Learn it by Heart is a fresh new sound developed by spunky singer/songwriter Cara Cortese. Being the sole member of the band Cara has spent countless hours working towards perfecting her talent. Though the band is still in its beginning stages, with the help of ACOSM Records the production of Learn it by Heart’s debut CD is underway.

Cara spent her childhood moving around with her family, living in England, Singapore and of course her home country Canada. Since her parents now live in Australia, Cara lives in the beautiful city of Toronto with her twin sister.

While growing up, Cara was always a musician. As a child she was always the first to begin singing along with the radio, and certainly made sure she could be heard over her two sisters. When she finally got bored of not having all the attention on long car rides, Cara began singing harmonies, which began the next level of her musical interest. Finally, after many years of bothering her parents, at the age of 14 Cara received her first guitar. Her family anticipated that this would just be another phase that Cara went through, but to everyone’s surprise she spent many hours locked in her room teaching herself how to play the instrument. But in true Cara style, she never liked to take things slowly, before she had even mastered how to play more than four chords, she wrote her first song.

After finishing high school, Cara knew that her parents wanted her to have a post secondary education so she ventured off to Wilfred Laurier University to study Honours Arts. However, Cara spent most of her time in her dorm room writing new songs and experimenting with home recording. To gain experience in performing, Cara played at open mike shows and spent a lot of time in Toronto searching for any opportunity she could get.

While Cara is currently studying English at Ryerson University she balances the work load of school and music with pure determination. Though Learn it by Heart is still a green project, Cara’s hard work and continued song writing should make for a well-rounded debut CD.

•  Lovely
•  This song is addictive
•  Folky with a dash of...

I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to North America in 1989. I began playing the acoustic guitar at the age of ten, later taking lessons at the famous Crossroads Guitar Shop in Port Moody. I began writing in high school with the help of a teacher who stayed late to help me record my demo. Many performances ensued, including a performance on the CBC and at local coffee shops and pubs. I have recently been on hiatus from music - due to studying Marketing full-time at BCIT. I am graduating in a matter of months and can't wait to get out and have a little more time to get back into music!!

• wistful
•  The Stray Cats live!
•  nice quiet song
•  Rockabilly with a country voice