S. L. Reay Enterprises

 

Sandy Reay

Photo Album

with Blondie at Tagawa Gardens, 2003

Sandy has been playing music since she was old enough to lift the lid on the piano and pick out tunes by ear. "I have played piano, guitar, mandolin, balalaika, harp, and Dobro--none well. In 1996, I started playing upright bass and found my true voice," she said. She's been playing professionally since 1998. She started teaching private bass lessons and music theory in January, 2004.

In the spring of 1994, Sandy wrote her first song. In the fall of 1994, she was a finalist in the Walnut Valley Songwriters' Showcase with her second song, "Cabin on the Prairie". Proving this was not a complete fluke, she was a finalist again in 1997 with "Apache Plume". She also co-wrote a collection of scary songs for children, "There's A Dead Boy in the Attic," with Patrick Bone, a Scholastic Book author. "I used to perform Halloween shows for kids until I became a real musician."

Bob Turner recorded one of Sandy's songs, "Already Gone," and put it on his CD, "A Nice Place to Visit." Two of Sandy's songs, "Already Gone" by performed by Bob Turner and "Sandstorm From Sedona" performed by Sandy Reay, were selected for the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society 2007 Compilation CD, "A Collection of Songs from 'Bands on Call' IV." "

She is currently working on a CD of her original and co-written songs. Her co-writers include B.J. Suter, J.J. Fraser, Ernie Martinez and Bob Turner. Ernie Martinez is producing the CD and Jim Ratts is recording it. Christy Wessler, B.J. Suter, J.J. Fraser, Jon Chandler, Bill Barwick, Jeff Ingram, Brandy Herbert, Jeff Graves, Ernie Martinez and Bob Turner are on the recording.

Prior to deciding she wanted to be a musician when she grew up, Sandy had a brief career as a photographer. She specialized in photographs of musicians and musical events, and was hired by performers and bands, festivals, agents, and record labels. Her work appeared in Bluegrass Now, Bluegrass Unlimited, Banjo Newsletter, and several other publications as well as on promo material and CD.

Sandy has been restoring furniture since she started spending the money she earned babysitting on used furniture from garage sales and thrift stores (before she could drive). In 2000, Sandy developed a mosaic collage technique using found objects and concrete mortar to disguise an ugly cinderblock retaining wall on her patio. In 2002, she discovered that technique adapts itself to furniture and accessories.

In the summer of 2001, Sandy discovered she has the power to help people heal, using energy released from her hands. She I did a lot of healing at Winfield, in 2001, following the 9/11 attack. "I wasn't convinced that it was for real, but folks I helped seemed to like it." She continued to do healing, and got encouragement from her friends and from folks she'd work on at various musical performances. In December, 2003, Sandy received her first and second level Reiki attunements, and became a level II Reiki practitioner.

Sandy built her first web page in 1998, for a course she taught at a local college. In 1999, she took over the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society website, and took it from less that 10 hits per month to over 26,000 hits per month. "I specialize in jokes and quotes." On Jan. 1, 2004, Sandy brought up AcousticByLines, a membership-driven site for all aspects of acoustic music. Since then, she has been building and revising web pages for other musicians, artists, and small business owners.

In addition to teaching computer science at the college level, Sandy was a computer programmer, systems analyst, data base administrator, Unix system administrator, consultant, beta tester, and tech writer for over 25 years. She has a B.A. in English with a minor in Education from the University of Colorado and a Masters of Computer Information Systems from the University of Denver. At various times in her life, she raced cars, was a river rat, lived on a horse ranch in the mountains, bred collies, was married and divorced, was the first female gas station attendant in Colorado, worked on a drill rig, worked as a draftsman, packed boxes in warehouses, trained animals, worked in a liquor store, studied real estate appraisal, and worked for a lawyer. She's also done a lot of volunteer work, mostly for the Swallow Hill Music Association. And, she's an Aries.

"Computer programmer to bass player.... quite a journey!" -- source unknown

In August, 2004, Sandy donated her waist-length hair to the "Locks of Love" program and decided to grow out her hair and donate it again (November, 2005) and again (May, 2008).

"Thanks for visiting my web site." -- San

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© S. L. Reay, 2003-2008
All rights reserved.
SITEMAP

   
sleeping in my sister's arms
My older sister was delighted with my arrival
 
wearing daddy's shoes
Hamming it up for the camera
     
posing in a tutu
Ballet wasn't my forte
 
singing at a hootenanny
My music career started in high school
     
wearing a green prom dress
High school prom — my date is now an award-winning drag queen
 
with my first collie
H.S. graduation — my first collie, Lad, congratulates me
     
with my first college degree
Reaction to graduating from college
 
in a hippie wedding dress
Reaction to getting married
     
with a 1st place trophy and a big grin
Humble and reserved when I win
 
small collie pulling her weight
Dove has a job on the ranch
     
riding a bay quarter horse
After finding the bog in the meadow
 
in a lot of white water
Intrepid river rat
     
at the Winfield songwriters' showcase
With Mike Lantz and Bob Dick of Front Range in Winfield (my first time)
 
in a bodice with Blondie
Renaissance Festival bass wench
     
At Sweet Fanny Adams
 
At Swallow Hill
     
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Caribbean Cruise
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