Biography
I've been singing since the day I was born.
I don't ever remember a time when I didn't sing.
My favorite thing to do as a child was to sit in my bedroom singing to all my favorite 45's. Being very shy & timid, I much preferred the solitude of my room than being outside with the neighborhood kids of my small town - Greenwood, Indiana. All the songs on my 45's took me many different places in my very young mind. As I began to get older I did the typical things that teenagers do - hanging out with my friends, going to movies, participating in marching band. I began to come out of my shell, but I continued my favorite pastime of singing alone in my room. Being too shy to sing in my high school choir or to audition for the musicals, I sang my heart out in my dreams.
Once high school ended, I went to a community college for two years to take liberal arts courses - all the time wishing I had the courage to go to a music school. A high school friend, Katherine Cottingham, who studied music at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, finally convinced me to give it a try. Lo and behold, I was accepted. I finally felt that I was doing what I was always meant to do. By my second year, I began to excel. The studying and numerous hours singing in the practice rooms began to pay off. I had become one of the top singers by the time I graduated with honors. Upon graduating from Butler, I landed my first professional job performing in one of the shows at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. It certainly wasn't much, but I felt I was on my way.
I was starting to have dreams of moving to New York City, but I didn't have the courage at that time. Instead I auditioned for graduate schools. I was accepted at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville as a graduate assistant. I loved living in Knoxville, mostly because I began to perform extensively in theater and cabaret. Two of my favorite performances were during my three years in Knoxville - Rolf in "The Sound of Music" with the Knoxville Opera Company and Al Deluca in "A Chorus Line" with the Pellissippi Players. Those performances have special memories for me. The director for "The Sound of Music" hired me for a professional theater in Ohio where I became a member of Actor's Equity Association - every young actor's dream-come-true. Now I really felt that I was on my way. I forced myself to leave my friends in Knoxville and to move to New York City.
NYC was like a foreign country to me. It was frightening, yet exhilarating and was a drastic change in my day to day living. My first job was selling men's shoes at Lord & Taylor department store on Fifth Avenue. I could write a play about the crazy antics that happened during my few months there. I attended several auditions every week during my first two years. I would sometimes get close to getting hired, but overall I did not have the success I so desired. I eventually landed in a supposedly one-day temporary office job at Sony Music Entertainment Inc. I remained there for thirteen years.
For the most part, I stopped singing during my first five years at Sony Music. I'd told a few of my friends at work that I was a singer. One of those friends, Elena Avila, decided to put together a choir of employee volunteers. She was kind enough to give me a solo. We rehearsed a few weeks and the day finally came. Nineteen of us gathered in our lobby and sang our hearts out. While initially terrified at singing my solo in front of all these new friends as well as record industry executives who'd never heard me sing, once I started singing I felt I had come home to where I belonged. The thunderous applause and rumors of recording contracts confirmed my feelings. We were the talk of the company. The Sony Music Holiday Choir performed for five years, growing and improving drastically, and became the highlight of the holiday season for the employees of Sony Music. For our third year I decided not to perform with the choir, but Elena came and asked me to sing an original song by an unknown songwriter named Bobby Deitch. I listened to the song and thought it was nice, but I'd made up my mind. Elena wouldn't take no for an answer, knowing that Bobby wanted his song to be performed. So I finally agreed to do it. That song was "This Holiday Dream." Much to my surprise, an announcement came during the performance that this year's choir would be recorded at Sony Music Studios. Recording the album with the choir thrilled me, but the excitement of recording my solo was beyond description. The album, produced by Mike Berniker, is available on the Sony Music Special Products label. It was played frequently by Daniel Anstandig, General Manager of Internet Radio Daer, and several radio stations in my home state.
Approximately eight years ago I decided the time was now or never to fulfill the lifelong dream of recording a solo album. My good friend, David Hurst, urged me to contact Christopher Marlowe. Chris is well-known in the cabaret world for his unique arrangements, for his superb talents as a pianist, and for his years as musical director for Nancy Lamott. Little did I know at our first meeting that the following two years would be ones of much self-awareness, intense learning and great changes in my life. It turned out to be a difficult time in my personal life. Chris and I sporadically worked together and I questioned whether we would ever see our project to completion. Toward the end of those first two years I went to visit good friends who had recently relocated to Palm Springs, CA from NYC. Even though I always loved living in NYC, enjoying all the exciting things it offered, it took about three days for me to realize that Palm Springs would be much calmer with a higher quality of life. Within six months I had decided to leave NYC and Sony Music. Within a year I was living in Palm Springs.
Chris and I finally went into the recording studio shortly after my move. We had a wonderful experience at Private Island Trax in Hollywood. It was so exciting to be fulfilling a dream combined with being totally wrapped up with Chris's brilliant creative process gave me more than I could have hoped for. While sharing this experience with Chris, we became close friends. The musicians that worked on this album with us were extremely professional and talented. I found myself amazed that we created a professional sounding album with only one day of rehearsal!
I've now lived in Palm Springs for six years. Even though I miss my good friends from NYC and all the wonderful theater, I have no regrets. Much to my surprise, I started performing locally shortly after my move. I've become one of the popular local singers. I have met some wonderful people who have been extremely kind to me and who have given me some great singing opportunities - especially Dr. Sharron Stroud of Innerfaith Ministries Worldwide, Dr. Ann Martin of Unity of Palm Springs, Rose Bierek, producer/composer/lyricist/playwright of "I, Thomas?" and Derrik Lewis of Musical Chairs. My years as a soloist at Unity of Palm Springs eventually led me to record my second CD, Trust the Wind. It was recorded in a friend's simple home studio, mostly recorded in two days with one take for each song. While intended for close family and friends, the initial positive response compelled me to produce it.
For the most part, I had put this part of my life behind me. After so many years of frustration and disappointment, I found unexpected pleasure and loved every minute of it. I recently fulfilled another one of my dreams, which was to perform several solo concerts with my music director, Christopher Marlowe.
After independently producing both of my CD's, my mother suggested I write a book about my experiences. During the following year, I wrote about what I learned during the entire process to provide a simple guide to others. Anyone who wants to fulfill their own dream of recording a CD will benefit greatly from my concise and easy to read e-book, How to Independently Product Your Own CD.
Nearly five years ago, I went out on a limb, and opened my own business, The Norman Lasiter Gallery, originally an art framing shop that now includes an art gallery of beautiful original art. While not something I'd planned or even considered, the gallery opened up an exciting world that I thoroughly enjoy.
I can't end this without mentioning my extremely beautiful, gifted, and loving mother, Betty Lasiter, who never ceases to amaze me with her never-ending brilliance, creativity, support, and belief in me. Her generosity has been incredibly and completely overwhelming. She has always been present for me no matter what I needed. Everyone in the world should have a mother like her.
My favorite pasttime is still singing along at home with all my favorite songs. Even though so much has changed since those early days - where I live, type of music and equipment. Music remains a valuable gift of love for me in so many ways.
Each song on my album reflects for me personally the frequently difficult years of this project along with a lifetime of experiences that have shaped my life. I hope that each of you will interpret each song with your own lifetime of valuable experiences.
- Norman