Jan-Feb Issue

once said to me: “Nothing is hard, you just have to
find a way to make it easy.”
In college I found myself not sleeping too much and
at times felt like Einstein with wild hair and bugged
out caffeinated eyes. Hey, my school tasks got
accomplished though, and I managed to remain in a
fulfilled, creative space!
You actually taught guitar for a while. Is teaching
something you love to do? I LOVE teaching and
cherish the experiences I’ve had with private lessons
over the years. With a heavy touring lifestyle now, it
would no longer be fair to a student to meet so
infrequently. Instead I’m offering fingerstyle guitar
and songwriting workshops in a few select cities. I’ve
also been writing an instructional guitar book on the
side over the years, have planned out some instructional
videos to be recorded soon with TrueFire, and
have transcribed some of my sheet music. One
instrumental piece “Chasing Infinity” will be published
in the coming issue of the Fingerstyle Guitar Journal.
You were nominated “Best Female Songwriter”
for the 2010 Origivation Magazine Reader’s
Choice Award and “Best Guitarist” for WSTW’s
Hometown Heroes Award, and have received a
lot of other recognition. Does the idea of making
it big, “reaching stardom” excite you? I’ve always
been fascinated by the idea of connecting with people
from all walks of life and different parts of the
world. The experience of expansion in my career is
always fulfilling, with the obvious exception of stressful
moments trying to keep up with my heavy schedule
and still make time to write new music. On a
positive note, my songs are written with the intention
to uplift people, bring joy to my heart space and
gather communities together. I feel that the world
needs more love and joy, so with that said, the more
expansion the merrier!
much more prestigious venues, on International
tours oversees and on stage with some brilliant
artists. Things have been busy and I’m working
hard to keep up… it’s invigorating!
Besides playing music and writing, what other
things do you like to do in your spare time?
Music. Yoga. Life. It’s all integrated. In my spare
time (which by the way, must be intentionally created
with a busy lifestyle), I enjoy going to yoga
classes, reading books, writing longer blogs and
poetry, riding my bike and going on hikes or anything
that involves nature. Simply sitting at the
park and watching the birds allows me to rediscover
a place of peace in my heart.
You’ve named Bonnie Raitt one of you inspirations.
Are there others? The list of inspirations is
quite long! For time sake, I love Ed Sheeran, Dave
Matthews, Michael Hedges, Joni Mitchell, Jason
Mraz, Sara Bareilles, Andy McKee, Judy Collins,
Bela Fleck, John Mayer, James Bay, Paul Simon,
Peter Gabriel, Tommy Emmanuel, Tret Fure, Snatam
Kaur, Clayton Joseph Scott, Matt Nakoa, Antoine
Dufour, Adele, and most importantly,
Beethoven and Debussy!
Thank you Christie for talking with us at Bay
Buzz Music. We wish you the best of luck in
your career and look forward to seeing you
live! Is there anything else you would like to
add?Thank you so much for allowing me to be a
part of your magazine. I will be performing in
Tampa/St Pete for the Listening Room Festival in
April, including at the Palladium Theatre in St. Pete
on Friday, April 21st. Thanks a bunch!
You are signed with CPR Entertainment. Has this
changed anything about the way you go about
making music, where you’re playing, or how you
promote?
Signing with CPR Entertainment under my manager
Gina Mendello has been the most exquisite and
exciting career decision I’ve ever made. I feel grateful
for my patience of turning down two management
contracts and record deals prior to meeting her. CPR
is a great team of people and Gina is a world-class
music manager. Within months she has placed me in
24 BUZZ Magazine January-February 2017