Velvette

Where did your band name come from?
Random band name generator.

Group members?
Martin Tavaya (vocals), Ally Cowell (vocals), Dan Tonkovic (bass), Adrian Tonkovic (drums), Liam Wilson (keys), Daniel Miller (guitar).

Describe your sound:
Fresh and energetic; a fusion of funk, soul, r ‘n’ b and hip-hop. We will have you mesmerised with our live funk hip to the hop sound.

Who are your influences, musical or otherwise?
Anything that grooves, vibes, and feels good.

What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had whilst performing?
Not really weird, but it was funny having the lion from Madagascar groovin’ to us at the Tuggeranong Festival in 2009.

What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far?
Recording our debut album Velvelution in our own studio and having people like Mark Webber (CIT) who mixed our CD and Don Bartley (The Saints, Savage Garden) who mastered it, saying “this sounds great! I don’t have to do much…”

What are your plans for the future?
Playing more shows and writing/recording another CD. At the moment Dan’s doing an Urban Compilation CD, which will feature some of Canberra’s premium urban acts.

What makes you laugh?
Gotta say auto-tune – it’s on EVERYTHING these days (even our stuff, haha).

What pisses you off?
Being badly sunburnt under a tent/tarp at a Christmas gig.

What’s your opinion of the local scene?
It’s really diverse, so many great bands and acts in Canberra, in all the different genres.

What are your upcoming gigs?
O Week at the ANU (held over Monday-Friday February 15-19) and at King O’Malley’s on Friday February 26.

Contact info: Ally Cowell – 0419420727

velvetteband@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/velvetteband