Featured Musicians for H*tler's Tasters
Sir Babygirl
The pseudonymme of DIY pop diva/producer Kelsie Hogue, Sir Babygirl mixes and matches inspirations as sundry as Charli XCX, Hole, Hey Arnold!, and Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! into unabashedly bubblegum, unashamedly queer pop for a future free of genre boundary and the gender binary.
Born in Silicon Valley and raised in Hanover, New Hampshire, Sir Babygirl collected slumber party guests in the form of the bass, piano, guitar, along with formally studying voice. After attending Boston University’s School of Theater, she began to synthesize all her interests in the local Allston scene—fronting a hardcore bubblegum band, collaborating with local musicians, and tinkering with self-production on demos that would lead her to Sir Babygirl project.
Sir Babygirl quickly swapped diploma for a microphone to explore Chicago’s DIY and comedy scenes, but was ultimately visited in a dream by pop princesses Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and dear departed high priestess Whitney Houston. The three divinities implored: pop was the pure plastic expression and cartoon catharsis for which Sir Babygirl was meant.
She returned home to the woods of New Hampshire to convert her childhood bedroom into a makeshift studio. Little by little, she applied her sharpening musical tools to emerging past selves, childhood traumas, and a joyous curiosity for herself. Along her journey, she discovered the sugar-rush sweet spot between melodic emo confessionalism, cartoon character plastic-is-fantastic vocals, and PC music-adjacent synthpop fantasia.
Spud Cannon
Formed in the fall of 2016, Vassar College’s Spud Cannon originally came together as a group of complete strangers. Setting out to make their own brand of “music you could dance to at a dormitory basement party”, they quickly developed a repertoire of original material and began playing house parties.
After winning Vassar College’s Battle of the Bands, the band flew out to Los Angeles to cut their debut record in 7 days in guitarist Jackson Lewis’s basement. While there, they played a lone gig at the Peppermint Club that while sparsely attended, earned them the fandom of one attendee: Actor Gary Oldman. Appreciating their raucous upbeat sound, which literally shattered glass-wear due to the noise level, Oldman lent his voice to the album’s opening track.
Ahead of their album release, they released a music video for their song “Thrum a Dum”. “Next Time Read the Fine Print” was self-released on October 21st 2017, and became a surprise DIY sleeper hit on the college radio circuit, peaking at #24 in the North American College Radio top 200.
Bandcamp: https://spudcannon.bandcamp.com/
Merch: https://spudcannon.bandcamp.com/merch
Website: https://spudcannonband.com/
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/spud-cannon/1223243009
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6tIGv1B5IXtjtwHndklV4u
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spudcannonband/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/spudcannonband
Pretty Polly
Experimental visual/performance artists and musicians, Sarah Lawrence & Elizabeth Olear are the semi-satan worshipping duo that make up Pretty Polly. Fueled by the traditions of folklore and with a rockabilly sound, and a freak twist. Pretty Polly tells tales of the loss of innocence; the power of the female mind, body, and spirit; and f*cking shit up. Not suitable for all audiences, viewer discretion is (UN)advised. @_prettypolly_
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Hurray for the Riff Raff is an Indie rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana formed by Alynda Segarra. Segarra draws inspiration from cult favorite Rodriguez, a Mexican-American who translated working-class stories from Detroit into powerful rock ballads, and the Ghetto Brothers, an underground band from the 1970s South Bronx who stitched Puerto Rican nationalist messages into a rough-hewn fabric of Santana and Sly and the Family Stone Afro-Caribbean funk. She reached back to her cultural ancestors in the form of the radical political group the Young Lords and the salsa singer Héctor Lavoe.
For more info: http://site.hurrayfortheriffraff.com/tour/
Ellen Winter
Ellen Winter creates new work in music, theater and the in-between. Most recently, she co-wrote/composed/directed musical podcast 36 Questions with her writing partner Chris Littler. It stars Jonathan Groff and Jessie Shelton, and was produced by Two-Up Productions. She's also 1/5 of nerd-rock group Chamber Band, and together they've made three albums and adventured on three national tours. In the world of theater, she's had the joy of working with Dave Malloy, Heather Christian, The Bengsons, Mark Bennett, and César Alvarez. She's also performed her music at Rough Trade, Ars Nova, The Knitting Factory, The Tank, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Pete’s Candy Store, and many a Sofar show. This past year, she had the sheer pleasure of embarking upon the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and a residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm. She's a member of The Daughters Collective and The Story Pirates. Also - a proud alum of Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Sarah Lawrence College.
Currently, she's in the throes of post-production for her debut album, Every Feeling. And this year, Chris and Ellen are Resident Artists in Ars Nova's Maker's Lab, where they're writing a musical thriller called Monster Hit.
Visit her website: http://www.ellenwintermakesthings.com/
Amy Leon
Amy Leon is a musician, poet, and educator.
She performs frequently all over New York and has toured numerous times across the UK performing in collaboration with the likes of the BBC, Roundhouse, Amnesty International and more.
An alumna of the Nuyorican Slam Team, she fuses music and poetry through powerfully transparent performances focusing on social inequalities and celebrating love, blackness, and what it means to be woman.
She is the author of two collections of poetry: the water under the bridge and Mouth Full of Concrete and just released her debut album Something Melancholy available now on all listening platforms!
Visit her website: https://www.amyleon.com/