from the Green Mountains of Vermont, Rachel has brought a fresh and thought-provoking perspective into acoustic-rock genre. She began performing at age 13, but did not begin writing music until 21. "I was trying so hard to incorporate tons of chords and write something poetic - I really didn't even know how to play the guitar... I gave up and that is when I wrote 'Humble'."

In April of 2003, Rachel independently released an EP, New Version of Me. The direction of this recording quickly shifted her musical career from an occasional pastime to a focused endeavor. Music then became a priority and led to a move to Charlotte, NC to pursue music full-time. It was there that the isolation of a new city laid the foundation for her new release.

In the past year, Rachel has performed solo at various venues along the east coast including, The Inside Out Soul Fest (Laconia, NH) and Tremont Music Hall (Charlotte, NC). These opportunities enabled her to expand her fan base and move out beyond Charlotte. New Version of Me is currently aired on radio stations around the US, web radio world wide and was featured on the television show, Steelroots.

Rachel’s choice to remain independent from corporate media stems from her desire to maintain her unique artistic integrity. This resulted in the recruitment of Matt Malpass (¡El Toro!, The Apprentice) at Marigolds & Monsters Studios for production and Doug Van Sloun (Bright Eyes, The Faint) at Studio B for mastering. Various musicians scattered on the album, include Matt Goldman (Copeland, Anberlin) and cellist Jennifer Millis (Charlotte Junior Symphony).

 CEV:  Tell me about when it was that you knew music was going to be an important part of your life and how that grew from your earlier performances at age 13 until you were 21.  

RM:  It was actually funny how I ended up on stage. I was in 8th grade and they were preparing for a graduation ceremony at school and the boy who was singing the alto part of the farewell song couldn’t hit the notes very strong. I think it was my sister who suggested I help out and I nailed it the first try – it was hilarious that I could sing lower then this kid! From there I kept performing as needed with the school band and at church til I graduated. There were a couple years where I didn’t perform at all – I was more focused on career, except I do remember wanting to sing but there seemed to be no outlet to do so. I ended up hanging around this coffeehouse that was a little over an hour from my parents house where I was living at the time in NH. A lot of the people who hung out there were musicians which somehow sparked the passion that I once had for music… I had a few ups and downs with music, but somehow
I’ve never let go. I never thought I’d want to sing full time or play music on the road, but I’m in love with it!

CEV:  What music business lessons did you learn by independently recording and releasing your first EP New Version of Me back in 2003? Were you ever discouraged by what you had to go through to get your music on CD and then get the CD heard by those who might buy it?  

RM:  I was so naïve when I recorded my first EP. It was my very first time in the studio. I was proud of the product because I knew of nothing else and I had paid for the project all by myself. As months passed the flaws of the CD really came out – they weren’t huge, but I knew that I needed something that represented me more. For the next album I knew that I needed a producer to co-produce with me to achieve the sound that was in my head, a decent studio and musicians to back me. I saw the necessity to have the album mastered as well. I still sell the EP but its much less produced – very dry/acoustic which is cool for the die hard acoustic fan. I’m glad to have released an EP well before my full length to test out marketing fields.


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on The Ashling by Rachel Merchand

To visit Denise's
website click here.

