Nothing can stand in Bonne Finken’s way.

The 30-year-old singer/songwriter from Des Moines moved out of her apartment to save money to record her first album, “Soul on Display.” Finken, a single mom, stayed with friends and family for about a year, and the album was released in July.

When some musicians and fans had different expectations for how “Soul on Display” should have sounded, Finken responded with her new album’s title, “Expectation Fall,” to be released this fall.

“Basically, just drop your expectations,” Finken says about the title – don’t expect her sound ...]]> Not much can get in the way of Bonne Finken and her passion for making soul infused tunes, including cancer. Check out BryAnn’s story on Bonne Finken and how her battle with cancer helped her fuel her passion for music.

Lose expectations before listening to Bonne Finken by BryAnn Becker for Argus Leader

Nothing can stand in Bonne Finken’s way.

The 30-year-old singer/songwriter from Des Moines moved out of her apartment to save money to record her first album, “Soul on Display.” Finken, a single mom, stayed with friends and family for about a year, and the album was released in July.

When some musicians and fans had different expectations for how “Soul on Display” should have sounded, Finken responded with her new album’s title, “Expectation Fall,” to be released this fall.

“Basically, just drop your expectations,” Finken says about the title – don’t expect her sound to be pigeonholed into any particular genre.

Bonne Finken and the Collective will perform Friday at Club David. The Collective consists of Josh Schryver (keyboards/piano), Jamie Mahan (bass guitar) and Adam Ross (drums).

Like many aspiring musicians, Finken always had wanted to be a singer. But it took a brush with cancer for her to pursue it.

“When I got the cancer, it did drive home (the thought), ‘What do you want to do?’ ” Finken says.

Finken was diagnosed with cancer in her early 20s. During her last round of treatment, at age 25, she realized she had a second chance at life. She remembers going through a major surgery in May 2005 and then getting the “clean bill of health,” she says.

“It didn’t hit me that I had a second shot at life,” until after her doctors said the cancer was gone, Finken says. “I got the thumbs up, so to speak.”

Finken began singing in a series of bands: rap group Tandem Dynamics, R&B pop group Final Mix, rock group 3 a.m. and disco band Wheningroovia.

She learned cover songs of artists, including Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Donna Summer and Top 40 musicians, including Alicia Keys and Kelly Clarkson.

When Finken recorded her first album, she pulled from the styles she had learned in those four bands. On the track “Sweetness,” Finken used a hip-hop chorus that she wrote while in Tandem Dynamics. Fans have commented that “Childhood Dreams (Shades of White)” sounds like Janis Joplin.

“I didn’t think, going into it, ‘It will be an alternative rock or R&B album,’ ” she says.

The result is a debut album that crosses multiple genres.

Some people who associated her name with those other bands were surprised that “Soul on Display” didn’t have a sound that matched, for example, Final Mix. “Those were popular bands,” she says. “Somebody knew me as the ’3 a.m. girl’ and expected (the album) to be more rock.”

Finken still plans to stick with her soulful style that may include rap, funk, rock and pop elements in any given song.

“I do feel like I want to keep doing things how I want to do them,” she says. “I feel pressured to (stick with one style), but I’m not going to.”

Bonne Finken, 30, is the frontwoman for Bonne Finken & The Collective. She opens for The Nadas March 4 at the Maintenance Shop in Ames.

Finding her own song: At 21, Finken was diagnosed with cancer. The scare was enough to motivate her to finally take to the stage. “I asked myself ‘What do I like to do?’ I like to sing,” Finken said. “I’d always dreamed about it and written my own songs since I was 15. Live is short, do what you want to do.”

First album she ever bought: “I want to say Paula Abdul’s ‘Forever Your Girl.’ It might have been on tape.”

What having her own band means to her: “I guess that I earned some ...]]> Wanna get to know Bonne Finken a bit better? Take a peek at this Q&A session by Joe Lawler:

Scenester: How a singer found her voice by Joe Lawler for the Des Moines Register

Bonne Finken, 30, is the frontwoman for Bonne Finken & The Collective. She opens for The Nadas March 4 at the Maintenance Shop in Ames.

