Growing Up I grew up on the SE coast of Florida, in a small, conservative town near the ocean, Hobe Sound. We lived on a canal, that fed into the Intercoastal waterway that led to the ocean; so my life was very connected to the ocean. I was on boats before I could walk, and pretty regularly. The ocean was a place of peace and refuge for me growing up. When I think about it now, it's easy to see that the ocean was not only my ally, friend and confidant, but also one of the most powerful rhythm experiences I could have ever had as a young being. That consistent, constant swish, the tides, rising and falling, literally, right outside my window, and all of the rhythms of the sea were also a part of me. Those rhythms: day break, dusk and deep night, being so clearly marked by the change of the sound of the sea, taught me more than I may ever fully realize about the Natural rhythms and cycles of our planet. As an adult now, I have an inherent sense of time and what I call the "shifts" of the day/night that I attribute greatly to growing up in that environment and being very vibrationally sensitive. So I give thanks for the gift of the Sea in my life, and growing up in that place. There is nothing more soothing to my soul than the sweet sound of the sea. Growing up, I could hear it from my bedroom, and all night long that deep sound lulled me into the other realms, comforted me and nurtured my spirit. Blessings to Yemaya. My love affair with music began early in life. In my home, it was my solace, my friend and my escape. My first instrument was definitly my voice. I always loved to sing and could be found many days sitting on the dock by the water singing silly little diddies while watching the sea skimmers cruise around on the top of the water with their big legs holding them up somehow! At some point before middle school, I studied the organ. I played in church and at home for fun, often singing with my father who was the inspiration, I suppose, for me to learn. I loved church, and was a bit unusual, I suppose in that I actually wanted to go to church. I craved that connection to God, spirit and community and it was a place I felt some old connection far greater than anything else I could relate to. I was a very spiritual and awakened child, and really soaked up any opportunity to be with "God" that I could get. I had a very strong Knowingness that there was more than just this world. For me it wasn't a question of whether or not God existed, I knew for sure because I spoke with God every day and night and my relationship with that "God" being was equally as real and tangible for me as my relationship with my mother and father. In middle school, I played the alto saxaphone, and by 7th grade I had won the honor of not only first chair in both the marching and jazz bands, but also being the marching band's Drum Major, reading scores and conducting the band for parades and/or in any abscence of the band's Conductor. I played throughout highschool, but lost interest when the High School band leader turned out to be a serious alcoholic with abusive tendencies. I sang in a punk band for a few years in highschool with one of my boyfriends, who was, of course, the drummer. That was the last time I sang in front of people for a lot of years. I actually believed my brother that I couldn't sing, and fell into the mindset that I had to sing a "certain" way for it to be "good." I sang in the car, and in the shower, and on the dance floor to myself all the time, but promptly shut my mouth in front of others from 15-25 years old.

Rhythm Ride Begins

It was several years later, in the mountains of Colorado that I found my deeper heart & community connection with music: the drum. Somehow, the drum, and it's very physical connection to rhythm was more powerful than any other experience I'd had, other than perhaps dancing, and took me to other worldy places within myself, literally other lives even. It was a very natural thing for me, and the first time I played I tapped into whole other lifetimes of experience in Africa, then Haiti, and it just kept going for me remembering lifetime after lifetime of playing skins, singing, dancing, drumming and doing ceremony. Check out my book for more on that to come! I'll share plenty there on those experiences! I realized that this connection was far beyond comprehensible, and that I had found something that would be with me for the rest of my life. A few years after I met the drum, I began putting some of my poems to beats, and in 1997 I started working on a project with some friends that we called "Tribal Revival." We gigged a lot in Florida, and had a whole community of people that were created out of the love for drums & rhythm. The ensemble was 100% percussion, with a little bit of flute and a lot of my voice thrown in. At that time Rusted Root was just gaining some attention, and we were often compared and categorized as very similar to their original vibe, which I think was a pretty fair and awesome comparison! My first CD, "Tribal Revival, Rains of Change" was recorded in Florida with that band, Tribal Revival. Unfortunately, right after the CD was completed, that project disbanded in 1999 when two of the core members, Beth Rubino, and Morgan Ryan left to move to Hawaii. On some level, it was a sad ending, and on another, a beginning to a whole new reality of magic, deeper ritual and trance work. The rhythm Ride was really just beginning for me!

