First, let's get caught up. For those of you who know me from the music industry, especially the KAOL projects, you know that I've been based out of California forever. However, that's not my native home.
I was born and brought up in New England and that is where I have now returned. As I write this I'm sitting in my very first new home in a beautiful small town in New Hampshire. A songwriter's dream, really. So, how did I get here?

I left California in 2002 after 18 years (I arrived there in 1984 with just a guitar and 2 suitcases!).
When I left, I stopped off in Tempe, Arizona for 2 years after the completion of the KAOL projects to get some much needed rest.

KAOL. Phew, let's stop here for a moment. What a fast paced and busy 5 years those were. For those of you who might NOT know what that is it stands for KISS Army OnLine.

I started www.kissarmyonline.com and a non-profit corporation called MusiCare Online. After we incorporated we set out to make some charity dollars via some serious musical releases, specifically a series of CD projects that were a tribute to the rock band KISS.

We released 3 different CD titles, each one TWICE with major variations in song lineups and productions for each remaster. Our first one was awful, that's a fact. It was the test run of an internet produced disc. But by the time we had finished the entire series we had hit a couple of homeruns out of the ballpark and there's been no other release to date that can stand next to ours.

Does it sound like I'm tooting my horn a bit? I guess I am. Because everyone did a bangup job and the proof's in da puddin'. So, a total of
6 CD projects. The grand finale release was actually a double disc set packaged with a video disc full of our own music videos and artist documentaries. In between all of that we also released a 300 page paperback novel about KISS which included a CD Soundtrack disc in the front cover that accompanied each chapter of the book with a song.

Sound like a lot? I got tired just writing all that! But it really was so much fun and such a whirlwind. The high energy was there and so was the passion. We were absolutely revolutionary and groundbreaking in the music industry because we used only the internet to audition, produce, and patch together artists from around the country and globe. It was simply magical.

It was so busy that most times I didn't know the difference between night and day or what the date was. Thru all of it though, and after financing these 7 colorful, high end book and CD packages we managed to raise about $20,000 for charities including: The Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, The Massachussetts Alzheimer's Foundation, and the Twin Towers Orpan Fund.

But when those 5 years were done, so was I. I mean DONE. Fried to a crisp. I had produced dozens of artists and spent years of my life while my own music sat stagnant, waiting for my time and attention. My health took a hit, too. I needed downtime badly.

Around this same time I gave up the name MusiCare Online and allowed the National Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles to take it and use it in conjunction with their MusiCares program. These are the people that put on the Grammys every year and they have a spectacular program called MusiCares that helps artists recover from drug and alcohol addiction in a discreet setting. They also do additional charity work with Alzheimer's as well. Since their program name was similar to our MusiCare Online, I gave it to them and amended my corporation to be renamed as Musicians For Progress.

I took the MusiCare Online website down while I was on break in Arizona and it will be re-launched with its new name later this year along with the kissarmyonline.com site.

And so here we are today. That's the Reader's Digest abridged version, of course. So many stories and so much life experience to reflect back upon and share. A lot of soaring highs and some very painful lows. All in due time and all to be chronicled in a weblog diary when time permits. Yes, at some point I will be starting a blog here and I hope you'll join in and share your thoughts and experiences too. But long before that can happen must come the most important mission of all - THE MUSIC.

One of the many wonderful things that came out of the KAOL years was learning just how many friends you can make thru an internet connection. Some of the artists and musicians that I worked with will be involved in future collaborations and perhaps even lifelong friends and colleagues. I've found the web to be the richest source of contacts and the best social life I could ever hope for. The computer has changed my life but that's yet another story for another time!

And since being back home in New England some of you longtime followers will be happy to know that I have reconnected with many of those musical soulmates I left behind over 20 years ago and that the planets are aligning.......

So, will I ever return to California? You bet! I loved Orange County, LA, and San Diego. I also loved the Phoenix area of Arizona. For now, I'm comfortable and my musical aspirations always did best here in New England.

Those of you who do know me know that my grandfather died of Alzheimer's and that I only have my grandmother left. I'm here to be with her and she's with me 3 days out of the week here. But surely........I'd love to buy a second home in Southern Cal and I'll bring Nana along if I'm fortunate enough to still have her around if and when the time comes.
I love the west, I love the east. Gotta live in both.

I leave you with the invitation to stick around and check out what's here and what's to come. If you don't see them now, there will be MP3s and lots more content posted as it becomes available.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm ALWAYS under construction. :-)

Kathy