Vocal Appeal (NOW Magazine)
By Kim Hughes, March 20th 2001
Monica Schroeder has a beautiful voice – emotive, fluid and clear. The Winkler, Manitoba-based pop musician could make the white pages sound like Yeats.
She’s been attracting modest but meaningful attention, including a lengthy piece in Billboard, 3 Prairie Music Award nominations for her lovely “The Expectation Of Home” indie disc and, crucially, a spot on the radar of at least one Toronto major-label A&R rep.
While her Barcode gig with her band won’t change the world, Schroeder wants to send the message that she’s open for business. With plans to move to Winnipeg now that she’s given up her day job as a mental health care worker, she has the focus she needs.
“Music is absolutely what I want to do,” Schroeder says. “People do seem to respond to my voice, I must admit it. Strange, since I don’t think it’s that remarkable and its not something I have control over. But I’ve always been singing. I do remember singing into my hairbrush,” she laughs, “and not that long ago, either.”