Temptress

Rock 'n' Roll --
By John Swenson
United Press International
From the Life & Mind Desk
Published 11/6/2002 1:36 PM

Over the years, the Greenwich Village Halloween parade has become New York's answer to Mardi Gras, an even wilder and more jam-packed street scene than the St. Patrick's Day parade.
After checking it out religiously during the 1970s, I have grown accustomed to avoiding the Halloween parade for the simple reason that there are so many people on the streets to see it that I can't get close to getting a good view -- and there's no way I'm going to wait for hours along the route just to get a look at it.
So when Chuck Garabedian, manager of Halloween parade regulars Temptress, invited me to ride on the lead float with the band this year, I jumped at the opportunity.
Temptress is a tight, punk-influenced quartet that does a lot of roots, Ramones and early rock covers and is fronted by afemale singer/guitarist -- the group's namesake -- who purports to be the inspiration for "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" on the band's outrageous and very humorous Web site.
Chuck told me to expect a wild ride and hinted that Temptress was going to appear in the parade as Shelvis the female Elvis impersonator. My friend Pamela Kenny put together her cameras and bought a fright wig, I dressed in white tails a la Tom Parker with a metal frattoir tie for percussion effects (don't ask me why, it seemed like a good idea at the time) and we knocked off half a bottle of Don Julio tequila before heading to the parade staging area on Sullivan Street south of Houston.
Along the way, people sitting on their stoops mistook us for trick-or-treaters and kept pressing Tootsie Rolls on Pamela, who grinned like a delighted monkey and took every one as if trick-or-treating had been foremost on her mind all along.
Once at the site Temptress -- who looked like the manager of a heavy metal band in his stringy, hay-colored long hair and leather jacket -- greeted us with a gregarious handshake, gave us our laminates and explained that everything was running late as usual.
The float and truck still hadn't arrived, the band wasn't likely to get a sound check and there would be precious little time for a costume change back at the hotel before things started to roll. He assured us that this was all par for the course and the band has played so many of these events before that none of it mattered -- all the preparations could be done on the fly.






We wandered off among the increasingly strange-looking crowd of masked and costumed New Yorkers, returning a little later than Temptress told us to. The float had arrived too late to take position at the lead and in fact turned out to be the last vehicle in the procession after everyone settled in, right behind the guy who rode in the back of a flatbed truck pretending to be Jesus nailed to the cross.
We hopped on the float, which was lined with pink ribbon and the slogan "All Temptress, All the Time," while the band was plugging in and tuning up. Shelvis was on a raised platform in the back of the float, Elvis wig in place, heavily made up and wearing a stylized Elvis jumpsuit top and mini-skirt with a pronounced bulge protruding from the pelvic area.
"Hey Elvis, your panties are showing," someone yelled, "and she shouted back, "You bet -- I'm wearing three pairs!"
I did a double take as I realized that Temptress, who was nowhere in sight, had transformed into Shelvis.
The band -- which also works outside of the Temptress gigs as a punk trio, the Piranha Brothers -- launched into "Little Sister" and the float lurched north on Sixth Avenue.
I played along on my tie-shaped washboard and the crowd on both sides of Sixth Avenue cheered and waved. A raunchy version of "Rock And Roll Nurse" followed and I was having a hell of a time.
As we rolled past the Waverly Theater, Shelvis pointed to the marquee and shouted, "I was inspired by 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' there! Do you know what time it is?" Amazingly, the crowd sang along lustily to that show's great rocker, "Let's Do the Time Warp Again."After the group's bassist led the crowd in another robust sing-along -- this time to the Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" -- Shelvis grabbed the microphone and screamed, "I used to be the King!" as the crowd roared, "but now I'm just a big old Queen!"
The chords to "Jailhouse Rock" rang out and Shelvis dove into his own "Queen for a Day."
As references to "All Shook Up," "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Hound Dog" flew by, fans started climbing up on the float, hanging on the iron railings and pumping their fists in the air. A few charged up to dance with Shelvis on the raised platform.
As the parade neared its end, burly marshals wearing Village Voice T-s - United Press International

TEMPTRESS
back with a vengeance in Toronto





The second appearance of the Boston formed, NY based glam/punk rock band Temptress, or the new face of Rock 'n' Roll as she describes herself, at the NXNE in Toronto reconfirmed their reputation as an act capable of delivering a visual extravaganza. Although the only one left from last years line-up was Temptress herself, he'd chosen the Piranha Brothers from Bronx to back herup plus 2 Canadian girls as the "Nasty Habits" to replace the NY dancers who left good memories

Susan from High School Hookers and CJ Sleez, who also has her own band the STD's, both from Hamilton, ON, went through numerous costume changes and left the impression they'd always performed with Temptress. It was only their 2nd gig with herthough, the 1st being their showcase at the El Mocambo the previous night. They appeared with short dresses up 'til their crotches shakin' butts in rhythm and singing back-ups. Temptress was dressed in white pantyhose, lamay shorts and red high heels.

