SexyPigDivas

SexyPigDivas

MEET THE BAND: Nick Gregg (guitar, vocals, drums) and Katie Mikita (piano, vocals, drums)

MARRIED LIFE: The multi-instrumentalist husband/wife duo Nicky Beatnick and Katie Cat formed this art rock band while the two were still taking classes at Kent State. "It's kind of funny because neither of us ever expected to be in a band with one another," says Gregg. "We are high school sweethearts. Katie happens to be classically trained in piano, and I had been bugging her to play with my bands since we were kids." Eventually, Gregg's band broke up, and the two began playing together. "We quickly realized that we were connecting in a deep musical way. I think the way Katie's classical piano compositions sounded with drums and guitar made her want to keep playing and start a band together. At first, we did have the issue of not being able to play songs I wrote on guitar because Katie didn't play drums and we didn't have a third person to fill in. After some very persistent coaxing, Katie now plays drums when I play guitar, and I play drums when Katie plays piano."

A PEDAL FILE: Gregg uses a variety of guitar pedals and writes about his likes and dislikes on his blog, thepedalfile.com. "I have a lot of fun doing [the blog]," he says, adding that the first pedal that changed his world was the Bit Commander made by local pedal heroes, Earthquaker Devices. "[The blog] serves as my outlet, so Katie doesn't go mad listening to me talk about pedals. I got into pedals because I was always drawn to gadgets and manipulating sound. They just seemed so cool and mysterious to me, and they opened up a world of sounds that I didn't know was available to guitars. I started out slowly, but I now run a board of 10 to 12 pedals plus a looper with about one-third of it being made up of selections from Earthquaker."

WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR THEM: Recorded at UHF Studios and mastered locally at Cauliflower Audio, the band's third album, Gods & Ritual Objects, features crisp synth-pop sounds that recall the alt-rock group Garbage. "White Collar Criminal" starts with twangy guitars that devolve into heavy metal riffage and pounding drums. "You're Swimming in the Barrel That I'm Shooting" features distorted guitars and manic vocals as Gregg sings, "We've been watching you," over and over. Gregg says the "state of the world" inspired many of the tunes. "The word 'moody' comes up a lot when people hear these songs, and, actually, the word 'moody' comes up a lot when people hear us in general now," he says. "We have been heading in that direction for a while I guess. We hope people can connect with us and our music and find something meaningful and surprising. I hope they feel like they are hearing something unique, maybe something they haven't heard before." The band plays to release a followup to Gods & Ritual Objects later this year.

WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM:

sexypigdivas.com.

WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM: Sexypigdivas perform with Holy Rivals at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, at Stone Tavern at Michel's in Kent. - Cleveland Scene Magazine

Innovative groove makers SexyPigDivas! are a trio comprised of Katie and Nick hailing from Kent, Ohio. Gods & Ritual Objects was released in November of 2016. And has been capturing the imagination of not only music fans, but even film makers ever since. “Gods and Rituals” EP.

Beginning everything is the instrumental “Beautiful Aftermath”. It’s an electric Garden of Eden soundscape free of any corrosion or death. Like a synthetic cloud that’s equally beautiful and mesmerizing. Katie lends her vocals to “I Miss You”. Each verse and sound as seductive as a siren wrapping you up so tight around their little finger. “I Miss You T(w)O(o)” plays off the previous track effortlessly. If the siren you were being wrapped around then pulled you off slowly. It’s winding and mysterious in its execution. Almost like this beautiful world they’ve created has something far more sinister just beginning to peck out. You wait in horrors and anticipation for what’s next. Growing even bleaker, but no less lovely, is the instrumental tracks “Let Them Speak” and “Temperature”. This whole new world is darkened now. You can feel the creatures of it surrounding you and you’re paralyzed with fascination. Both track really engulf you never in an exhausting way, but rather one that’s so captivating. The jangling guitar is the backbone of “White Collar Criminal”. It’s almost swashbuckling. Eerie voices can be heard in the background giving these fragmented passages and shrieks. Once again, everything is so left field you’ll find yourself searching for some semblance of understanding. Nick adds downright evil vocals with “You’re Swimming in the Barrel I’m Shooting”. The notes are sharp as knives that send shivers down your spine every second. Making your hair stand on end. ‘We’ve been watching you’ is repeated over and over again. Dread is completely set in. And you’ve been found in a world you couldn’t escape. And possibly weren’t wanted in the first place.

