|
Saucy
Monky’s playful yet edgy sense of humor is just the beginning of the
irresistible indie spirit that defines the vibe of guitar-playing,
singer-songwriters Annmarie Cullen and Cynthia Catania.
There’s got to be something witty and wild about a band that names its
debut album, Celebrity Trash, after a lingerie store in L.A. –
but Saucy Monky’s playful (yet edgy) sense of humor is just the
beginning of the irresistible indie spirit that defines the vibe of
guitar-playing, singer-songwriters Annmarie Cullen and Cynthia Catania,
and their brand new rhythm section, bassist Steve Giles and drummer Karen
Teperberg.
Cynthia, the daughter of a New Jersey stockbroker,
and Annmarie, the daughter of an Irish race car driver, first became
acquainted with each other in Los Angeles, where they both moved to pursue
music and adventure!
It must be the luck of the Irish, but while many
Americans are getting their first taste of Saucy Monky, Ireland’s been
on the case seemingly forever. The raw, roughly-produced and critically
acclaimed Celebrity Trash scored two hit radio singles—Flicker
and Don’t Wanna Know Your Name. The latter became the theme song
in ads for the taste-making music magazine Hot Press, Ireland’s version
of Rolling Stone. Saucy’s sophomore album, Turbulence was
released recently on the ultra-hip 429 Records (the Alternative division
of Jazz giant, “Savoy Label Group”), and is distributed by WEA. The
first single off Turbulence spawned a radio hit on Triple A Radio
in the U.S., with the desperately hopeful composition Disco Ball
(Boulevard Re-mix).
The band has toured the West Coast, East Coast and
Rocky Mountain regions with The B-52’s & Young Dubliners,
respectively. Annmarie and Cynthia’s songs have been featured in various
TV & films, including MTV’s Made, Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101
and Drake & Josh, the WB’s Veronica Mars, to name a
few. Permanent Midnite from Celebrity Trash was a featured
track on this year’s Sony Records release, Zoey 101 Soundtrack Album
and Boyz from Turbulence was featured in the DVD film Drake
& Josh Go Hollywood.
Recently, the girls returned to Ireland, where
they performed at the Castlepalooza festival (on the grounds of an ancient
and supposedly haunted castle). In the past, they have shared the stage
with megastars PJ Harvey, Pink and The Black Eyed Peas at the Oxegen
(before 60,000 fans) and O2 In The Park festivals (before 100,000 fans).
“The fun part of the way Cynthia and I always
make music is that it’s never contrived, and the chemistry of the
writing comes to us so naturally,” says Annmarie. “Celebrity Trash
had more of a straight out of the box, lo-fi garage vibe to it, and I like
the raw feel it has. When we recorded Turbulence (produced at home
by Catania), we took more time and went deeper into the production
process.”
True to the whimsical nature of Saucy Monky (the
band name comes from a passage from a book by British writer Tina Brown),
Annmarie and Cynthia have told the story of their first meeting on the Los
Angeles club scene in numerous ways at different times. The new
“official” version—and Cynthia swears it’s the truth--goes
something like this: Cynthia auditioned for a band led by the guitarist
who was working in Annmarie’s group—and Annmarie told him not to hire
her! (Annmarie initially thought Cynthia was “too tall” for his band).
As destiny would have it, however, the girls kept running into each other
in the LA music scene and quickly formed a friendship and musical
partnership. They started up a local songwriter’s night in Venice where
friends would come by and sit in and “jam”. Saucy Monky was born out
of those “jam nights.” The band recorded, released and toured their
first album within 6 months of forming the band.
After so many close calls with major labels,
Annmarie greatly admired Cynthia’s maverick indie spirit in forming her
own label, olivoiL records. Cynthia released two albums—but had grown
frustrated with the struggles of trying to land a deal.
“The whole process got in the way of being
creative,” she says, “so I decided to launch my own company. I was
very much influenced by the artistic independence and freedom of artists
like Ani DiFranco, whose story was huge in the media at the time. I wanted
to do my own thing, so I could focus on making music that meant something
to me and see where that led.”
Although the spotlight is always on the girls,
their quirky personalities and seamless creative drive, Saucy Monky truly
rocks on the foundation of their friends and fellow musicians, the warm
& wonderful Steve Giles (on bass and backing vocals) and Israeli
drummer/percussionist extraordinaire, Karen Teperberg (who has performed
with Sting, Shawn Colvin, Chris Botti, and toured the world with Jesse
McCartney to millions of pop music fans).
“Collectively, I think we have a striking
chemistry,” says Cynthia. “Steve & Karen are really passionate,
solid players. They definitely add a lot to our music.” The band is
currently recording their third album in Los Angeles.
Completing her partner’s thoughts as always,
Annmarie adds, “It’s hard to put our finger on what makes this work,
but I think we really play off of each other’s strengths. She’s a hip
lyricist, and I have more of a pop sensibility. Merge the two together,
and you have something unique and fresh yet somehow nostalgic. It just
flows. It’s fascinating being able to tap into all age groups, literally
from seven year olds to 70 year olds. I think the key is being less
concerned with appealing to specific markets and more with making music
that we like. In this day and age, that makes us unique.
|
city: Los Angeles
state: CA
website |
|
