Frequently Asked Questions
FAQVersion: Sunday, February 10, 2007
Purpose: This FAQ is to provide people on the Internet with answers to questions they have regarding the Vocal Group Exposé and the Newsletter about them: The Exposé Epistle.
Part I: Exposé
Part II: The Exposé Epistle
Who are Exposé?
Exposé is a female vocal group, consisting of Ann Curless, Gioia Bruno, Jeanette Jurado, and (later) Kelly Moneymaker. They became very big in the late 1980's with "the most Top 10 hits from a debut album since the Supremes". Too date, they've released 4 albums: Exposure (1986 double plantinum), What You Don't Know (1989 gold-very near platinum), Exposé (1992 gold) , and Greatest Hits (1995). Additionally, Sony/BMG has released other collections, include Master Hits, The Encore Collection: Seasons Change, Exposé's Greatest Dance Remixes, and Exposé: Dance Mixes
Their music has run the gamut from high-energy freestyle dance to R&B to slow ballads, and their most famous Top 10 hits have included: Come Go With Me, Point of No Return, Seasons Change, When I Looked At Him, I'll Say Good-Bye For The Two of Us (all by Jeanette Jurado), Let Me Be The One, What You Don't Know, and Tell Me Why (all by Gioia).
All members of Exposé have sung lead on different songs in a mostly equal balance, with the notable exception of Kelly Moneymaker, who did not get a chance to sing lead on the final two albums.
What Happened to Gioia?
In the middle of 1990, Gioia developed severe throat problems along with a few personal issues, and as a result Exposé had to cancel a 1990 World Tour. Gioia had a benign tumor on her vocal cords. Surgery could have removed the condition, but her voice would have been permanently changed and she would not be able to sing. Thus she elected to wait for it to go away. Ann and Jeanette waited a long time for Gioia to recover, but in 1992 Gioia left due to complications and the long recovery involved. (Apparently, Gioia quit in 1991 but nothing was announced until the summer of 1992). In her absence, Jeanette found Kelly Moneymaker and she joined the group. It took her over 5 years to fully recover her vocal abilities, but in the end the cyst dissolved.
"What Happened" to Exposé?
If you are asking this question, which should likely be re-phrased as "what happened to Exposé's popularity", I can explain it like this:
A long delay between the second and third albums was precipitated by Gioia's medical problems, some difficulties between Exposé's production company and the Group, and Arista's desire to modify the group's direction with their support into a more soft AC group in the tradition of Wilson Phillips. Eventually, in 1992, Kelly Moneymaker signed on, the album Exposé was released in October of 1992.
Why didn't the album strike fires? Well, time had passed, music styles had changed, and the new musical direction left some fans cold. Exposé did manage a Top 10 hit in 1993, and the album went Gold, however, at least in this author's opinion Arista seemed to botch the marketing of the album, pushing the same style of music to radio rather than diversifying the mix.
In the spring of 1994, Arista made the decision to schedule a Greatest Hits album, but chose to delay it a full year from its original scheduled release (Oct 1994), keeping Exposé out of the spotlight once again for an extended period, killing what momentum could have been gained from the 1993 hit. Exposé was dropped from the label shortly after the Greatest Hits album was released.
Why did Exposé stop touring/recording?
Much of the reason for this may come from the deal Exposé had with their record labels. Exposé and Pantera Group Enterprises had an acrimonious relationship. PGE owned the name "Exposé". Arista, on the other hand, had contractual leverage as publisher and label. As infighting between the primary members and management continued, Arista took more power in the relationship, and PGE was left out of the loop. However, Arista dropped the act in 1996, thus PGE holds the direct power. Because of contractual arraignments, problems, etc., Exposé couldn't continue with another label.
Either Ismael Garcia, Lewis Martinee, or some alternate party may have rights to the name. There were rumours that a new line-up could be formed, but those were just rumours—apparently there wouldn't be much market value in reforming a group with no original members.
So what did the group do while inactive?
Gioia Bruno: During her time away from Exposé, Gioia spent time with an import/export business and running a dance studio, while raising her daughter Brianna. (She divorced from her first husband in 1990). Once her voice began to recover, She teamed up with Ismael Garcia to perform a dance 12 inch single under the psuedonym G-Spot called Make That Move, though she didn't think it would be released, and the record quality wasn't great. In 1996, she worked with producer and friend John Thomas with a band called Wet. They performed in the South Florida area until 1998. Gioia left the group, and Wet went in their own direction.
