Larissa D'Andrea: Talent With a Purpose

Larissa D'Andrea is going places. Having said that, let me reassure you that I'm not trying to take on the role of "starmaker", believe me. She has a brilliant future with or without my help. My main claim to fame in her story - and it'll merely be a footnote in her biography, I assure you - is the fact I introduced her parents John D'Andrea and Debra Gardiner to each other way back in 1983. That's it. From that moment on, her story progressed very nicely without any assistance from me, thank you very much.

Larissa is a singer, songwriter and musician of considerable talent. She is also a veteran stage performer. Impressive, huh? Wait, it gets better: She is all of fifteen years old!. It's has been documented time and again that a singer's best years are between the ages of forty and fifty-five. Knowing this, it is almost mind-numbing to ponder the fact that Larissa D'Andrea, as immensely talented as she already is, won't even be reaching her creative mountain top for decades! Trust me on this one, kiddies: This little gal has one heck of a future. Consider this for a minute: Vocalist, pianist, lyricist and composer. Her gift can only be described as breathtaking. In my life, I have never encountered someone so young with half as much talent (This is really cool! I feel like Ed Sullivan who, in the early 1930s, told the readers of his NY Daily News column to keep their eyes on a relatively unknown, teenager named Judy Garland!).

Larissa has created a beautiful CD, the proceeds of which are being donated to a charity that provides aid and comfort to the littlest victims of the obscenity that you and I, as taxpayers, are now funding in Iraq. Indeed, the title track, "Fairy Tales", is "Dedicated to the children of Iraq". I have provided a link to her website:

http://www.larissadandrea.com/

The cost of the CD is $5.00. Such a deal! Such a noble cause.

Early on, performers tend to be too focused on their own careers to care much about anything else. They usually don't develop their "social consciences" until much later. No doubt about it, she's starting off on a very admirable note. Again, let me repeat myself: Larissa D'Andrea is going places! Remember, you read it here, folks!

Pray for peace.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

tomdegan@frontiernet.net

AFTERTHOUGHT: Because Larissa has chosen to take a stand for the innocent victims of this unspeakable war, please don't accuse her of being part of the mythical "We Hate America" crowd. The last song on the CD is a moving rendition of the Star Spangled Banner which is the finest interpretation of that tune that I've heard in my life. If you're entertaining such a silly notion, please toss it on the rubbish heap. Cheers!

Photograph by Debra D'Andrea (left to right) Tom Degan, Mikale and Larissa D'Andrea

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"The Rant" by Tom Degan

Shameful, left wing propaganda. Oh, the humanity!