"I've made MANY mistakes along the way, but I can't really say I regret any of it as it's shaped who I am. and there are a lot of cool things I'm doing now that would not have been possible if I hadn't stumbled so hard.

Laying down the Cowards in Love tracks – I'd been playing these new songs with my band (in New York) and when we got together in the studio (in Jersey City) with Jamie and Alan, it just fell together so naturally and we had so much fun!"

I grew up in Jacksonville FL in a Cuban-American household. My mom is from Havana and music is a big part of the culture. And the irony was that my uncle grew up to be an opera singer while my mother was basically tone deaf! so when she was pregnant with me, she prayed that her child would have the voice she always wished she'd had!

I've been singing all my life, but a big turning point came when my dad gave me a tenor ukelele and taught me some folk songs. He schooled me on the great music from the sixties. But I was also listening to a lot of classic rock (which is ALL over the airwaves in Jacksonville) and was part of the 80's/early MTV generation. I did a lot of shows and folk festivals when I was growing up, but in college I took a theater class and from then on the stage took over my life for a while. But after I moved to New York , I fell in with a rock music crowd and even though I'd always been a fan, I'd never played that way. I LOVED the passion and energy and got hooked on it!

Laying down the Cowards in Love tracks – I'd been playing these new songs with my band (in New York ) and when we got together in the studio (in Jersey City ) with Jamie and Alan, it just fell together so naturally and we had so much fun. The basic tracks were done in about a day and then we had a couple other sessions for overdubs, and the whole experience was a joy.

My first CD, What Did I Do? was a “trial by fire”. An independent record label was going to fund it, then they backed out. Then I figured out a way to finance it, but had problems with the studio (including the producer and I getting kicked out in the middle of the night and having to move the whole studio to my bedroom). And this was the infamous summer of 2001, so I lost my tech job as the economy spiralled downward and almost lost my mind when 9/11 happened. But the CD got done somehow and I learned a hell of a lot along the way…but I'm very proud of the CD.

I've made MANY mistakes along the way, but I can't really say I regret any of it as it's shaped who I am. and there are a lot of cool things I'm doing now that would not have been possible if I hadn't stumbled so hard.

Oooh, I just set up a home recording studio – a very SMALL home recording studio – and am producing myself for the first time. it's not really my ambition to be like Prince (coz, you know, who can?) but it's an incredible challenge to exercise these new parts of my brain. I'm playing everything except the drums – tho I may have some friends lay down some tracks, too. but it's pretty much me playing with some toys. and I'm digging the outcome so far!

And there's a side project I was involved with in NYC – my wonderful friend, Lisa McHenry. I was her lead guitarist/background vocalist for a couple of years (with Vince Cecio of the Bamboo Kids, Marcos Perez and my drummer, Michael P Nordberg) and we recorded an album that will be finished soon. Actually, my bass player (Dan Green) ended up taking over my guitar duties when I moved – so it's all in the family. It's great stuff and can't wait for other people to finally hear it!

The “Cowards in Love” contributors are [drumroll]:

Jamie Laboz – producer and contributed some guitars, keyboards and background vox. Dan Green – bass player – also played on “What Did I Do?” Michael P Nordberg – drums and Alan Camlet – engineer

Not to sound TOO corny, but they're all my babies!

Fender Custom Telecaster (73, D'Addario strings), Daisy Rock Starlite Venus (D'Addario strings), Taylor D-30 (D'Addario strings) Martin Shenandoah D-28 (85, D'Addario strings). I use medium light phosphor bronze for acoustic and 10s for electrics.

Cowards in Love was produced at The Sweatshop in Jersey City , NJ , run by Alan Camlet (I think he's moving to Hoboken and teaming up with Adam Michel) and he uses the following:

Trident board, Neve preamps, Manly compressors, Royer mikes, Neumann mics, Ampeg bass amp, Fender guitar amps, Alesis hd, Pro Tools, GMS drums, Novation bass station, plenty of beer and a strange but effective beverage called Sparks. And of course some secret sauce that gives Alan his edge!

Vintage American acoustic guitars: especially if they have a few dings to give em character.

My first stage experience must have been when I was 8 at the school show. Let's see, I was Snow White singing “With a Smile and a Song” in a Snow White outfit, surrounded by 20 first-graders playing the dwarves…my mother was very proud because her friends thought I was lip synching…!

Some of the most fun i've had onstage was when I was organizing these monthly mini-festivals in New York. Jamie and I were part of an awesome group of musicians and bands and there was a lot of 'incest' - same band members playing in different bands (like Lisa McHenry, Cabbage UK, KILSY, Neon Thrills, Gift Horse and Cat Martino).

So I started getting nights where we'd all play on the same bill and all our friends could come see us at one shot. At first they were called 'hat trick' night because there were three bands in a row, then it grew so we called it "spin the bottle' night. Loads of fun, but just as we got into a groove, we up and moved to 'Los Angeles'! We've been meeting some great musicians tho, so maybe I'll get to start something like that over here someday!

ack! only five???!!!! impossible! but here goes:

Beatles – Revolver, Flaming Lips – Soft Bulletin, Neil Young – On the Beach, The Police – Outlandos d'Amor, and Radiohead – the Bends.

After the last question, I can't possible choose an album cover (but great question anyway!)

But I will say that's what I miss about vinyl – all that real estate for graphic design. How can a mere CD cover compare???

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (hee HEEE!), The Manchurian Candidate (not as trippy as the first, but still good – Meryl is a hoot!), The Corporation (grrrrrrrrrrrrr), Fahrenheit 9/11 (grrrrrrrrrrrrr), Shrek 2 (great!).

More regulation of corporations before they destroy the planet, world education, world healthcare…

So abstract and strange I can't even describe it!

Get up at 7am, do some yoga, bike to work (I do technical writing and web design for a branch of University of Southern California re: advanced computing software), bike home, record new songs in my new home studio, take walks with my boyfriend, watch TVLand (retro sitcoms) or our latest DVD rental (we're currently going through the entire Monkees series)

Finish recording at least five new songs to add to the “Cowards in Love” EP, manufacture and release Cowards in Love. Flow with whatever the universe sends my way.