As I’m sitting here in the lobby of Capati Dental, waiting for my appointment, I can’t help but think about how I met my band. After spending a weekend filming a music video with Fun DMC for Albert’s dental practice, it almost feels like things have come full circle. It may sound ridiculous to say that waiting for my teeth cleaning and exam reminds me of how I met my current band mates/business partners, but this office is where that journey began.

My first trip to Capati Dental (3-ish years ago) was a fairly emergent case. I was dealing with a throbbing pain down the side of my face and an aching in my ear. As someone on a tight budget, planning a wedding, trying to make all of the ends meet, and running a brand new business while planning for another, I really only had the time, energy, and money to make one appointment. I spent days debating whether I would go to the doctor for an ear infection or go to the dentist for a possible tooth infection. I eventually decided I was experiencing a dental emergency and I needed to find someone pretty immediately.

At the time, I was living in Lincoln but working primarily in the Springfield area. For some reason, traveling to Springfield for a dentist seemed like the best option, so away to google I went. I knew so few people in Springfield, that asking for a personal recommendation via Facebook would have proved pointless. After a drawn-out google search, reading through reviews, and perusing countless websites, I found the practice that seemed to be the best fit for me (and my husband Chad) and made an appointment for the same week.

Like a lot of people, just the idea of even going to any doctor or dentist is incredibly anxiety producing. Thankfully, all of the staff at Capati Dental are incredible and helped me feel more at peace even as I was being told that one of my wisdom teeth would have to come out. (Yup, this is still the story of how I met my band, it all started with an infected wisdom tooth.) Being told that you are going to need at least three filings and to have a tooth yanked from your face isn’t a great feeling, so Dr. Capati used the oreo method to deliver that news by surrounding it with light chit chat and fun conversation on both ends.

During those conversations, I found out Dr. Capati was also involved in music and theatre. “A singing dentist?!?!?” Jackpot! I really couldn’t have lucked out more based on just a google search. Through the remainder of the appointment, we talked about upcoming productions, auditions, and all things music. I’ll never forget the end of that appointment when my new dentist sang his Les Miserable audition piece in his office and asked for any tips from his new voice instructor patient.

(I want to preface the rest of this story by stating that Albert knew that I sang, but had no idea if I could actually carry a tune. He had never heard me. AND he wasn’t singing with Fun DMC at the time.)

A couple weeks after my appointment, I receive a strange/unexpected message from Albert. “Sorry for the group message. My friend Aaron Stanley from the band Fun DMC is looking for a fill in female lead singer who can learn 12-15 songs and do some shows. Is anyone interested?”

How was I supposed to respond?!? Singing with a band wasn’t something I was really looking to do, BUT getting out and singing a show or two and learning a few new songs sounded like a good challenge that I was up for trying at least once. So, even though the idea of singing with a complete group of strangers in an unfamiliar setting in a totally new performance style was an idea more overwhelming than most, I said, “Sure. Why not?” . After a single, acoustic rehearsal with just Robert, I started filling-in with Fun DMC on a fairly regular basis. One show, turned into singing about once a month or at least every couple months with a fun-filled social gathering here and there as well. After a few years and a couple changes in the Fun DMC lineup (including Albert joining as a lead singer, finally), I’m proud to call Fun DMC “my band” and all of the Fun DMC members my closest friends.