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Janis got her start in music at the age of 5
with a decade's worth of classical piano training before switching to
electric guitar and finally finding her calling in the electric bass.
After earning her bachelor's degree at Franklin & Marshall College
in Pennsylvania and conquering the local music scene as bassist for 5
different bands of all styles, she set her sights on greater things with
a move to Los Angeles to attend Musicians Institute in 1999. She
quickly rose to the top of her class at MI, receiving the prestigious
"Outstanding Bass Player of the Year" award in 2000,
and moved on to become an instructor at the school after graduating with
honors in 2001. Los Angeles provided Janis with invaluable education and experience performing with various bands in rock, jazz, and even punk genres, but in 2002, she decided to commit her energy to her budding original band, Family Groove Company (FGC). FGC relocated to Chicago in the fall of 2002 and began a slow but steady climb to the ranks of a DIY powerhouse, independently releasing four full-length albums and logging almost 800 shows nationwide from Colorado to Georgia to Vermont. Janis' success with FGC eventually gained her recognition from famous bass players like Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey, as well as offers to lend her bass talents to several other projects. In particular, Janis was scooped up by the Steve Kimock Crazy Engine in 2009 for a national tour featuring Steve Kimock on guitar (Bruce Hornsby, Grateful Dead side projects) and Melvin Seals on keyboards (Jerry Garcia Band), and Janis more than held her own with these heavyweights twice her age. |