Deep Magic By that time, I'd already started to explore the deeper work of the drum, which for me isn't just rhythm excersises, or making songs. For me it is the ceremonial aspects of drumming, dance, trance and altered states of consciousness. My first all night drum circle in Florida is still, and probably always will be, one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The feeling of inexhaustable energy, the power, the true SHAKTI of the Rhythm and the Magic I felt and witnessed flowing thru everyone present hooked me deep and true. The folowing years I spent as much time as I could seeking out ritual circles, and all night drumming opportunities from pagan festivals, Starwood, etc to jam bands. And so, when the band broke up, it was permission for me to delve deeper into the Magic of the Drum and I spent the next few years travelling across the country teaching, holding circles, performing and sparking dialogue about improving the quality of our circles by listening, communicating, and approaching the drum as we would any other musical sharing or conversation: with awareness, senstitivy and deep listening. Living literally on the Groove and learning the deep truths of Magic, Shamanism and the power of Rhythm, I experienced states of trance and magic that most people only read about. I became in this time a true believer and knower of what could course thru the Human Instrument when we are truly open and willing to be "ridden" by spirit. More of that too in the forth coming book! During that time, I got to meet a musician whom I'd watched and respected from a distance for several years. I was working the NAMM convention with Motherland Rhythm and on a whim, I gave him my info regarding drum classes I was offering, and a red rose to say Thank you for the music he makes that has inspired many a groove in my head. Coincidentally, that man was putting on a drum camp that year, and a few weeks later his PR agent contacted me and invited me to participate and perform at the Futureman Evolution Drum Camp in 2001. Being totally honored and blasted, I of course, said yes and got thrown into one of the most amazing times of my life thru that experience, and gained a good friend out of Mr. Royel Wooten (Futureman) whose friendship I deeply cherish as a brother of the groove on a whole other level. We spent many nights talking about the deeper realites of rhythm, nature and the evolution of the drum culture. At the camp, I was invited to play in a jam with some of the greatest drummers of all times: Will Calhoun from Living Color, Futureman from the Flecktones, Bernard Purdie who played with Aretha Franklin, Joe Craven, Count Imbutu and a whole crew of other master players. See www.futuremanmusic.com/DrumCamp.htm for the slideshow made on that camp! I was on a magical ride of just blissed out experiences playing in jam bands with awesome world class jazz musicians such as Jeff Sipe, Count Imbutu, Colonel Bruce, Futureman, Jeff Coffin, Michael Travis and more. It was definitly a high time, AND I got a clear picture that the jam band scene wasn't exactly the healthy lifestyle that I was seeing in my future! I cherish the experience and loved every minute of it, and knew it just wasn't my path in this life, at least not in the way I was experiencing it then. I am so grateful for that awakening though I often miss that super wild energy of the jam band scene.

During this time, as a result of the deep inspiration and good ju ju I was feeding on, I was inspired to record a solo CD with a friend of Futureman's, Jim Roberts. I had a pretty small budget, so I went in and just sort of free styled a slew of songs and took the first take on all of them, and called the CD what it was: "Raw: with Love." That CD is still available thru me or CD Baby: www.cdbaby.com/cd/cheri. I'm proud that I took a step and made it happen even though it is indeed pretty Raw. Check it out sometime, just to get an idea of my roots on the path. A few years later, I produced my second Solo CD, Visions or Reality, which is also available at CD Baby. Visions is a much different listening experience than Raw. Fully produced and no percussion on the whole album, it was a statement I needed to make for myself that I had more to share than only the drum. This project came at a time when I felt an evolution in myself coming of a softer, more complete self that incorporated my poetry, my words, melodies, rhythms, my heart and a desire to see what was possible in other realms. Not too long after Visions was complete I started working on a whole different kind of project with some electronic musicians writing the beats for me, and doing just the lyrical and melodic content. That CD is still unfinished, but I am hoping to complete it by the spring of 2008 and it will be called "Funky Wicked." So keep posted for more to come. I'll be working on my first book this year and it will have plenty of juicy stories from my years of drum ritual work, as well as stories from other people. The book will examine the loss of Community Music Making as a normal part of every day life, and how that has affected our connection to each other, to "professional" musicians, and our communities. I will also be compiling a book of Poetry to the Divine that will be a compilation of poetry from my very young life to the present time. So, keep posted, lots of goodness coming your way! Thanks for taking the time to learn about my life and I hope something in my life inspires yours! Blessings and much much love!