Wendy offers solid vocals combined with a folksy combination of country and pop with a little bluegrass thrown in. This “music of the heart” makes you laugh, cry, dance and everything in between.

Biography

Music was always a big part of my family. My dad’s folks were both classical musicians, and my mom sang up a storm in front of the kitchen sink nearly every night of my toddler-hood. There were four of us offspring; all of us played some kind of instrument. And my dad was THE best whistler I have ever heard, anywhere -- period.

I was a little shy, though. I loved to play and sing, and was pretty good at it, but singing in front of people was terrifying! My friend Bub and I joke that we love performing, but wish we could recover our anonymity by putting a bag over our head after the show!

Somehow I managed to muscle through my bashfulness and by my early 20’s (and I’m not sayin’ how long ago THAT was!) I was up on stage with a cover band, paying my way through the last couple years of college. I graduated with a degree in something-or-other, but my real interest was in continuing to SING!

Without much experience, I had the audacity to make a living for several years in the mysterious and wonderful music business. I sang in wedding bands, I played and sang in hotel bars, I jobbed in for corporate gigs, and I emceed a Karaoke bar when no one knew what that was. Thanks to lessons with Evanston jazz pianist Jack Hubble (who has helped countless Chicago musicians get their start), I learned enough theory to play a few 7th and 9th chords on the piano and became a lounge lizard for a while. I also did a lot of weddings and church services, including one memorable musical skit at a “retreat” in Benet Lake, WI (thanks to Mike Graff)! I found my folk and bluegrass roots singing with the ever-irreverent “Hartland Express” for several years.

All along, I wrote songs - good ones, bad ones, silly ones, and sad ones – and would perform them when I had the chance. Folks kept telling me that I should record them, and the idea skittered around the back of my mind. One Sunday I performed at Unity Northwest Church in Des Plaines, Illinois. There I met singer and voice teacher Meredith Colby, whose husband happens to be Derrick Procell (who has too many talents to label). She introduced us, I hired him to produce my record, and the journey of “Starstruck” began.

My original plan for “Starstruck” was to do a homemade recording of a few tunes on a mini-deck in my living room, just to have a little something to sell at gigs. Hah! Derrick had much bigger ideas. His creativity, experience, energy and drive were exactly what I needed. There were many, many days when I wanted to put that bag over my head and run, but Derrick wouldn’t let me. It was his vision and determination that kept the project moving right through to the mastering studio, and for that I am deeply grateful.

My path took me away from music for a while, so it’s taken a long time to finally get “Starstruck” to market. My warmest gratitude goes out to everyone who hung onto this dream for me when I was focused elsewhere. Better late than never. And God only knows how the journey unfolds …

Thanks for listening,
wp
© 2007 Wendy Proulx