Amelia was born in New York City where she was raised on the Upper West Side. Her musical talents were noticed at a very early age

child she sang backgrounds on several Jewish rock and roll records by cantor/recording artist Paul Zim. In high school Amelia was the lead singer for two popular NYC bands, Amethyst and Detour. She attended the prestigious Music & Art High School, home of TV's "Fame" series, as an art major (Check out her paintings in Amelia's Art Gallery on this web-site). She earned her degree in writing from Hunter college.

Harold was born and raised on Long Island. He attended the music program at the Cultural Arts Center, the Long Island equivalent of Music & Art High School. His musical talents were also noticed at a young age when he was chosen to perform in Long Island's coveted Teen Talent Show. Harold learned the art of record production while working with record producers as diverse as Phil Spector (The Beatles, John Lennon) and Maurice Starr (New Kids On The Block). He earned his degree in Music Technology from New York University.

Amelia and Harold originally met in October, 1992, while taking a songwriting class on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The class was a collaboration workshop given by The Songwriter's Hall Of Fame/National Academy Of Popular Music. The first song Harold and Amelia wrote together was "Know The One You Love" (available on Here In The Rage). Still a fan favorite, "Know The One You Love" was inspired by a narrow political comment asserting "real families" could only consist of a biological mom, dad and children. Amelia and Harold did not agree. They felt a family exists where ever there is love, nurturing and support-despite biology. As the song goes, "Know the one you love by the way they stay and watch over you, know the hands that hold, know the warmth that heals when the world is cold."

Impressed by the strength of their co-writing, Amelia and Harold decided to form a band. The name Amelia's Dream was suggested by Amelia so she would have a constant reminder to never give up on her dream of being a recording artist. Harold called on some musician friends from Long Island and put together the initial rhythm section of Frank Mortillaro on drums, Jimmy Cyran on guitar and Mike Dunn on bass. Amelia was up front on lead vocals, Amelia's sister Gabrielle on background vocals, and Harold on keyboards and vocals.

In February, 1993, the band recorded their first demo with engineer/producer Paul Umbach (who would later work with the band on Here In The Rage and Love Tattoo). They used this demo to book various NYC clubs throughout the winter, spring and summer of 1993. At about the same time, Harold and Amelia started dating. They shared their first kiss on February 14, Valentine's Day.

By the fall of 1993, Amelia and Harold set their sights on making a full-length CD. Not fully satisfied with the sound of the band, they decided to work as a duo and hire musicians as needed. Throughout the winter and spring of 1994 they wrote new material. By the summer of 1994, Harold began demoing the new material at his home studio with the help of guitarist Julian Coryell. This process continued through the fall and winter months. Meanwhile, Amelia worked on her vocal style with the help of singer/songwriter Lorraine Ferro. The signature Amelia's Dream sound of acoustic and electronic textures, breathtaking vocals and subtle harmonies was created in these months.
By spring, 1995, the music was ready to be recorded. Harold booked time with Paul and put together a new rhythm section consisting of Julian Coryell on guitar, Jon Ossman on bass and Adrian Harpham on drums. The CD was recorded over a three week period and released in the fall of 1995. The name Here In The Rage was decided on after a song Amelia had written about a young girl living in the streets of New York. The release party was held at Downtime, on 31st Street in Manhattan. It was a smashing success, and also premiered paintings by Amelia's sister, Gabrielle, who painted the edgy and captivating CD cover for Here In The Rage. (shown right)

Momentum was picking up and Here In The Rage was doing well at college radio, charting at #4 in CMJ, The College Music Journal. Excited by this success, Amelia and Harold took to the road in the summer of 1996 to perform live on college radio. The tour took them to North Carolina State (WKNC), JMU (WXJM), Marshall University (WMUL), TUFTS (WMFO), Skidmore (WSPN), Rennselaer (WRPI), Shippensburg (WSYC), Marywood College (WVMV), and Curry College (WMLN). That fall the band signed a national distribution deal with Ripe & Ready Records, making Here In The Rage available in stores like Tower, HMV, Borders, and over the internet at amazon.com and cdnow.com. To add to the excitement, Harold and Amelia were married on October 27. They delayed their honeymoon to perform in The Philadelphia Music Conference of that year.

By the beginning of 1997, Amelia and Harold set their sights on a second CD. Harold wanted to take the band in a more edgy electronic direction, infusing the music with textures from 80s new wave and 90s techno. This period opened up a whole new set of influences in the band's music. Somehow, though, the CD had gone off-track. (Check out these recordings in B-Sides and Remixes on the Love Tattoo enhanced CD) By early 1998, Harold and Amelia thought the new record was sounding unnatural. Neither were happy with the results. They decided to start over, splitting the difference between the band's more acoustic earlier sound and the new electronic sound. The result is the music you hear on Love Tattoo, a fresh mix of natural and electronic instruments, akin to Sara McLachlan meets Fleetwood Mac.

Love Tattoo was recorded between spring 1998 and spring 1999, and features Amelia on vocals, Harold Stephan on keyboards and synthesizer programming, Ben Butler on guitar, Jon Ossman on bass and Tom Curiano on drums. (Watch a documentary video clip under "Love Tattoo" on the Love Tattoo enhanced CD) Other guest musicians include Marc Shulman, Julian Coryell, Carol Sharar, Cenovia Cummings, Maria Umbach and Frank Mortillaro. The title "Love Tattoo" is a lyric from a song on the CD that Amelia and Harold wrote for each other with the help of hit songwriter Stephanie Lewis.

The fresh sound of Love Tattoo caught the ears of TV's ESPN2, when they licensed "Evil Ways" for broadcast during the summer 1999 Xtreme Games. "Evil Ways" is a remake of the classic 1969 cut by Santana, which Amelia's Dream recorded for the Austin Powers sequel "The Spy Who Shagged Me". The song was nearly used in the Austin Powers soundtrack (picture the opening credits with "Evil Ways" playing), but stiff competition from multi-platinum artists like Madonna and Lenny Kravitz kept it out. Time Out NY Magazine freelance writer Ivor Hanson has written "Amelia's sultry and seductive 'Evil Ways' deftly meshes pouty passion with down-town cool, updating the Santana chestnut and making it truly her own."

Amelia's Dream has appeared on several cable TV shows (view clips from these shows in "Here In The Rage" and "Love Tattoo" on the Love Tattoo enhanced CD) and has been invited to be the featured artist in many well known events including: The NYC Marathon (performing for over 35,000 people), The AIDS Walk '99, The Feast of Saint Anthony in Greenwich Village, NXNE Music Festival in Toronto, Canada and The Philadelphia Music Conference. Amelia's Dream has brought breathtaking performances to such exciting NYC club stages as: The Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, Life, CB's Gallery, and The Knitting Factory, to name a few. Look for upcoming live shows in your town at www.ameliasdream.com