Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers
| Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers | |
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Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Brooklyn, NY, USA |
| Genres | Punk Rock[1] Blues[1][2] Garage rock Indie rock[2] Punk blues[1] |
| Years active | 2004-2011 |
| Labels | Knitting Factory Records, Bad Seed LTD |
| Associated acts | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Sharon Van Etten, Man Man, Nicole Atkins, Acid Mothers Temple |
| Website | knittingfactoryrecords |
| Past members | Shilpa Ray: songwriter, vocals, harmonium[3] Andrew Bailey: Guitar |
Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers was an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York with a blues punk sound[1] led by singer-songwriter Shilpa Ray. Her music has been compared to Blondie and The Cramps flavored with the "Goth burlesque" of the Dresden Dolls,[4] and her singing has been compared to the style of Patti Smith, Nick Cave,[5] and Ella Fitzgerald.[6] Ray is notable for combining an Indian harmonium with a "big-voiced blues-rock howler" vocal approach.[7] The band signed a record contract with Knitting Factory Records and has toured internationally.
A report in the San Francisco Examiner describes Ray's New Jersey upbringing as an Indian American from an immigrant family as contributing to her having a "scrappy" demeanor.[8] As a youth, she was mistaken for an Iraqi and "pelted with beer cans" by hooligans.[5] She dealt with restrictive parents who banned Western-themed music[5] and learned to play the harmonium and piano beginning at age six.[3] In her high school years, she became a stealth Goth and listened to music by punk rock bands such as The Cramps, Stooges and Joy Division.[8] In her twenties, she moved to New York City and worked as a solo artist, singing a capella at first and later accompanying herself on the harmonium.[5]
Ray formed a band which she named Beat the Devil, combining punk rock music with Indian time signatures in a new format.[1] The group disbanded soon after releasing their first and only album.
Ray formed another band entitled Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers which Boston Globe critic Jonathan Perry described as the "best-named band" in a lineup of numerous indie bands in July 2010.[2]
Ray was the songwriter and band leader, and described her role in her band to being similar to being in a "democracy under a dictatorship".[3] She has performed with Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye.[4] They also toured extensively with Man Man and Acid Mothers Temple. In an interview, she commented about being a female artist: "I think Feminism in America went through a huge backlash during the W. Bush years. We are now going through a cool Renaissance. There are tons of amazing female musicians and artists on the scene with something to contribute and it's not cheesy, kitschy, or female centric. It's universal."[9]
Ray's band performed at the SXSW festival in 2011 in Austin, Texas and was invited to the Billboard event at the Buffalo Billiards venue.[5] She offered advice to struggling artists: "The hardship of being an artist in this country is gender neutral. Own yourself, what you do, how you live and don't worry about the end results."[10]
After splitting with Her Happy Hookers in 2011, Shilpa toured Europe and North America with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds as a backup singer and their supporting act. She recorded a version of "Pirate Jenny" featuring Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for "Son of Rogue Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys released February, 2013 by Anti/Epitaph.
Shilpa Ray now performs with pedal steel guitarist Jon Catfish DeLorme, drummer Russ Lemkin and guitarist Alistair Paxton. Nick Cave released her EP, "It's All Self Fellatio, Shilpa Ray" in 2013 on his Bad Seed LTD label after touring in Europe and North America with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. As well as performing with Cave, Ray's current band has performed with Sharon Van Etten, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Nicole Atkins. They are touring North America with She Keeps Bees in Fall 2014.
She lives in Brooklyn, NY.[3] A new album entitled "Last Year's Savage" it has been released in 2015 on Northern Spy Records.
Contents
Reviews
- Music critics from the New York Times have focused on Ray's lyrics and voice. Jon Pareles described Ray's act as combining punk rock band shtick with a touch of Goth burlesque but with music which deals with the "contradictory pressures women face" such as being "cosmetically perfect but authentic".[4] Another Times critic, Ben Sisario, summed up Ray's act in four words: "that scream is primal!"[11] Critic Jacob Brown described Ray's voice as a "honey-toned wail" along the lines of Patti Smith merged with Nick Cave.[5]
- Music critic Tris McCall in the Newark Star-Ledger found a feminist message in Ray's lyrics and videos, and described her as "proud to own her discontent."[7]
- Critics in The Guardian described the music as "grinding blues, sleazy jazz, and bracking rock with punk immediacy and pop appeal."[6] Shilpa Ray was "like a vulgar Ella Fitzgerald" singing songs with a "wall of distortion and thunderous, pounding rhythms."[6] Shilpa responded to this within the biography section of the band's official Facebook, "A vulgar Ella Fitzgerald? More like horny Frank Sinatra."[12]
Discography
with Beat The Devil
- Beat The Devil, 2006
with Her Happy Hookers
- A Fish Hook An Open Eye, 2009, O-Gun Records
- "Venus Shaver/Natural Selection" 7", 2010, Knitting Factory Records
- Teenage and Torture, 2011, Knitting Factory Records
Shilpa Ray
- It's All Self Fellatio, Shilpa Ray, 2013, Bad Seed LTD
- "Make Up/What a Diffr'nce A Day Makes", 2015, Northern Spy Records
- Last Year's Savage, 2015, Northern Spy Records
In other media
Television series
| Song | Show title | Episode title |
|---|---|---|
| "Liquidation Sale" | Being Human (US) | All Out of Blood |
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Shilpa Ray, in an interview in NPR, 2011[3]
- ↑ Shilpa Ray, 2011[3]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.facebook.com/shilparayandherhappyhookers?sk=info
External links
- Official website
- Shilpa Ray
- Shilpa Ray on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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