Finding her own song: At 21, Finken was diagnosed with cancer. The scare was enough to motivate her to finally take to the stage. “I asked myself ‘What do I like to do?’ I like to sing,” Finken said. “I’d always dreamed about it and written my own songs since I was 15. Live is short, do what you want to do.”

First album she ever bought: “I want to say Paula Abdul’s ‘Forever Your Girl.’ It might have been on tape.”

What having her own band means to her: “I guess that I earned some stripes is one way to put it,” Finken said. “Good is the only thing that comes to mind. It’s hard, but I wouldn’t trade it and go back.”

Working on a new album: Finken’s debut, “Soul on Display,” came out in 2008. She recently started work on a follow-up, “Expectation Fall,” which she expects to finish in six to seven months.

What she’s been listening to lately: Regina Spektor, Breaking Benjamin, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. “This is It” (the Michael Jackson concert film) opened me up to a lot of old songs I used to listen to all the time.”

Show she’s looking forward to: Keri Noble, Friday at the Des Moines Social Club. “She has a song on Kelly Clarkson’s new album, and her voice is amazing from what I can tell.”

“When I had cancer, it changed the way I looked at things. Now there’s this urgency,” Finken said. “I thought I could make it as a musician and everyone ...]]> Cityview : Scene Scribe : Full Article

At age 28, singer Bonne Finken has weathered challenges. A survivor of cervical cancer, Finken is a single mother raising her 9-year-old son while working a full-time job in the insurance industry and finally playing in a band, the Collective, which performs her own music, after singing other people’s songs in cover bands like Final Mix and the 3 AM Band. Add the pressure of having left her apartment 14 months ago to live with family and friends so she could use the rent money she saved to pay for her new album, “Soul on Display,” and you might think the burden would be too much to bear for Finken. Instead, it has strengthened her resolve.

“When I had cancer, it changed the way I looked at things. Now there’s this urgency,” Finken said. “I thought I could make it as a musician and everyone said, ‘Do it.’ So I went for it.”

The result is an album’s worth of nine original R&B, pop, rock and Hip-Hop songs of empowerment [plus one cover, “Do Right Woman”]; a contract with Des Moines-based Authentic Records; a handful of out-of-state gigs with The Nadas (owners of Authentic Records) — including a performance in March at the South By Southwest Music Conference in Austin; and the satisfaction of doing things her own way.

“I’ve been through hard things and I’ve seen people struggle, but I’ve learned you can do it,” Finken said. “That’s the underlying theme of my record. Sometimes I sing it to be kind and other times I sing it out of frustration.”

Nearly three years ago, Finken was a frustrated songwriter. She was playing in a cover band that wouldn’t perform her songs, making her doubt her ability to write them; she turned down the chance to participate in the reality television show “Rock Star: Supernova” only to find herself singing in a local disco band that also wouldn’t perform her songs; and then she got an offer from another local label/studio to sign a contract, but she wasn’t convinced musically it was the right move.

“Then a light bulb went off in my head and I thought, ‘If I’m good enough of a performer to be on ‘Rock Star’ and good enough of a songwriter to have people want to pay me to make my record, maybe I’m good enough to do this on my own,’” Finken said.

An ad on Craigslist looking for musicians to start her own band netted a suggestion from The Nadas’ Jon Locker, who told Finken to visit the Sonic Factory, a Des Moines recording studio used by some of the pop acts on Authentic Records. It was the beginning of a musical and business relationship with Locker that ultimately landed Finken on Authentic Records.

“When I met Locker, I knew I wanted to use him in the studio,” she said, adding that The Nadas’ bassist sometimes fills in with the Collective, which includes keyboardist Josh Schryber, bassist Jamie Mahan and new drummer Adam Ross. “But I also knew I wouldn’t have enough money to record there unless I moved out and saved money on my rent.”

Now that the record has been released, Finken said she is looking to rent a home in Knoxville where her son’s father lives, to ease her son’s schedule. She also hopes to hit the road more in 2009 to support her new album.

“The making of this album has brought me and my son closer together,” Finken said. “He is my world and why I do everything. And I think he got to see something different in me about why I sing than he did before.”

As mentioned, Higher is from Bonne Finken’s full length album Soul On Display. If you like what you hear, there’s more from where that came from. Go ahead and get the CD for $15 or the digital download for $10.