musical history
Cyo started singing publicly in church choir and recorded her first album in high school. Her professional stage debut was an intense acapella song about sexual abuse in a lesbian musical written by writer musician, Niomi Littlebear. (what a start, from church to gay musicals, no wonder she's able to move all over the musical map) Cyo sang in coffee shops with her sister, then ran away and joined the Circus for several years and was silent. She ended up in LA, singing in corny musicals until hooking up with professional session players/musicians, and a member of the avant musical theory ensemble of Harry Partch, and then she began to write her own music. Forming several projects, from space rock to dance music before she blew the LA scene and returned home to Portland to form LAND OF THE BLIND. THE BLIND was at first, a 8 piece world beat vocal and drum ensemble doing her mentor's music-(obscure Kate Bush & Peter Gabriel covers), as well as their own works.

THE BLIND, and the SF bands Transmission and Ancient Future, were, at that time, the only west coast bands exploring world fusion music, everywhere/ everything/everyone else were all Nirvana clones, angry alt rock boys, Grunge-a-rama. BLIND, in the beginning, was even called by Portland press "pretentious", for daring to mix many influences together, such as Native tribal feels, (with Lakota singer Pete Mesteth) Australian didgeridoo (Krystov, studying with master Stephen Kent), folk flutes, punkish driving bass leads (with Regina LaRocca, from M99), hand drummers rather than western drum kit, and most of all, intricate 3 part beautiful female AAA harmonies. They recorded their first album ONE EYE, with Billy Triplett (Prince, Meredith Brooks) co-producer Bobby Torres (Santana)

But Cyo was constantly pushing the band to expand further away from Rock, and was influenced by alt world-folk bands (De'CooCoo, Mouth Music, Dead Can Dance), as well as emo singer-songwriter types like Tori Amos, Jane Siberry and Kate Bush, and more avant Eno-ish music. Cyo produced the award wining second cd OUT OF CHAOS, (Young American Composers Award, A.S.C.A.P., New York) also recorded in Portland, with dual engineers Billy Triplett and John Lemmon. Eventually tiring of being hemmed in vocally by two other singers, on CHAOS she wrote for just her own voice, with a few harmonies, and also began to perform solo. BLIND toured with SF bands, Haunted by Waters, Oscar Winning THOTH, and other unusual projects. They did a cross country tour with theatrical East Coast opera-rock band, SQUONK OPERA, and were welcomed and loved from Denver to NY.

Cyoakha was on tour with BLIND down from Portland to SF, when she met the World-Prog-Rock band AZIGZA and found out that they were looking for (for over two years) a singer that could move from whispery pretty dreamy world vocals to full blasting prog rock epic pieces. Intrigued, she auditioned and got the lead singer spot. She then moved to SF in her pursuit of live musical education and avant trail blazing. In her 4 years with 8 piece Azigza, she recorded two critically acclaimed albums, played all the SF clubs/festivals and got into the world wide Prog Scene. Some of the highlights were playing Prog West at the world famous Palace of the Fine Arts and a huge PROG festival in Mexico to thousands of fans from around the world. She still sits in with Azigza at major gigs, such as the recently played epic evening at the famous Chabot Space & Science Center, in the planetarium during a star show. Working with virtuoso violinist Aryeh Frankfurter, amazing avant electric guitarist Kevin Evans, Middle Eastern singer Mohammed, killer bassist Pierce McDonald (currently recording with Gilli Smith, "Mother-Gong" of Gong Orchestra), and various percussionists, "AZIGZA has been my advanced musical education." During that time Cyoakha was voted "Best Overall Performer" at ProgFest at Chapel Hill, North Carolina as well as "Best Singer" from a 3 day international music festival.

During Azigza, Blind continued to perform at all the major west coast "hippie" festivals, Oregon Country Fair, Burning Man etc...either with the "old Blind" Portland tribe, or the "new Blind", world-class SF musicians. Cyoakha also finished her third album project with BLIND, a fully self-produced cd, ORDINARY MAGIC, a true fusion of styles, world and witchy, rock and Celtic, trance and tribal and recorded the many talents of both the Portland tribe and her new SF musician friends.

Now on it's 10th year, Blind has reformed so many times with so many excellent musicians that it's almost impossible to track. Cyo says, "it has a life of it's own. It never seems to end. I am currently doing Blind songs as a duo with just Krystov (didgeridoo) and live looping, as well as a trio, adding psychedelic guitar, calling ourselves Edgewalking but we are still Blind. I joined the all woman Celtic funk-rock band DRUID SISTERS TEA PARTY in 2002, and they also loved the Blind songs and we perform several of them from both the 2nd and 3rd CD's!"

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