Melody Romancito's Music Bio

Both of Melody Romancito's parents were professional musicians. She grew up listening to recordings her mother had collected from the '40s, '50s and '60s of the world's jazz greats. Though captivated by the Beatles and rock music in the '60s and '70s, Melody's own tastes ran toward the eclectic, encompassing early punk, New Music and electronica, and branching into Americana when she moved to the Rocky Mountains in the mid-'80s.

By the '90s she had been in Motown and raggae bands, played bluegrass on the street, and performed as a lounge singer with duos, small trios and quartets.

She plays guitar, banjo and mandolin, though her favorite instrument is the voice, which, when played unfettered by concerns of where her fingers may be on the fret board, soars high.

Vocal influences are varied -- from June Christi to Joni Mitchell -- Big Joe Williams to David Bowie. Her voice has been described as similar in intonation to June Christi's and Sarah Vaughn's, with power like kd lang's.

Her songwriting style spans genres such as Western swing and R'n'B. A professional writer since the early '80s, words continue to be Romancito's primary medium.

photo by Drew Flack

HEAR Melody's music
(mp3s online)