Saturday, February 20, 2016

THE LADIES WHO ROCK OUR WORLD!


www.loudinirockandrollcircus.com
The Loudini Rock and Roll Circus
Hosted by Lou Lombardi aka "Loudini" & Kevin O'Connor
Topic: The Ladies who Rock our World!





We all know the Wilson (Ann & Nancy) Sisters, Pat Benetar, Joan Jett, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick and of course Stevie Nicks but women have rocked this business at every level since the begining. As we started putting together next week's podcast with an all female line up of bands we started thinking about some of the amazing lesser know ladies who have rocked our world. Thanks to our friends who weighed in on Facebook, Tanisha Jackson, Bob Giacometti, Katie Simone, Brigitte Rios Purdy, Terry Filia-Popovich , B.c. Cliver , Tina Magnotti,    Zosia West ,  Carla Sunseri Simmons , Bill Hathaway,  Carla Bianco,  Jeff Mazzei, Vince Ornato, Greg Richards.    Birthday shout outs to J, Geils, Walter Becker (Steely Dan), Randy California (Spirit), Jon Brant (Cheap Trick), Kristy Wallace a.k.a. “Poison Ivy” (The Cramps), Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Edwin Graham (The Darkness).
 Loudini artists Highway 4, Sit Kitty Sit, and Unwed Mothers . All this PLUS Pittsburgh Kevin!



"With an ear open to the great influences of the past, performed with the intensity of today, and a clear vision of the future, Rock & Roll is in good hands with Highway 4."
~Tim Daugherty, Program Director, WONE-FM 97.5, Akron OH.

Shared the stage with: Blackberry Smoke
The Clarks
Great White
Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns
Bullet Boys
Hot Action Cop
Truth & Salvage Co.

"We're losing the human element in today's music. Perfection is impossible, and no one really wants that anyway." ~Kelly Brown, VOX Highway 4

Highway 4 is a 4 piece progressive riff-rock band that combine Zeppelin's hard hitting classic style, melodic Pearl Jam-like hooks, and vocal undertones of Myles/Nicks into and intense and engaging live show.

The "Classic Rock" sound has come full circle, this time, with more power and grit to back it up.
The award-winning rock band from the North East is quickly rising to popularity and resurfacing the rock music scene. Eclectic influences of the 1970's era forged with the muscle of the 21st Century have been the backbone to developing the unique & reminiscent new genre known as "Progressive Riff-Rock."


Band Members
Kelly Brown - Vocals
Jordan Gibson - Drums
Tylar Parker - Bass Guitar
Mike Angert - Lead Guitar

Awards
-2nd Place Overall at 105.9's The X Winter Rock Showcase 2011
-1st Place Overall at The 2012 Next Big Thing Tour
-2013 Grassy Award from 97.7 The Rock Station's Grass Roots Show for "One Of These Days"



San Francisco based Hard Piano Rock duo, Sit Kitty Sit, takes the stage. It’s a pretty girl in a cocktail dress and a handsome guy in black jeans.  Simple.  Unassuming. Armed only with piano and drums, this fiery team lets loose an expertly manipulated balance of blow-your-mind power rock and virtuosic intricacy that leaves audiences screaming.

In May of 2010, Kat Downs (Good Natured Mortals/Sparrows Point/Saints of Ruin) and Mike Thompson (Big Nasty/Tokyo Raid/Cougar Kick) teamed up to experiment with the combination of classical piano and rock drumming. Typically described as “The Dresden Dolls mixed with King Crimson and Fiona Apple”, the music they create also reflects evidence of Zeppelin, Beethoven, Rush and Rachmaninoff.  The combination of Kat Downs’ ornate hands and hair flying with Mike Thompson’s flawless percussive mastery makes this duo the consummate definition of a “dream-team”.

“Digging for comparisons, you can find a little bit of everyone 
from Nick Cave to Randy Newman, Amanda Palmer to Metallica in their work.
Just simply comparing this band, however, does Sit Kitty Sit a disservice.”
– Nicholas Schneider, The Bay Bridged

Following their 2010 and 2012 releases, “The Push” and “Beautiful/Terrible” respectively, Sit Kitty Sit hit the road and never looked back.  Touring almost non-stop since 2013, the duo has built up a cult-style following all across the United States and have become known for consistently thrilling audiences with their energetically intense live performances. No holds barred, this group produces addictive rock n’ roll – with only two people, and not one guitar in sight.
“They seem to accomplish more with two people than most bands do with five.”
–  Veronica Kirk, Black on the Canvas

2014 unleashed the release of Sit Kitty Sit’s third studio album, “Everlasting Fire”.  Based entirely on Dante’s “Inferno”, this storyline album showcases the extensive versatility of Downs and Thompson as a team.  Spanning seven genres and boasting 15 guest artists, the release shows us an entirely new side of the band while maintaining their identity.   The album has been receiving rave reviews since it’s release.

