Brian Kadar Photo

 Who:  Amanda Kaletsky

Next gigs: Aug. 8 at The Space with Destry, Mike Falzone and Frank Viele & the Manhattan Project; Aug. 20 at the Gap in Branford for the "Born to Play" event (see amandakaletsky.com).

Music style: Singer-songwriter with a little bit of rock and a lot of soul.

Armed with: Voice, piano, guitar, violin.

First record bought: Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill.

First concert: New Kids on the Block! When I was six, my parents took me to Lake Compounce as a surprise.

Best show seen at the New Haven Coliseum: I had a front row view when it was demolished and that was quite a show! Other than that, nothing beats the Ice Capades.

Listening to: John Legend, Evolver; Coldplay, Viva la Vida. As for radio, it's baseball season, so it's nothing but WFAN 660 AM. Let's go, Mets.

Music that changed her life: Sarah McLachlan's live album Mirrorball convinced me to be a singer-songwriter. Sam Cooke, "A Change is Gonna Come" moves me every time.

First notes: I started taking violin lessons when I was four. In junior high, I started filling notebooks with poems and lyrics and have been honing my songwriting skills ever since.

Buy her a drink: Cranberry vodka, please!

Reading: Dan Brown, Digital Fortress.

On TV: "So You Think You Can Dance." Mary is so annoying, but I can't turn away. And I can't wait for the next season of "House."

Favorite Web sites: PearlJamTenGame.com (my boyfriend made it) and Wikipedia (a life-saver).

Films: Love Actually, Good Will Hunting, The Little Mermaid and The Princess Bride.

Under her bed: Old clothes and high school love letters.

Join another local band for a day: Mighty Purple.

Most memorable local show: Opening for Coldplay last summer at the XL Center was the most memorable show of my career. Three weeks later I played at The Space, which brought out a lot of new fans.

Also found: Teaching violin and voice, hanging out with my dogs Lily and Brandy.

Fun fact about Amanda: I've been to 34 states and can locate them all on a map, with capitals.

If she were a pizza, the topping would be: First and foremost, I would be from Sally’s: a red mozz[arella] with sliced tomato and a hint of garlic.

Question she wished we asked: When is your next album coming out? A: I'm shooting for this fall.