![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/files\/2022\/12\/thumbnail_IMG_8141-962x1024.jpg\")
\r\nPhoto courtesy of Madison Webb<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Elizabeth D.C. is a prominent member of the Maryland music scene. Hailing originally from New York, where her penchant for performing emerged at an early age, she now lives in Reisterstown and sings with established local cover band the Uncommitted. Playing popular spots from Parkton to Essex, Timonium to Odenton, and everywhere in between, Elizabeth and the rest of the band have long been familiar faces of the live-music circuit. The Uncommitted promises a good time with three solid sets of dance tunes and no restriction to any genre (hence their name), and with their versatile five-person lineup, they never fail to deliver.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
by Madison Webb A leading lady of the local music scene discusses the importance of the seldom-recognized cover band, how her own group persists amid challenge and change, and what it\u2019s like to \u201cgive 100%\u201d of herself, every single day. Elizabeth D.C. is a prominent member of the Maryland music scene. Hailing originally from New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4489],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243\/revisions\/542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Madison<\/strong>: I thought we could start with a general background of how you got into performing. What were your earliest experiences with that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Elizabeth D.C.<\/strong>: I would say that my earliest experience with performing [was] the school chorus in the seventh grade; it was a requirement. And I knew I couldn\u2019t play an instrument, so chorus it was. And then, in ninth grade, I was nominated to compete at what we call NYSSMA, which was the New York State Music Association. That was probably my first experience in a competitive situation, but also showcasing my voice and being like, \u201cwow, I might actually have talent.\u201d And then, you know, of course I graduated, I moved on. [Eventually] I didn\u2019t have a very supportive significant other, so I fell out of music for about fifteen years before coming back into it in my early thirties. And then I joined my first band, which was Great Escape.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: And how long were you with them before the Uncommitted?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: I was with them for about a year. The band actually dissolved because our bandleader had kidney failure\u2026so the band had to dissolve so that he could focus on treatment. And it was probably about a year or two between Great
Escape and then now the Uncommitted. Which, may I say, I\u2019m nearing my six-year anniversary with them in November. Not that I\u2019m keeping track.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: And how did you get your start with the Uncommitted, then?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: I think a couple different things occurred there. One is I was in the karaoke circuit, so I became known by some of the karaoke crew\u2026they asked me to come out a couple of times to see the band the Uncommitted when Barb was the lead singer. They told them that I could sing so they asked me, when I would come out, to sing \u201cI\u2019m the Only One\u201d\u2014by Melissa Etheridge, of course. So when Barb decided to retire, they were like, \u201cWell, E, you wanna audition?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: Was it hard to be the new person in this band? Did you ever feel like you had to work harder than the guys did?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: Yes, but not because I\u2019m a girl. It was challenging not because I was in a band full of guys, [but] because Barb was a phenomenal entertainer. So in my mind, I had really big shoes to fill to keep the band\u2019s following intact, but then to also make it my own; to be true to myself and what I wanted to do. So I had to grow into realizing that it was more than my voice, that I needed to be an entertainer. So, stage presence\u2026I would say [that was] my biggest challenge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: Were there any times where you thought, \u201cmaybe this band is not for me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: I\u2019ve always said that I would only do this so long as I was having fun. The minute it becomes work or stressful or not fun, it\u2019s not worth it. We had some situations where things were taken too seriously and we lost sight of what
we\u2019re supposed to be doing, and that\u2019s entertaining and having fun and throwing parties. It\u2019s not about perfection, it\u2019s about the experience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: Do you think you could describe your relationship with each of the guys?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: John [the keyboardist] and I are very much like brother and sister. We jab at each other, so we poke fun quite a bit. But I think we have very similar visions for the band, overall. Ron [the bassist] and I\u2026we don\u2019t poke fun at each other, there\u2019s just a mutual respect and a friendship there. I don\u2019t know about Ernie [the lead guitarist], \u2018cause Ernie and I have bumped heads, too. Ernie is more like a father figure to me, so our dynamic is a little different. I value his experience and his tenure, and I wanna learn from him. And a lot of mutual respect, again. And then we don\u2019t have to talk about my drummer. [laughs]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: What was it like when your former drummer exited the band?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: It felt a little insincere. And lacking any type of professionalism or respect, common courtesy. Which was hard to swallow. Harder on the other members of the band than me\u2026because I know what people are capable of. So when people do [things like that] I\u2019m not necessarily surprised. But that\u2019s not unique to our band. That\u2019s the filter I always put it through: no band stays together 100% decade after decade.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: And now that you can play again, with your new drummer, do you feel like you have a solid lineup? Or are there some things that are still changing?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: I think we\u2019re going through a transformation. Hoping for the best. We\u2019re looking to elevate our performance, to work on\u2026just a whole \u2019nother level of a show.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: What does the future look like for the Uncommitted, then?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: I\u2019d like to get back to show volume pre-Covid. Fifty-plus shows a year. I\u2019d like our exposure to be much more vast\u2026getting our band further than just beyond York Road, or Middle River, or Essex. I see a lot of good stuff in our
future, it\u2019s just, we need to execute.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: What is it like to have to balance this band with everything else in your life?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: Well, that\u2019s challenging. My life is very much a logistical, organized-chaos lifestyle. But I\u2019m able to balance it. I\u2019m able to dedicate and give 100% of myself\u2026whatever the environment is. If I\u2019m working, I\u2019m 100% working; if I\u2019m at a show, and doing music, I\u2019m 100% doing the show and doing the music. I think doing it that way allows me to give 100% of myself\u2014be in the moment, be present, be authentic. And you\u2019re gonna get all of me. I don\u2019t want people competing. Like, when I\u2019m home, I don\u2019t want [my family] feeling like they\u2019re competing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: And since you\u2019re so close, is the band sort of like its own family?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: Yeah, for the most part. Which has been the biggest blessing. I\u2019ve been able to forge so many friendships and bonds with people that, had it not been for music and the band, I would have not met. I would\u2019ve never met all of these people that are [now] part of my circle. That relationship spans way far beyond the music.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
M<\/strong>: And would you say that that\u2019s the main reason you do what you do with this band?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
E<\/strong>: That, and I know I have a purpose in this life. And I do think my purpose is to bring happiness and joy, and positive energy to people. In a very dark world.Through music, and through interaction and engagement and forming those bonds. Being that I give 100% of myself, that\u2019s who I am. I am positive energy. And people need that. There\u2019s a positive exchange there, and I think it leaves people with happiness and joy. I know people have gotten that feeling through the music and through me going into the crowd and engaging and interacting and partying, but even in my corporate life\u2026people get that same experience with me. So that\u2019s how I know, [that] that\u2019s just who I am. I guess that\u2019s what I meant to share.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/files\/2022\/12\/thumbnail_IMG_8802-682x1024.jpg\")
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Photo courtesy of Madison Webb<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"