Positive Thought Music for Connected Souls

STUART, FL, August 31, 2010 (Press-News.org) It took the unexpected, sudden death of a friend to give Doreen Poreba the courage to perform publicly, even though she had been writing songs, singing and playing guitar for 28 years.

Within a year, she came together with fellow Stuart resident Mike Jordan to form a duo, Connected Souls. On September 12, 2010, they will publicly unveil for the first time their debut CD, "Time To Play" at their CD release party. The party, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 4:30 p.m. at Unity of Stuart. (211 S.E. Central Parkway, Stuart). A live performance will cap off the evening.

"This goes beyond a dream come true," said Poreba. "My son J.P. planted an initial seed after I posted one of my songs with photos on YouTube. He suggested that I record a CD but the idea seemed so far fetched that I couldn't imagine it. Until 2008, I wouldn't even let my friends or family listen to recordings of my music, let alone play in front of them.

Sharing my music with others was just about the only thing in my life that I was shy about, but after my friend died of a massive heart attack, I felt his afterlife inspiration to write a song about him. The words and melody came to me like an instant, God-inspired download at 2:30 in the morning. How could I not pay tribute to him and perform the song at his funeral? He had been encouraging me for months to share my music and join the Unity of Stuart Joyful Noise Band & Choir."

After that first public performance of singing and playing her guitar, Poreba received so much encouragement from both friends and strangers that she broke out of her musical shell and joined the Unity band. Shortly afterwards, she and Jordan, also a Unity band member, discovered their voices blended well, and Connected Souls was born.

The dream of recording a CD became a reality when Unity's music director, Albert Miller — an award-winning singer-songwriter and keyboardist who has performed alongside such artists as The Angels, Richie Havens, The Cowsills, The Rascals, The Lemon Pipers and Rod Stewart — approached the duo with the idea of recording a Connected Souls CD.

"Albert did so much more than simply record and mix our songs," said Jordan. "He provided invaluable feedback on each of our original songs, at times suggesting a chord, lyric or tempo change, which helped us stretch our creative boundaries. His musicianship enhanced our overall efforts, and we think people will be impressed with the results.

"This was an awesome opportunity to work with a master musician. We are grateful for his guidance and expertise." Miller, http://www.albertmiller.net, continues to influence the local music scene today, performing with "The Critters with Don Ciccone."
The Connected Souls CD, described as positive thought, pop or easy listening music, features 10 original tracks, four written by Jordan and four by Poreba. A ninth song was co-written by Poreba, Miller and the late Walter Wurster. The CD includes a tenth original written by Miller and Geri Duryea, both Stuart residents. Jordan and Poreba handle all of the lead and background vocals and play guitar. They're backed up by Miller, who provides a mix of keyboards and other instruments along with another Stuart resident, Don Rowell, who plays lead and slide guitar in his award-winning tradition.

The CD will be available for sale online at CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon and Digstation, at various retail outlets and through local nonprofit organizations, including Unity of Stuart. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Unity of Stuart and participating nonprofit groups. For more information and to hear song clips of the CD's 10 songs, visit the website, http://www.connected-souls.com, or call 772-221-2425.

About Mike Jordan
After working in the telecommunications industry in California, Jordan moved to the Treasure Coast in 2003. He has been part of several garage bands and has devoted time to church choirs. The choir experience is where Mike developed and expanded his singing ability.

He also has participated in multiple theatrical productions in Florida including commercials, infomercials and extra work in the film industry. His favorite gig was being part of a Toby Keith music video.

Jordan is a self-taught guitarist and songwriter. He has been writing songs since the 1980s. While living in California, Jordan entered a "Beach Boys" themed singing contest through his company, AT&T. He was one of 10 vocalists chosen among several hundred contestants and was rewarded with the opportunity to record a CD at Capitol Records in Hollywood CA. The recording raised money through the Grammy Foundation's nonprofit sector to support educational programs. He and the other contest winners opened for The Beach Boys at The Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and sung "Barbara Ann" with them for their encore.

About Doreen Poreba
Poreba's first professional experience behind a microphone was not as a singer but as an on-air television reporter for ABC affiliates in Youngstown, Ohio and West Palm Beach, Florida. Her musical interests appeared early, however. Both of her parents played instruments, and she began playing clarinet at age nine. She wanted to play drums, but her band teacher said no, declaring, "Drums are for boys!" She went on to take private piano lessons for a short period of time, played in concert and marching band, joined the high school chorus, and finally took a guitar lesson during her senior year of college at Slippery Rock University. That inspired her to begin writing very personal songs based on her life's experiences.

One of her performance highlights occurred in May 2009 during a retreat led by Neale Donald Walsch, author of "Conversations With God," when he invited her to perform one of her original songs.

Poreba owns and operates The PR Czar Inc., http://www.prczar.com, a public relations company. She also works as a freelance photojournalist.

The PR Czar Inc. is a full service public relations and photography business located in Stuart, Florida. Please contact us at 772.221.2425.