Red Balloon is formed by: Tessa Jennison (vocals, guitar, piano) Russell Jennison (bass, backing vocals) Wayne Regier (drums) Tessa began her musical career during her early years of life, taking piano lessons at the tender age of 3 from the Beckett School of Music. Tessa wrote her first musical composition when she was seven, and has kept writing ever since. During her highschool years, Tessa expanded her musical abilities by learning bass, guitar, and violin. In her final years at highschool, she played bass for a rock band called "Phlak". After the break up of Phlak, Tessa took to the stage on her own. She released her first 5 track CD titled "This is Real" in November 2003, which was highly acclaimed in Echo Weekly and Imprint. Over the next two years, she met many musical aquaintances; most importantly being her bassist and now-husband Russell, and her drummer Wayne. The recording of the album "Red Balloon: plays Tessa Hoffman" began in 2004. The track list contains songs that Tessa wrote during her later years of highschool and her early years at the University of Waterloo. The album was originally intended as a solo album and it was to be titled "Tessa Hoffman", but since Tessa and Russell were due to be married just after the album's release, the album title was changed to incorporate the band name. "The songs I wrote for the album represent a number of personal experiences. Every one of my songs reflect on relationships with the most important people in my life. I have been fortunate enough to find inspiration in some of the simplest things. The way someone casts a shadow, or a particular facial expression can give me the ability to write an entire song. My songs are not just about people I have loved, or do love, but more about the lives of those people, and how they influence those around them. I think that's what people can relate to in my music. Although much of it is very symbolic, there are elements that people can take with them, something that triggers a memory from their own past experiences that makes them want to grab hold of that memory and never let it go."