What do your dreams say to you? (Joyce)

My dreams … wow … I dream in riddles & rhymes. Sometimes I have no idea what they mean, other times I awake knowing exactly what I was being told. Usually it has to with either telling me I’m on the right path with whatever I’m doing at that moment in my life, or that I am not.

Don't' u miss being part of a band? Seems like the camaraderie would be so great... (Lalah)

Yeah I do. Jeff & Peter of The Family Stand were, are, and always will be my musical soul-mates. We were supposed to come together the exact way we did & make the exact music we made, & leave it the exact way we did. The feeling in the studio, and on stage was undeniable. We were & are simply connected

Wisdom

I know as artist you encounter a lot of people are judging you all the time. Especially with you being so different... There's nobody out there with your style, your voice, your stage presence etc.
How do you persevere, go forward, and keep your focus in this cookie cutter business? (Indira)

It ain’t easy being green! But hey what honestly keeps me going is the real people that I constantly meet our receive emails from, or that come up to us after a show … They let me know that I’m achieving that ultimate goal of touching and helping, giving people reasons to smile and feel good. The business of music is no joke though! It has taken out many an extremely talented & unique artist, that’s always frustrating to see. I believe we have to have a center like no other. Because each & everyone of us will have periods of major doubt, lack of self confidence & wanting to throw in the towel. That center must be a flame that can not be blown out by the winds of change in this topsy-turvy industry.

What visions do you have for the future? (Joyce)

Actually my visions are quite simple, but beautiful. I affirm joy & contentment in life. The way for me to continue that is to always strive to better myself emotionally, & spiritually, as well as contribute something to this world we occupy. I have a burning desire to have at least a small part in keeping the gifts of my talented peers available for everyone worldwide. There are always places for folks on the top 10, but that’s not work is it? That’s making a phone call! I’m also committed to saying constant growth artistically. I need to touch people, to get them to feel what I’m feeling when I sing, or write a song. That’s my gift. Our talents are our gifts from The Creator of All Things.
What we do with our talents, are our gifts back to that universal energy.

Late girl, here… Sandra, to be honest, I don't know what to ask! Some questions I would ask could be really rudimentary, like: where are you from? when did you know music was your passion? do you have siblings? are they in the industry? did your family support your decision to become an artist? do you play an instrument, other than your awesome voice? how did Family Stand come about? why did y'all break up? do you stay in touch with any of the members? And that's just a beginning... on the other side I have a million questions about your new love, your new life and your new family...
Guess I'm full of questions, huh... (Simone)

Oh damn Simone! I’m gonna answer every one of these questions, here we go.
1. I’m from Dallas Texas.
2. When I was 8 years old.
3. I have one adopted, sister one blood sister, one adopted brother, one blood brother.
4. Ha! Not at all! Although my blood sister had a nice voice.
5. My family was the backbone behind me doing my thing early in life. My father would take me to any rehearsal, show, audition. He’d be at every performance with a big ole smile and a bigger camera! My adopted sister brought me to my first choir at church and told the director that he should listen to me sing. I was to young for the teenage choir, but he took me in anyway ;-)
6. I play piano, not like Oleta or Patrice, but I’m aight.
7. Jeff & Pete were doing productions as a team before I met them. A friend of mine, the awesome singer Lisa Fisher was doing demos for them to submit to signed artists. She had to go out on the road with Luther, and she hooked me up with them to do the demos that she couldn’t do. We connected, and the rest they say is his or should I say herstory.
8. We were so pained by the treatment from the label. We’d just come off tour in Europe, and what we saw and experienced was both ends of the spectrum. Our music was not in the stores, so the packed houses that we encountered had gangs of people coming up to us with bootlegged copies of Family Stand cassettes for us to sign. It was wild & sad at the same time. Our music was getting out there, but we would never receive any benefits our documented accolades for that achievement. We just didn’t want to do it anymore.
9. Fah sho! Ain’t nothing in the world that can keep me from my brothers!
10. Love, love, love…
I decided to move to Amsterdam a couple of years ago just to get some new energy around me for creative & spiritual reasons. I’d met a man here when Family Stand was here. A sweet unpretentious, honest, good, sexy man, who had a healthy dose of brute sarcasm, wit & endless intelligence. This of course appealed to this mercurial Gemini. We couldn’t be together then for obvious reasons. I lived in New York, he lived in Holland. When I moved here, he was still sweet unpretentious, honest, good, sexy with this a healthy dose of brute sarcasm, wit & endless intelligence … So this time, I married him this time, I ain’t stoopid! We have a beautiful babygurl, and now my oldest beautiful daughter finally has a sibling! She’s been asking since she could talk. It took me a while, but hey, tada!
Whew … yeah you were FULL of questions ;-)

What cha...

What cha listening to now?

I’m still feeling the latest output from Seal quite a bit. But mostly music from the daughters since we’re planning our upcoming shows.

What cha watching, or what have you recently seen and dug? (TV, film, DVD)

Well I was bitter about the fact that Desperate Housewives wasn’t here in Holland yet, but now it’ll finally begin next month. I loved The Terminal.

What cha doing next week, next year?

Working my natural ass off. I have a lot I want to do, like finish my own CD! Come on MB.