Artist description Visiting Violette (VV) is the poetry and unique timbre of vocalist, Lee Takasugi, the driving rhythmic strums of guitarist, Glenn Suravech, and the soulful, heart-tugging solos of guitarist, Shin Kawasaki. VV has been on a colorful musical journey for the past 10 years, sharing their eclectic blend of album-alternative rock, jazz and R&B with radio, television, and college audiences across the U.S. along with club audiences, theater productions, festivals, and political, social and community events.

Music Style song-oriented rock/alternative

Musical Influences It ranges from Billie Holiday to Bjork to U2

Similar Artists We've been compared to 10,000 Maniacs, The Pretenders and Sheryl Crow

Artist History The band just launched their new CD to an audience of 500 at the Japan American Theatre in April 2002. Entitled, "a hero's day," this first full-length CD was released on Bindu Records and produced and mixed by Derek Nakamoto (Keiko Matsui) and Steve Durkee (Prince). Particular about this CD is the simple and clean approach to each song which enables the listener to hear every distinct part played and sung. The story-telling of the record comes across with more sincerity and more true edge, rather than being about unnecessary noise, overplaying and volume. To promote the album and concert, the band was featured in a 30-minute interview on the "Global Village" radio program on KPFK 90.7 FM. In addition to writing and performing its own original work, VV also contributes original music for film and video. VV cuts can be heard on two scores for PBS directed by Sundance Film Festival award-winning director Kayo Hatta (Picture Bride), and on the end credits for acclaimed photographer/director Larry Clark's (Kids) film "Cutting Horses" VV has toured and played over 450 shows in venues throughout Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Palo Alto, San Jose and Napa Valley areas, in addition to playing many colleges and clubs in the Pacific Northwest. Notable performances have been opening up for A.J. Croce at Slim's in San Francisco and the Key Club in Los Angeles and collaborating with the hereandnow theatre company, at the Japan American Theater in downtown L.A. VV has also done collaborations with taiko drummers, dancers, and television and theater actors.

Group Members Lee Takasugi: lead vocal and piano Glenn Survech: guitar Shin Kawasaki: guitar with Denny Fongheiser: drums and percussion Brad Cummings: bass Derek Nakamoto: acoustic piano, rhodes, synthesizers and drum programming

Albums a hero's day

Press Reviews After hearing VV's first self-titled 5-song CD, one writer from Music Connection Magazine wrote, "Blending the essence of 10,000 Maniacs with a periodic hard edge, this quartet has some nice ideas and shows promise." In another review in Dialogue Magazine, the author wrote, "...Visiting Violette has been compared to early 10,000 Maniacs or The Pretenders ... throw in an edgy guitar, jazzy drums, and an occasional R&B beat, and you have something between the polished sound of The Cocteau Twins and the sweetness of Paula Cole." After seeing VV live, writer Natalie Nichols of the Los Angeles Times wrote in an article titled, "Quirky Violette Pairs Eclectic With Eccentric, "(VV's) polished music fused R&B and funk, folky pop and mellow rock, variously recalling 10,000 Maniacs, Sheryl Crow and the Motels ... Crooning quirky tunes about heartbreak, life on Mars and overcoming hardship in a girlish yet substantial voice, singer Lee Takasugi was a dynamic frontwoman ... The songs are put together well." In addition to those reviews, Visiting Violette has been featured in the L.A. Weekly, Downtown News, Celebrity Chronicle and Yolk Magazine as well as a number of college campus publications such as Campus Circle, Pacific Ties (UCLA) and Bamboo Offshoot (USC). On the internet, VV was also reviewed and featured at Monkeyoil.com, TuningIn.com and Blacklava.com.

Location Los Angeles, CA - USA

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