Erika Ness .............

 

Hailing from the little city of Portage, WI, I was interested in the

performing arts since early childhood. I was always trying to sneak into my

father's band practices, convincing them to let me count the songs off and

begging to go to gigs.

I spent 22 years doing theatre (musical and otherwise) as well as studying

lightingand sound design, costume and makeup, play writing, and directing.

I also studied classical voice and sang strictly classical pieces.

It was not until my junior year of high school when I was cast in a

production of Smokey Joes Cafe (a musical revue featuring the songs of

Lieber and Stoller) that I tried singing popular music. After the birth of my

son Hays, it became increasingly difficult to commit the kind of time

needed for a lead role in a theatrical production, and for several years I

went without performing.  In July of 2014, with my friend's and family's unwavering support and my husband Glenn's encouragement,  I auditioned for The Volcanics, a Madison based funk and blues band. After a year of performing with the group, I found the RetroSpecz and I love rockin' with this fantastic group of musicians and friends!