Universal Hall Pass: Release: Mercury Label: Sneaky Records Universal Hall Pass is the music of New England native Melissa R. Kaplan, former singer/songwriter/ front-woman of Boston's popular electronic-pop outfit Splashdown. Her new project throws the same curve balls, mingling genre-hopping songs with clever song-craft. These elements helped launch her first group, Splashdown, into television and motion pictures, earning critical accolades and a devoted following. Melissa’s songwriting incorporates various musical influences, ranging from rock, electronic, and jazz to Bulgarian and the music of the Middle East. The music exemplifies traditional and non-traditional songwriting styles that are both daring and adventurous. Her lyrics contain potent images that evoke curiosity, entice the intellect and spark the imagination. Signed early on to Capitol Records with her previous project Splashdown, Melissa has worked with producers Glen Ballard, Bryan Carrigan and Anthony J. Resta. Her original music has been featured in major motion picture soundtracks (Titan A.E.) and she has worked extensively with film composers Graeme Revell, Ed Shearmur and Lyle Workman among others as a co-writer (The Red Planet) and vocalist (K-PAX, The Chronicles of Riddick, 88 Minutes, Mr. Woodcock). In addition, Melissa has had her music placed in the hit WB Network shows Charmed and Angel and she can be seen and heard on progressive dance tracks for the Sony Playstation2 popular music video games Amplitude and Frequency. Most recently Melissa sang for the Emmy Award Winning television theme to Showtime's "Masters of Horror" and its ABC follow up "Masters of Science of Fiction." Melissa has toured all over the United States and Canada as front woman for Splashdown including performances on the East Coast 1999 Lilith Fair Tour. She has had the pleasure of opening for acts such as Crystal Method, Moby, Lamb, Lords of Acid and the Church. Presently, Melissa is releasing a follow up Universal Hall Pass EP "Subtle Things", and can be heard singing on a number of film soundtracks and television themes.