New York City, by-way-of-Tel Aviv, three piece NanuchKa are partying at the Lower East Side's gritty watering hole Motor City after a show at Rothko's. Yula, the group's vocalist and bass maiden bounces off the walls and sinks to the floor without any regard for bodily harm while the liqueur shots flow. Musically the band bounces between genres and influences much like their sprightly lead singer. On stage Yula commands the audience with her smoky vocal style and knee-length military boots. NanuchKa's music equally recalls cabaret rock, the twang of Hank Williams, the soul of Stevie Wonder and a menagerie of world music from reggae to the music of Eastern Europe. And that's really just the beginning. Meet NanuchKa: Drummer John Bollinger, a native of Oregon, bangs out blues-adept militaristic cadences. Guitarist Roy Gurel, seemingly in another solar system on stage, comes in on cue to hit backing vocals and to contribute sparring note sequences from his hollow body Gretsch. His tonal concoctions strike a strange balance that seems meticulously-practiced and yet somehow rhythmically improvised. Performing at NYC staples such as Rothko, Luna Lounge (before it's recent closing) and Piano's have earned NanuchKa a diverse following of scene junkies and adventure surfers. The trio, only together for 9 months, carries the aplomb of a band with 20 years of hard-fought gigs under their belt evidenced by a string of recordings that constitute their forthcoming album crafted at studio. The band claims a wider array of influences than can comfortably fit on this page. The mix is something best seen and heard on stage.

www.nanuchka.com
www.myspace.com/nanuchka

LUMINESCENT ORCHESTRII IS: Romanian gypsy melodies, punk frenzy, salty tangos, hard-rocking klezmer, haunting Balkan harmony, hip-hop beats and Appalachian fiddle, all eaten and spit out by two violins, resophonic guitar, bullhorn harmonica and bass. The members of the Orchestrii come from different scenes in New York City, yet come together through their love of Balkan and Gypsy music. Sxip Shirey is an international circus composer, Sarah Alden is an old-time fiddle player, Rima Fand is an experimental theater composer, and Benjy Fox-Rosen is a free-jazz bassist. It is not uncommon to find Sxip playing tampon applicators with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Rima composing music for a Lorca puppet show, Benjy schlepping his bass to a jazz gig, or Sarah fiddling away at some all-night old-time session. Since 2002, when the band was formed, the Luminescent Orchestrii has toured the East Coast, England, Scotland, and Germany, and have traveled to Romania, Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia for inspiration. They most recently returned from Serbia's DragoÄevo Trumpet Festival, a 47-year-old festival that takes place in the small town of GuÄa, where hordes of competing gypsy brass bands take to the streets and restaurants. The Luminescent Orchestrii has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (UK), The Spitz (UK), The Blue Note (Germany), Malzhauz (Germany), The Trowbridge Festival (UK), The Orkney Islands (UK), The Penn State Arts Festival (USA), The Lake Eden Arts Festival (USA), The Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival (USA), MAKOR (USA), The Knitting Factory (NYC), Joe's Pub (NYC), The DUMBO Arts Festival (NYC), The Brooklyn Museum of Art, and many underground parties in New York City. The Luminescent Orchestrii formed in 2002 as a quintet, which included Kaia Wong playing fiddle and singing, and Aaron Goldsmith playing guitarron. Both Kaia and Aaron can be heard singing and playing on the live CD and on Too Hot to Sleep. Kaia is currently performing with Mixel Pixel, and Aaron is currently playing with Chad Parks and the Near Death Experience. Also included on Too Hot to Sleep is Julianne Carney, who spent a year with the Luminescent Orchestrii as a third violin.
"The balancing of frenzy and finesse is evidently a trademark Luminescent Orchestrii approach, displayed to its utmost in the insanely frenetic dance tunes... The three violins flirt willfully with a cacophony teasingly offset by elegant classical flourishes, swirling and eddying above the rhythm section's bruisingly aggressive but sharply-aimed attack." **** -The Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland)

www.lumii.org/

In the early 19th Century, before the trasformation of Israel, the deterioration of the old traditions of Yiddish and East European Jews, and the migration to the new worlds in search of new beginnings, there was a notorious band known as "Di Shikere Kapelye"- " The Inebriated Orchestra" (Also known as the "Band of Drunks"). A goup of musicians that gave birth to the soul of Klezmer and gave Klezmorim their imperishable bad reputation. There is very little information that is solid fact behind this story, however the few facts we do know come from either oral accounts that were passed down through friends and families of perhaps, the original band members, and from court records of irate clients and rigid governments who pressed charges against the wild band. They were often asked to perform but never invited to stay, perhaps due to the spontaneous musical collaborations in the main plazas of various towns after all the bars and pubs had closed. As the group became known more for their rebellious behaviors rather then their musical talents, many members separated from the original band and formed new bands that mixed dizzy sounds and undefined dances. Their far-reaching repertoire became a strong influence for the future of klezmorin. The original styles of klezmorim, have failed to surface until a number of extraordinary brass musicians were brought together by Frank London. The group of musicians met in "New York City's Knitting Factory" bar to combine their knowledge, history and talents and create magical sounds together. They threw back several cocktails in memory of the old traditions and uncovered secrets and tales of the incredible lost sounds, creating "Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars".

www.franklondon.com

CURTIS ELLER is New York City's angriest yodelling banjo player. He sings about pigeon racing, performing elephants and Jesus, all of which he has seen with his own eyes. He started his show-business career at the age of seven as a juggler and acrobat in the Hiller Olde Tyme Circus in Detroit, but has since turned to the banjo because that's where the money is. His biggest musical influences are Buster Keaton, Al Jolson and Abraham Lincoln.

www.curtiseller.com