Tina Sugandh

Biography

Tina Sugandh (born October 17 1981) is an Indian born American writer, singer, tabla player, and dancer. She is known as "TablaGirl" due to her fans approval of playing the tabla.

Born in Mumbai, she moved to the United States when she was five months old. After moving to New Jersey she became immersed in music. Her mother Geeta (Gee-tha) Sugandh sang on the radio and at various functions while her father Kanaiya, was a master of ceremony, singer, and comedian in addition to being a professor at two different universities.

Early Life and Career

Sugandh and her sister, Seema, traveled with their parents to all of their performances. It was at the age of five that Tina had found her calling in the music industry. The first time her parents allowed her to sing on stage was at a fair. She sang a ghazal, which is a type of song you can sing only if you have a trained voice. She and her parents recognized that she loved performing and they encouraged her to continue on with her love of music and performing. This started "The Sugandh Family" music legacy.

Throughout Sugandh's school years, The Sugandh Family performed all over the U.S. and the Caribbean, and gained a huge following in the Indian community.Fact|date=January 2008 At one concert, Tina begged her father to let her take over for one song and play the drum that he played, (called the dholak). Her parents decided to introduce her to a more intricate drum, the tabla, a two-barreled percussion that takes years to master and is predominantly played by men.

As a 15-year-old, Sugandh was discovered by Sean Harris, a screenwriter and creative mentor. Harris eventually convinced Sugandh that she should pursue music as a career and, to that end, spent time working on a demo. Between her studies as a biology major at Rutgers University (where she eventually graduated on the Dean's List), and weekend performances with the Sugandh Family, Sugandh would drive to Washington DC to work with Sean, who arranged photo shoots and studio time for her and encouraged her to write her own music.

After Sugandh completed her demo and promo package she sent out hundreds of demo packages in order to get both a management team and writing publishing house.

Her persistence paid off when a friend introduced her to Sean Sullivan, who had been working with Maxwell, John Mellencamp and Jessica Simpson and was starting a new management company. Sullivan was impressed and had her perform for Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister, Sevendust), his partner in the new venture. French was equally impressed and the duo signed her to their new company, Rebellion Entertainment. They spent the next year developing her songs and creating new demos. These demos lead to a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music and a Sony deal.

Professional career

After signing to Hollywood Records as a singer and to Warner/Chappell Music as a songwriter, Sugandh began hosting one of the popular program Asian Variety Show on Saturday mornings ("It's the Entertainment Tonight for Bollywood.").

Her original album was to be released by Hollywood records. She worked with producers Lester Mendez (Shakira, Enrique Iglesias and Jewel), Track & Field (Nelly Furtado), Ming & FS, Dr. Luke and Danny P. Sugandh wrote or co-wrote all twelve tracks on her debut. Her family made appearances throughout the album, however, the album was never released.

From there, she went to Sony Records and is currently with Razor & Tie with her album due out in the first quarter of this year.

She has been compared to Shakira. [ [http://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/sep/06tina.htm] - Rediff "Will Tina Sugandh Be The Next Shakira?" Accessed January 21, 2008.]

Sugandh has written and recorded over 40 songs.

Discography

*River of Dreams - "Around The World In Eighty Days" (2004)
*There Is No Alternative (T.I.N.A.) - "Ice Princess" (2005)
*White Christmas - "Christmas With The Kranks" (2004)
*Lift Off - "Raise Your Voice"
*I Be What I Be - Masala! Mehndi! Masti! Festival (2005)
*Theme song from "Hope & Faith" with Kelly Ripa (2005)

Upcoming Album

Her first album, "TablaGirl", is due out in Jan, 2009. The following are known tracks on the album:

• Jao
• Bollywood Girl
• You Without Me
• Break Me
• HisStory
• Indestructible
• Patiently Wait
• T.here I.s N.o A.lternative
• Love Junkie
• Prisoner
• Stay

References

External links

* [http://niralimagazine.com/2004/11/trending-the-tabla/ Trending the Tabla] , Nirali Magazine, November 2004
*http://hollywoodrecords.go.com/tinasugandh/ - Hollywood Records
*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2751905/ - IMDB
*http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tina+sugandh&search=Search - Youtube Videos
*http://www.rebellionentertainment.com/ - Rebellion Entertainment
*http://www.myspace.com/tinasugandh/ - Myspace
*http://www.tinasugandh.com - Tina Sugandh Homepage
*http://www.desihits.com/blog/article/exclusive-tina-sugandh-interview-brazen-tabla-girl-will-bare-true-potential-at-ny-concert Desi Hits
*http://www.desihits.com/blog/article/tina-sugandh-hot-but-not-so-cool - Desi Hits
*http://www.nriinternet.com/ENTERTAINMENT/TABLA/Tina_Sugandh/index.htm - NRI
*http://www.imaginasianradio.com/artist.php?artist_id=24 - Imaginasian Radio
*http://www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/friction/playlist_archive_07_04_16.shtml - BBC Desi Hits
*http://66.111.110.102/newyork/DetailsAr.do?file=/features/443/443.sea.music.rekha.html - Timeout NY Archives