Back to Life

Back to life... back to (what passes for) reality!

This week began with some much needed relaxation time and I had a lovely couple of days not really doing a hell of a lot, just relaxing on the sofa, watching movies and catching up on missed sleep. I've been on a mission to reclaim my flexibility and I've been stretching every night for the last couple of weeks - I've already just about got my right leg splits back, and I'm working on the left. I've never been able to do box splits because of my stupid hips, but I'm glad to see that the flexibility I had in college hasn't gone too far!

On Wednesday evening I joined the fabulous Miss Danni Dee at Freedom in Soho as the guest of the The Danni Dee show. It was great fun, with a hugely enthusiastic audience, and Taz came along with Jess from Burlesque on Ice to cheer me along, which was lovely!

Montage from Jess!

Mirror Picture! With Miss Danni Dee!

At the weekend I was back with the House of Magic family for a Bloody Valentines themed show - I was singing before the main show and covered myself in blood from a heart I pulled out of my chest!

My Bloody Valentine!

I love working at the House of Magic - it's a glorious, bonkers, lovely place to be and it's so far from anything I've ever done that I can't help but adore every moment!

Selfie! With Beulah Bell!

And that's about all for this week - I have a couple of exciting plans coming up for the week ahead, and hoping that shortly some plans I put in motion a few weeks ago will finally reap rewards, but that's all in the future, and for now I'm going to curl up and attempt to fight off this imminent cold with lashings of Beechams and ibuprofen!

x

New Experiences

Back in January, I promised myself this would be a year of new experiences... and I certainly lived up to that this week!

Earlier in the week I met up with one of my best Burlesque friends, Glorian Gray, and headed across to Queensway Ice Rink... Having not been ice skating for around fifteen years I wasn't even expecting to be able to stay upright but I amazed myself by the end of the session by learning how to (briefly) skate on one leg, go round in a spiral, and (sort of) skate backwards!

Off Ice Skating with Glorian Gray

A couple of days later I achieved a New Years Resolution I had made myself in 2012 - I hosted a show! I have wanted to host for a long time but it's a difficult thing to get into: a host is the most important part of a show as they hold everything together, get the audience on side, make sure everyone is prepared for each act and be an entertainer themselves. While there are newcomer nights for performers, there are no such nights for hosts, so it's very much a 'sink or swim' situation.

While I have no problem singing on stage, I've always been reluctant to speak as I hate the sound of my own voice - I feel like I sound like a posh twelve-year old! However I am never one to shy away from a challenge so when I was offered the opportunity to host a Friday night at the gorgeous Privee Knightsbridge, I grabbed at it with both hands!

Mirror Picture! With Victoria at Privee

I'm not going to say I was perfect, because obviously I wasn't, but you know what - I did okay! I had a few stomach churning moments; being told by a table of women to 'F**k off' halfway through a song, and no one standing up for the planned audience participation - and I will admit that those moments really threw me. However for the most part everyone seemed to enjoy the show - my songs went well, I remembered everything I'd planned to say and surprised myself by actually being a little bit funny! I even had a couple of people after the show ask for my business card with regard to booking me for their company corporate parties!!

And that's about it for this week - I'll leave you with a couple of my favourite pictures from a recent shoot with Taz Zebrowski Photography.

xx

 

  

 

Month of May

Oh it's been ages since I last posted: I'm getting really rubbish at this blog malarkey aren't I? And I used to be so good!

Well this month I have performed at a private party for a lovely lady - I got to sing in a gorgeous venue with a stellar cast and a free champagne and cocktail bar (perfect!)

The Cabaret Marquee

Singing: I think this was 'Son of a Preacher Man'... maybe...

It was such an honour to perform alongside a completely wonderful cast, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Our backstage barn! With Missy Malone, Carrie Ann, Kittie Klaw, Dusty Limits, Vicky Butterfly and Mat Ricardo

The following week I was back with The Burlesque Show in Weston-Super-Mare: I didn't get many pictures, but the show was fantastic and the audience were wonderful and welcoming.

Signed performer photos adorning the walls of the Green Room

This weekend I performed for the first time at the gorgeous Privee in Knightsbridge, where I entertained the audience with a couple of cheeky songs. It is a beautiful venue and I was made to feel so welcome - hopefully my first visit of many!

Then on Saturday I headed up to Birmingham for one of my favourite little shows, Dr. Sketchy's: I went prepared this time with paper and drawing materials to do some sketching (as the name implies!) and had a lovely time, especially since Frankie Lynn was both performing and exhibiting wares from her Emporium, and I haven't seen this beautiful lady for far too long!

With Frankie Lynn

The Victoria in Birmingham is filled with weird and wonderful pieces of art like this

My doodles of the day: Frankie Lynn and Mysti Vine

In other news: several months ago I had a photoshoot for The Noise Next Door, and this is the finished result!

