Marika

I come from a family of 8 brothers and sisters and grew up on a farm in Kearneysville WV. I have loved to sing since I was a little girl, my mother Sarah was an accomplished singer, and I have several siblings that are musically gifted. As I grew older I was asked to sing at local society functions, ( the county fair, pageants etc. ). I realized that singing was something that I really enjoyed so when I entered the 10th grade, I was asked to try out for the Jefferson High School show and concert choirs. I was selected to participate and realized my voice was my instrument. While in high school I was selected to participate in the National FFA chorus, this was a great honor because it was at the National level. The event was held in Kansas City, Missouri. During this event I got a chance to sing backup for Lee Greenwood. During my high school years, I was selected from the state of West Virginia to participate as the lone participant in a National Talent Show. I got to sing in the Ryman Auditorium and at the Opryland Hotel. Once out of High school I was asked to join the band Fastlane which was in transition from it's original members. After Fastlane broke up, I joined a band called Backstreet. During this period I met my husband to be Wes Milburn, we then joined a band called Loaded Dice. Loaded Dice survived for only a short period. It was during this time off while vacationing in Nashville that I had the honor of singing on the world famous stage of Tootsies. I took time off to have a family and then realized that I really missed singing. Wes & I rejoined the New Fast Lane with it present members, Greg, Rick, Glenn and Ron. I would like to thank everyone who comes out to support us, it really means a lot to me.