Catherine Grace
For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to music. At the young age of 5, I remember singing to my mother’s albums, which included Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, and Frank Sinatra. There was always music playing in our home. Growing up in an Italian household, it could get quite loud, so I sought solace in my bedroom and played all the music I could get my hands on. I found that the predictable beats and soothing tones were my calming mechanism. I began singing along, naturally harmonizing, and then creating my own parts, music, and lyrics. I was happiest when listening to music. My brother had a vast collection of music stored in a “Peaches” crate. I played everything he had and then discovered this amazing band called Fleetwood Mac. The second I heard the song “Landslide,” I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life: to write music and sing. The music bug bit hard! At the age of seventeen, I was singing in clubs with other bands, and in college, I joined a band called “Frisk.” We played the Cleveland circuit. Shortly after that, I met my co-writer, Mark Dwane. We worked seamlessly together, and it was an instant bond. One of the first songs that I helped Mark rewrite the lyrics to was “Out of the Blue.” We went on to record his song “Lover,” and he and his lovely wife, Deb, fell in love with his a cappella version of it and released it. It was sometime later that we collaborated again, as I was raising twin boys, which left little or no time for music. During our lapse, I wrote children’s songs. Not long after that, life happened, and I went through a horrendous divorce that left me with PTSD. It was music that saved me and got me through my darkest hours. It was the flicker of light I clutched with all my might. Mark and I reconnected once my children were grown and recorded his song “Beyond Our Wildest Dreams.” I presented a scratch recording of a song I was working on, and he loved it! We then wrote it together, and our song “Sanctuary” came to life and was released. With a heavy heart, we separated as I moved out of state, and quite some time had passed. I had been formally painting as I attended art school, learning the Old Master technique, but my heart and soul were unfulfilled. I prayed for music writing to come back into my life as it was my one true love and passion. Then on Christmas Day, 2023, I played an old track I had recorded, and my soul set sail as I began to sing to it. I was in shock at what was coming through, and I hit the record button on my iPhone. I listened back to it and sent it immediately to Mark via text message. The next day, I received the most beautiful and heartwarming response. He loved it! It was a complete surprise, and he said it was his Christmas gift to receive this text. Mark and I discussed the logistics of how we could work together, and we both tried sending tracks electronically. He advised me on the gear I would need and the recording application he used that I needed to download. I jumped on it! He was in the middle of his own project and set it aside in sheer excitement over this collaboration. He knew it would be magic! We began writing together immediately, and a few weeks later “Call My Name” was born. When he sent me the master track, I cried listening to it. My heart spilled out all over the place, and I was in such deep gratitude that the world faded away in that very moment the song was playing. We then went on to write “Drifting,” “Nothing Sacred,” “Broken Wide Open,” and our newest release, “Silent Armageddon.” To this day, music is not only my passion but my sanctuary. I hope to inspire, heal, and bring joy and escape to others through our compositions. - Catherine Grace