Joy Ann LaJeret

BIO

Living in the Pacific Northwest has been a purely pleasurable experience. The greater Seattle area is the hub of garage bands and great music of all genres. For twenty years I have been part of the music scene from Bellingham to Tumwater. Our band, Gold Rush Fever was born in the Tacoma area. I began to take notice of country music in 1980 and was totally committed after spending two years in West Virginia. In 2000, we had our first gig and our band began to form. We played American Legions, Elks, Moose and Eagle clubs. Our special gigs included retirements, weddings, birthdays, an occasional casino and some notable restaurants and bars. Due to illness, the Gold Rush Fever band was disbanded in 2015.

I grew up in northern Minnesota and was living in the heart of the German community in St. Cloud. I have studied music all my life and learned to play, the flute, accordion, piano and guitar. I took both piano and singing lessons at the collegiate level at St Cloud State University, were I learned how to play the classics and learned to sing pop. By the 1970s, I was interest in folk music which is referred to today as Americana. The change came in the 1980s. I loved listening to the new female artists and related to what they were singing.

Currently, I prefer to listen to the great ladies of country and some of the newer artists like Jessica Lynne Witty and Miranda Lambert. Reba McEntire, Shania Twain and the outstanding Dolly Parton are a few of the artist still putting out great country music and they have my attention. 
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In the future, I hope to bring my musical art to senior communities and the growing needs of breweries and wineries in this eastside area. While there are no current music venues in the state of Washington, I am hoping before the end of 2021 live music will come back. I hope to be able to jam with our local artists and touring artists when they are in town.
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