I was about 10 when I realized my life was going to be about working in a creative endeavor. But bass playing wasn't really a notion for me then. Pretty sure I had no idea what a bass even was at that time. But I always loved music and ironically found myself being a drummer in the grade school marching band, spending all my money on punk shows and concerts while in high school, working as a DJ at my college radio station, being a waitress at jazz and blues clubs even after graduation and winding up working at an LA recording studio. That was when it hit me for real as it was right in front of me and I was meeting and listening to so many big wigs in the industry that everything I was doing up to that point had made sense but really wasn't "It." I wanted to be a player and now I was old lol-28 to be exact and pretty much went into a tailspin/midlife crisis realizing what I really wanted to do at such an inconvenient age. My best buddy in college was a blues bass player from Chicago. He had encouraged me when I was 19 to learn how to play the instrument. I gave it a whirl at that time but he had me learning modes first lesson and let's just say it was discouraging to say the least! So at 28 I got very serious about it as realized most people my age had started 10 years or more before me.  After working at the recording studio every day I practiced for 4 hours nightly until was at a decent level and could gig-about 6 months later and then scored my first paid studio work with a local California band.I wasn't great by any stretch of the imagination but it got me out there and making money while I continued to improve. I was pretty single minded for years that this was all I wanted to do and was loving the life playing up and down the Sunset Strip but fate would have it that I would marry an Australian move to Queensland, get divorced and not be able to afford LA again. So I moved to Austin. Always always always loved the blues. And I picked Austin because the blues was the only music form I could ever listen to without tiring of. So although I was very familiar with the genre, I had not played much of it so I got real serious about learning and going to every blues jam session that ever existed in town, taking lessons from every great blues player I could like Sarah Brown and Roscoe Beck but my best teacher was Danny Golinda only because he was the first and broke it down so that I was able to understand everything from everyone else. I don't have a lot of family, both parents that raised me passed away some time ago. I have been a single mom for the last 8 years and although it's offered some challenges with playing, I think it's helped. It's helped because I have to choose wisely what I do with playing-can't just be with anyone anytime just because anymore. I have played with a lot of great bands in Austin and elsewhere and a lot of great players. Currently I play with Bobby Mack. I love traveling to Europe to play-this September the Bobby Mack band is going to be playing in Holland and Ireland. This will be my 3rd time going overseas to play with a US band. My first was going to Europe and with a gospel group. I was the token cracker lol. That was probably my favorite gig of all time but not the easiest by any means. One of those deals you hate when you're in it and can't wait to get home and be out of but when you are home you say "I am so glad I did that!" I will never be satisfied with my playing because I shouldn't be. I have shortcomings and I don't think anyone who is great at what they do artistically ever really rests on their laurels. I need to work on that some as adult life can be a bit difficult to schedule in practice time but I feel really good about myself when I do. I want to improve so much. I will always feel like the last one that started but that's okay too-at least it's always a good story to inspire others to do something at an age they think is too late and hard work will turn up to be talent at some point-well hopefully! I have a great time at this point in my life playing but it's never easy. Every gig offers some sort of surprise it seems. Sometimes you are nervous for no reason or not familiar with another players style that is suddenly on stage with you and on and on. If I was a kid and just starting out right now I would take the time that I had available which is so different than the time you have when you are grown up to master my instrument to the very best of my ability and add as many skills on top of it as possible-like learning how to sing, how to harmonize, how to play the upright, the 5 string, anything and everything but would limit it to always being true to myself and being the best at whatever it really was narrowed down to wanting to be