CONNIE PETERSON

Through out her teen years she performed with numerous bands in the Ft.Myers area. Shortly after graduating high school in 1973, she and her brother, with four others comprising her band at the time, moved to Broward County for greater opportunity. That band, Shanti, was to remain her primary musical vehicle over the next decade. While personnel changed over the years (including South Fl guitarists Chris Delis and Bob Gaffney), Connie and two other original members remained the core of the group. Playing nothing but original music limited their venue options in those days, but they did perform once or twice a month over the very late seventies.

Connie had the advantage, and disadvantage, of being one of only about a half dozen female front persons at the time. The band had continued local success opening for South Florida concerts by artists such as Neil Young, Ronnie VanZant’s Austin Nickles Band, and Lake. They were chosen to be the first act ever to take the stage at the South Florida Agora Ballroom on it's opening night, and were seen fairly regularly at clubs like Tight Squeeze, The Treehouse, and AOR, which would all book original acts occasionally. She and the band had a couple a major contract close calls ( such as Capital, which was to include opening for McCartney on an upcoming tour , but negotiations failed at the last minute and they were replaced the recently signed Capital band Player), and in the end, each deal fell through for various reasons.

She also performed and/or recorded with, at one time or another, about a third of the other artists listed on the Musicians page. Connie, and her then husband Paul Knebel owner of Sandpiper Sound Recording Studio, both left the music business in 1983 to pursue careers in visual arts. She made one very brief return to performing in the early 90s, playing a few gigs with Don Fedele. She still resides in South Florida today, and continues to be a visual artist, as well as a Metaphysical practitioner.