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Anastasia ( in her own words).... I was born in Missouri and grew up living in a very, very small town called Biehle. (Pop. about 230) I went to grade school there, in a 3 room school house, grades k-8th. When I graduated from 8th grade there were 4 kids in my class. Two boys, me, and another girl, (my cousin). I don't think I ever had more than 6 people in my class the whole 8 years! I had the best teacher, Mrs. Triller. I had her for at least 4 of my grades there. She always told me I was a very good singer and when she gave out awards at the end of each quarter I always got the Outstanding in Music awards! (I still have those awards) Thanks Mrs. Triller! During my youth in Biehle I also sang in the church choir. My mom played the organ, and I was always right by her side singing along. My mom always had music playing at our house… Marty Robbins, Charlie Pride, Elvis, lots of country artists. When I was 14 we moved 35 miles south to Cape Girardeau. (My family still lives in Missouri.) I went to high school there… and while most of my four years there are a blur, except for my close friends, and concert choir. We had the BEST teacher for concert choir! She definitely taught me how to start singing my best, and from my heart! Thanks Mrs. Stricker! (Lets keep music in the schools!) We had a pop concert every year and my freshman year was the first time I ever sang alone in front of the parents! I sang "The Rose." After high school, I immediately took off for California to become a singer. (I had big dreams.) My brother was in the music scene there, and he said he would help me out. So I moved in with him, and I never did anything to do with playing music, or singing. The closest I got was working in a record store. After about eight months, I was ready to go back home! I was all prepared to get going, when I was hit by a truck while riding my only reliable source of transportation… my bike. So I had to stay in California for another 4 or so months to settle that dispute. In 1990, I had three jobs at once to survive and one of my jobs was 2 blocks down the street from this little music store. I had a friend who worked there and I went in one day with a sad heart because it was Valentine's Day, and I had no date. When I saw my friend, Mike, he knew I was sad so he and this other guy who worked there, (that I had never met,) both gave me a kiss on both sides of my face at the same time! I thought it was very sweet. Then this other guy that worked there named Vinnie, (yes Vinnie,) who witnessed what was happening, yelled from across the room to the guy I didn't know yet, who had just kissed me… "Why don't you ask her out John!" Spare time... In my spare time… (what’s that?)… I LOVE to make quilts, I love to go in antique shops and look at all the history of unique stuff, and I even collect some of it. Love to read… love to write songs, and, I am trying to learn to play the guitar more. Oh yeah, and I also love to cook! (John is saying huh)?… That's all for now! I was born in a small farm town in Nebraska. (Gothenburg pop. 3,000) I spent my first years growing up in Philadelphia & San Diego (while my father was in the Navy). At a very young age my dad taught me to play the trumpet, and I was soon listening to my parents records: Peter Paul & Mary, Dave Brubeck, The New Christie Minstrels... Later in the Midwest, we lived in a few more small cities between Omaha & Denver, finally settling in Gothenburg at the age of 13. I then began taking guitar lessons, and was soon playing along with the church youth choir & highschool chorus. I also played along with the records I had by John Denver, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, and eventually acoustic rockers like Crosby, Stills and Nash & Jackson Browne. Not long after I began college I found myself in my first rock band (Sandcastle) and was soon paying my way through college by playing in clubs in the Omaha area. In January 1983 at the urging of a friend, I moved to Nashville, TN, leaving home on a greyhound bus. The friend I moved there with returned home after a few weeks, but I stayed for nearly two years. I then headed west, to Los Angeles searching for something more in the music industry. I enrolled in GIT, (Guitar Institute of Technology) hoping to emerge as one of the worlds greatest guitar players. I learned at my year there that I would never be the worlds greatest guitar player, nor did I care to be. After graduating in March 1986 I didn't touch the guitar for nearly a year. Eventually I got a job working in a small Mom & Pop music store in Burbank, and began playing as a solo act at places like the "Sidewalk Cafe" in Venice and "Shakey's Pizza" in Burbank. At the same time I started work as a Keyboard/Guitar Technician working with such acts as....... Gloria Estefan, Steve Miller, Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat, and eventually CSN, and Bonnie Raitt. One Day....... while I was working in the Music store in Feb. of 1990… I met Anastasia Spare time........... Lately in my spare time, when I'm not playing guitar, or taking care of A & J business, I enjoy running, reading, & carving wood. Anastasia claims my favorite spot is laying on the couch, with a Time magazine while our cat "Fuzz" sleeps curled up on my stomach. Oh yeah… and I love Anastasia's cooking! M e o w. Anastasia & John (on how A & J started)..... A: We went out for a little over three years before John ever heard me sing. J: I couldn't believe my ears. A: I suppose I always wanted him to hear me, but I was too shy. I thought I would give it a couple years first. J: Thank goodness you didn't wait any longer! A: We started learning songs in the living room, by Bonnie Raitt, and Nanci Griffith. J: A friend heard that we were singing together, and asked us to perform in a vacant spot he had on the acoustic stage at the Carpinteria Avocado Festival. ( Yes, the Avo. fest!) A: It was our first gig! J: Yep, our first gig. A: We were terrified! J: After that we started writing, and playing more of our own songs at Coffee Houses on a regular basis. A: In the fall of 1996, David Crosby came to see us perform at "The Roasted Bean Coffee House," in Santa Ynez. And he really liked us! J: We then opened our very first big show for David Crosby at a "Make a Wish Foundation" benefit concert. After that, he asked us to open the very first CPR tour in January of 1997! A & J: Thank YOU David!!!!!! A: After that wonderful experience, and after talking with numerous fans, we knew we had to record a CD. J: So we called our friends, many of which I worked with over the years, and asked them if they would help us out. A: The result was… "That's You and Me." J: And now, "Little Man." A: Stay tuned. J: Have a listen~! |