Just before I started with Hedwig, I composed lyrics and music for a show called Dosostias, which was commissioned for the Adelaide and Melbourne Cabaret Festivals. Recently, I played in Sydney with Cuban trumpet maestro Luis Valle, Melbourne's Kenny Lopez and a fantastic band of both Sydney and Melbourne musos, hailing from such disparate lands as Australia, Cuba, Chile, and Japan. In May 2007, I performed at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival with celebrated Cuban bata player Oderquis Reve.
I've been lucky enough in my career to be able to play several instruments well enough to be hired on an assortment of interesting gigs, and keep making a living out of it. In Sydney, Australia, I play with latin jazz/funk band Matanza, a big energy band led by sax player Paul Chenard and soon to be gigging with the newly reformed Club Havana Band.
I have been learning Spanish so I can feel more conversant with the language of the music I love best, and so I can travel in Spanish speaking countries, eg. all over Latin America; Cuba, Chile, Mexico, and of course, Spain...If I'm going to walk the walk, I should at least be able to talk the talk!
A few years ago, I got a grant to record and produce an album of my compositions, funky instrumental jazz and latin stuff, with my hot band, Tina Harris' Delicatessen. Take A Number name of album. My gang of friends in Sydney are mostly musicians. It just worked out that way. I love it, though, because music ROCKS.
I was born in Montreal, Canada, grew up in northeastern USA (Connecticut) and have been in Oz for a long, long time. You could say I'm an Aussie, although I'm still technically a Canadian. Being creative and being able to have a laugh at oneself are excellent qualities, don't you think? As far as I'm concerned, if you can't laugh at yourself, you're missing out on a great source of humour. I gravitate to people who aren't so up their own tooshies that they can do that.
Oh and one more thing. I'm a founding member of The Party People Collective. That's the official name of my gang. We're not the kind of gang that tucks our pieces into our jocks or sports gunshot wounds. We're considerably more benign than that. W,e put together happenings. And I assure you, something always happens. We create events (read: PARTIES). More often than not we create music for the events or the people - our friends whom we celebrate. The music varies from Rap with Live Band, to performance art, light opera all the way to film clips of all styles ranging from 40's jazz harmony and big band to contemporary d'n'b, etc...whatever the occasion calls for. Why just last month I was presented with the most amazing prezzie. Check out the Party People Collective myspace page and you'll see what I mean.
As long as there's a happening, I'm interested.
Oh and I am interested in language, and I have a soft spot for good grammar and spelling. In fact, I think I'm a bit of a stickler in that regard.
Music: afro cuban, funk, jazz, world fusion...not so big on boy rock these days, love hip hop but kind of sick of the roles woman are playing in the context...I don't think I have to elaborate. I think we've gone back to the pre sixties as far as sex role stereotypes...there I go again.
Who I'd like to meet:
Like minded musicians from everywhere. Especially those with a social conscience and sense of social justice and outrage. I am over being just inward looking and financially self serving. There's too much of that in this world at the moment. I disdain fundamentalism of ALL kinds and it seems that those who feel they have the "god given" right to play God are the very people who should not be doing that...if you get my drift. That is, if you really care about the state of the world, go out and do something positive for your fellow human. Throwing bombs into abortion clinics is not my idea of saving humanity. Bring on the female role models in the music industry. I think we've had enough of booty and hoes. Let's see some fiery, funky gals on instruments. Like me!
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Jamming with Bar at the Buena Vista Band
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