Cassidy (musician)

Early life

Cassidy was born Susan H Catanzaro in 1981 and grew up in Sparta Township, New Jersey, a small rural town in Sussex County. She has one brother Eugene. Cassidy says that growing up near the Pennsylvania border amongst the lakes and farms influenced her love of nature and her free spirit. She began attending a nearby Nazarene Gospel Church with her father as a small child. Its pastor was her next door neighbor. That's where Cassidy discovered the joy that's created from singing. Her mother's taste in music also influenced her: Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, and Southern Rock and soul from the 1970s.

Cassidy as a youngster sang in local bands learning the ropes by singing back-ups for local hero, Jim Kilby. She then moved to New York City, often performing solo or with a band. Cassidy got her first paying job when she relocated to Los Angeles, as a singer and dancer in stage reviews written and produced by Emmy Award-Winning Anita Mann. It was around this time that Cassidy traveled through the US, South America and Europe, spending two summers in Alaska.

Cassidy moved to London, England where she found work singing jazz four nights a week and session singing for London's premiere jingle house Hobson's Her voice was heard throughout the U.K. singing with Tessa Niles in Barbie commercials. It was there that Cassidy also began writing songs on guitar. She also sang with the late Robert Palmer, The Bucketheads, Curiosity Killed The Cat and Luciana Caporaso

1999-2008 - Antigone Rising

In 1999 and living again in Los Angeles, she was approached by Antigone Rising who was looking for a new lead singer. She sent the band a demo tape. And after a face to face meeting she was asked to join. Cassidy provided A.R. with songs she had written while spending time in Los Angeles, and it was ultimately these songs that inspired Lava/Atlantic executive Jason Flom to sign the all female band to a record deal.

The band released four independent albums with Cassidy singing lead vocals. Her live performance hailed among the best live rock singers in the business. They built a dedicated fanbase, known for following them along their East Coast tour stops. Their major label debut From the Ground Up produced by Neil Dorfsman was released exclusively through a landmark deal between Starbucks coffee shops, in conjunction with Starbucks' Hear Music series and Lava/Atlantic Records. AR enjoyed multiple features in Rolling Stone magazine veteran writer David Fricke calling Cassidy "A vocal dynamo" and hailing their show as the "big rock show of the SxSW festival". They were featured in national commercials for 7 Jeans and appeared in all Conde Nast magazines in the Spring of 2006. Although AR received very little radio play the band has sold upwards of 1 million copies of FTGU to date, and a collective 3 million records including all releases. Vh1 aired a half hour special featuring the band from its humble beginnings to its steady rise and Cassidy can still be seen as a regular commentator in Vh1's "I love.." series and "Bad Girls" Special. The band toured with The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Dave Mathews, and Rob Thomas and appeared on late night and morning television. The Matchbox 20 singer also co-wrote and produced tracks for the band. He is highly quoted as calling Cassidy "a born star". Cassidy has been invited to sing with Diane Warren, Steven Tyler, Moe, O.A.R. and appears on multiple tracks on Rob Thomas' first solo album "Something To Be." Including the title track, "Something to Be', "This is How A Heart Breaks", and "My My My". After Jason Flom's firing from Atlantic Records in 2007 AR asked to be released from their contract. The band continued to tour for another year but lost their momentum and Cassidy left the band in 2008. After spending two years out of A.R. acting and appearing in a National 'Gap campaign Born to Fit (Cassidy's segment was titled "Born to Empower") she found a passion for writing and editing for multiple online magazines including, NewYorkPudding.com, Lost at E Minor.com and her own magazine TheBeer Sessions.com started along with her brother Eugene.

2010–present: Cassidy and The Music/Boheme

In 2010 Cassidy was approached by a private investor (Silent Partner) to launch her own record label and release a solo album. She decided to take this opportunity and the label Band and Mountain was launched. Subsequently Cassidy wrote and produced her debut album Follow The Freedom. Most notably by The Hollywood Reporter, Huffington Post, Examiner.com and received AMP Critics Pick for her live review in Music Connection's August 2012 issue. The album's title track featured reclusive frontman Steve Perry of the band Journey, who is a friend and fan of Cassidy's new project. The first single "Blind Spot" is being added at Triple A radio nationwide and the music video has been picked up by national retailers and outlets including, LA Fitness, Lady Footlocker, and Harley Davidson stores. It also can be seen on VH1 and AOL. It has reached 1.4 million views on YouTube. The title track "Follow The Freedom" got a featured artist spot on VH1's Hollywood Ex's TV show in the early fall of 2012.

Members of her team included musicians who have toured with Michael Jackson, Colby Caillait, Orienthi, Janet Jackson and Shania Twain, as well as management and publicity firm Ron Shapiro Management and Plan A Media out of New York City. Television and radio appearances began in 2011. In December 2012 Music Connection Magazine included Bohème on their HOT LIST and featured Cassidy in their year-end issue.

The second solo album, "Cassidy and The Music" began releasing tracks in January 2014. Recorded in Woodstock, NY the self-titled "Cassidy and The Music" recordings feature members of the NY based Leroy Justice and famed bassist Kenny Aaronson. The first video, a ballad "Always" reached nearly 10,000 views in the first 4 days of release. It features L.A. based pianist and recording artist Brother Sal.

Acting

Cassidy is currently playing the lead actress and singing role of Tabatha in the groundbreaking production of, "Parallel Worlds" - A New Rock Music Experience. The original work integrates film, theater and a live rock concert that run concurrently and weave together into a singular narrative. The show is scheduled to run from June 3 to June 26, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA.. After many parts in regional theater and being hired to perform multiple Broadway workshops including Clueless The Musical and Dangerous Beauty, Cassidy made her film acting debut in the 2009 film The Skeptic starring Zoe Saldana and written and directed by Tennyson Bardwell. In June 2012 she composed music for and acted in a presentation of The Cypher at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. She has studied acting at The New School and Stella Adler in New York City and Playhouse West in Los Angeles, as well as improvisational comedy at Upright Citizen's Brigade in Los Angeles. She is currently a performing member in multiple improv troupes in Los Angeles including the house team SCOUT! at Neon Venus Art Theater in Hollywood and has been hired for comedic roles such as a Skype commercial titled "What If We Always Had It?" where she plays a medieval matchmaker in the vein of Mike Meyers' "Coffee Talk" character on SNL. She has also studied voice with Katie Agresta and dance with Anita Mann Studios in Los Angeles. She has written a screenplay titled Broken Birds.