Bonjour!

I'm a singer/songwriter from Northern California! I write music for film/tv, record my own songs and run a dog-walking business in Los Angeles.

I toured the UK and Europe for 6 months at a time, the last 2 years and then headed back to Los Angeles where I resided the last 10. I now live in London!

I've placed my original songs in films like "American Pie: Book Of Love", "I Hate Valentine's Day" and "Gone With The River" which made the billboard chart for one whole day in..Finland..:-)

In 2011 I was the Grand Prize Winner for MTV's Steal The Spotlight Contest granting me an opening slot at the Pre-VMA's opening for Miguel, Joe Jonas (Jonas Brothers), and Cobra Starship .

I live by the quote "Dare to Fail Gloriously" by Thoreau. My entire album is about wanting to be ok if the dream I've set so firmly in my head as a young kid doesn't materialize in the exact way I had planned but perhaps in an even better way and trusting that if you're doing what you love, the rest will take care of itself.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The ambitious music video projects I do require some AMAZING locations but but the budget isn't so much that. I rely on people like you to make my artistic visions possible and travel around the world without plumping the pockets of hotel owners!

Interests

Singer/songwriter, piano, soccer (footbal), tennis, dance

• dogs
• books
• dancing
• running
• walking
• movies
• tv
• traveling
• music
• piano
• soccer
• tennis
• business

Music, Movies, and Books

Listen to a lot of Michio Kaku science podcasts these days even tho I think he's a little too arrogant.

Anything Christopher Hitchens, William Lobdell, and similar political journalists.

Reading Shantaram. And "Focus", but I can't seem to finish it.

Unbearable Lightness Of Being, Ernest Hemingway, A Brief History Of Time, The Alchemist are a few.

Bladerunner, Home Movies, Pan's Labrynth, movie soundtracks, Phillip Glass, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Boondock Saints, Mel Brooks, Monty Python. I'm a 90's kid so anything in the realm of day care movies like: Mrs. Doubtfire, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Not Home Alone 3, Ghostbusters.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Survived a -24 degrees (F) music video shoot in Fairbanks, Alaska in an ice cave wearing a damn tutu. Worth the near frostbite. So incredibly hard.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My original music! Link to album!

https://soundcloud.com/melindaortner

Heartbeats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vewNy5Atmm0

Strangers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT9DfO3HTJA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

One More Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5CorSfvUhU

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, Croatia, Honduras, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, South Africa, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, United States