The Noise Next Door poster

The poster is for their Edinburgh Fringe show and it promises to be a fabulous one, so if you are planning on popping up to the Fringe this year, make time to go and see it!

And finally: this happened:

 

Back to Brunette

I've back to my natural brunette! This was for a variety of reasons: the upkeep on blonde was a nightmare - I'd only ever get about a week of it looking lush before prickles of roots began to come through and I'd have to endure several weeks of looking like a badger before I could redo them. Also, the bleach was ruining my hair - when I began dying it blonde my hair was around shoulder length and over the last year I've had to go shorter and shorter as the dye made my hair brittle and breakable.

I will admit I do miss being blonde - it took me so long to get it to the colour I wanted it, and I had planned to keep it that way for as long as possible, but this way, hopefully, I'll be able to let it grow and get healthy again.

And here's what I was up to this time last year: fun fun!

xx

Interview - Coco Malone

Ladies and Gentlemen; introducing Coco Malone - Jazz songbird and Cabaret darling. Based in the North West of England she can often be found travelling the length and breadth of the country gracing many a stage. She also performs with her fabulous band "Root and Groove Element"

Trained in song and dance from a young age and having had much experience performing for both intimate and large audiences she can soothe away your cares with classic jazz or knock you off your feet with a dazzling showtune. You'll certainly be left wanting more...

You'll certainly be left wanting more...

Photographer Credit: Kate Donovan

What was your first experience of Burlesque and Cabaret, and what inspired you to start yourself?

I've always been fascinated by years gone by and it probably stems, in part, from my love of old Hollywood musicals. From a musical point, my love of jazz goes right back to listening to my dad's vinyl when I was young. I can remember being about 5 years old and dancing round the living room to Ray Charles and Nat King Cole. Putting all of that together, I was one of those children who annoyed their parents by always wanting to put on 'shows', which they'd politely have to endure on a regular basis!

About 5 years ago, my interest lead me to burlesque and the first show I attended was Carnival Divine in Manchester - I LOVED it! Then followed a burlesque workshop with Bella Besame, which I also loved!I'd always planned on going to study dance and performing arts but my life took a very different turn and I ended up having my two children by the age of 19. After staying at home with them for their first few years, I trained to be then worked as a neonatal intensive care nurse but never really felt that was what I was 'supposed' to be doing. I was desperate to sing and dance again but I'd lost pretty much all of my confidence and self belief. To cut a long story short my dance teachers (I still attended lessons) showed faith in me, supported me and put me back on a stage to sing. One of the the most terrifying, yet liberating moments of my life. The rest, as the saying goes, is history!

"(My debut) was one of the most terrifying yet liberating moments of my life."

You are one of the premier Cabaret singer on the scene – how do you choose which songs to sing?

One of the premier cabaret singers on the scene? Haha! That's nice! Oh, songs! There are so many of them! Plain and simply, the songs I sing are the songs I love. I feel very lucky in that I'm rarely asked to sing songs that I don't identify with. I suppose because I'm a jazz / soul singer, people expect me to sing jazz and soul. I've never, thankfully, been asked to sing any N-Dubz and I don't anticipate that happening any time soon!
Sometimes, people will ask for specific songs, but most of the time I'm left to compile my own set lists and that's sometimes down to the kind of venue / show / audience but mostly down to what I fancy doing on the night! My current favourite to sing is 'Teach Me Tonight'.

My current favourite song is 'Teach me Tonight'

Photographer Credit: InaGlo Photography

Not many people realise you also used to perform as a Burlesque Dancer. What brought about the move away from dancing to performing solely as a Singer?

Ah, you have a good memory. I did indeed do a short spell, performing as a burlesque dancer, right back at the beginning. It was probably only for about six months – one year. It felt like there was too much to focus on - choosing songs, singing, rehearsing, choreography, costuming, etc. Also, I wanted the audience (and myself) to be clear on who I was as a performer - I felt like I was spreading myself too thinly so decided to focus solely on singing. I did used to sing a lot of show tunes too but unless I'm specifically asked, I now just stick to jazz and soul. Even though all of this was a big reason for moving away from burlesque performing, there was another underlying reason - my propensity for being a perfectionist! In pretty much all areas of my life, I'm a person who will do something to a ridiculous degree and want to be the very best - or I won't do it at all. And burlesque performing was no different. I had a pretty solid background in dance, in the form of ballet and jazz, and I considered myself to be 'ok' when it came to burlesque but if I couldn't do it as well as the performers I loved (namely Anna Fur Laxis, Missy Malone and Vicky Butterfly) then I didn't want to do it at all. And that was that.

"I'm a person who will do something to a ridiculous degree and I want to be the very best."

