Biography
Quote:
(Paul Robertson, Executive Producer, Northern Beaches Music Festival.)
“Hello music lovers!! For those of you who haven’t had the good fortune to see and hear the band Bad Kitty and the AlleyCats, you’re missing out! This is a trio in full blossom with fantastic instrumentation, tight harmonies and glorious singing, presenting a vast repertoire of ‘Contemporary Acoustic’ music, consisting of beautifully crafted originals and an incredible selection of the who’s who of covers, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Blood Sweat & Tears, even Donny Hathaway!”
Bio:
Sydney based trio, Bad Kitty and the AlleyCats, is a band that is willing to embrace and provide intimacy, connection and joy to their audience, whether it be via their original songs or intriguing arrangements of familiar covers. The band relish playing soft, subtle ballads, blues and soul that resonate with the heart, but are just as comfortable pounding out funky rhythms, country twang, bluegrass or folk, with a little bit of pop thrown in for good measure. Their decisive chord progressions, melodies & harmonies, both vocal and instrumental, are often imbued with a jazz sensibility. Think acoustic Americana come jazzy folk. This is music that insists you not only tap your foot, or sway your hips, but invites surrender to total immersion. The band’s art is to redefine the huge back-catalogue of their combined and extremely diverse musical tastes by designing unique and exciting arrangements of covers and originals. This is what ultimately defines the band.
Susan’s warm alto voice is the heart of the band’s sound. Classical and jazz training has provided a strong platform on which to convey a thoughtful lyric and melody whilst also allowing her to dive into one of her greatest loves, vocal harmony. Pierre and Susan have a vocal match made in heaven. Percussion features heavily in Susan’s agenda. She lays the groove down, no question!
Andrew Hoyle is a versatile instrumentalist who has explored guitar, piano & saxophone on his musical journey, honing his skills in a range of bands that includes the peninsular darlings, Bobby Sox before electing to focus down on the art of contemporary acoustic guitar. He offers the core of the band’s broad, bright sound from his beloved Martin D18 and D28 acoustic guitars. A new phase for Andrew has been to broach a vocal contribution & his progression in just a short time has been exemplary. Bad Kitty now has a strong & varied harmony sound that is becoming a trademark.
Pierre Luniere’s rich baritone takes the lead vocal on occasion but most of the time is the vocal harmony stalwart of the band, shadowing Susan in most songs, seemingly impervious to distraction from his pulse-driven acoustic bass lines. He provides sublime lines of acoustic bass in its sweet, melodic upper register during solo opportunities.
Whilst being relatively new on the Sydney music scene, Bad Kitty and the AlleyCats have proven, on stage and in the studio, that their approach is captivating, an intricate but still transparent soundscape. The band delivers a huge impression for a three piece outfit, definitely bigger than the sum of its parts, with a frequent post-gig observation being: “What big a sound you have for three people!”.
Bad Kitty and the AlleyCats has so far recorded four songs which are available from their website’s /tracks page, 2 covers & 2 originals. Songwriting tends to be a communal exercise with pierre usually adopting the role of wordsmith, always making sure there’s a strong, grounded bass line. Andrew’s expertise is exemplified in his magical chord progressions, informed & driven by his love of jazz harmony, and Susan will lay down a sweet melody to bring it all together. The band has made good use of the down-time due to COVID 19 and is busily rehearsing and writing new material. They envisage new recordings being available mid 2022