Diva Taunia

LINK:

http://wildysworld.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-vote-for-pedro-cocktail-napkin.html

Vote For Pedro - Cocktail Napkin
2007, Vote For Pedro

Vote For Pedro is a novel Boston quartet traversing the bounds of Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, Jazz and Comedy to rave reviews. Led by vocalist Diva Taunia (who recently lost 170 pounds and shared her experiences with the world via YouTube), Vote For Pedro creates mellifluous musical magic that is much easier to enjoy than it is to classify. Diva Taunia is an ASCAP songwriter, vocal coach, clinician, session singer and front woman all wrapped into one. Diva Taunia has shared the stage with such performers as The Bobs, Wayne Brady, Patty Larkin, Zoe Lewis, Sean Altman and The Persuasions, and has been won a shelf full of awards for her vocals both regionally and nationally. Vote For Pedro's Cocktail Napkin was released in 2006 but is worth revisiting; the mix of quality music and comedy is rare and is just too good to classify as a novelty.

Cocktail Napkin opens with Do You Trust Me, mixing A Cappella style vocal harmony arrangements in a highly danceable Pop tune. Diva Taunia has a voice people will line up to listen to and practically melts a speaker wire or too while imploring you to dance along. Even the rap serves to enhance the listening experience here. Taunia leads Vote For Pedro into one of the more unusual covers of George and Ira Gershwin's Summertime that I've heard, starting as a dark, free-form interpretation that morphs slowly into a near-frantic tripped out techno/jazz hybrid. Traditionalist may not be entirely thrilled with this one, but it's a brave, novel and successful choice. Cool Kidz answers the old question, "If all your friends jumped off the bridge would you jump too?" with a resounding splash and gurgle. Featuring Manhattan Transfer style vocal harmonies, simple bass and drum loop instrumentation and a rap/sing combo, Cool Kidz is good enough to get mentioned in the Pop category and whacked enough to earn a spot on a show like Dr. Demento. Cocktail Napkin sounds more like a college A Cappella group using minimalist instrumentation than anything else. Vocalist Shah Salmi provides and easy, sure and pleasant performance while the rest of the band kicks in some delicious vocal harmonies. Vote For Pedro wraps up with Tall Dark And Handsome, which won a CARA Award in 2007 for Best Humor Song. The ladies out there will nod in sympathy with this song, knowing that often the best looking men "play for the other team".

Vote For Pedro is a trip. Salmi is a strong performer and deserves more attention than he'll ever get here because Diva Taunia is such a dynamic figure it's easy to lose focus on the rest of the group. Taunia's voice is powerful and supple, able to belt one moment and coo a lyric whisper the next. The sense of humor here is actually funny, something that is all too rare in artists who try to be funny in song. Like the Smothers Brother before them, Vote For Pedro's greatest sleight of hand is their ability to create musically serious and significant music. Just when you think they're serious they'll throw you a curve; and just when you start to think maybe they're a novelty group after all they'll create a phrase with such harmonic purity and beauty you'll be moved. Make sure to get your Cocktail Napkin.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Vote For Pedro and Diva Taunia at http://www.divataunia.com/ or www.myspace.com/divatauniamusic. You can purchase Cocktail Napkin via Vote For Pedro’s web store. - Wildy's World

FULL ARTICLE/INTERVIEW:

http://www.weightlosssurgerychannel.com/breaking-wls-news/weight-loss-surgery-news-july-3-2009.html/

July 3rd, 2009:

Taunia Soderquist is a talented jazz vocalist, music teacher, and active member of the WLS community. She underwent gastric bypass surgery in March 2008 and documents her journey via video in her incredibly amusing blog, Diva Taunia’s Backstage Pass. Get a sneak peek at the goodies on her site from our friend Yvonne McCarthy during this week’s segment of WLS on the World Wide Web. And check out some of Taunia’s tunes here! - Weight Loss Surgery Channel

FULL ARTICLE:

http://www.thriftycoupondeals.com/2009/07/thrifty-coupon-deals-tcds-member-shares.html

July 21, 2009
I want to tell all my readers about a very nice Lady and the journey she has been on, who has recently became a member of Thrifty coupon deals.com (TCD's).