Gioia ended up moving into more dance oriented territory, released an EP in 2000 called Free To Be. After years of touring as a solo artist, she finally released an album on Koch Records called Expose This.
Jeanette Jurado: Jeanette sung the song Angel Baby and performed in the movie My Family in 1995. Once Exposé disbanded she performed in Las Vegas as part of a group called Lambada. She also performed in the stage play MADHattan at one of the Vegas hotels for several months. Her latest appearance was with a musician-songwriter named Nils for his studio album Blue Planet. Jeanette also performed with Carl Ferris and Safe Sax, another local band. She performed one song, Shadows of Love, for the Days of Our Lives soundtrack album. She ended up getting married and having two boys.
Kelly Moneymaker: Kelly got married to Peter Rickell, a star of Days of our Lives. She did vocals for a few projects, including a remake of the 80's electronic hit I Wanna be a Cowboy. She released her first album, Like a Blackbird, and produced a second album, Though These Basement Walls. She also produced and wrote a soundtrack to Days of Our Lives.
Ann Curless: Ann has kept a little lower profile than the other members of Exposé. A few years ago, Larry Flick, at the time Dance Editor of Billboard Magazine, wrote that Ann had prepared a demo of songs, and that she was shopping around looking for people to record them. Ann had also started teaching a seminar for new musicians, hoping to make sure new artists avoided pitfalls like she faced, and has volunteered her time to the Songs Of Love organization. Ann has also worked on acting, and had appeared at a performance of Chess in Miami (a play written by the two male singers of Abba and famous in popular culture for the Robey/Murray Head single One Night In Bangkok. No, Ann did not sing that song). Anyway, her latest projects has been performing lead and background vocals for a dance cover band named Clueless, who have developed cover versions of popular songs such as Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On, No Doubt's Don't Speak, and a single from European singer Divine called Lately. She also did vocals for two disco covers, Come To Me and Heaven Knows. She also remarried and now has three children, 2 boys and a newborn daughter.
What is the current status of Exposé?
Ann, Jeanette, Gioia have reunited in 2006 and are touring now. Kelly will either be filling in for a member if they can't make it or for special occassions.
What Happened to Exposé's Fan Club?
Exposé's Official Fan Club was a subsidiary of the group's management company, Pantera Group Enterprises, and had heavy ties to that organization. Since the fan club was based in Miami, FL, in the same studio as Lewis Martinee', they could report on information often. But when Arista and Exposé rejected Lewis' production, the group worked elsewhere, and Exposé news was given to them second-hand. Thus, gaps in the newsletter began to occur, as it wasn't promoting a Pantera project as much, nor Lewis Martinee's production skills.
Furthermore, problems with the organization kept the fan club down during the promotion of Exposé. 1992 saw Hurricane Andrew hit the Dade County area hard, and Pantera had lost their insurance, so they had to "nickel and dime" it back, according to one source. Thus, when Exposé's new album was released, there was no report of it. The fan club eventually recovered in 1993 for a short time, then disappeared yet again as Pantera Group Enterprises dissolved and Lewis Martinee' and Ismael Garcia split ways. (Ismael gained Exposé and the fan club, and formed the new organization Crystal Entertainment and Filmworks). 1994 saw only one issue of the newsletter released.
1995 saw a return of the fan club, for a year, promoting both Exposé and Gioia, likely doing the latter because Gioia had released her Make That Move single via Mayday Records, a sublabel of Crystal. Unfortunately, the fan club was chaotic and seemed to go through several changes in personnel. In February 1996, The Exposé Fan Club disbanded, as Arista dropped the group.
With the rise of the Internet, with Exposé's return there is unlikely to be a print fan club since all the members of Exposé now have MySpace pages, and they have their official web site.
I've heard that there was another another line-up titled Exposé, Is that true?
