Album Notes

"Somewhere in the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota there lived a young girl named Christina Rasch..." The singer-songwriter with a soulful voice was born the fourth of ten children into a musical family in the Black Hills area of Rapid City, South Dakota. Christina’s father, Robert, was a working musician who played everything from Country to Rock ‘n Roll. There was always music in the house.


It was within this creative atmosphere that at a very early age Christina found her calling as a singer. And by the time she was 8 years old, Christina had written her first song. From age 12 until she was 21 Christina, along with her sister Mary and her brother Bobby, performed nearly full time in the Rasch family’s touring bands, Family Affair and later Dust ‘N’ Roxx. These groups gained notoriety throughout the Great Plains and Upper Midwest regions of our nation’s Heartland for the vast range of material they performed, as well as the consistent quality of professionalism and dynamic quality of their performances. As Christina honed her talent and learned her craft on the road, she found that her natural gifts as a vocalist and keyboard player inspired audiences to great heights. It soon became obvious that a different horizon and a larger stage awaited her.


Fast forward to 2006 …
Having brought her South Dakota roots and musical gifts to a new life in Southern California, today Christina is continuing to follow her calling as a full time professional singer, songwriter and performer.


On Christina’s new CD, Every Color is Blue, she introduces herself to a new audience. Whether by highlighting Christina’s own arrangements and performance, or by acting to expose the songs to artists searching for worthy material, Christina reveals influences spanning the gamut from The Beatles to Prince, from Stevie Wonder to Sting and Sheryl Crow. Christina has plenty to say and so many ways to say it.


“Cryin’ In My Sleep” is a fun pop song with clear commercial appeal. “Every Color is Blue” pulsates to a pop-funk groove. “I Cried” is a robust folk-rocker a la Melissa Etheridge. The torch style “In My Head,” with its lush strings and piano, would be right at home inside the score of a Broadway musical. “This Way” features an up-tempo dance-rock arrangement.
Christina brings a wealth of professional accomplishments to this work, as well as to any project with which she is involved. While still residing in South Dakota, she was a featured actor in a television commercial. This led to Christina -- who is of American Indian heritage -- being cast in the lead female role in an independent film about Native Americans titled, “Roads.” This would not be Christina’s only work in film, although she would next move behind the camera. After she relocating to Los Angeles, Christina landed the position of assistant sound editor for the movies Booty Call and Playing God.


Christina’s songwriting talents gave rise to collaborations with a number of noted songwriters. Heading this list is the noted Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, performer and producer, Mark Hudson.
Her talents as a songwriter did not obscure Christina’s vocal gifts. In 1996 Christina toured much of the United States, Mexico and Central America, performing in such venues as Madison Square Garden as a backing vocalist for the then up-and-coming Tejano star Jose Manuel Figueroa. A year later she was singing backup for Figueroa’s famous father, Joan Sebastian, one of history’s most successful Mexican songwriters.
In 1999 Christina signed a publishing contract with John Titta of Warner/Chappell. Over the following two years she wrote and recorded several new songs, and collaborated with songwriters such as Kevin Savigar, Jamie Houston and Dean Grakal. This year Christina also had a dream come true when she was selected to sing backgrounds on two Ringo Starr records, Vertical Man and I Wanna Be Santa Claus including the title track.


In 2000 Christina began working for John Tesh’s independent label, Garden City Music/GTS Records. There, Christina worked in the “other side” of the music business, that being the business side. By the end of 2002 Christina expanded her role with Tesh by also becoming part of his band. She toured extensively with him as a featured backup vocalist, performing on national television shows such as Wayne Brady’s show, TBN’s Praise the Lord, DayStar’s Celebration show, and Tony Danza’s program.


A highlight of Christina’s career occurred in 2003 when she produced Tesh’s Public Television concert special, Worship at Red Rocks, shot at the awe-inspiring Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado. On both the live CD and DVD of the concert that were released in 2004 – reaching the top 10 of Billboard’s Praise and Worship charts – Christina’s solo vocal performance of “I Can Only Imagine” has been cited as a zenith moment of the special.


Christina continues to write and perform. Although she’s already a veteran in the entertainment business, yet Christina is of an age where some artists only get their start. And even with the wealth of her varied and impressive experience, Christina has only just begun to show what she’s really capable of.

Find out more about Christina on her website at www.christinarasch.com