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Some people were just born to do something, I was born to entertain people. It’s what I do,” says Karli Bonné, whose 20-year resume onstage boldly supports her theory. This powerful singer has seen it all, from the ‘80s New York rock scene to stints in rehab to becoming a wife and mother, and her latest release, the CCM/pop crossover album Dream to Extremes, is a testament to the power of persistence.
The world wasn’t nearly as populated with female rock singers as it is today when Karli Bonné got her start singing Who and Led Zeppelin songs as a teenager in Queens. She soon found she had a talent for writing, and moved on to original solo projects like Goldilocks and Cherry Red, even landing videos on the pre-MTV UHF station Power Play Video. “It gave me a lot of confidence,” she remembers of the early recording sessions. “I thought, I can really do this.” She established herself as a successful restaurant entertainer while working on solo material and doing rock jams at clubs like Nirvana and the China Club, singing alongside Ace Frehley and Joe Lynn Turner. But as so often happens, the rock lifestyle and the partying eventually took center stage, and Bonné began to lose her career focus. She continued the entertainer gigs, but her passion for writing came to a halt.
After the grunge trend hit, Bonne found herself part of a large group of rockers whose style was suddenly a thing of the past. “There was nothing to do. Just get wasted, do our rock jams and entertain ourselves.” The prevailing lack of spirit helped send her further and further into the retreat of drugs and alcohol, but something in her creative spirit refused to die. “Even when I was on the deep end I thought, there’s more than this. I’m better than this.” Nearly eight years ago, she decided she’d had enough, and the then-single mother of two decided it was time to sober up.
Her sobriety brought spirituality into her life, and with that spirituality the flow of songs came back into her head almost immediately. Karli walked around with a tape recorder to capture the flood of melodies and lyrics that came to her, but lacking confidence and music connections, she wasn’t sure what to do with the material other than work it into her regular singing engagements at parties and restaurants. September 11th was her call to action. “I thought, people are hurting. What can I do to help? All I know how to do is sing.” Suddenly a name from the past popped into her head— Chris Pati. The two had hadn’t seen each other in 15 years, but all it took was one phone call and Pati added Bonne to the client roster of his Guru Project — a management and production team focused on artist empowerment and development. It was a perfect match, and one that helped get Bonné’s encouraging, positive, songs to a greater audience. Her first full-length release Angel Without Wings reached number one on White Dove Radio, and the song “One Nation Under God,” which Karli distributed to U.S. troops in Iraq for inspiration, garnered national attention as well as several thank-you notes from the White House. Videos for “Answers” and “My Serenade,” both off Angel Without Wings, hit the air on New York cable shows Arise and Shine and 30cc.
Bonné’s latest release Dream to Extremes — available through CDBaby.com — is poised to go even further. The 13 new tracks cover a spectrum of styles from sophisticated contemporary pop to dance club floor-fillers. Several dance mixes of the single “Me” have been completed and an accompanying video is headed for both CCM and secular video outlets. Meanwhile, Bonne continues to give up to 3 performances a day around the New York area, from covering Russian standards at the Wintergarden restaurant in Coney Island to singing the National Anthem at Staten Island Yankees baseball games. And though for some, being a professional singer would be enough, Bonné’s not settling until she’s made a name for herself as a writer and performer of her own inspirational material. “I’ve come too far to just say I’ve given it my best shot. If you don’t have a dream, you might as well die. What’s the point? “
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