It's the voice.

Yes, there are also her Latina good looks, a Mick Jagger command of the stage, and just-turned-22 streetwise energy, but it's the Melissa Ivey voice that is particularly memorable: sultry, self-assured, upbeat, seductive.

It's already getting airplay. Denver's classic rock station, KQMT, invited her into the studio, where she debuted a song written hours before. The program director was so taken by it he decided on the spot to include it in KQMT's compilation CD. That led to a headlining slot at the CD release party, a showcase opportunity in front of Red Rocks reps who offered her a future gig there, and an invitation to write and perform a jingle for the station.

Similar opportunities happen wherever she plays. Playing at the Hard Rock Cafe during her first trip to LA, she was seen by producer Richard Bosworth (The Knack, Don Henley, Santana, the Jacksons, Kiss, Steve Perry, Neil Young, Warren Zevon) who teamed her up with Berton Averre of The Knack to co-write her next CD. She's also in talks with members of the Delphonics, who spotted Ivey hosting a Denver open mic.

She got her start in music at nine when a musician came to her school and inspired her to take violin lessons. “Music became my release. We were always moving. Music was a constant in my life.” At 13 she picked up her mother's bass guitar and taught herself to play. At 14, it was the electric guitar. “I was grounded for most of two years, so I had a lot of time to learn how to play.” By 15, on one of her infrequent school visits (“I spent more time leaving school than in it.”), she stumbled across a pick-up band practicing in a storage room. They formed Manic Notion, a punk band based in San Jose. Then in 2002, at age 19, she moved to Denver and her did her share of solo acoustic gigs.

By February 2005 she was touring nationally. As she told her fans at that time, “I began my journey just eight months ago by putting in my two weeks notice at my last ‘day job' as a secretary for Superior By Design in Denver. Since then I have recorded a full length album with my band; starred in my very own live DVD; written about eight songs for the next album; trained and worked with three bass players, two guitar players, and three drummers; and toured relentlessly over the past month and a half (I did 32 shows in 45 days, endured four tow trucks and five rental cars in five days, flew over 1,600 miles in two weeks, and drove over 1,700 miles.). Didn't see this in School of Rock, did you? But, man I love this job!”

Most recently Ivey was nominated by Westword, Colorado's major alt-weekly, as one of the area's best singer/songwriters and will be performing at the upcoming awards showcase.

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