Fly

Mandi Strachota was born in Atlanta, GA, to parents Sharon and Steve, who shortly afterward moved to her dad's home state of Wisconsin. She began studying the Suzuki method of piano at age four. It wasn't long after that she was rallying other children to participate in her own personal productions of 'Annie' in the bay windows of the local YMCA and playing 'DJ' with her friends while making mixed tapes. She was a constant songbird around the house, belting out tunes from influences like Whitney Houston, Sheena Easton, Barbara Mandrell, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. Since her mother had a background working in the Nashville record industry and her father was a lover of Motown, Mandi learned at an early age to appreciate a wide variety of music and culture. She had her first encounter with the guitar at age 10, only to put it down at age 12 to experiment with the saxophone. She continued her musical hobbies throughout high school, but it wasn't until a few years later that she realized her passion was actually her calling. Mandi left Wisconsin to attend the University of Notre Dame, where she majored in Mathematics. She still spent her free time pursuing music by taking violin lessons, organizing music for her dorm's chapel services, and playing piano for Notre Dame's 'Shenanigans'. In her junior year Mandi joined Notre Dame's Voices of Faith gospel choir. It was here that she began to realize music was not just something she liked, but something she wanted to share with the world. After graduation Mandi spent a year living on Milwaukee's culturally diverse 'East Side' before deciding to make the move to Atlanta. She had heard about Atlanta's blossoming music scene and was intrigued to find out what it was about the city that had united her parents from different worlds. Mandi took her collection of instruments to which she had added a set of drums and an accordion and began to reach out to the audiences of Atlanta. She spent the beginning of her time there frequenting karaoke nights and open jams. She was encouraged by artists in the local blues scene, getting help from artists like Danny 'Mudcat' Dudeck, Andrew Black, and Jason Pastras. Then in 2007 she walked into a tiny bar on the square in Marietta where Larry Griffith played. Mandi was invited to sit in for a song, which turned into five or six. She returned the next week and sang backup vocals from the audience and never looked back. It wasn't long before she was a regular fixture in the lineup. She sang with the Larry Griffith band for the next six years. Mandi returned to playing the guitar and keyboards and began her solo career shortly after joining the band, playing acoustic gigs in several venues around the city. In 2011 Mandi began work on her debut album, Fly. With the help of local musicians, studio engineer and bandmate Randy Larocque, and the writing and production skills of best friend Larry Griffith, Mandi's team laid down the foundation for her first album. Unfortunately, Mandi had health issues in the middle of the recording process and lost her voice for almost a year. After receiving no answers from doctors and specialists, Mandi decided to consider a more natural approach. In a few months she was back to full voice and in better health than ever. After traversing this adversity she developed the confidence and determination to put her own finishing touches on the album, truly 'finding her voice' for the first time. The soulful richness of Mandi's v