Lascivious Biddies
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The Lascivious Biddies are an all-women band based in New York City that play a mixture of pop, jazz and cabaret.
So far two albums and one E.P. have been released. Biddi-luxe!, their debut album, was released in 2002, the I Feel Biddy E.P. was released in 2003 in wait for their next full album and finally Get Lucky was released in October 2004. They have a DVD available at their website, "Live in New York City".
The Lascivious Biddies are also known for their "Biddycast," a Podcast they started in 2005.
[edit] Band Biography
The Lascivious Biddies, an all female cocktail pop quartet based in New York City, are making headlines for having an energetic and tightly woven live show, full of humor, expert musicianship, and a dash of sentimentality. This irrepressible foursome is Saskia Lane on bass, Amanda Monaco on guitar, Lee Ann Westover on lead vocal, and Deidre Rodman on piano and melodica.
Blending jazz, pop, and cabaret with four-part harmonies, The Lascivious Biddies have carried their fresh, genre-defying sound from coast to coast including performances at The Kennedy Center, Birdland, and numerous theaters across the country. The Biddies and their music have been featured on The Food Network, The Discovery Channel, Fuse TV, a national TV commercial for Chili’s Restaurants, a segment on CBS Evening News, and heard nationally on NPR, dozens of local radio stations across America, and internationally on the BBC.
At SXSW 2005 The Biddies made a splash with the media and fans alike. “If the Donnas are rock’s answer to girl power, then the Lascivious Biddies are jazz's answer to female singularity." (The Austin American-Statesman). The Washington Post calls them "Manhattan's Hippest Girl Group." According to Time Out New York, The Biddies' second album, Get Lucky, overflows with "angelic vocal harmonies, wordy humor, jazz chops and pop moxie." CBS Evening News confirms: "The Lascivious Biddies could teach us all a thing or two."
The name existed before the band. Deidre Rodman, pianist and composer, mentioned it in passing one fine spring day to her friend Amanda Monaco, guitarist and jazz fiend. “I’ve always wanted to be in a band called The Lascivious Biddies.” The girls were high in the mountains, participating in an intensive jazz workshop near Banff, Canada. Someone in the clouds (closer than usual to wishing souls) must have perked up her ears that afternoon.
Upon her return to New York, where The Biddies reside, Amanda repeated Deidre’s words to the notoriously proactive jazz and swing singer, Lee Ann Westover. The two had been seriously considering the formation of a Go-Gos cover band that needed a name. “That’s it. That’s the name and we are that band,” stated Lee Ann, simply yet full of resolve. “Who’s this ‘Deidre?’” The rest is history. Add Saskia Sunshine Lane (Amanda’s upstairs neighbor) on the upright bass -- as well as 4+ years worth of rehearsing and good luck, minus most of the 80’s cover tunes -- and there you have The Lascivious Biddies as reality: equal parts pluck, innovation, talent and fun.
The Lascivious Biddies balance infectious spunk with impressive skill. The group includes a multi-linguist, a Juilliard grad, a published author, and a circus performer. On their collective resumé, The Biddies have shared the stage with luminaries such as Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, and The Jazz Passengers. Their discography includes critically acclaimed recordings on Eastway Records and a concert DVD, “Live in New York City.”
[edit] Members
- Amanda Monaco (guitar and vocals)
A native of Wallingford, Connecticut, Amanda Monaco splits her time between The Biddies; her midtown jazz group, Amanda Monaco 4; her funky organ trio Kiss The Leslie; and her modern post-bop group Amanda and the Michaels. A former student of Ted Dunbar, Amanda graduated from William Paterson University in 1996 with a BMus in Jazz Studies, where she also studied with Rufus Reid, Harold Mabern and Steve Wilson. Amanda has served on the faculty of New School University, Berklee College of Music and the National Guitar Workshop; she currently teaches both privately and through the innovative web site WorkshopLive. Amanda is the author of Jazz Guitar for the Absolute Beginner (Alfred Publishing, 2005.) In her spare time (ha ha), Amanda enjoys counted cross stitch and playing Scrabble with her husband.
- Deidre Rodman (keyboard and vocals)
An Idaho native, pianist/composer Deidre Rodman Struck moved to New York in 1997 after receiving a master¹s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. She found work (and her husband!) playing for the Big Apple Circus, and spent her free time going out to hear all the music she could. Soon she was collaborating with many great musicians: reedist Roy Nathanson from The Jazz Passengers (they co-lead a 10-piece big band), bassist Steve Swallow (new duo CD with him coming out on Sunnyside May 9th), vocalist Darius De Haas (Daydream, a Strayhorn recording, won the 2002 Bistro Award for Recording of the Year), vocalist Debbie Harry (they recorded a song together for the soundtrack of Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story), vocalist Mike Viola (of Candy Butchers fame), and, of course, The Biddies!
- Lee Ann Westover (lead vocals)
moved to New York after studying Italian Literature at The University of Texas. A single opera taught her that a career in translation was not to be her path. It was by pure coincidence that she became a vocalist in 1997. A chance meeting with another singer scored her a first gig, and in that band she met fellow Biddy Amanda Monaco. After a few years in swing and then country-rock combos, Lee Ann forsook most other projects for The Lascivious Biddies. Aside from The Biddies' credits, her music has been featured in several films screened all over the world, including the Sundance, Venice and Tribeca Film Festivals. Lee Ann is also enjoys writing for the stage, Most notably, she created a segment for 8x10, work-shopped and debuted at the famed New York Theatre Workshop alongside Norah Jones and Jesse Harris. As she is one of the rare souls who truly loves computer technology, Lee Ann produces several podcasts (including The Biddies' own BiddyCast) and designs websites in her spare time.
- Saskia Lane (bass and vocals)
A San Francisco native, Saskia Lane (double bass, voice, and composition) began her classical training on the violin at the age of 4, and took up the bass the day she turned 11. Her musical path eventually put her on a train bound for New York City, where she received her Masters Degree from The Juilliard School. Soon after graduating, a pursuit of other musical projects led her to the Biddies. Now, Saskia dons many musical hats, actively performing jazz, classical, pop, rock, and cabaret in New York and across the country. Saskia can be seen playing the bass and singing with various acts including composer Marc Farre, with whom she will be releasing an album in the fall. Additionally, she has recorded original works by composer Ned Rorem (Albany Records, 2003), which she premiered at Carnegie Hall. Saskia can also be heard on a disc featuring the music of Lou Harrison with conductor Nicole Paiement (New Albion Records, 1997).
[edit] External links
Band members' official websites