Chaos and Congeniality

Cutting Edge Voices' Focus on
Chaos and Congeniality
 by Denise Barbarita

In 1994, Denise Barbarita, a native of Newark, DE, graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Production and Engineering. Soon after, she moved to New York City, and from 1994-1999, she worked at honing her craft as an engineer; beginning as an intern at Right Track Studios, moving on to becoming an assistant engineer at studios like The Looking Glass and Battery Studios, then finally she found her home where she is now a staff engineer, at Kampo Studios. As a recording engineer, Denise has worked with a long list of top selling and independent artists alike; Some credits include Grammy nominated artists such as Angie Stone, Karrin Allyson, Herbie Hancock, David Byrne, Mary J. Blige and The Roots. Independents include, singer/songwriters, Brenda Kahn, Kristi Martel, Halley Devestern, and guitarist, Michael Hewett. Since 2002, Denise has focused her efforts towards the artistic side of the glass. Her debut album, “Beauty Lied” hit the shelves with rave reviews in 2002.  “Beauty Lied” exhibits her abilities as a singer/songwriter as well as showcasing her talents as an engineer/producer. Tracks from “Beauty Lied” have received national and international airplay and 6 songs from the album have been featured regularly on the daytime television drama, “One Life to Live".  She has also been featured in numerous national magazines, most notably, “Women Who Rock”, “WomanRock, and “Billboard”. In June 2005, Denise released her 2nd CD, “Chaos and Congeniality”. She continues to tour in support of her new release, wowing audiences across the U.S. with her live performances. She has been involved in many charity events over the past few years, organizing music events to raise funds for Lifebeat, Indie Music for Life (a cancer research benefit concert series) and Second Harvest. She has performed for numerous events to raise funds for the organization, R.A.I.N.N. When not on the road, Denise works hard to help other independent and major label artists realize their dreams of making great albums in the studio.

 CEV:  Before we start discussing your latest CD called Chaos and Congeniality perhaps you could tell me what was it about music that first grabbed your interest and when was it that you had a pretty good idea that you were going to be doing this for a living at some point in your future? 

DB:  Well, music was always a part of my life, always something I enjoyed doing,..Half of high school was spent practicing!

But, being a working musician wasn’t the quintessential goal. I think a part of me wanted that, but the truth is from an early age I knew I wanted to work in a studio.  That’s really why I went to Berklee. Their music production program was the best around. Of course the added benefit was I could study guitar too. Honestly, I had no intention of being a professional musician,..I wanted to be an engineer/producer,..I did write some songs and recorded some of my own material while I was in school, but it wasn’t my GOAL per se.

It wasn’t until I had graduated and moved to NYC that I started to really write seriously,..more out of loneliness than anything. I had a handful of friends here, I worked a 10 hour day and made next to nothing as an intern, so it became my form of psycho-therapy and entertainment. After a year or so, friends of mine from Berklee made their way to NYC, I played them my songs and they persuaded me to start performing at open mics around the city. That's’s when I caught the bug and thought, “hmm, maybe I can do this TOO!”. But in many ways I was a late bloomer in terms of being a working musician.

Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Chaos and Congeniality by
Denise Barbarita

To visit Laura Sullivan's
website click here.

Mystical America  

Cutting Edge Voices' Focus on
Mystical America
 by Laura Sullivan

Laura’s appreciation for our environment blossomed in the wilderness setting where she grew up and continues to influence and inspire her compositions to this day. Her 2003 release, Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America, included a song inspired by each of the National Scenic Trails, such as the Appalachian, Continental Divide and the Pacific Crest. Pianoscapes continues to be well received in retail sales, featured programs and radio airplay and debuted at #5 on Apple Itunes, sustaining a rank in the Top Ten downloaded NEW AGE CD’s for over 3 months. RJ Lannan of the New Age Reporter writes of this release: “Laura Sullivan’s music shimmers with an effervescent vitality.” A portion of the proceeds of this CD are currently benefiting the National Arbor Day Foundation’s tree planting programs. In the spirit of this effort, included within each CD jewel case are tree seeds of the Blue Spruce which the listeners can plant in Laura’s unique program called “Buy a CD & Plant a Tree.”

 CEV:  Before we get down to questions about Mystical America, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now? 

LS:  I grew up on a farm inNorthern California. My mother started teaching me to play classical piano when I was 4 years old and I began “making up my own songs” on the piano when I was about 8. I was very influenced by the classical music I was learning and the style of my music still reflects my classical training. In most record stores my music is found in the “New Age” section, although some prefer to categorize it as something else such as “Contemporary Instrumental” or
“Neo-Classical.” 

CEV:  Your latest CD, Mystical America, was released not too long ago. What was the seed of inspiration for this CD and how did you go about beginning to do the work on it? 

LS:  I’ve always been enthralled by places that have spiritual significance, mystery and mystical intrigue. Growing up nearMt. Shasta, a place very close to my heart, I was always fascinated to hear stories about how people had been affected by the spiritual power of the mountain. Through traveling I became inspired by other fascinating places inAmerica and decided to try and capture some of the beauty and magic of these places in music. 


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Mystical America by Laura Sullivan