Caren Kennedy

I've been singing professionally for over 26 years. I started out in the background, singing backing vocals and an occasional full song. I've always LOVED finding those interesting harmonies. But after a while I started to want to sing more, so I found good songs that fit my voice and started taking the chance in front. I started singing songs by Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Stevie Nicks, and Sheryl Crow, to name a few. I hadn't gotten the urge to write my own material at that time...YET. Years went by, I found myself doing acoustic duos/trios, and even fronting a rock band of my own, still not very interested in writing original songs. But then one day something changed. I started feeling a little empty, like something was missing. Here I was singing other people's songs (and really enjoying it, I must add), but I felt like I had nothing to show for my dedication and hard work, so I started tinkering around with ideas for lyrics. Having majored in English at Rutgers University, with a concentration in writing, I was used to writing short stories and some poetry, but never realized that writing lyrics was an art on its own. My first few attempts, now that I look back, were flops, but at the time I didn't care. It was fun to just get my ideas down on paper. But then I met a new friend, Michael Ghiggeri, and that blossoming friendship and musical partnership would change me as an artist forever. Michael had been given my name some time before as a possible singer for HIS originals. He asked me to come into the studio and record vocals for a few of his original songs. I did, and that's when our collaborative partnership began. We began writing songs together--he would write the melodies, and I concentrated on the lyrics. What resulted was beautiful songs spanning several genres. I have also collaborated with other singer/songwriters, and in the summer of 2006 I will be releasing my debut CD entitled, "Out There."