Echo (US)

"The love of music runs in my family, so it was a natural thing for me to become a musician." Echo started her love of music early in life. At the age of five she heard the song "Wind Beneath My Wings" being sung by a seven year old at a family picnic. Echo had to have that song and once she got it, she memorized it so well she could sing it for anyone anytime, "and probably drove my parents to distraction." Her grandmother then gave her a small chord organ and Echo found sticker numbers ...

"The love of music runs in my family, so it was a natural thing for me to become a musician." Echo started her love of music early in life. At the age of five she heard the song "Wind Beneath My Wings" being sung by a seven year old at a family picnic. Echo had to have that song and once she got it, she memorized it so well she could sing it for anyone anytime, "and probably drove my parents to distraction." Her grandmother then gave her a small chord organ and Echo found sticker numbers for the keys. She then began to pick out songs using songbooks with numbered notes. Later, she talked her father into letting her have a small keyboard, "which she took with her everywhere," says her mother. Echo learned to play the songs she was learning in the school choir on that keyboard and rehearsed the songs over and over until they were perfect. Being a creative person, she began to write her own music as well. Her singing began to take an upswing and she received solo assignments in choir. Like so many other people, she recorded a song at Marriott's Great America. In a talent show at Hopkins Middle School in Fremont, CA, Echo, accompanied by her friend on the keyboard, preformed "The Rose," another Bette Middler song, to a most appreciative audience. This performance was aired on the local Public Television station a few days later. Since 1997, Echo has taught herself piano, banjo, guitar, and flute. She has performed professional quality solos, in both bands and choirs, throughout her high school career. Echo's first gig was a command performance at a wedding in the Bay Area where she played requests for over an hour. Her next professional performance in May of 2000 was for the Garden Valley High School Senior Night. (What was to be only an hour set turned into a by-demand three-hour performance.) Her many performances have included an appearance in the Crouch Fourth of July Festival, and a solo spot during an Awards Night for her school. She has performed at the Sourdough Cafe, and also at Papa Baird's (Burnt Pines) in Lowman, ID. Echo was not your ordinary teen. She graduated from Garden Valley High School with honors as Salutatorian of her graduating class of 2001. She was one of two Juniors honored by Idaho State University and has been printed in Who's Who Among American High School Students 2000-2001. She has taken the professional name "Echo" under which she is publishing all of her music. At the age of 19, Echo was nicknamed "The Jewel Of The Rockies" by some adoring fans. In 2001 she enlisted the cooperation of her friends at school, who are very talented in their own right, as back up band and vocal group to her lead in the production of her first CD, Firelight. This CD contains eight original songs out of the over one hundred songs she has written. Firelight sold better than expected and is currently available only online. The latest album from Echo, Sonar, was released in October 2007. At the age of 24, Echo has performed in various karaoke shows, open mic nights, and even Newark Days, a local county fair. She has also won first place in a local karaoke contest sponsored by 95.3 KRTY-FM held at Mountain Charlie's in Los Gatos, CA as well as a contest held at The Cardinal Lounge in San Jose, CA. By request, Echo is now working on a country album to be released in 2008.