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Biography (courtesy of Atlantic Records)

Tracy Dawn's life may have taken twists and turns along the way, but like her music, the woman herself is nothing if not direct. Her debut release, Poetic Aftermath, lands on the shelves of Christian bookstores in mid-1999 from Atlantic Records Christian Music Division and follows on the shelves of music stores everywhere in early 2000 through a unique partnership with Warner Music sister label, Warner Bros. Records. As an up-and-comer on the LA music scene, Tracy Dawn was able to rely on modeling and acting as the part time employment she'd need to support her music. The striking blonde soon became a well known face in commercials for AT&T, MCI, Burger King, McDonald's, Pepsi, Coke and Dr. Pepper, among others. "If you can name the product, I've done the commercial for it," she laughs. It was a great way to pay the bills as she began to make a name for herself in LA clubs, headlining and selling out such well known clubs as The Troubadour and Roxy.

She was able to avoid waiting tables for extra cash—in fact, the closest she came to serving tables was as the waitress in the Guns N' Roses rock music video for "November Rain," filmed at LA's famous Rainbow Room. Now booked by entertainment magnate Creative Artist Agency (CAA), and as one of the few new artists signed by the agency, twenty-something Tracy Dawn carefully balances the two very different worlds of Christian and mainstream entertainment. Paralleling the philosophy of record label, Atlantic Records, she is a living model of 'roaring lambs,' a term which author and speaker Bob Briner coined to describe Christians affecting culture, in culture.

Poetic Aftermath offers songs like the worshipful song of love to the Lord, "Revelation of Romance," the impassioned praise song "Recklessly Abandoned" and the reassuring "You Mock, He Loves"—each song reflecting the talented singer/songwriter's belief in creating music for the masses, with no loss in quality or style, with a straightforward Christian message. Each of the songs on her debut has been influenced by the lessons Tracy Dawn has learned on her hard road, and almost all are motivated by her desire to use the victory she's found through her struggles to bring comfort and peace to others. She says she considers her mission to be among those who do not yet know Christ.

"I really think the entertainment industry is its own mission field," she says. "Every time I walk onto a set, I ask God who He wants me to talk to, and it's incredible to see what happens each time." The tall blonde from Kansas has introduced strippers, drug abusers and homosexuals to her Savior as she continues her work before commercial and advertising cameras. Saved at age five, life had seemed blissfully perfect on the surface for this cheerleader, star athlete and local favorite of the home town music scene.

The calm exterior belied the lonely, young girl fighting personal struggles in a family working hard to stay together. After graduating high school and trying her hand at college, the aspiring young songwriter came to the bright lights of Los Angeles from a small town in Kansas, to pursue her dream of a career in music. With her star quickly rising, Tracy Dawn also found her life, as well as her music and acting, marked by the trappings of the LA club scene, and a not-so-savory crowd with which she became involved. She quickly got into serious drug use, which led to an even darker world—that of the occult. "One of the guys in the band I was playing in introduced me to this sorcery book," she says. "The first book made it sound like a hobby.

"We started thinking it would be fun to try out some of the exercises in these books. It's so subtle—they get a little deeper as they go along. It was all about power—who could have the most power. You had to disconnect yourself from those you love, because that was a weakness." A trip back to Kansas helped show Tracy Dawn how demonic the situation was, and she soon began the long road back to a normal life, and back to her childlike faith that led her to God at the age of five. "I decided if I had read 10 sorcery books, I could read the Bible. I started in Matthew and couldn't stop reading it.

"My comfort was reading the Bible—I knew it was truth," she recalls. "I really had to get deprogrammed from all of the sorcery—I thought at first that Jesus must be the top sorcerer. I prayed for God to remove me from this situation, from where I was living and the people I was around." And God delivered in full, right down to the picket fence with a yard for her dog. She began visiting a church far from where she was living, and a house was made available to her across the street from that church at a rent that she was able to afford. It was far away from all of the people she'd been doing drugs with—and unbeknownst to her, her future husband lived 10 minutes down the road. After a long journey which culminated in removing herself from many of the friends she'd come to know, she reached out to the God of her childhood to deliver her. Leaving behind her old lifestyle and way of thinking were hard for the young girl from Kansas who had come to Los Angeles with the dream of making music. But once she let go, Tracy Dawn saw the wheels begin to turn.

"My identity was really wrapped up in it—Tracy Dawn, songwriter, not Tracy Dawn, child of God. When I became delivered from those things, the Lord gave the music back to me. At that moment, I told God I wasn't going to do anything in music that He didn't tell me to. Shortly after that, I was asked to lead worship in one of my church classes. My songwriting changed at that point. I had no desire at all other than to write songs about Him." Back on track, Tracy Dawn was soon on the road that would lead her out of her own darkness and on to a recording contract with Warner Bros., a happy marriage with guitarist and co-writer Shawn, and to the foundation for her collection of songs filled with grateful love for the One who had heard her cry for help. The talented songwriter crafts a rock autobiography of sorts in the powerful "Enter Savior." The verses contrast the darker side of her experience against the hope she found when Christ re-entered her life.

Her desire to see others come to the same saving knowledge she has found is seen in the straightforward description of how to accept Christ in "All You Gotta Do." One of the first singles from Poetic Aftermath, entitled "God in a Box," became an anthem for the entire project during the recording process, notes Tracy Dawn, as she recalls how she met her record label. "I played a show at The Troubadour, and lots of mainstream record labels were there. Lots of people were limiting my music to this certain audience—putting God in a box. It becomes too easy for people to limit Him in your thinking. Writing a song about it was just a way of expressing it and reminding myself of it. My producers, management, everyone on the project grasped that concept, and we'd end up saying that phrase to each other to remind ourselves that through God all things are possible—'Don't put God in a box'."

Currently a youth leader at her home church in LA, Tracy Dawn's experiences give her a unique perspective on working with teens. She says she feels like the kids she works with are her little brothers and sisters. "Teens never roll their eyes at me," she confesses. "TV shows and video games are all about the supernatural—kids are bombarded with it. I've found that this generation is faced with so many dynamics that were not so strong before this era. Once they come to know the Holy Spirit, they can be so on fire, and so pure, and I totally believe they could be the Joshua generation to turn this country around." Tracy Dawn may well herself be part of the generation that changes her world, as she passionately shares Christ with all who cross her path, whether from stage, in the heartfelt songs of Poetic Aftermath, or on the sets of photo shoots and commercials. For this musician/model/actress, the mission is clear. I really feel like the heart of the Father is to reveal Himself to His people," she says. "We are called to translate the word of God to the world. We need to be open to writing in a new way if we're called to … we need to meet people where they are.