Photographer Credit: InaGlo Photography

Who are your biggest influences and inspirations?

My biggest influences - they would be Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Dinah Washington, Bessie Smith and Amy Winehouse. I love so many more but theirs are the songs I listen to the most. It's their music that frequently moves me to tears and makes me feel something that I couldn't and wouldn't want to put into words. And that's one of my biggest motivations for songwriting and performing - I want the audience to be able to share in that feeling. I hope they do.......

 

Billie Holliday ** Sarah Vaughan

 

Ray Charles ** Dinah Washington

 

Bessie Smith ** Amy Winehouse

Tell us a little about your favourite experiences so far

Wow, trying to find favourite experiences is hard! I love so much of it. Getting to perform in places like Paris and Rome has been amazing but I've had equally wonderful times here in the UK. Being able to walk into a dressing room anywhere and instantly being able to have a wonderful time with people - I've made so many good friends whose creativity is so inspiring. Although, Julien Macdonald was in the audience once and gave me some personal styling tips after my performance - that was pretty cool!

"Julien Macdonald...gave me personal styling tips!"
Photographer Credit: Scott Chalmers Photography

Tell me something no one would suspect about you

I can tell you a couple of things no one would suspect about me! I'm afraid of the dark and have slept with the landing light and the radio on and the covers right over my head ever since first watching ET when I was about 5 years old! Also, I am a MASSIVE Whitesnake fan. I think I just felt like I needed to confess that!

I'm afraid of the dark!

Finally; any words of advice for newcomers to the scene?

I always feel flattered and honoured when a new singer comes to me for advice. I give them as much support as I can - because of some negativity I experienced when starting out. It can be a daunting experience, moving into the performing world and I couldn't do anything else but try and make that a little easier for someone else. I would say, though, know your strengths and limitations and work with these. In my opinion, everyone has a talent, they just lie in different places. Keep working on your performance, watch the performers who inspire you, go to see lots of shows, ask lots of questions and be prepared to work hard - it's worth it!

"Know your strengths and limitations... be prepared to work hard - it's worth it!"

Photographer Credit: Darkstar Imaging

More Coco

Coco's Website
Follow Coco on Twitter
Like Coco on Facebook
Coco and her band on SoundCloud

Interview - Lili La Scala

Lili la Scala is one of the UK's top female cabaret comperes, much in demand for her quirky vintage style and nightingale voice, able to whip the crowd into a frenzy whilst keeping them hanging on her every word or note. From classical training, through street performing to burlesque, Lili's exceptional journey has made her the versatile performer she is today. As well as hosting shows, Lili is well known for her love of vintage songs and has several successful solo shows under her belt: 'War Notes' which enjoyed international success and also the award-winning & internationally acclaimed 'Songs to Make You Smile'. Her own variety shows, 'Another F*cking Variety Show' and 'The Gilded Lili Variety Revue' have received rave reviews and have had their stages graced by some of the world's top variety and burlesque artists. When she's not telling audiences what to do, Lili enjoys sphynx cats, high heels and hoarding vintage clothing and music.

Lili La Scala: The Songbird of Trafalgar Square

What was your first experience of Burlesque or Cabaret and what convinced you to start yourself?

I first experienced cabaret back in 2006, I saw La Clique at the Edinburgh Fringe. I was a street performer at the time, a busking opera singer, and many of the acts in La Clique were street performers too. The jump from street to stage came on the suggestion of a friend who ran a burlesque night and wanted something different. He persuaded me to combine opera and striptease, which was a a fabulous suggestion as, at the time, there wasn't anyone else doing that sort of thing.

Lili's exceptional journey has made her the versatile performer she is today

Tell us a little about your favourite experiences so far

The travelling has been amazing, I've seen some fabulous places and done shows at really great festivals. I particularly love the Adelaide Fringe as it is always a marvellous month of shows with great audiences and dear friends.

"A friend suggested I combine Opera and Striptease, which was a fabulous suggestion!"

Who or what are the influences/inspirations behind your performances?

I tend to take inspiration from music rather than people. Although I have retired my burlesque routines now, I used to find an aria that I loved and then build an act around it. Now, I do one woman shows of vintage songs, the shows create themselves depending on the music that I unearth. Costume-wise, I love old movies, so sometimes I'll see a costume in a movie and take inspiration from that. My most recent costume was originally based on the Milady de Winter from The Three Musketeers meets old carnival.

 

Lili takes her inspiration from operatic arias and old movies

Have you ever had any stage nightmares?

Radio mics always give me nightmares. It's always a problem when techs forget to turn them on, or the frequency hasn't been checked or the battery dies. It's always a tense time until I know it's working.

"Radio Mics always give me nightmares"

Where do you see yourself in the future?