Richard Murray

POW! Magazine - POW Magazine

The multi-instrumentalist husband/wife duo Nicky Beatnick and Katie Cat formed this art rock band while the two were still taking classes at Kent State. While many a band that forms in college breaks up, they've kept at it and have followed up their 2011 debut Eating Square Grapes at Circle Pyramids with this nifty 5-song EP. The disc commences with the brooding, Pixies-like "City Life" and then dramatically shifts musical gears for the cinematic "(No) Dreams Before We Die," a song that compares favorably to Bjork. "Mudslides" features terrific harmony vocals and steadily increases in intensity. The group simmers down a bit for "The Great Divide," but the band is at its best when delivering jittery indie pop rock that manically mixes and blends genres. — Jeff Niesel - Cleveland Scene Magazine

“Kent Ohio-based Sexy Pig Divas blindside’s us with a fresh sophisticated new EP in “Robota. ” Driven by a rich base of pretty piano and intimate gritty guitars, songs like “City Life” churn out crafty progressions with a half smidgen of Western Alt-Country using haunting blended harmonies blanketed in vintage reverb.”

“Offering up a few different vocal sounds that are integrated nicely into well-mixed cohesive sound-amalgams; it’s almost impossible to hear the instrumental seams. The spooky classical piano staggered throughout this dense collection of songs really demonstrates the multi-flavored character of the SPD sound. “Robota” is one of those records that doesn’t ask to be liked, and it doesn’t ask if it’s good music; at first listen… it’s evident.

Jimmy Fro - Jimmy Fro Podcast

Meet the Band: Nick Gregg (guitar, vocals, drums) and Katie Mikita (piano, vocals, drums)

Newlyweds: The Kent couple formed Sexy Pig Divas after the previous band they were both playing in broke up. After an "intimate relationship with [their] music and each other," Gregg and Mikita recently tied the knot.

Big Sound, Little Band: "We pull it off by having one of us play a melodic instrument while the other backs with drums," Gregg says of the two-person setup. "We basically become a new band upon switching places, sometimes in the middle of a song."

Are You Experienced? Gregg and Mikita like to connect with their fans on an emotional level, making each show its own musical journey. "We present the audience with an experience," says Gregg.

Why You Should Hear Them: The group's diverse sound — Regina Spektor-like pop on some songs, shoegaze-style rock with Dave Grohl-ish howls on others — makes for wide appeal. They're surprisingly expansive for a low-fi indie duo.

Where You Can Hear Them:

facebook.com/sexypigdivas

Where You Can See Them:

At the Grog Shop on January 13 and

at Bela Dubby on January 24.

— Alexander Hall - Cleveland Scene Magazine

Further proof you can’t judge a band by its name: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear of the group Sexy Pig Divas?

Perhaps an electro jam-band, a boring rap ’n’ roll act or maybe a joke heavy-metal group. The truth is the Sexy Pig Divas, which was named after a TV commercial, is a husband-wife duo, which in the past has garnered comparisons to Fiery Furnaces, Radiohead, The Beta Band and Explosions in the Sky.

“It’s hard to say, really, because we change things around,” said Nick Gregg (guitar, drums, vocals). “I play guitar, and my wife [Katherine Mikita] plays drums, or she plays piano and I play drums. So it really changes from that configuration. With her, it’s kind of more pretty and emotional and Fiona Apple or Tori Amos. We both sing and do harmonies and stuff.”

Furthermore, the Kent-based twosome of Mikita and Gregg, who met as juniors at Boardman High School in 2003, has become the talk of the Northeast Ohio indie-rock scene with their debut effort, “Eating Square Grapes at Circle Pyramids.” Remember what we said about book judging and covers? Keep an open mind.

Now Sexy Pig Divas is busy at work on a new EP, of which it hopes to release a demo version when it plays Saturday night at the Lemon Grove.

“The first album is kind of like where we were at the beginning when we started playing,” Gregg said. “It’s a little darker and at times a little slow, but not in a bad way. Where we’re going now is still dark but a little bit more driving and a little more dance kind of thrown into it. We got a synthesizer recently, so we’re kind of getting into a little bit of electronic music as well.”

New tracks the band expects to play at its upcoming show are “[No] Dreams Before We Die,” featuring Mikita on piano and lead vocals, as well as “Mudslides.” The latter track is slower and finds Gregg singing lead vocals and playing guitar.

As for Sexy Pig Divas, the duo formed in 2008 and has been a staple regionally with its sites set on an East Coast tour later this year or in early 2013.

“My wife and I are very passionate about what we do,” Gregg said. “We take it very seriously, and we definitely still have that dream of it becoming something bigger. We do it just because we love it. Like if nothing happened, we’d still do what we’re doing. We’re just trying to make the focus of our lives be music.”

Then there’s the husband-wife dynamic, which in some marriages could prove problematic after a bad show or a case of writer’s block. Gregg stressed the Sexy Pig Divas don’t have this problem. However, on occasion, there are some audience members who question their unity. Thank you, Jack White.

“We’ve gotten the sister-brother thing before,” Gregg said. “Generally, I think it’s sort of apparent if you see us play we have a certain intimacy and a certain bond that we share.” - The Vindicator