MOVA JUDGES’ BIOS

STEPHANIE COX formed Larga Vista Music in 1999 with award-winning flagship writer, Steve Seskin.  Prior to that she gained invaluable experience at Ken Stilts Management Company, Little Big Town Music, Starstruck Writers Group, Capitol Records, and MCA Music.  During her tenure, MCA was recognized with ASCAP’s “Publisher of the Year” award. Larga Vista’s hit singles include “Grown Men Don’t Cry” (Tim McGraw), “She’ll Leave You With A Smile” (George Strait’s 50^th #1 hit single), and “I’ll Take That as a Yes (The Hot Tub Song)” (Phil Vassar).  Larga Vista has numerous album cuts and singles by artists including superstar Kenny Chesney, Josh Turner, Joe Nichols, Terri Clark, Jeff Bates, Kathy Mattea, Cyndi Thomson, Gary Allan, Travis Tritt and Mary Gauthier, among others.  In addition to Seskin, Larga Vista boasts a small, but impressive roster of writers, including Mark D. Sanders, Jon McElroy and Brandy Clark.

LESLIE ELLIS has performed on many albums over the years including singing with Celine Dion on "My Heart Will Go On" (the love theme from the film Titanic) for which she received a Grammy Award and, recently, a duet with international country star, Bjoro Haaland. She began her career singing television and radio jingles/voice overs and by singing many professional demos for SONY Music as well as individual
songwriters. In 2000 she performed the original soundtrack song called "Six Times around the Sun" for the CBS mini-series, "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" written by Steve Seskin and Ronny Cox and was a featured vocalist on the latest release from Thomas Dolby entitled "Forty". This year she has celebrated the international success of the short subject film called, "My Name Is Wallace" (written and directed by Robert Pondillo) in which she starred with longtime friend, David Lawrence.  She has released two solo albums; "Standing at the Moment" and "Leslie
Ellis" and has songs recorded by several artists including the Bellamy Brothers. Currently, Leslie lives in Nashville, TN, and sings in a duo with hit songwriter Casey Kelly. She and Kelly just returned from a tour of Norway, where they appeared with Bjoro Haaland.

CASEY KELLY, Nashville singer/songwriter, grew up in Baton Rouge, LA, studied music at LSU, and was a founding member of The Greek Fountains. He moved to NYC and worked extensively as a studio musician, writing for major label projects. He then moved to LA and released records on Warner Bros., A & M, and the Elektra label. In Nashville he wrote for House of Gold music, with a host of #1 hits to his credit including “Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight” by Kenny Rogers and Dottie West, “Only Game In Town” by America, “Take What You Find” by Helen Reddy, “The Cowboy Rides Away” by George Strait, “You Still Do” by T.G. Sheppard, “I Can't Say That Anymore” and “Some Hearts” by the Remingtons, Grammy-nominated #1 song "Soon" by Tanya Tucker, and “That Road Not Taken” by Joe Diffie.  Kelley is the creator of “Songmania” and a member of the Board of the Songwriters Guild of America.

JANET McLAUGHLIN, a native of Guntersville living in Nashville, has a Bachelor of Music Education with a classical guitar major and voice minor. Janet has been an adjunct professor of music theory and in 2005, wrote a book on the subject called Exploring Music Fundamentals designed for the songwriter and music professional. She has volunteered her time doing songwriting workshops with the Girl Scouts and with school-age children through the Country Music Foundation's Hall of Fame and is on the all-volunteer teaching staff at W.O. Smith Community Music School for under-privileged children. As a performing songwriter, Janet has shared the stage with the Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, John Prine and many, many others. Her songs have been recorded by a number of artists including Country Music Legend Loretta Lynn. Janet has released several CD's and is currently working on her latest project.

