She says in her Columbia Records biography that ever since she was a little girl she wanted to be a performer, and began to actually write songs in fifth grade. Reportedly, while showing off her talents to her third grade teacher, her teacher told her that she'd end up "one day on Jay Leno's show." Leno recounted that story when Nalick actually did perform on his show earlier this year, quipping "which shows you how long I've been running this show".
As a teenager, she says she grew up in a household where her parents spun a wide vareity of artists. Her mother tuned her into bands such as The Rolling Stones, Cream (band) and Led Zeppelin, while her father turned her to Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers. She officially cites her influences as Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Blind Melon, John Mayer, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others. She says of Vaughan, that he is "the guy that I'm going to marry when I get to heaven." In high school, she performed with a Rush cover band.
Nalick initially decided to go to college and then only afterward pursue her dream of music, but she met a photographer who said that she had students in the high school at which she teaches who have parents in the music business. Nalick agreed to pass along a demo, and soon enough, in October, 2003 she signed on with Columbia Records, releasing "Wreck of the Day" two years later.
--Wikipedia
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