When Naomi was 11 years old, she and her friends started a singing group called "New Release", a pop girlband. They fooled around a little with writing songs and recorded one song in a studio. New Release started to drift in separate directions and eventually ditched the whole idea. Some members didn't take the gig seriously. Naomi did. She decided she was not going to give up on the dreams they had shared and the music she wrote. Naomi wanted to go somewhere with this.

At 12 years old, Naomi had written another song that she really believed had potential. It was a dance/hip-hop tune called "Be My Baby". Naomi didn't have enough money to get herself into a real studio, but with the financial support of family, she recorded this song on a $200 budget.

"Be My Baby" was recorded in one night. Another man recording his own rap tracks had stopped by for a listen. Naomi asked him if he would contribute a rap in the song and he gladly helped. He said he'd do it overnight, and by the time she came back to hear the final cut, it would be there. Him and a friend wrote and recorded a rap for the song.

The song turned out better than she anticipated. Yet after being recorded, it sat around in her possession for two years. Naomi sent it to a few record labels, but only received letters telling her they didn't accept unsolicited material.

In 1993, the Edmonton Top 40 radio station Power 92.5 FM held a contest called the Powermix. They were accepting demos of local artists to find new talent. Naomi thought it was worth a shot, and entered "Be My Baby".

Naomi won a spot on the album.

One of the proudest moments at this point in her young career. She was ecstatic. Naomi won $2000 in prize money and the song was put on a compilation CD released in local record stores. The proceeds went to AIDS Research. The two other artists featured were second place Rebecca Sather with "Never Leave Me" and first place went to Nicole Jones with "Start Love Over".

One of the biggest thrills for Naomi was working with Canada's top DJ - Chris Sheppard. He is the dance music authority in Canada. His best known project was Love Inc., a successful Canadian dance act. Chris remixed the tracks for the CD. Each winning demo was to have the original plus two remixes done by Sheppard. This was very exciting, except for the fact that two years beforehand when Naomi recorded "Be My Baby",She had never purchased the master reel. She went back to the studio and they informed her that the reel no longer existed. Without this master,the song could not be stripped down to its elements and be remixed. She still got on the album with the one track - the original demo. Shep expressed that it was a raw deal that he couldn't work on Naomi's song, but he was wonderful nonetheless.

The CD was completed and released in Spring 1994. Now Naomi was 15 and her voice had matured from the "Be My Baby"recording. Her passion for singing had grown. It wasn't a sales success but a personal success for Naomi. A start to something that many people dream about and never do.

The next milestone was almost a year down the line. Naomi opened the newspaper to read that she was nominated in the Best Dance/Rap Artist category of the Alberta Recording Industry Awards in 1995. Like they always say, it was just an honour to be nominated - and Naomi swears that's the truth. She didn't win, but some people out there actually knew her name.

In 2000, Naomi had the opportunity of meeting Corey Johnson and Mike Bidlock, two excellent Edmonton producers. Since March of that year, they've written and completed about 18-20 songs. Now Naomi uses the internet for as much promotion as possible.

"This is my goal and no matter what I end up doing, whether it be music management, recording engineering, or the true dreams of singing and songwriting, I want to make my career in this business. My true success is the enjoyment I receive from doing what I love, and letting my voice and words touch the hearts of others and leave smiles on their faces." - Naomi Carmack

The Naomi Carmack Band

Naomi Carmack - lead vocals
Shane Gaboury - guitar
Joel Purkess - drums