Royal Pain

RICHMOND MUSIC JOURNAL REVIEW by Forest George (May 2008) Royal Pain: Simply UniqueRoyal Pain provides a unique, abstract way of listening to music. Linda Sheridan and Rachel Garfi created a strange world of self-produced goofy costumes, blinking tiaras, bubble machines, and off-the-wall covers. Both play great music together, with Sheridan on rhythm guitar, sharing vocals with Garfi.Sheridan’s perky and admittedly warped personality captivates. A gem in the Richmond music scene for years, she once covered the rare German rendition of The Beatles' “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” (“Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand,”) with her unusally low bass singing voice and steady guitar. This, along with her high-strung nature, provides only a glimpse of her unique character - filled with heart, soul, and humor. Andy Kaufman, Gilda Radner and maybe even John Lennon would have appreciated her style and genius.Garfi, a newcomer to the music scene, sings much like Terri Clark and Gretchen Wilson, and sometimes plays straight man to Sheridan’s wackiness. She can, however, provide wild and zany moments herself, including singing an acoustic country cover of Britney Spear’s “Toxic,” with funny between song banter.Other interesting covers the fantastic princesses perform are Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Sprit,” Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” Terri Clark’s “Girls Lie Too,” and The Dixie Chicks' “Earl Had To Die.” They have and will continue to make an audience laugh. They are truly a Royal Pain and their royal kingdom needs to be heard live and in person. Check your local princess for more details.-- Forest George (photo credit)Latest review from Mike from Twirl Radio - Sacramento, California "Blazing a trail out of the East Coast's music capital, Richmond VA, comes a two woman musical comedy troupe, Royal Pain.Linda Sheridan and Rachel Garfi came together back in 2008 with the sole intention of bringing their unique brand of musical happiness to wherever it's needed. And what form does their music take? Picture an amalgam of Fats Waller, Britney Spears, Nirvana, and Outkast songs played and sung by two ladies who might be wearing matching tiaras and sunglasses, purple fur sweaters, or Minnie Mouse dresses. And oh yeah they've got some originals for you as well.Diminutive in size, but large in voice, Rachel is a relative newcomer to the live performance stage, but has already received much acclaim for her incredible singing. Linda is a veteran of both the East Coast and West Coast scenes, and draws much inspiration from both Steve Martin and Janis Joplin. Where Steve Martin added a little music to his comedy, Linda adds a little comedy to her music. And when she sings it straight, she sings it in a deep, soulful voice.Count on zany antics from these two goddesses. As Linda says, "I went to art school..It won't be normal!"They're ready to bring the party to your party. Royal Pain is ready to roll!Don't worry-this won't hurt. They're your Royal Pain!"


It all started with the accident. We met when we both discovered we were shipwrecked on the same deserted island with some half-assed skipper, his flippin' cabin boy, a geek and these self-proclaimed millionaires (just plain trashy people as far as we could tell).We ate coconut cream pie until we couldn't stand it anymore and decided to build an aircraft so we could get away from those tedious people.We're the fun people who bring the party wherever we seem to wind up. Never knowing where we'll show up next or what we'll be wearing; rest assured, it will be special. We're big on raffles, unusual percussion instruments and balloon animals. Of course, who isn't?We did make several appearances at the local Sad Cafe, located conveniently in Richmond's Historic Shockoe Bottom. After we were driven away by the mob of depressed bar flies that refused to be made happy, we moved on to other venues around the Richmond area; bringing our special brand of happiness wherever we go. That includes galleries, the local aquarium and the Edgar Allen Poe Museum; where people clearly need to lighten up.As for our music selection, we like to play anything that is unusual to hear from a female duet with an acoustic guitar. We are fearless when it comes to butchering material that deserves butchering (like Britney Spears), and we enjoy attempting dance music (like Hey Ya by Outkast) because we feel that most people that pay lots of money to go out and have a good time should actually have one.Music about pain and angst just ain't funny like it used to be.So, if people want to be depressed, they may as well stay home and do their bills. Perhaps even start on their taxes.We are currently working on some new original material that we hope will fascinate/enthrall our fourteen fans (that number also includes our parents).We are also waiting on our next shipment of blinking tiaras...We like to consider ourselves Performance Art Lite, as we prefer to leave the writhing, angst-filled modern artistic performances to the college students and the counter-culture individuals that have more important things to say than us.

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