STREET was truly a street kid, New York born and bred. Three major labels spotted her talent early on and signed her to successive deals. The first was Warner Bros. when she was still in high school, after which she was picked up by Capitol Records and then welcomed to the Arista Records roster by none other than the Hit Man himself, Clive Davis. In short order, two singles, “Under the Clock” and “Say Hello To Ronnie,” even charted on Billboard as STREET settled into her new oceanside home in Southern California.
Then, as happens in the oft-fickle industry, STREET says, “. . . they dropped me and a lot of people told me, even back then, ‘You’re too old to get another deal.’ So I kept playing around L.A. I did a lot of songwriting behind the scenes and wrote stuff for movies.” STREET isn’t at all embarrassed to say, “I also painted houses. I did whatever I could to survive.”
Then, longtime friend Janis Ian, suggested she come to Nashville and with a series of writing dates awaiting her STREET decided to stick around. “I got a couple of publishing deals, kept the film and TV things going and went on the road doing house concerts. I also kept painting houses and even worked as a waitress at Cracker Barrel, what a disaster!” On the performance side, STREET mentored young writers and conducted workshops, for the Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI) at their chapters all over the country, while also playing gigs and house concerts along the way. She was even a clown for a short while.
It’s these life experiences, the highest highs and, many crazy situations in between, that have molded STREET into the fighter and survivor she has become, pouring her all into her songwriting and her new EP, I’M NOT THE GIRL I USED TO KNOW. In just five songs, STREET leads the listener through varied neighborhoods of the heart, where “there’s beauty in the pain” of life such as on the title track “I’m Not The Girl I Used To Know”, or where, in “Situation”, it can be a mistake to take trivial troubles too seriously. “Tears Taste the Same” tells of sad experiences worth tasting and “Bring It On” champions the determination needed to weather the wounds of love. Finally, “My Side of Paradise” is a sweet, swaggering ode to joy that comes from STREET’s growing up in the . . . well, the street. Plans are in the works for a tour in support of this new work, so keep an eye out for details and always listen for the word on the STREET.
