| Name |
Tina Sugandh |
| Height |
|
| Naionality |
Indian |
| Date of Birth |
|
| Place of Birth |
|
| Famous for |
singing |
Sugandh was born in Mumbai, but moved with her family to New Jersey in the United States at age five months. Her mother Geeta Sugandh sang on the radio and at various functions while her father Kanaiya, was a master of ceremonies, singer, and comedian.
Sugandh and her sister, Seema, traveled with their parents to all of their performances. At the age of five Tina sang on stage for the first time. She sang a ghazal and she and her parents recognized that she loved performing and they encouraged her to continue.
Throughout Sugandh's school years, the Sugandh family performed all over the U.S. and the Caribbean, and gained a following in the Indian community. At one concert, Tina begged her father to let her take over for one song and play the drum that he played, (called the dholak). Her parents decided to introduce her to a more intricate drum, the tabla, a two-barreled percussion that takes years to master and is predominantly played by men.
At 15, Sugandh was discovered by Sean Harris, a screenwriter and creative mentor. Harris eventually convinced Sugandh that she should pursue music as a career and, to that end, spent time working on a demo. Between her studies as a biology major at Rutgers University (where she eventually graduated on the Dean's List), and weekend performances with the Sugandh family, Sugandh worked with Harris, who arranged photo shoots and studio time for her and encouraged her to write her own music.
After Sugandh completed her demo and promo package she sent out hundreds of demo packages in order to get both a management team and writing publishing house.
Her persistence paid off when a friend introduced her to Sean Sullivan, who had been working with Maxwell, John Mellencamp and Jessica Simpson and was starting a new management company. Sullivan was impressed and had her perform for Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister, Sevendust), his partner in the new venture. French was equally impressed and the duo signed her to their new company, Rebellion Entertainment. They spent the next year developing her songs and creating new demos. These demos lead to a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music and a Sony deal.
