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Letter to the editor

So good! So good! So good!

By CARRIE WEIMAR, Times Staff Writer
Published November 18, 2007

Caroline Kudelko picked up a guitar for the first time at age 8.

"My dad gave it to me," said Caroline, a fifth-grader at St. Paul's School in Clearwater. "He told me I could try it but I didn't have to play if I didn't want to."

Now, just two years later, Caroline plays like a seasoned veteran. She's already started writing her own music and has performed at several local venues, from Sarasota to Dunedin.

Caroline is the daughter of Paul and Marie Kudelko, and she loves swimming and riding her bike when she's not making music.

On Tuesday night, she played a 10-song set of favorites - including "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie and "Our Lips Are Sealed" by the Go-Go's - before an appreciative crowd at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill on Clearwater Beach.

1. Was it hard to learn how to play the guitar? It was a little hard at first. But as you keep going and learn what you're doing, it gets a little easier.

2. Where do you get the inspiration for your music? I hear a lot of songs on the radio that I like. Like the Fergie song "Big Girls Don't Cry" ... I like the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana and Martina McBride.

3. You write your own music, too. Where do you get the ideas? The first song I wrote was "I Wonder." I liked a boy in school and I decided to write my feelings about it on a piece of paper.

4. Do you ever get stage fright? No. I love being in front of a crowd. I like playing everywhere. The crowd and the response you get is just great.

5. So, what do you want to be when you grow up? I definitely want to be a musician. A big star. That's why I'm putting so much time into it now. So I can be the best I can be.

Say you saw her when ...

Caroline's next performance will be 5 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 30, at the Clearwater Beach Hilton, 400 Mandalay Ave. To hear her sing, visit: www.myspace.com/floridassuitecaroline.

[Last modified November 17, 2007, 22:51:57]