“If I were into tattoos, I would put [today is someday] on some part of my body." -- Melody

I knew that I had broader horizons than the hometown I came from and it was the natural thing to do going to the big city and not having an education. I am admittedly a high school dropout.

I didn't have great skills. Although I had different jobs, everything from picking strawberries in the fields when I was young, in order to buy shoes, to working as a librarian on summer vacation, to working at a law firm to make some extra money, and then in San Francisco modeling because it was accessible. It was fun, it was on a stage, and it was a way for me to launch myself.

It wasn't as deep and profound as it has become in my songwriting and my poetry and my music. But I got to strut and have a good time. That was the beginning for me in having the courage to go forth later on and pursue my real dream, which was music.

Melody strikes a pose, top and middle photo, then prepares to lay a vocal track in a recording studio.

How would you describe your music to new fans in one sentence?

I would say "prepare to be touched, inspired, and ready to dance, not just on the dance floor but in your life." And that just came to me. (Laughs).