Karina Eleni, daughter of Akron actress Melina Kanakaredes, is summer artist at rock hall

Singer-songwriter Karina Eleni was born and raised in Los Angeles, but she is an Ohio native at heart.

She has spent most of her summers and holidays here because this is where most of her family lives.

“I love Akron,” she said.

Swensons, Luigi’s, you name it.

She said her mother, Melina Kanakaredes, the Akron actress who has starred in such TV series as “Providence,” “CSI: NY,” “The Resident” and “Guiding Light,” instilled in her “a deep sense of love for her hometown.”

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This summer is extra special. Eleni is an artist in residence at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, performing seven solo shows on the plaza at the Cleveland museum, including one from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday.

“I feel blessed beyond belief to be here,” she said.

The Artists in Residence program, a partnership between the rock hall and the Kulas Foundation, is for up-and-coming musicians with ties to Northeast Ohio. Participants write songs, hone their skills and meet with industry professionals to learn more about the music business, including marketing, merchandising, copywriting, publishing and public relations.

“Everything that they’re teaching me, I write every single word down,” Eleni said. “It’s just such valuable information that I don’t really think I can get anywhere else.”

The two other artists in residence this summer at the rock hall are Joe Brown of Hudson and Clare Feorene of Cleveland.

‘Little lady, big voice’

A rising senior at New York University, Eleni is earning her Bachelor of Music in vocal performance. She performs at such New York venues as The Bowery Electric, The Delancey and 54 Below.

She’s been singing since age 3, playing piano since age 5 and writing songs since age 12. Standing 5-2 while most of her family tops 6 feet, she markets herself as “little lady, big voice.”

Eleni describes her music as a mix of pop and dance with “a sprinkle of jazz,” and draws inspiration from such artists as Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Florence Welch. She grew up listening to pop and music theater with her mother, Melina, and credits her father, Peter Constantinides, for introducing her to rock and other genres.

“Elvis Presley was a big influence when I was little,” she said.

When Eleni is writing a song, she usually sits at a piano, plays chords, creates melodies and crafts lyrics that suit the mood. If a promising idea comes to her later, she sings it into her phone so she doesn’t forget.

“For me, I think of a melody and a line at the same time, and I’m like ‘Oh, my God!’ ” she said.

Eleni was one of more than 2,000 applicants for the rock hall residency, after learning about the opportunity through NYU teacher Scott Allen. She wrote a cover letter, submitted two original songs, “Laila” and “Wallet,” and performed them live during an interview on Zoom.

“A few weeks later, they called me up and said that I got it,” she said. “I ran out of class because I saw the Ohio number and I was like ‘I think this is it!’ ”

Happy memories of Akron

She’s happy to spend this summer in Ohio where she and her sister, Zoe, have so many happy memories with their Greek American family. Eleni recalls the thrill of visiting Akron as a child.

“I would arrive at the airport and my grandmother and grandfather, Connie and Harry [Kanakaredes], would greet me with a balloon that said ‘Welcome home,’ ” she said. “We would hop in the car and go straight to Temo’s.”

Her great-uncle Larry Temo, or “Theo Lawrence” as she calls him, would be hard at work at the Five Points candy store, a beloved institution for more than 75 years before it closed in 2021.

“Sometimes if I was feeling cool, I’d put an apron on and talk to people and work the front section,” Eleni recalled. “My favorite thing, though, was going downstairs and watching Theo Lawrence dip everything, and the smell of the chocolate.”

It was too much for a girl to resist. She always popped candies into her mouth.

“My mom’s the same way,” she said.

Eleni enjoys visiting her grandmother Connie’s house in Akron, the scene of countless family gatherings.

“We all just hang out in there, eat food and enjoy each other’s company,” she said.

And when she’s in the neighborhood, a side trip often is made.

“Sometimes I’ll drive around and go to Firestone High School and I’ll look up at the picture of my mom,” Eleni said.

Kanakaredes, a 1985 graduate of Firestone, is on the school’s Wall of Fame.

Free shows at rock hall

Eleni feels “very, very, very fortunate” to be an artist in residence at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

During her free shows on the plaza, she performs original material as well as cover songs of inductees. At Thursday’s show, the songs included Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools,” Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” Whitney Houston’s “Run to You” and Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen.”

“A lot of these songs I’m doing today I’ve really only sung to myself and my friends,” she told the audience.

It was a laid-back setting with about 50 to 75 people in the crowd. Some bought lunch from food trucks and sat at picnic tables with umbrellas. Others sat on benches or stood on the plaza.

“That was good!” one listener shouted out after hearing Eleni’s original song “Stupid.”

Rock hall patrons stopped to watch as they entered or exited the museum, taking pictures of Eleni, giving her thumbs-up signs and putting tips in a mirror-ball jar next to her piano. Between sets, she happily took photos with those who requested them.

Where to hear Karina Eleni

Eleni spent three days in the studio last week at Jim Stewart Recording in Cleveland. She’s working on a dance-pop song, “Fire for You,” and hopes to film a music video for it when she returns to New York.

“I’m excited for everyone to hear it,” she said.

People can visit her website at https://www.karinaeleni.com/ or hear her music on TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

Eleni hasn’t figured out yet whether she’ll stay in New York after graduation or return to Los Angeles. Her career goals include being a solo artist and acting, and she would love to appear on Broadway.

“I’m beyond passionate about singing and performing,” she said. “Whatever is going to come my way, I’m going to do it. We’ll see what sticks and what the world likes the most.”

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

Details

Who: Karina Eleni

Where: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1100 E. Ninth St., Cleveland

Solo shows: Noon to 2 p.m. Sunday and Thursday; 3 to 5 p.m. Aug. 2 and Aug. 9; and noon to 2 p.m. Aug. 10.

Cost: Free

216-781-7625, https://rockhall.com/ and https://www.karinaeleni.com/

Photos:Actress Melina Kanakaredes through the years