Recognized
in folk circles for her incredible voice and intelligent songwriting
since the mid 90's, Michigan-based Terry Gonda held back on releasing
a full length album until she believed her performance and outlook on
life had ripened sufficiently. The results can be heard on her first
full-length CD, "love, lose, repeat", and the strategy appears
to have worked. The KCC Music Room recently commented "Gonda's
work shows a maturity and warmth missing from much of the music scene
these days. Her rich voice is the perfect delivery medium for her songs
of real life." England's BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris was so moved
by her voice on the CD that he teased the audience of his national country
show with a cut from her CD for two weeks in a row--six weeks before
its release.
Part of
Gonda's earlier ambivalence can be traced to the fact she is one of
those powerful performers that are difficult to categorize. "I've
never fit into a tidy box", confesses the engineer-theologian-singer-songwriter-counselor.
Yet this same diversity is her strength as her remarkable voice moves
so naturally from insightful folk to humor to torch to pop and inspirational
music. In addition, that voice is backed up by accomplished guitar work
and an engaging and warm delivery of original and carefully chosen cover
material. The Detroit Free Press described a performance as "positively
lucid" and "intoxicating" and Maryland concert producer,
Sherry Panzer says, "Terry is more than a singer-songwriter. Her
show is a performance with beautifully interwoven stories, songs and
poems. It’s always a treat to see where she’ll take us in any given
show".
Her somewhat opposing passions were well established by childhood. At
age 9, she was repairing the chains on the neighborhood bikes, wreaking
havoc on the ball field, longing to "be a saint", and taking
guitar lessons. Initially inspired by the diversity of rich melodies
on her Detroit radio and the folk group at her Catholic church, St.
Valentine's, she was ultimately drawn to the singer-songwriters, such
as James Taylor, Carole King, Dan Fogelberg, and later, the Indigo Girls.
She played their songs and her own at school, joined the church folk
group and performed in local musical theatre productions. But her other
interests called out to her as well. Not one to be pinned down, she
headed out in multiple directions all-at-once. So it was, that while
a full time research engineer for the Army and a church choir music
director, she struck out musically in the mid 90's; landing Kerrville,
Rocky Mtn, and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival songwriting contests and showcases.
At the same time, she also began leading workshops and retreats and
even found herself in the ministry of aiding in the healing journey
of young adults who were abuse survivors.
While she
was very successful in her multiple vocations, she was continually plagued
by both the drive to make an album and the resistance to do so--unclear
of a direction to take and unwilling to settle for a freshman effort.
She gradually became aware that the unifying element in all the aspects
of her life was the seemingly endless amount of love that she brought
to and received from all her endeavors. By making love the focus, the
full length CD grew to ripeness and so did the performer.
While the
title may seem a bit cynical, love, lose, repeat is actually an homage
to the many faces and cycles of love in our life. It acknowledges that
loss is an inevitable part of the journey, but it is not the end. Via
pop, folk, country, blues, and rock, Terry works out her musical and
love demons of ambivalence and emerges victorious as an engaging and
more honest performer.
In addition
to the Midwest, eastern and southern USA regions, Terry has performed
at London’s acclaimed 12 Bar Club, at the Greenbelt Festival in Cheltenham
England, and live on Bob Harris’s BBC Radio Show where he characterized
Terry as "an expressive, intelligent and truly beautiful artist".
As well as the aforementioned festivals, Terry was recently a showcase
artist at the 2003 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, a finalist in the 2002
Susquehanna Music Festival songwriter competition, and a showcase artist
at the 2001 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference.
Concert
and recording artist, research engineer, philosopher, inspirational
lecturer - Terry Gonda is all of these and more. Her music inspires,
thrills and touches the soul of the listener.