Metro Pulse/Music/Lascivious Biddies

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What:
Lascivious Biddies with Greg Horne

When:
Thursday, Nov. 13, 10 p.m.

Where:
Barley's (in the Old City)

Cost:
Free

The Lascivious Biddies seduce with musical sweetness

by Leslie Wylie

The Lascivious Biddies? Sounds like the name of a bridge team for wanton little old ladies, the kind who wear sundresses in the middle of winter, seduce mailmen with teacakes and steal flowers from neighbor's gardens without shame.

As it stands, the name goes to a New York-based ensemble of four female musicians who, for the record, are neither lascivious nor elderly. However, the name does aptly portray the group's tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and willingness to experiment with unlikely permutations of musical genres.

"There are men of 180 I.Q./ Who just can't say the name/ Lascivious, Laskivimous/ I'm afraid it's Lascivious/ And biddy remains a dame," the Biddies sing in "The Anthem," an homage to the band name's problematic nature.

"Just think of it as a way of expanding your vocabulary," laughingly suggests guitarist Amanda Monaco.

The Biddies' saucily unconventional blend of cabaret, jazz and pop is a product of the members' far-reaching musical backgrounds. Geographically, the women draw from California, Texas, Idaho and Connecticut, and their stylistic backgrounds are equally vast. Pre-Biddies, Lee Ann Westover was singing in a "country/western-on-acid" band; pianist Deidre Rodman and guitarist Amanda Monaco were writing jazz and earning Master's and Bachelor's degrees, respectively, in music; and Julliard-educated bassist Saskia Lane was auditioning for the Metropolitan Opera House.

"Our sound definitely comes from how individual we are," Monaco says. "It's the cerebral side meeting the really fun side, a very fresh sounding yet intelligent music."

The crossing of paths began in 2000 at a jazz workshop in Canada when Rodman randomly mentioned to Monaco that she'd always wanted to have a band called The Lascivious Biddies. Monaco repeated the quirky idea to her friend Westover, with whom she was playing in a swing band at the time. Eventually the three convened in New York with an original vision of the Biddies as a Go-Go's cover band, but after enlisting Monaco's upstairs neighbor Lane, they voted to leave the '80s in the '80s and create an original sound.

"It's like having three sisters," Monaco says. "We're a family, but we all relish our own individualities. We all serve a purpose, and we listen to each other, and we learn from each other. And that's such a blessing that we found each other and we work so well together."

In 2002, the Biddies released a debut CD, the critically applauded Biddi-luxe!, on their own Biddilicious label, followed by an EP, I Feel Biddy. Both recordings sparkle with cheeky sophistication, layering sunny, well-crafted harmonies over footloose instrumentals. The musicians use clever lyricism and over-the-top theatrics to jab a playful elbow into the ribs of high-brow urban soundscapes, stopping only occasionally to giggle at themselves.

The full impact of the Biddies, however, may be best absorbed during live performances, which are characteristically upbeat, feel-good affairs. Although the charming quartet could probably draw a crowd just by getting up onstage and smiling, "cute" is one card that the Biddies don't bother to draw.

"I know there have been places where people have been like, 'Oh, look at those cute girls up there,' and I always chuckle because they have no idea what they're getting into," Monaco says. "If people think we're cute, that fine. Just so long as people don't try to tell me that I play guitar good for a girl. I still can't handle that one."

The current tour also harbors an ulterior motive: a non-partisan campaign to get listeners registered to vote called Swing the Vote 2004. Monaco explains that the effort is the Biddies' response to living in New York throughout the September 11 era, and that the band's instrument of choice, in this case, is cheer.

"You can make a difference in a way that's pleasing," she says. "Feeling good, for one thing, enables you to feel good about others. When you feel good, you can find strength and courage, and if there's anything positive we can convey through that, like voting, that's our goal."

Monaco says she believes that a positive, proactive stance, as encouraged by the Biddies' campaign, inevitably comes full circle: "If you believe that your vote counts, you're transforming yourself because you're going from a passive stance to a very active stance, and that translates into all aspects of your life."

The Biddies' revel in tearing down walls, loosening channels of energy between the personal and the political, or the band and its audience.

"With us, it's not like theater where you have the fourth wall. It's pretty much open." Monaco says. "We really want to make people happy, and in the process we actually enjoy ourselves very much. We know we couldn't do it without the audience being there, so we're always really in tune with that. It's definitely a group experience."