Celeste Starchild has a double identity.
By day, she is a Vice President of a national real estate software
firm. By night, she is an accomplished singer-songwriter with a brand
new CD and a growing following. Her personal journey into music took
the winding, scenic route. And, yes, that’s her real name.
Growing up with “alternative” parents,
Starchild ironically rebelled by following a more conventional path
of success. Her memories of childhood include jam sessions at the
house, picking dandelions for dandelion wine, shiitake mushroom
farming, and ducks and chickens running around the yard. But Starchild
traded the mountains of southwest Virginia for a successful career
in business in Washington, DC. Yet, when her dad died of cancer
and left her a 1933 acoustic Gibson guitar, she couldn’t keep
her hands off it.
She learned to play it and started writing songs.
With a few shoves from a good friend, less than two years later
she is playing all over, including Iota, Jammin' Java, and Bangkok
Blues. She’s sung twice on XM radio and appeared on other
local broadcasts. Her voice is rich and evocative when she sings
of love and disillusionment and going for your dreams. She calls
it “conveying” rather than singing. On her new CD, "Time
Release," she sings the song Darlin', which is based on lyrics
she found in her father's belongings.
“My life is a kinda crazy,”
says Starchild. “I often go straight from a long day of meetings
to a long night of singing, but I wouldn't have it any other way."