When the group was first formed, Producer Lewis Martinee' recruited three women to sing songs he wrote: Aléjandra Lorenzo, Sandeé Cassanas, and Laurie Miller. When Pantera released the first singles in 1984-1985 to dance clubs (Point of No Return and Exposed to Love), Arista discovered the group and wanted to take them national. However, for various reasons, which are too complicated to get in here and different accounts vary, the women were either fired or quit. Sandeé had a solo dance album in 1991, called Only Time Will Tell. Laurie formed her own production company and does several projects, while Ale left the business shortly after leaving Exposé
Jeanette, Gioia and Ann (in that order) joined in 1986, a new version of Point of No Return was recorded, and the rest is history. For a better and alternate perspective, see Laurie Miller's take on the matter at http://www.lauriemiller.com/
If this is the case, why is the current publicity material calling them the "Original" lineup?
Probably because they are the most famous lineup, and it would be too difficult to explain it well, especially since the older lineup was dissolved before going national. Ann, Jeanette, and Gioia were present for the first Top 40 hit and video, did all the publicity and touring, and unlike other groups there was no rotating group of members, so, while it is "technically" incorrect, it's accurate in terms of publicity. This is also the reason why I don't really focus on those original ladies—loyalty to people matters to me, and I consider that incarnation a whole different group.
What is The Exposé Epistle?
The Exposé Epistle is a newsletter devoted to Exposé, specifically group members Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, Gioia Bruno, and Kelly Moneymaker, their music, talents, and careers. It was established in February, 1995 by John R. Troy, in response to a lack of information and product from the Official Exposé Fan Club. The Exposé Epistle is published in both print and electronic format.
How do I get The Exposé Epistle?
The Epistle is no longer being published. The author of the Exposé Epistle is too busy to continue it as a print publication. I used to have the print issues available, but I want to repurpose them as possible flashback "blog" articles, and in some cases I accidentally revealed too much information or innaccurate information about Exposé that I don't want to repeat.
Postal Questions/Correspondance: Write an Inquiry letter to
The Exposé Epistle
POB 720
N Oxford MA 01537
Electronic Mail Correspondance: The author of this FAQ can be reached at johntroy@expose-epistle.org. In addition, a mailing list for fans of the group has been setup. To subscribe, send an empty message to expose-epistle-l-subscribe@egroups.com. The mailing list can also be viewed on the web at
Via the World-Wide Web: This FAQ, a photo gallery, and other information and articles can be found on the Exposé Epistle On-Line, which can be accessed at the following Internet URL:
http://www.expose-epistle.org/
In addition to these sources, you may get them elsewhere, as the author allows for duplication for non-commercial use, so issues may be archived on BBS systems or FTP sites.
Why don't you have lyrics on your web site? Can you direct me to anybody who has these lyrics?
The reproduction of lyrics without permission by the copyright owners is an illegal activity, punishable by law. I don't have permission by the songwriters to carry the lyrics. I am pondering writing inquiries into it, but keep in mind that there are several parties involved, and the current system involves getting a license fee--songwriters require monatary compensation to make a living.
Please do not ask me where lyrics can be found, or to provide you with copies of lyrics. I will totally ignore any e-mailed requests for lyrics. I don't know of any freely accessable site which archives these lyrics to the general public.
Lyrics for the Diane Warren written songs can be purchased from the author. Diane Warren has a web site, http://www.realsongs.com/. I do not know where Lewis Martinee's song lyrics or sheet folios can be purchased from.
Where Can I get such and such a product?
All 4 Exposé albums can be found at the various on-line music stores, and should be available via traditional means. The best vendor to purchase music is amazon.com http://www.cdnow.com/
If you are looking for singles, keep in mind that CD-Singles from the first two albums are rare, since Arista didn't utilize the format at the time they were released save for promotional purposes. Most dance stuff is on 12" vinyl. The best place to find this information is EBay http://www.ebay.com/.
Video Exposure was released on Laserdisc and VHS Cassette in 1990. Some video merchants or music stores may carry it. There are also fans who have converted this content to DVDs, and all their videos can currently be found on YouTube.
How can I get in touch to Exposé?
Right now, the best place to get in touch to Join Exposé is through the Internet and MySpace. Here are the relevant links.
How connected are you to Exposé?
Not as well as some might think. When I started this, I had no connection to Exposé, I just knew a lot of behind the scenes stuff from a couple of people who worked with them. Since Gioia entered the world of the Internet, I started communicating with her sporadically and then on a regular basis. I finally got to meet with them in November 2006 during their Milwaukee reunion. While I don't represent them in an official capacity, I've been told my hard work over the years has been appreciated.