Entertainer focuses on performing at her best
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Patrice Peris PHOTO/SUBMITTED

Shrewsbury - When Patrice Peris steps up to the microphone, she has only one thought in her mind: making sure her audience gets a performance unlike any they've ever seen.

A lifelong entertainer, Peris's soulful voice and R&B/hip hop/pop style have landed her gigs all over New England, sometimes performing as many as seven shows in a single weekend.

And this is just the beginning for the Shrewsbury native, who said she has big things in store for 2008.

"My producer Rick Poulin and I have been working on original songs; I've been writing and he's meeting with top producers," she said. "I'm now on the top of the list to be shopped to major labels."

Peris has been marketing herself as a solo artist for two years, although her musical roots go back for decades. Promoting herself is a full-time job, and she said she can feel her hard work starting to pay off .

"You have to create everything: the show, the voice, the image," she said. "I've been rehearsing four times a week, working on the production of songs, meeting with dancers and it's so much work … but it's all worth it."

Peris said she is most influenced by strong female vocalists like Alicia Keyes, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, but keeps an ear on anyone who has managed to make a career out of music.

"Art is art even if you don't love it [someone else's work]100 percent," she said. "You watch everyone regardless because you can learn from everyone."

As she prepares to take her show to a larger audience, Peris said, her equation for a good performance is simple: keep it high energy and entertaining and make sure to put in the eff ort that her audience expects and deserves.

"My vocal ability and my show are a product, and I try hard to make sure I sound the same during my live performance as I do in my recordings," she said. "I have fun during every show and I think people feed off that."

Peris said she thinks her dedication to putting on a quality performance and her down-to-earth nature are the two things that will make her stand out among her competition as she looks for a record deal.

"I want to be able to not only put out good music and put on a great show, but be a good role model," she said.

Anyone interested in checking out a Patrice Peris performance can go to www. seepatrice.com for upcoming show information.