Betsy:
Betsy grew up singing folk songs with her mom and dad. Her first concert
was Guns and Roses and Metallica’s Day on the Green when she
was fifteen. To put it lightly, the show laid the initial groundwork
for her career as a musician. She has always embraced a very deep
passion for music and feels it’s her way of connecting with
the love and chaos in this thing we call life. When she sings she
feels whole. In the words of the great Ella Fitzgerald, "The
only thing better than singing is more singing."
Her childhood soundtrack consists of inspirations such as Barbra Streisand,
The Carpenters, The Bangles, Mama Cass, The Beatles and an array of
other hip 70’s/80’s artists. The sultry voices of Ella
Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley, Allison Krauss, Kathleen
Edwards, Beth Orton and all of Broadway have been pivotal influences
in Betsy’s musical development.
She embraces all of life’s challenges and uses her experiences
to make the music true and heartfelt. “I like when people cry
or laugh during a song; it means I’m giving them permission
to express their feelings in a world that often makes it hard to feel
what is real.”
Betsy loves performing and looks forward to promoting the Elegant
Clydes new album, “You Get What You Ask For.” "Just
don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there
is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong."
Shavi:
Shavi Started playing guitar in eighth grade after seeing Pegasus
in my head during a fever. He was shooting through the sky pushing
an ocean of sound like an effortless bulldozer. When the sound grew
unbearable, I awoke, jumped up, and ran naked into the street. My
mom chased after me, terrified. I could hear disembodied music from
somewhere.
Life became more intense and beautiful. I started listening to a lot
of Sonic Youth and Velvet Underground. Also, Monk, Coltrane, and Miles
Davis.
Along the way, I got inspired by Kerouac, William Carlos Williams,
Poe, Camus, Etc. I subsequently got lost in Central America and wrote
my first novel, “The Clickfire Machine, or, How I Became a Cicada.”
I earned a degree in music composition and, after several light brushes
with death, developed a pretty okay sense of humor.
Favorite songs: “Little Wing” -Jimi Hendrix, “’Round
Midnight”
-Thelonious Monk
Playlist: Digable Planets- “Blowout comb”, Miles Davis-
“Bitches Brew,”
Jane’s Addiction- “Ritual de lo Habitual”
A dirty secret: I like elevator music
Dan:
Dan is originally from New York State, where he played in bands with
mostly ridiculous names such as Midnight Illusion, Cry Wolf and Citrus
Nightmare. In addition to rocking the bass, Dan has played clarinet
and saxophone in various symphony orchestras and jazz bands and has
sung with Binghamton University’s a cappella group the Rhythm
Method. The blending of Colombian and Irish cultures in his family
has made music a huge part of Dan’s life for as long as he can
remember, and his influences run the gamut from romantic/classical
(Beethoven, Stravinsky, Poulenc) to jazz (John Coltrane, Benny Goodman,
Duke Ellington) to folk (Indigo Girls, Simon & Garfunkel) and
all kinds of rock (R.E.M., Blur, Beatles, Green Day, Tori Amos, Pearl
Jam, PJ Harvey, Gomez, Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters,
Travis, Wilco, and many, many more). Dan also enjoys hablando en español,
teaching, traveling, and watching movies – although he’s
seen one-too-many bad movie trailers.