JIM PARKER, born in LaHabra, CA, is a songwriter, singer, and musician who has toured extensively throughout 43 states in professional live performances, with studio mastering, songwriting and production experience in Amarillo, TX; Clovis, NM; Los Angeles, CA; San Jose, CA; Nashville, TN; and Huntsville, AL.  He won songwriter’s awards for “I’ve Got A Feelin’” and  “Chicken Truck”, both recorded by John Anderson. While traveling in concert with groups or as an opening act, Jim has performed in numerous concerts, television shows and other venues with Dave and Sugar, James Brown, Little Richard, Loretta Lynn, Lee Greenwood, B. J. Thomas, T. G. Sheppard, The Bellamy Brothers, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Aerosmith, and many others.  In 2005, Jim began hosting his Songwriter's Showcase at the VBC Playhouse in Huntsville, AL, continuing to present North Alabama and the surrounding area with professional songwriters from Nashville, Atlanta, Muscle Shoals, Memphis, and other areas.

ALAN RHODY was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised in central and southwestern Kentucky as well as Meridian, Mississippi.  His 30-year musical career has taken him to all corners of North America. In addition to his songwriting, recording and performing career, he is an accomplished painter. He has spent three decades writing and singing with the passion of someone who is not only highly gifted, but who is driven to create. In the process he has released seven independent recordings, toured constantly and built a devoted following. His songs have garnered over a hundred recordings by major artists in country, pop, folk and bluegrass including The Oak Ridge Boys, Lorrie Morgan, Del McCoury, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Kevin Welch, Ricky Van Shelton, Tanya Tucker, Lee Greenwood, Toby Keith, George Jones and Suzy Boggus. Alan has become very much in demand for songwriting workshops of late, conducting four on his recent Southwestern U.S. Tour.

ROD RODDY, a renowned pianist born in Houma, LA, was a huge inspiration on the music of Louisiana's LeRoux. His funky rhythm and incredible improvisation skills were a key ingredient in the musical textures that gave LeRoux its unique sound. The band produced hits like "Take A Ride On A Riverboat,” “Addicted,” “Nobody Said It Was Easy,” and “New Orleans Ladies,” voted Song of the Century by Gambit Magazine.  Using blues, R&B, funk, jazz, rock, and Cajun as their base, their music simmers with the laid-back feel of the “Big Easy.” Rod wrote many of the songs on LeRoux’s later records, including one recently recorded by Tab Benoit on his just-released CD, Power of the Ponchartrain.  Today LeRoux continues to perform with some of the biggest names in Classic Rock, maintaining a strong fan base spanning two generations.

GRACIE HOLLOMBE VANDIVER is passionate about creating beautiful song lyrics. She is co-author of a popular workbook designed to guide and inspire songwriters while keeping them organized and focused on the path to realizing their songwriting dreams. While living in Los Angeles, she served as Director of Development at Mark Bryan and Company for author Mark Bryan, co-founder of the Artist's Way Workshops and a regular guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. She moved to Nashville in 2000 to become the Regional Workshops Director for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).  She is the founder of Sunlight Of The Spirit Music, the only music store on the planet offering music solely from artists in recovery. In 2006 Gracie created the Sober Cafe Podcast, a weekly podcast of music from artists in recovery.

JERRY VANDIVER, originally from Kansas City, MO, began his professional pursuits when he moved to Nashville where he has been an exclusive staff writer on Music Row for Dick James Music, Little Big Town Music, Malaco Music, and Talbot Music. During his 19-year songwriting career,  his songs have been recorded by Tim McGraw, Gene Watson, Lee Greenwood, Barbara Mandrell, Ronna Reeves, Cleve Francis, David Lee Garza, Woody Lee, Dusty Drake and others. Jerry released his own CD in 2001 and co-authored a songwriting workbook designed to guide and encourage the aspiring songwriter in achieving his or her first cut.  He generously donates his time to many online songwriting communities, the Country Music Hall of Fame’s “Senior Citizen Words & Music Program”, and mentoring school-age children as a volunteer for the Hall of Fame’s “Words & Music Children’s Education Program.”