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Whole lotta Lava
Childhood friends Robyn Celia and Andrea Brown are getting lots of attention with Lava Baby, their girl (plus guy) group that combines hooky songs with zippy guitar solos — and cute outfits.
By ROBIN EISGRAU
Offoffoff.com
Music that's perfect for the summer months is of the order with Lava Baby.
This New York-based quintet has sunny harmonies and heated-up energy
coursing through their tunes.
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| LAVA BABY |
Robyn Celia (vocals, guitar)
Andrea Brown (drums)
Jen "Salsa" Salzman (keyboards, vocals)
Peter Cole (bass)
Marc Piovanetti (guitar).
Related links:
Official site
| Sound files
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The group's musical collaboration goes back to grade-school, when the inseparable third-graders Robyn Celia and Andrea Brown penned the cheerfully titled "People Love People." Through high school, they honed their skills, Robyn singing and picking up guitar, and Andrea learning the drums in her parents' basement. After a couple of separate pursuits and an attempt at a post-high-school disco band, they started playing rock gigs and eventually hooked up with keyboardist Jennifer "Salsa" Salzman, bassist Peter Cole and guitarist Marc Piovanetti. And then, notes their official bio, it was time to "go shopping for stage outfits."
Lava Baby's music is unabashedly poppy but by
no means lightweight. Songs from their debut CD "In The Right Place" have
hooks galore and instrumental arrangements with just the right amount of
complexity to let the band members show off their skills. Robyn Celia and
Marc Piovanetti's guitars, especially on "Wide Awake," have a
tasty-to-the-ears crunch and Salzman's keyboards sparkle on "Afraid
Of The Future." Vocally, Robyn and Andrea sound sweet and strong, as
they display impressive range and color, especially on "Water Sign." Their
woman-spurned song "Typical Man" has a resolute, clear-eyed
dusting-myself-off-and-forgetting-about-you feel woven through its
harmonies and keyboards. "Hell Is Heaven" features some blistering solos.
If Lava Baby's name sounds familiar, perhaps you've seen them on the VH1
program "break.through" or read the full-page article on them in a recent
Village Voice. This summer they'll be playing some Jersey Shore towns as
part of the Radio Disney summer tour and opening some dates for Kink Dave
Davies. On the 20th at Elbow Room you can catch them at a great place to
hear music. Years later when they headline much bigger venues, you can say
you saw them when.
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JULY 10, 2001
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
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