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Melissa's Family

Melissa's mother, Angela, came from an artistic family. Her parents, who moved from Italy and settled in Brooklyn, had deep artistic passions: he was a sculptor (and a doctor), and she was a glorious opera singer. Angela's aunt Rose, her mother's sister, was a successful Ziegfeld showgirl (photo). Angela is a sculptor herself, working with mechanized wooden sculptures or enormous sheets of steel. Her work deals with female experience, often with a strongly satirical or gender-political edge. For example, she has made a larger-than-life size steel wedding gown, with veil suspended from the ceiling. It resembles a suit of armor - which can be interpreted as a cage, or as protective.

Melissa's father, Michael, is an orthopedic surgeon, and classical concert pianist, having begun to play at the age of 3. He always filled the house with Chopin and Debussey, but only in the last decade did he resume his serious training at Juilliard where he studies to this day. He has played concerts at such stages as Paul Hall, Steinway Hall, The Oak Room and The Villa Durazzo in Santa Margherita, Italy. He made his first public appearance with Melissa in an hour-long concert at the Yale Repertory Theater in the late spring of 2001, and appeared with her for surprise encores at the Café Carlyle.

Melissa's brother, Mike, is a singer-songwriter-guitarist. Frequently playing such venues as The Mercury Lounge and The Bottom Line, Mike has a loyal fan-base, and has toured as an opening act with Bob Weir, Art Garfunkel, and Rusted Root. He has also performed with Lisa Loeb and Dido, and was featured at Woodstock 2000. He composed and sang the theme song for VH1's "Pop-Up Video" and has created his own magazine called TALLBOY. (see www.Errico.com) He and Melissa appeared together for the first time in her Joe's Pub series "Real Emotional Girl-The Music of Randy Newman," and Mike played guitar and wrote two songs for Melissa's debut CD; song titles: "I Still Love You" and "Keep it to Myself" (the latter inspired by the Red Hat Society and the poem 'Warning'). His most recent solo release is "Skimming" and he wrote the title track (and others) for Lesley Gore's 2005 release "Ever Since."

Melissa's little sister Melanie is a recent college graduate and majored in art and design. She works in fashion, and her first designs have been made and sold under the UFO label, a company which specializes in clothing for underground dance clubs and Raves. (She designed a gown for one of Melissa's Broadway openings.) Melanie has also worked with Alfani, Anna Sui and Cynthia Rowley.