Genny Hempstead

This is all just me, myself & I - Astartiel, Guinevere & Jenny. Except one song, where a great guy named Chris Moss helped me out with the music, this is all me. Mostly just my singing, so you will have to use your imagination and hear music in the silence between my notes.

I have been writing poetry and songs off and on, as inspiration hits, since I was a teen. Lately it hits at random moments when I'm not even trying to write, often when I am in a strong emotional state. And, as I already wrote, I have been singing for about as long as I have been talking.

I am here, just like the rest of you, trying to be heard, understood and appreciated. I'm not the most talented voice out there but compared to many I've heard lately but I'm not all that bad either.

I'm the type of person that HAS to write. I write to express myself, to let my feelings out, to show how I think and feel about things. I have no choice - writing is in my blood. And most often, my writing comes out as either journal entries or poetry. When it is poetry, and if it is good, I will often want to post it online for all to hear. And occasionally my poetry will turn into a song. So, some of what you hear on this page will be spoken-word poetry and some will be my attempt at singing.

I love singing and sing for the sheer joy of it. I'd love to make a living at singing. That would make singing a double joy - to do what I love to do for a living! What an amazing thought that is! And people do get paid to sing for a living. There is precedent for this. Some people sing really well and get paid for it. And still others sing really badly and get paid for it. A case in point is American Idol - they actually get paid well to sing badly! So, if even the worst singers can get paid to sing, then there is some hope for me.

I have sung all my life. My parents used to tease us and say we were going to become "The Johnson Family Singers" and go on the road like the family on "The Sound of Music." We did always love to sing when we were "on the road," whether it was traveling to go shopping or traveling long-distance to visit family.

And at school, I was just as musically inclined. I sang through every grade, even if it was just for the annual Christmas pageant. In middle school I also tried my hand at clarinet but I gave it up after two years, preferring the human instrument to the reed. I did give both piano and violin a passing try but was never committed enough to learn them. And I never desired to punish my fingers enough to learn guitar. So a singer I started out and a singer I remain.

But there is nothing wrong with being just a singer. As long as you can also write songs. ;-) Well, maybe even if all you do is sing. Singing is a wonderful thing and something everyone should do, even if it's only in the car and the shower.

I have chosen to sing elsewhere too. I've tried karaoke and it can be fun, once I get over the stage-fright. I have done choirs, all through school, even in college. I have even tried Sweet Adelaides but they were just a bit too sweet for me. And finally, I have sang into the quiet of my room and into a microphone attached to my computer, so I can subject all of you to my singing.

My poetry and music is an expression of what I see and experience in life, my vision, and I'm constantly seeking my ideal vision in life.

So, I guess I can now say I've sung all over the world for surely my singing has been heard by ears all over the world! So, I'm now worldwide! And yet I'm still a poor, jobless unknown seeking an audience to love me... and pay me. ;-)

I only sing at home into a microphone so far...

Influences include such diverse musicians as classic bands like The Doors, The Mamas & the Papas, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Queen to newer groups like Jewel, Smashmouth, Portishead and Meredith Brooks. My influences have ranged from many generations, even going back to oldies by Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Chaplin to older, classical works by Beethoven and Mozart. My influences are those groups that I have listened to all my life and still listen to today. And this list grows as new talent appears in the world for all of us to hear.

And influences are not limited to musicians either. My music has been influenced by the art I've seen, by the beautiful architectural masterpieces my eyes have beheld, and by the amazing works of nature that have pierced my retinas. And life has probably been the biggest influence of all because life is the inspiration for all works. Life has stretched me and tested me and continues to do so as I go along. But life is great and is worth the effort to get a chance to create.

To give you a hint, here is an alphabetical list of a "few" of my influences:

The Band, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Carla Ulbrich, Charlie Chaplin, Credence Clearwater Revival, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Cure, Don McLean, The Doors, Ella Fitzgerald, The Eagles, Enya, Five For Fighting, George Harrison, The Grateful Dead, Harry Chapin, Harry Nilsson, Heart, Helen Reddy, Iron Maiden, Janis Joplin, John Rafferty & The Beaver Brown Band, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Jewel, Jim Croce, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Kansas, Katalina, Kenny Loggins, Lorena McKennit, Louis Armstrong, Madonna, The Mamas and the Papas, Meredith Brooks, Monty Python, Mozart, Neil Young, Paula Cole, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Platters, Portishead, Procol Harem, Queen, Santana, Sarah McLachlan, Smash Mouth, Steve Martin, Sting, Styx, The Who, Weird Al Yankovic

If you like my music, leave me a note telling me so! I could use the encouragement to keep going!