Hosting shows of mine own and for others, creating one-woman vintage song shows, producing other performers solo shows and bringing up a baby whilst maintaining my current level of glam!!

"ravishing retro glamour" The Telegraph

Tell me something no-one would suspect about you...

I'm really, really good at decorating. When I was younger and not getting on with singing I actually considered being a decorator! Can you imagine?

"When I was younger... I actually considered being a decorator!"

Any words of advice for newcomers to the Burlesque and Cabaret scene?

It's a dance not a race, a marathon not a sprint. Take your time, perfect your art. Be meticulous. Don't steal ideas, borrow inspiration. Get off your fucking arse and work hard.

"It's a dance, not a race... Get off your fucking arse and work hard."

More Lili

Lili's Website

Follow Lili on Twitter

Lili on Facebook

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

This week has been quite a quiet one, really - I have spent a lot of time on my admin and applications, as now I've moved to London, I've made it my mission to try and get an acting agent again (I was part of an agency when I graduated from college, however they disbanded a few years ago and it's difficult to get a new one!)

I began planning my new act this week - I'm very excited for it as the music is so upbeat and fun, and it will hopefully be quite a spectacular routine. I also updated my website and, after receiving some lovely feedback when I sang last week, recorded a couple of songs to go on there Alongside this, I've set up a SoundCloud account which has had quite a lot of visits already.

Singing at Proud Cabaret last week - Photo by Jen Dale

I have a couple of interviews and auditions lined up for this week, so my 'hard work' has paid off - I'm always much more productive in my pyjamas!

However I did make sure to have some fun and spent time catching up with friends, some of whom I've not seen for years, including Tempest Rose, Lili La Scala, Dolly Rose, and friends from home or college who were in town for auditions, which was lovely.

On Saturday I was performing at the gorgeous Volupte Lounge as part of Tempest Rose's 'House of Burlesque' show - it was wonderful to be back at this beautiful venue, and I was performing alongside Leonie Soprano, Christian Lee and Chrys Columbine, so it was a fabulous line-up too!

Mirror Picture! With Chrys, Leonie and Tempest

After the show we were joined by Delores Deluxe for wine, cocktails and a good old gossip! It's so lovely to be able to relax and have a drink after a show, not have to worry about trains, and still know that I get to sleep in my own bed afterwards!

London, Baby!

Well it is the end of my first week in London, and it's been hectic but fabulous.

After filming on Monday, Taz helped me move my stuff from Manchester, stopping off for a coffee with Kittie Klaw en route.

Thursday was my first show of the week at the gorgeous Proud Cabaret and it was a wonderful line-up!

Mirror Picture! With Coco DuBois, Missy Fatale, Velma Celli, Abi Collins and Hayley :)

Velma was such a fabulous host, and it was lovely to see Coco debut her new Burlesque act - Abi was brilliant as always and Missy's Cabaret Verbotten act had me on the edge of my seat! It was also nice to sit and catch up with everyone after the show, over wine of course!

My Friday show was cancelled, unfortunately, but it did mean that I got to attend a friends leaving drinks and actually *watch* a show for once!

On Saturday, I was a bundle of nerves - although I trained in Musical Theatre, and worked as a singer for several years, I rarely get booked for singing these days as I'm not known on the cabaret circuit as a singer. However, I had been booked by Proud Cabaret for their pre-show entertainment (usually a pianist, sometimes a singer or a guitarist) to perform an hour long jazz set! 

Ready to sing!

I had spent several days with Taz working on a suitable set list, and with one or two last minute changes I had around fifty minutes of material: some jazz standards (Face The Music and Dance, Cheek to Cheek), a couple of modern jazz songs (Lipstick on His Collar, Dream a Little Dream), some of my personal favourites to sing (Some Like it Hot, Lady is a Tramp), and a few unexpected songs (Daddy *the new Emili Sande song*, The A Team *Ed Sheeran*) - I also bought myself a new dress. There's nothing like a new dress for making me feel better!

The set went okay - some songs went well, others went a little bit wrong but I had some lovely comments from the audience after the show, and apparently several people had been asking the staff whether I had a CD!

After singing I had to dash across town to the beautiful Rouge Bar where I was performing two acts alongside Charlie Buckitt and Apple Tart from The Late Night Shop. The small audience was wonderfully enthusiastic and my acts went well - it was also fun to watch Charlie host: she looked like some gorgeous Tim Burton character come to life!

Mirror Picture! With Apple Tart, Lauren, and Charlie Buckitt

Today is a much needed day off - I intend to visit a friend and eat cupcakes and prepare myself for another busy week!

**Things I Love This Month**

**Edinburgh Sunshine**New Sparkly Stage Jewellery**Moving Days**Cupcakes**Kittens**Bodeans Restaurant!**
xx