This year, Sit Kitty Sit was a featured performer at NAMM 2015 as guests of Killer Q Instrument Straps, whose presentation booth went on to win Best In Show. After teaming up with Sleepless Sounds Music Group in Los Angeles, CA to release a new 2015 single and continuing to tour the U.S., Sit Kitty Sit will take the leap over the pond in late October 2015 with their first ever European Tour.   New music and tour dates are always in the works so keep your eyes and ears open in their direction.

Kat Downs is a Musician, Artist, Teacher, Composer and Performer originally from Green Bay, WI.  She began studying music in the 2nd grade continuing on through high school and college earning a BA Degree in Music from St. Norbert College in DePere, WI.  Now based out of San Francisco, CA, Kat’s current projects include the powerhouse Hard Piano Rock duo, Sit Kitty Sit, and the goth rock band, Saints of Ruin. She is the staff composer for Wily West Productions, the Music Consultant for Blue Scorpion Dance Theatre and has an exclusive studio of piano and flute students. Best known for her intense piano playing style and exceptional lyrical compositions, Kat tours nationally and has shared the stage with such names as LP, The Memorials, Chris Wyse, En Esch, Mona Mur, Erica Dilanjian, Shannon Curfman, Lennon, Javier Mosley and WASP.

Mike Thompson is a Drummer, Percussionist, Performer and Arranger hailing from the tiny town containing major talent, Westerly, RI.  He started officially banging on the drums in private lessons at age 10 and went on to star in his award winning high school Jazz, Concert & Marching bands.  He continued feeding his passion for music by studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA under drumming greats such as Jamey Haddad, Rod Morgenstein and Kenwood Dennard earning a BA Degree in Music Performance and Business. Having played in bands such as The Big Nasty and Tokyo Raid, Mike has shared the stage with many other bands and artists such as Gary Clark Jr., Pat Travers, Chris Wyse, John Vanderslice and Javie Mosley.  Now living in the CA Bay Area, he is mainly devoting his time with partner, Kat Downs, to touring nationally and garnering more exposure for their powerhouse Hard Piano Rock duo, Sit Kitty Sit.



Unwed Mothers is a four-piece blues/indie-rock outfit from Edmonton, Alberta that formed in 2012. Making a name for themselves as “the little girl with the big voice”, the band has become known for delivering a high energy, gritty style that boasts fat guitar sounds, heart shaking beats and power house vocals.

The release of their self-titled debut album in the April of 2013 was met with glowing response from multiple publications including Knowshi.com (Dallas) saying of the LP: “I’m not usually excited enough about what I hear to share it with everyone. But this album is something completely different”. The 8 track compilation dabbled in multiple genres showing off their stylistic flexibility and impressive lyricism. Within months of forming the band was invited to showcase at Canadian Music Week 2013 in Toronto and soon after their return they were back on the road touring Western Canada. Later tour dates would include stops in the United States with shows in Washington and Oregon. With a steadily growing fan base Unwed Mothers entered the regular rotations on College Radio stations all over Canada charting at #1 on CHRW London, ON and entering the top 20 in multiple other cities. In September the band earned the coveted position of the Sonic 102.9FM Band of the Month which led to some additional exposure including a live performance/interview on Global Edmonton’s Breakfast Television, a live acoustic webisode on Balcony TV and a slot at NXNE 2014 in June. Following their performance at NXNE, Unwed Mothers performed at Boonstock 2014 sharing the stage which popular acts such as Head of the Herd, The Airborne Toxic Event, City and Color and Mother Mother. The group also received two nominations for the Edmonton Music Awards for both “Rock Recording of the Year (Skeletons)” and “People’s Choice”. The band will be releasing a follow-up album titled “Workhorse” this summer.

Unwed Mothers is Julie Adams, Michael James, Jesse Northey and Kurtis Schultz.

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