ORIGINAL MUSIC - ART ROCK

Born in Michigan and raised in the "Heights" - on the south side of Chicago, Sandy Frazier has been a singer and songwriter all her life. She was classically trained in her youth, played in orchestras and sang in the chorus and in choir at church. She studied classical flute under "Leader of the Band," Lawrence Fogelberg. 

Sandy's original music stems from her childhood roots when Elvis Presley's records and singing in church taught her gospel and R&B. Influenced by the soul music coming out of her hometown, Detroit and adoptive home - the Chicago blues, she ventured out in her teens to sing and play guitar in clubs around Second City, learning from the likes of John Prine, Steve Goodman, et al. in the folk scene.  She sang at Chicago's  Somebody Else's Troubles, Durty Nellie's and The Earl of Old Town (across from Second City), fueling her passion for songwriting and performing. 

Her early influences in rock, gospel, soul and rhythm and blues are reflected in her singing style and songwriting. The years she spent in Illinois learning from many Robert Johnson-inspired crossroads guitar players / singer/songwriters set her on a path to discovering her own songwriting abilities.

She has recorded in many legendary studios in America, including Muscle Shoals FAME in Alabama; Cove City and The Loft in New York; and Truphonic in Charleston, SC. Her visit to Sun Studios in Memphis, TN in 2022 was a lifelong dream. She has also recorded in great studios in Chicago and Austin, TX.

In the early '80s, Sandy assembled an incredible cast and crew of talented musicians, singers, dancers and creative artists for two shows in Illinois called Acceptance. She wrote the original music and score and employed some marvelously inventive people to make a dream come true that all began when, as a teenager, she saw the Brian DePalma film, Phantom of the Paradise by Paul Williams. [press release]

Sandy studied voice under the legendary opera singer, June Bonner at the Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, SC… but is mostly a self-taught musician, singer/songwriter.

Influenced by Elvis Presley, Leiber & Stoller, Doc Pomus, John Lennon, Kate Bush, Ian Anderson, Bob Dylan, Free, Ronnie Van Zant, Howlin' Wolf and the Chicago and Delta blues, '70s Motown soul music (to name just a few), soon she started writing and performing her own original songs and has continued throughout her lifetime.

"Elvis Presley was my biggest influence in my youth," she states, "He was so talented and filled with soul-purpose… and firmly rooted in American music through gospel, rhythm and blues, which has inspired musicians around the world."

Sandy spent many years writing, recording and producing her music and in 2000 released her debut CD, Resurrection – an album of songs inspired by her book The Mystic Artist filled with painterly delights.  It is an experimental blend of modern electronica, with a techno trance vibe and ‘ear candy.'

"These are songs written by a painter; and so the album is much like a series of collage-paintings centered around the theme of water, with many colours, textures and unique brushstrokes," says Sandy of her collaboration with Gary Filadelfo, an accomplished engineer and producer in New York. Together, they recorded and produced her first CD, Resurrection.

Sandy's music is described as "ArtRock" – each song a Pop Cantata, a kind of poem set to music, colourful stories, each like an individual painting.

 
"I really believe artists are channels for a higher and much purer force which we have no choice but to bring out of ourselves.  I write music to survive, and I've actually LIVED each and every word of my songs." 

Sandy's second album, Painting Music was released in 2016.  Her singles are on SoundCloud.  Her EP, FAUVE  is available on sites all over the Internet. Her fourth full-length album, SUPERSONIC!, is available on all digital platforms. She worked with accomplished producer Kati O'Toole on 3 albums and works regularly with Grammy-winning Engineer Elliott Elsey and Producer Craig Durrance.

Sandy fifth full-length album: Ghosts in a Time Machine was released October 2024. This record is a concept album - Sandy's original songs accentuated by a revisitation of old-world sonic techniques and instrumentation combining modern R&B, gospel, rock 'n' roll, blues and even SC indigenous Gullah.

Go HERE for the Discography and Lyrics.