| "...an evening of unmitigated geek-girl-power
music featuring bubbly cotton-candy popsters. It was as if the
POWERPUFF GIRLS decided to rock out - with a toy guitar, of course.
Geekgrrrls rule! "- Sara Wolf - LA Weekly |
|
| "It may
be too early to review a band who are in their infancy but you
know how "years later," people claim they saw (fill
in band name) when they were only just starting out at some small
club?" - Lynne Bronstein |
| |
| "teeth-rotting" - Jim Freek - NEW TIMES LA |
| |
| "aggressive,
melodic rock with catchy choruses and monster hooks in the vein
of Iggy Pop and X" - Rock City News |
| |
| "...an evening of unmitigated geek-girl-power
music featuring bubbly cotton-candy popsters. It was as if the
POWERPUFF GIRLS decided to rock out - with a toy guitar, of course.
Geekgrrrls rule! "- Sara Wolf - LA Weekly |
| |
| "...a sophisticated blend of catch and
kitsch, the Freakies deliver the goods as smooth as marscapone.
A must for LA's aural connoisseurs." - Carlos Pena -
Rolling Stone, SF |
| |
| "...they're DIY style shows an unbridled creativity
that bands who already know how to play their instruments could
learn from. Like Andy Warhol to a beat." - Barnes - IN
MAGAZINE |
| |
| "...taking LA by storm recently, these grrls
have talent AND a sense of humor." - St. Teresa
Stone - Santa Monica Mirror |
| |
| "Its all so simple its almost stupid" sings
Cindy Pop in her plaintive girlie voice on her loser anthem "Stupid
Girl": and she might be talking about the music of her frisky
Art band Kittenfreaky. Check tracks like their online X-Mas hit
" Jigglypuff X-mas" at their Mp3 .com site and you
will be treated to some of the wackiest fun to be had online,
(Yes they use Casio programming and are proud of it). This band
is made up of three kooky babes, Eleanor Meow and Viva La Kitty
and lead by well- loved L.A. underground artist Cindy DeSantis
now renamed Cindy Pop and for a good reason. This big Beautiful
Freak Girl makes up daffy stories like "Rich Like The Pope"
betraying her smarts and goofy point of view delivered in an
old style classic rock voice. Second songwriter and vocalist
Viva La Kitty is no slouch either. Check out their purr-fect
material at www.kittenfreaky.com and don't miss their upcoming
Beach Blanket Show at Highways June 18th. They're DIY style shows
an unbridled creativity that bands who already know how to play
their instruments could learn from. Like Andy Warhol to a beat.
- 5/1/2001 - IN MAGAZINE SPRING MUSIC ISSUE - LA BAND ROUND-UP
- Barnes |
| |
| Kittenfreaky: three sexy ladies reclaiming pop music
for themselves, a sophisticated blend of catch and kitsch. Whether
contemplating dirty dishes or echoing Pokemon melodies, the Freakies
deliver the goods as smooth as marscapone. Their reworking of
the tropicalia classic "Agua De Beber" has insipired
slavish devotion to the live shows. A must for LA's aural connoisseurs.
- Carlos Pena (Rolling Stone, SF) |
| |
| Last week was all about Freek Show getting a new outfit
together for the New Times Music Awards, but we still
managed to slip out of the penthouse long enough on Tuesday night
to make a quick visit to the Gig in West L.A., where we were
lured via e-mail by Kittenfreaky. Certainly a sight to behold,
Kittenfreaky are three ladies of rock performing with myriad
unusual instruments including everything from a violin and omnichord
to a bank of keyboards and a drum machine. After enduring a set
of teeth-rotting tunes like "Jigglypuff," "Volcano
Baby," and "Babadababa," Freek Show engaged in
the evening's sole act of good Samaritanism by convincing a pair
of wild things from Mount Washington that there's no need to
drive all the way to the Westside to find a club where you can
smoke and drink when Mr. T's Bowl (where -- ooh, aah -- P.J.
Harvey was spotted hanging out last weekend) is within reach.
-10/26/2000 - NEW TIMES LA - Step right up to Jim Freek's
Los Angeles - By Jim Freek |
| |
| "Local Santa Monicans, up n' comers KittenFreaky
have been taking LA by storm recently. Made up of a conglomerate
of top notch groovy women/musicians/artists who play "quirky
alternative art-pop music," including Cindy Pop, (a.k.a
Aida Cynthia DeSantis of Poodleland & Highways fame) plus
Viva Krasinski and Eleanor Mak. Described by the LA Weekly as
"geek-girl Power Music," these grrls have talent AND
a sense of humor. Catch the wave tonight at their westside "Jigglypuff"
Xmas bash." -12/22/2000 - St. Teresa Stone (Santa
Monica Mirror) |
| |
| I was going to try not to say it but Kittenfreaky
have it in their own press release: a description of themselves
as "reminiscent of Shonen Knife if Shonen Knife were made
up of a kindergarten teacher, a cartoonist, and a single mom,
none of whom are Japanese." One other significant difference
is that they do not do songs about food-at least not yet. I caught
Kittenfreaky recently at a gig at a club actually called "The
Gig," in Los Angeles. They were the first act and very appreciative
of the club for booking them, as they haven't been together too
long. It may be too early to review a band who are in their infancy
but you know how "years later," people claim they saw
(fill in band name) when they were only just starting out at
some small club? Why not a review? Why not a bit of hype for
a band who don't seem to take the whole stardom thing that seriously
anyway? Kittenfreaky are a trio, consisting of Viva "LaKitty"
Krasinski (the single mom) who sings and plays "grooves"(synth
loops), Eleanor "Meow" Mak (the teacher) who plays
keyboards, bass, violin, autoharp, and kazoo, and Cindy "Pop"
DeSantis (the cartoonist-she does the band's art) who sings most
of the lead vocals. At the Gig, they ran through what I suspect
is their entire repertoire during their very informal 45-minute
set. As if they were performing in someone's rumpus room rather
than at a music club, they handed out lyric sheets to their songs,
checked their set list to remember what they were supposed to
sing next, gave away free copies of their CD by holding quickie
contests ("How many fingers are there in the band?"),
and performed songs with titles like "Stupid Stupid Girl,"
"Volcano Baby," "Gorgeous," a "cover
song" from the soundtrack of A Clockwork Orange called
"Lighthouse Keeper," and their potential big novelty
hit "Jigglypuff," an ode to a Pokemon. All of these
were nonsensical songs, in the tradition, yes, of Shonen Knife,
but equally in the tradition of such bands as Ween, Presidents
of the United States Of America, and The Mothers of Invention.
While all the lyrics had the tone of material written by children,
the simplicity worked well on a rare serious-themed song by Viva
la Kitty called "Babadababa," about the problems of
single motherhood. And the musicianship of Eleanor "Meow"
as she worked her various instruments, had a seasoned flair that
stood in contrast to the fluffy nature of the lyrics. The vocals
are nice too, in a time-honored girl group way. With time, Kittenfreaky
may or may not choose to venture into more serious songwriting-but
if they remain a novelty just-for-fun band, they certainly will
be seen more around town and maybe around the country. Four of
their songs are downloadable on MP3.com, where in fact, "The
Jigglypuff Christmas Song," is currently number 25 on the
Mp3 Holiday chart! Meow! - Alternative News, October 23 -
Meow, It's (Kitten)Freaky - Lynne Bronstein (MusicID.com) |
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