Cassidy (musician)

Cassidy Catanzaro aka "Cassidy Joy" is a Grammy-Nominated songwriter, recording artist, actor, and singer. She is a triple certified Yogi and Reiki practitioner. Her birth name Susan H Catanzaro appears on writing credits including: Demi Lovato "For You" Album - Confident, Razor and Tie - Mount Holly Band, "Heart Of Glass" Album - Swedish Pop Artist Tommy Burr. - Los Angeles-based rock band, The Underground Thieves featuring Dorothy guitarist, Nick Perry. Professionally performing as Cassidy Catanzaro (music) / Cassidy Joy (acting) for 30 + years she Cassidy and The Music was the lead singer and writer for the band Antigone Rising during their most successful and esteemed years, from 1999 through 2008.

Early life
Cassidy was adopted and named Susan H Catanzaro. She grew up in Sparta Township, New Jersey, a small rural town in Sussex County. She has one brother. Cassidy has said that growing up near the Pennsylvania border amongst the lakes and farms influenced her love of nature and made her a free spirit. She began attending a nearby Nazarene Gospel Church with her father as a small child. Its pastor was her next door neighbor. That's where Cassidy discovered the joy that's created from singing. Her mother's taste in music also influenced her: Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, and Southern Rock and soul from the 1970s.

As a youngster, she sang back-ups for local hero, Jim Kilby. She then moved to New York City, often performing solo or with a band. Cassidy became a full time performer at 20 when she relocated to Los Angeles, as a singer and dancer in stage reviews written and produced by Emmy Award-Winning Anita Mann. It was around this time that Cassidy traveled through the US, South America and Europe, spending two summers in Alaska.

Cassidy later moved to London, Greater London where she found work singing jazz and session singing for London's premiere jingle house Hobson's Her voice was heard throughout the U.K. singing with Tessa Niles in Barbie commercials. It was there that Cassidy also began writing songs on guitar. She also sang with the late Robert Palmer, The Bucketheads, Curiosity Killed the Cat and Luciana.

1999-2008 - Antigone Rising
In 1999 and living again in Los Angeles, she was approached by Antigone Rising who was looking for a new lead singer. She sent the band a demo tape. And after a face to face meeting she was asked to join. Cassidy provided A.R. with songs she had written while spending time in Los Angeles, and it was ultimately these songs that inspired Lava/Atlantic executive Jason Flom to sign the all female band to a record deal.

The band released four independent albums with Cassidy singing lead vocals. Her live performance hailed among the best live rock singers in the business. They built a dedicated fanbase, known for following them along their East Coast tour stops. Their major label debut From the Ground Up produced by Neil Dorfsman was released exclusively through a landmark deal between Starbucks coffee shops, in conjunction with Starbucks' Hear Music series and Lava/Atlantic Records. AR enjoyed multiple features in Rolling Stone magazine veteran writer David Fricke calling Cassidy "A vocal dynamo" and hailing their show as the "big rock show of the SxSW festival". They were featured in national commercials for 7 Jeans and appeared in all Conde Nast magazines in the Spring of 2006. Although AR received very little radio play the band has sold upwards of 1 million copies of FTGU to date, and a collective 3 million records including all releases. Vh1 aired a half hour special featuring the band from its humble beginnings to its steady rise and Cassidy can still be seen as a regular commentator in Vh1's "I love.." series and "Bad Girls" Special. The band toured with The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Dave Mathews, and Rob Thomas and appeared on late night and morning television. The Matchbox 20 singer also co-wrote and produced tracks for the band. He is highly quoted as calling Cassidy "a born star". Cassidy has been invited to sing with Diane Warren, Steven Tyler, Moe, O.A.R. and appears on multiple tracks on Rob Thomas' first solo album "Something To Be." Including the title track, "Something to Be', "This is How A Heart Breaks", and "My My My". After Jason Flom's firing from Atlantic Records in 2007 AR asked to be released from their contract.  The band continued to tour for another year but lost their momentum and Cassidy left the band in 2008. After spending two years out of A.R. acting and appearing in a National 'Gap campaign Born to Fit (Cassidy's segment was titled "Born to Empower") she found a passion for writing and editing for  online magazines including, NewYorkPudding.com, and Lost at E Minor.com

2010–present: Cassidy and The Music/Boheme
In 2010 Cassidy was approached by a private investor (Silent Partner) to launch her own record label and release a solo album. She decided to take this opportunity and the label Band and Mountain was launched. Subsequently, Cassidy wrote and produced her debut album Follow The Freedom. Most notably by The Hollywood Reporter, Huffington Post, Examiner.com and received AMP Critics Pick for her live review in Music Connection's August 2012 issue. The album's title track featured reclusive frontman Steve Perry of the band Journey, who is a friend and fan of Cassidy's new project. The first single "Blind Spot" is being added at Triple A radio nationwide and the music video has been picked up by national retailers and outlets including, LA Fitness, Lady Footlocker, and Harley Davidson stores. It also can be seen on VH1 and AOL. It has reached 1.4 million views on YouTube. The title track "Follow The Freedom" got a featured artist spot on VH1's Hollywood Ex's TV show in the early fall of 2012.

Members of her team included musicians who have toured with Michael Jackson, Colby Caillait, Orianthi, Janet Jackson and Shania Twain, as well as management and publicity firm Ron Shapiro Management and Plan A Media out of New York City. Television and radio appearances began in 2011. In December 2012 Music Connection Magazine included Bohème on their HOT LIST and featured Cassidy in their year-end issue.

The second solo album, "Cassidy and The Music" began releasing tracks in January 2014. Recorded in Woodstock, NY the self-titled "Cassidy and The Music" recordings feature members of the NY based Leroy Justice and famed bassist Kenny Aaronson. The first video, a ballad "Always" reached nearly 10,000 views in the first 4 days of release. It features L.A. based pianist and recording artist Brother Sal. She is currently starring in the World Symphony Tour of Women Rock produced by Schirmer Theatricals and Greenberg Artists out of New York City and continues to record and perform original music. In addition to music, Cassidy has taken up Yoga as a life's practice and according to her, teaches classes as a part of her dharma whenever she is not on the road.

Acting
Cassidy made her film acting debut in the 2009 film The Skeptic starring Zoe Saldana and written and directed by Tennyson Bardwell. She played the lead role of Tabatha in the groundbreaking stage production of, "Parallel Worlds" - A New Rock Music Experience. The original work integrates film, theater and a live rock concert that run concurrently and weave together into a singular narrative. The show ran through June 2016 in Los Angeles, CA. The reviews were favorable. She revived the character when asked to star in the film version due out in 2022.

She has studied acting at The New School and Stella Adler in New York City and Playhouse West in Los Angeles, Baron Brown, coach Irene Muzzy as well as improvisational comedy at Upright Citizen's Brigade in Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles she was a performing member in multiple improv troupes, including the house team SCOUT! at Neon Venus Art Theater in Hollywood and has been hired for comedic roles such as a Skype commercial titled "What If We Always Had It?" where she plays a medieval matchmaker in the vein of Mike Meyers' "Coffee Talk" character on SNL. She has also studied voice with Katie Agresta and dance with Anita Mann Studios in Los Angeles. She has written a screenplay titled Broken Birds. In 2022 she will appear as romantic lead Ashley in the short film named 15 Roses, (credited as Cassidy Joy) to date it has been accepted into Cannes and Culver City film festivals 2022.