Erin Payne
Lead Vocals
Erin is the newest member of Cheap Date and has been performing in local bands in and around San Diego county since 1998. Prior to this, she was a karaoke host for several years. Her true musical career began as a lead singer with the country band Desert Moon, in which Mark Barry played bass. After a few years of singing country, the band moved on to play rock, adding keyboardist Rhonda Barry and a few other members, being billed by the band names Moxie and Highway Star, which she left shortly after the turn of the century.
In the years since, Erin has performed with several groups including The West Coast Pinups, an original honky-tonk band, opening for Blake Shelton and the Mavericks, and with the band Emerald River, with whom she sang for a decade. Despite the many years of experience singing country music and earning several awards and achievements in that genre, Erin grew a bit tired of singing Country and decided to take a break from music. Well, that break lasted about a week as she was contacted in May of 2015 by Cheap Date who was in need of a singer - and that is where the story comes full circle! Erin is thrilled to be sharing the stage once again with Mark and Rhonda and the other members of the band!