a life filled with music

Rita grew up in St. Charles, Missouri (near St. Louis) against an eclectic musical soundtrack of ‘60’s and ‘70’s rock, pop, R&B, soul, jazz and show tunes.  She studied classical piano and music theory from childhood until college, when she realized that a music degree was way too much work and that she really wasn’t cut out for a career in orchestral scoring anyway.

But she couldn’t shake her passion for music and performing: In her 20’s, with ambitions of becoming a country singer, she quickly learned that to get work singing, she’d have to play, too. And so, with a borrowed amp and keyboard and not nearly enough ear training, she left her classical roots behind and entered the world of pickers who learned songs by ear and played their music in smoky clubs, yelling chord changes to each other between swills of beer.

The world was not impressed: As Rita puts it, “I really sucked!” Well, at least at first:  She hung in there, taking every job she could, enduring long hours on the road, mean bar owners and amorous drunks, and navigating diverse musical styles from rock to blues to big band to hard-driving country. Along the way, she became known and respected among her mostly male counterparts as a salty piano player and vocalist who described herself as just one of the guys and carried her own gear.