When she turned his back to the audience of 500, a sign 'Temptress Rocks' written at the back of the shorts was visible. She also had er guitar with 'I'm the Anti Spice' written on it, known from last year's shows at NXNE. He went through songs from her new CD with cool cover design 'Wizard of Odd' like "Hollywood' and 'Switch It' delivering them with the characteristic passion she's known for. 'Hollywood' could be a big hit if played on the radio.


As Temptress told me after the show she's decided to bring some funky punky elements into the music hiring the Piranha Bros. who have opened for herin the States and with the other members busy with different projects she uses their help in presenting the show to the Canadian public. They proved to be a tight hard rockin' outfit with an exceptional drummer at the top of his game and accomplished singers.



But Susan and CJ Sleez grabbed the audience' attention appearing half-naked in black bikinis and bras. The blonde CJ had some tattoos on her white legs and belly and was shakin' her goodies passionately as did the black-haired Susan. At one point they grabbed some whips and started flogging each other lightly then went off stage and offered the fans the same. Quite a few of them experienced the whips and some even pulled their pants down and tried them on their bums which was quite funny and entertaining. One of them was Teddy Fury, the drummer of the Royal Crowns and a Horseshoe bartender.

Although Temptress looks like a comic book characterin fact she's a married woman with a family trying to spice up the audience' experience. And she succeeds in this direction given the fact that she's appeared on major US TV shows such as Joan Rivers, Jenny Jones, Howard Stern, Maury Povich, Sally and Jerry Springer. Temptress also held the world record for playing before the most people in a single day in front of 2.6 million New Yorkers on Halloween 1997, between appearances on Howard Stern, Regis and Kathy Lee and the Greenwich Village Halloween parade, a result they will try to improve in the near future. Their website www.temptressrocks.com is quite well done with the sound clip for "Hollywood' being the best designed i have seen on the Web and a variety of different links.


One would say ' Pure entertainment'.

- Chart Attack

Earbuzz.com Review

Temptress is the ultimate party rock band.
Songs are fun, full of hooks, laughs, and very upbeat..
'Bondage turns me on, leather holds so strong, romance is not my cup of tea, hang around with a kinky girllike me,.. I'll crack my whip and you'll submit'. hard rocking, and banging the sound waves with aggressive rhythms and distorted guitars, comes trashy poppy, Temptress.

. Musicianship and production are first rate - songs are quirky and envelope pushing fun - the style is speed rock/punk/pop with a danceable dessert for the last tracks.

Writing is pure pop candy pleasure in opening track "Pills", the chorus is Archies meet Kiss, confusing everyone, while chronicling our hospital bed bound hero's submission to his pill providing nurse, '..doctor why can't you see, I don't understand what she's doing to me, she gives me the shots, she gives me the pills, she gives me this junk against my will', mp3'd here. Track 10, "Working Girl", is another great example of Temptress' pure pop prostitute pleasures with a hook, like most of the other songs, that you can not get the chorus out of your head whether you like it or not (and most will be secretly glad).

The final track, "Higher On Fire", is a house mix that opens with a full minute of a teenager's phone sex session being interrupted by his mother's callings - wonderfully demented.

. this is the party CD of the week? year? millenium? unabashed and presented in the spirit of what makes rock so everlasting - great music, pure pop sense, and a dedication to humor and gender bending fun that is unsurpassed.
- Earbuzz

Earbuzz.com Review

Temptress is the ultimate party rock band.
Songs are fun, full of hooks, laughs, and very upbeat..
'Bondage turns me on, leather holds so strong, romance is not my cup of tea, hang around with a kinky girllike me,.. I'll crack my whip and you'll submit'. hard rocking, and banging the sound waves with aggressive rhythms and distorted guitars, comes trashy poppy, Temptress.

. Musicianship and production are first rate - songs are quirky and envelope pushing fun - the style is speed rock/punk/pop with a danceable dessert for the last tracks.

Writing is pure pop candy pleasure in opening track "Pills", the chorus is Archies meet Kiss, confusing everyone, while chronicling our hospital bed bound hero's submission to his pill providing nurse, '..doctor why can't you see, I don't understand what she's doing to me, she gives me the shots, she gives me the pills, she gives me this junk against my will', mp3'd here. Track 10, "Working Girl", is another great example of Temptress' pure pop prostitute pleasures with a hook, like most of the other songs, that you can not get the chorus out of your head whether you like it or not (and most will be secretly glad).

The final track, "Higher On Fire", is a house mix that opens with a full minute of a teenager's phone sex session being interrupted by his mother's callings - wonderfully demented.

. this is the party CD of the week? year? millenium? unabashed and presented in the spirit of what makes rock so everlasting - great music, pure pop sense, and a dedication to humor and gender bending fun that is unsurpassed.
- Earbuzz