"I moved to Nashville because I sing country music" is how the Rhode Island native explains her move South to Music City in 2000. A seven-year veteran of the honky tonk circuit, she fronts her quintet Red Velvet, who recently spent 8 months touring Asia courtesy of the USO and MWR programs. Now it is time to record the groundwork for her first album in a home studio, utilizing some of the best pickers in Nashville.

Rhonda Lee is a realist, and her ultimate aim is to catch the eyes and ears along Music Row. So, for the past two and a half years, since the move to Nashville, she has been honing her skills and chops on the edge of town, playing shows in and outside of Nashville.

Not to imply that she is aloof to the music scene. She just sees no future in playing the clubs down on Lower Broadway. "I'll sit in sometimes," she admits, "but I really don't see a future down there," the svelte brunette with almsot waist-length hair explains her decision. The competition is fierce, and the odds are not in your favor playing clubs like Tootsie's, Rippy's, Legend's, and The Stage. She would rather deal with Nashville on a more favorable footing, so she'll occasionally play a Hendersonville or Clarksville club and concentrate on more important things than watching out to make sure no hobo makes off with the tip jar.

To this end, she is taking voice training with legendary country singer Judy Rodman and learning the art of lyricism. "So far I'm not writing with anyone famous, but they could become famous," she states with an optimistic shrug. Rhonda Lee was a big fish in a small pond back in New England and won a myriad of Vocalist and Entertainer awards, and of course there were the devoted fans who insisted she was as good or better than anything in Nashville. So, on a dare, or out of spite, she packed up her things and moved to NashVegas.

But it was not a case of "OK, Nashville, here I am,", all speed ahead approach, but a more cautious testing of the waters. She has become a student of the music scene, slowly learning the ropes. She makes notations of names, studios,musicians, engineers. To make a record and get a major deal remains the ultimate goal.

"I'd like to do more demo work," she states with that cautious demeanor. Judging from the MP3 sampling, she has the chops to qualify for work on the row and it is not a bad way to get in the door as artists like Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride discovered.

Her Nashville idols span time itself. Among those who influence her are Martina McBride and Patsy Cline, two of the most outstanding female vocalists who have ever graced a microphone in Nashville. But in reality, she has her own style, veering between Traditional and Contemporary, but a style that marks her as unique as the legends in her own right.

Rhonda Lee has definately done her homework. There is the website with the emails from the adoring fans she has acquired around the world, who are vexed and perplexed as to why she is not already a major star, but the backdoor success of some of her idols proves to Rhonda that it can be done.

Further, she is aware of image, and fearful both of hype and over-exposure. That is why she veers away from the Lower Broadway haunts with the in-crowd that could become her out-crowd. When the suits from the record companies come calling, Rhonda has no intention of being the new last thing.

More than anything else, there is the sense of purpose and professionalism that strikes you about Rhonda Lee. She has done the one-nighters and knows that was the training ground for what is sure to come next. Put her on a grueling tour of radio stations, and she is sure to pass with flying colors. The preparedness in her home studio will set her up for the next level: the illusive record deal. No kudos, laurels, or hype. Rhonda Lee and Red Velvet are definately on a roll.

So for the perplexed fan base, the words are: Sit tight. Rhonda Lee won't be the next big thing in Music City but the time will come when she is ready and Red Velvet will fill those empty seats. For now, just get ready, because Rhonda is definately in the right place at the right time.

Nashville will know about her soon enough and for now it's a waiting game. For those who are a bit impatient... check out the MP3 samplings. It's just a hint of what is to come. Rhonda Lee and Red Velvet. It won't take a whole lot of arm-twisting to convince Music Row. She has done the groundwork and studied the chess game. Now it is time to enter the game and she is ready.