Ro's Biography
Born as the only child to very introverted, often unavailable working-class parents, and herself possessing a painfully shy disposition which made making friends difficult,
Ro Randall learned to use creativity as a means to entertain herself. At a very early age, she began experimenting with tape recorders and musical instruments, writing poems, stories, and little songs, and embracing a variety of visual arts. Studying violin and double bass in school taught her the basic skills that enabled her to pick up the electric bass when she was sixteen. She soon began writing songs, and spent the remainder of her teen years playing bass and singing in a couple of hard-rock garage bands.
In her early 20’s, the longing for the kind of creative exploration that reflected her personal journey inspired her to make her own music a top priority, so she quit the bands and began recording at home on rented equipment. As she entered college for visual arts, and later took short courses on digital sound design, Ro continued producing small in-home albums (as well as one in a semi-professional studio) at a rate of about one per year. She distributed her albums to her classmates, and began occasionally performing for the public at small venues in the Toronto area. However, translating the multi-layered vision of her recorded music to live performances (which consisted of nothing but bare-bones bass and vocals) proved problematic. And being shy and essentially introverted, as well as fiercely committed to maintaining the original individuality of her music, meant Ro was reluctant to seek collaborative support from other musicians.
She decided to explore her options and get an insider’s view of the music industry she was cautiously poised to enter, by volunteering at a downtown recording studio. As a result of various experiences in her months there, Ro became discouraged and disillusioned, and began to question if that was really the type of industry she wanted to be involved in. To make matters worse, long-standing health problems began to intensify, and she realized that neither the musician’s lifestyle, nor the string of various part-time jobs she held were conducive to either her physical or financial health. So she decided to give up on the music industry, stop playing live, and focus instead on a new and very different career: nutrition. Within 2 years, she graduated with a diploma in Applied Holistic Nutrition, and immediately began working in this field, earning a living helping people, which she found very gratifying.
But the music kept coming.
After several years working in nutrition, the music still hadn’t stopped. Through it all, Ro had never stopped writing or recording her yearly in-home albums. In fact, the years of life experience spent without the pressure of a music career seemed only to hone her skills as a song writer. She began to feel compelled by an urge to share her creations and herself with others like never before. Ro came to realize she would never be truly fulfilled until she did just that, giving her music its rightful place at the forefront of her life. Backed by improved life circumstances (i.e.: improved health, steady income, and a supportive community), Ro’s faith in her music, herself, and her future began to return. Slowly, she has begun performing live again, exploring ways to use technology not only to promote her art, but also to bridge the gap between her recorded and live sounds.