Nancy’s
Bio
Nancy
was born into a family of
vocalists. She recalls singing as far back as she can
remember, at church, and first recalls harmonizing with her older
sister when she was about three years old. She sang in choirs
and select choral groups throughout school. At Tumwater High
School, she was also selected by the Stage Band members to be their
vocalist for the years 1975-76 and 1976-1977.
With
Stage Band, she sang selected Big Band era songs with a full stage
band, such tunes as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and
“Me and My Shadow”; and a few more contemporary
tunes like “Feelings”. In Swing Choir,
she learned about intricate harmonies, and sang everything from
Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” to
“Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road”.
She
also learned about choreography in these early endeavors, and improved
dramatically as a vocalist, listening to her first recordings of her
solo voice. She received her first standing ovation at the
maiden concert in the new Performing Arts Theatre at Tumwater High
School in 1977.
She also performed at a
number of Community Events including singing the Star Spangled Banner
at Tumwater High School Sporting Events, and an annual Spring festival
at St. Martin’s College, performing
“Cabaret”. She also had the honor of singing the
Star Spangled Banner at the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Labor
and Industries building in Tumwater, Washington in 1992.
Nancy
took up acoustic guitar at age 12 under the tutelage of her older
brother, and first began working in professional bands in her mid
twenties, when she met Harold. Harold and Nancy married in
1986 and founded their first band, Broken Sky, immediately.
They played a variety of country and crossover music, featuring Harold
on lead guitar and fiddle, Nancy on rhythm guitar, keyboards and on
occasion, bass.
Nancy was always the
‘front man’ and emcee for the band, which taught
her how to overcome her shyness and befriend people. Broken
Sky worked throughout the Puget Sound/Western Washington area with
great success, for eleven years.
Harold
and Nancy self-produced three ‘albums’ of country
music during this era. They were able to film a broadcast
television program, “Rising Stars of the Northwest”
in Seattle in 1995. They have produced two public access
television shows in Boise, as well. They opened for T. Graham Brown and
Vern Gosdin, at the Evergreen Ballroom (which is also where they met,
first danced together, played music together, and fell in love).
From
1995-2005, Harold and Nancy began to travel and lead worship in
churches, tent meetings and Christian Conferences up and down the West
Coast and as far away as Norwich, Connecticut, and Springfield,
Massachusetts. They produced two Christian albums and were
eventually based out of Seattle Revival Center. They moved to
Boise in 1999, and continued to provide worship leadership in the Boise
area at numerous churches and events for several years.
Around
2005, they felt a change coming. Nancy began singing Karaoke
in some bars, and she and Harold began attending a few
“jam” sessions and meeting musicians in the
area. They felt a desire to go “back out”
and be more public musicians again, outside the church venue.
Unable
to make a country band happen, they became inspired to go back to
classic rock. The 1960’s era music appeals most to
them, having been what they both grew up on. The name
Legendary Sunshine came from a band by the same name, of which Harold
was an original member in the 1960’s, in the Seattle-Tacoma
Washington area.
Legendary Sunshine was re-born in
January, 2007, and has done very well in it’s first
year. Plans for expanding their repertoire are
ambitious; there are so many classic songs they want to
add. Several original songs are also being worked into the
mix. You can see Legendary Sunshine at Mr. Lucky’s,
on Chinden in Garden City; The Schooner in Nampa;
the Copper Lounge in Weiser (where they also play some country and even
fiddle tunes). They have played at Joe’s Bar in
Payette, and numerous private parties and benefit functions.
Nancy’s
greatest passion is singing, and always has been. She now
plays bass guitar for the band and is the emcee, as well as providing
harmonies. She and Harold are still avid songwriters, and are
working on new music as they are able.
Nancy
loves all early rock music (60’s, particularly), a lot
of 70’s rock music, and a bit of
‘80’s. Her all time favorite band is the
Beatles; her favorite solo artist, Noel Harrison. Her
favorite country artist is Wynonna (and Naomi) Judd. Her
favorite music to sing is Heart (Magic Man); some of the best
Standards, like Unchained Melody; and the unexpected, like
“Hold Your Head Up” by Argent.
She also loves Country, Folk and Gospel music.
When
not performing, Nancy loves to ride her Honda Shadow; writes fiction
novels, gardens, and spends time with her animals. Her
closest animal companion is a magnificent Blue and Gold McCaw named Be
Be. She has sold her horses, which have been a lifelong
passion, to pursue music more fully. She does have a pair of
Miniature Schnauzers which she breeds. She has had up to
sixty birds at one time, breeding parrots and parakeets.
Nancy
also loves interior design and remodeling. She and Harold
have rejuvenated one bathroom, the living, dinning room and kitchen in
their home. Nancy loves landscape design, and has re-designed
and made over both side yards and the front yard of her home;
the back is still a work in progress.
She
loves to paint with oil and acrylics, make jewelry and
beading; designing and sewing clothes; crochet and
knitting; dancing, and downhill skiing. When she has the
energy, she likes to cook and bake, especially dabbling with Chinese
cuisine. Harold and Nancy also love to go out for food and
fun with friends. They love to hot tub and swim at home, and travel and
vacation at a new ski resort whenever they can.
She
has two wonderful kids: Stephen, now nearly 28, has earned
his Associates Degree in computer technology, has played bass and six
string guitar, and is a video game junkie. Steve has also
juggled and competed in yo-yo competitions. He is engaged to
our beautiful daughter-in-law to be, Amber, who is nearly 21 and sings
and plays guitar.
Brenna is 25; blonde,
sassy and beautiful. She spends most of her free time on the
slopes in the winter, and out camping and relaxing in natural hot
springs during the summer. She’s an avid camper and
skier, has a dog whom she loves dearly and Salsa dances in a way that
makes her mother’s head ache.
Nancy also
is close to her family (siblings), who mostly live in the Western
Washington region. They try to head back to Seattle at least
once per year, when possible. She is wonderfully
happily married to Harold now for 23 years, and is delirious to be in a
band with Rich and Debbie, whom she dearly loves.
This
band miraculously, has no strife, no tension. They are all
good friends and in it for a good time as well as to provide the very
best performance they can give, every night.
Nancy
feels so blessed to be entertaining again, meeting new friends, and
having a great time on stage.
It’s
a beautiful thing.