The Human Spirit

"The Human Spirit is an incredible machine.
When faced with harsh challenges, it is in our nature to face them head-on;
to rise above and go beyond.
We are all capable of being heroes."

Jan was born in Brooklyn, New York on a cold February morning in 1952. She grew up on Elvis Presley, Connie Francis, Annette Funicello, the Supremes, Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas etc. She inherited her mother's genes for music, so it came naturally to Jan. In 1959, the family moved to Staten Island, New York

She had started piano at the age of seven years old. Unfortunately, her teacher was a sickly man and on one occasion - "tossed his cookies" right on the keyboard during "Dance of the Sugarplums". That did not help Jan's confidence at all. She did not want to take lessons from him anymore. Unfortunately, her parents misunderstood the situation and Jan's upright piano was gone within a week.

Depressed, she started to sneak into her big brother's bedroom to play his guitar. That Christmas (1963) her brother Pat presented that beautiful guitar to Jan as a gift. Jan spent hours each day, driving her family nuts, repeating the same 3 chords over and over. After she had mastered those chords, she bought a music book. It was filled with the music of a new group that had just come to America. They were the Beatles.

She soon taught herself the songs in that book and was ready to start her own band. So, at age 12, she got together with 3 other girlfriends and formed one of the first female rock groups ever --- the "Starliters". There were three guitarists and one bongo player. The little group couldn't afford a drum kit. They even performed the song "More" in a school parents night show. The group disbanded when they all graduated from 8th grade. Jan kept on playing and dreaming though.

During her high school years, she played at church and school gatherings. After high school, she started working with groups on Staten Island, NY. She was the only female guitarist at that time. Jan learned much and "paid her dues".

By 1980 she had established herself as an original songwriter/guitarist/performer and producer. In 1986, Jan wasn't feeling too well. She was weak as a newborn puppy, seeing double, had trouble walking a straight line and a few other problems. She thought it was the delayed result of an old horseback-riding injury.

It wasn't. It was Multiple Sclerosis.

Since then, Jan has produced many projects. She has played many New York City clubs, including: Bitter End, CBGBs, Pyramid, Continnental, Coney Island High, Street Level, Spiral, Rock n' Roll Cafe, New Music Cafe, Sun Mountain and a slew of others. Jan was also featured as one of the "new artists" on Reaction Records' (New York City) 1996 Double CD Compilation.

In 1997, the Multiple Sclerosis had taken its toll on Jan. She was too weak to walk further than a block, let alone carry a guitar. She had to stop doing live shows. Using a professional studio for her next project was out of the question. So, she invested the budget she would have spent at a studio and built her own mini-production house. The recording of "Cane and Able" was produced in that living room studio - right down to DAT Mastering and Cassette Duplications, CD and Cassette Insert /Graphic Design, including WebSite Design. CD Mastering and Duplication would be handled by one of Jan's sponsors, here in cyberland - "Internet Music Net".

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Jan likes to define her music as neo-folk/rock. In her latest recording "Cane and Able" she addresses issues such as kids and guns, the mythical 1960s, the wonders of dancing up on Mars, Desert Storm, living with MS, and the farewell to the pleasures of physical love. All of these serious topics are then set against a wild, surf party, makes my feet buzz, Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello Beach Blanket A-Go Go musical beat.

Enjoy this celebration of the human spirit!