Her name is Taunia Soderquist. She is a talented jazz vocalist, music teacher. She underwent gastric bypass surgery in March 2008 and documents her journey via video in her incredibly amusing blog, Diva Taunia's Backstage Pass. Check out some of Taunia's tunes HERE & HERE and HERE! And her voice is just heavenly! She has a couple of websites which show the journey she was recently on. You can check her out at divataunia.typepad.com. Don't forget to sign up for her newsletter for updates.

You see this special lady chronicled her Journey with Gastric Bypass surgery on You Tube! See her whole video story HERE.


This Video CLICK HERE is from the beginning when she was still in the hospital..



After 15 months and 170 pounds this is a recent YouTube Video. WOW!!!!!!!


Starting on September 13th 2009 Check out her BlogTalkRadio show HERE! Where she will have music and Guests and everything DivaTaunia.

I for one would like to congratulate Taunia for maintaining her weight loss. I being a part-time Nurse have seen a lot of people that have gained a lot of their weight back.

GOOD JOB!!!! Taunia and welcome to Thrifty Coupon Deals (TCD's)

The best part is she is learning how to shop with coupons for the items she can eat. She even is going to start a website especially just for those deals!

Click Here Taunia was recently featured on the "Weight Loss Surgery Channel" WLS.

Please visit her websites and give her words of encouragement or just leave a comment below for Taunia to see. - MISS THRIFTY

FULL ARTICLE:

http://www.casa.org/node/636

August 11, 2006:

First up: the sound, it’s really, really good. Production is first rate from the start, allowing for vocals that are sleek and electronic without being soulless. Both the leads and backgrounds are great throughout, with Taunia Soderquist deserving special kudos for her numerous power packed solos that just about took the roof right off my car. Brace yourself for "Summertime", a creative electronic jazz cover of the "Porgy and Bess" tune, that features her belting in top form. Also listen up for the scat section—it’s just plain cool.

Second up: the sense of humor. At times a bit dorky ("Cool Kidz"), and at times a bit raunchy ("Tall, Dark and Handsome"); it takes you by surprise in a good way. I’ll admit that I found it a bit jarring at first to shift back and forth between the songs that were more obviously funny and the ones that seemed to be more “serious,” but then I realized that just because not all the songs were outright jokes didn’t mean that the sense of humor and fun was lost. It’s there, and it’s a common thread that positively defines this group and their music.

I’m really impressed by this debut, and I’d recommend it for just about anyone who wants to sit back and have a good time listening to some fun music. Whether you’re interested in how a defined group sound can be the glue that holds a CD of multiple styles together or not, I think it’s safe to say you’ll enjoy this disc. It’s good music, so come on grab your ballots and join me in casting your Vote For Pedro!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. - CASA.ORG (Adune 55)

FULL ARTICLE:

http://www.rarb.org/reviews/759.html

Ellie Landau:

Vote for Pedro's EP release Cocktail Napkin is too short. That's pretty much the most negative thing I can say about it.

Truth be told, my very limited prior exposure to VFP had established them in my head as one of those "comedy" groups who are gifted musicians but who are ultimately less interested in the music and more interested in getting laugh. Cocktail Napkin — a delightful name for such a brief yet intoxicating collection of five songs — set me straight. These folks are the real deal: terrific singers, gifted songwriters, comfortable in a variety of musical styles and oh yeah, pretty funny too. Taunia Soderquist is unquestionably the standout as the author and soloist on the CARA-nominated opening track, soloist on the CARA-nominated second track (when she lets loose that belt, look out!), and once again author/soloist on the closing track.

If there are quibbles to be had, it's perhaps that their background development is a bit lacking at times. Four people is not a lot to work with but, especially given the overdubs on this CD, I would have hoped to have heard a bit more variation as the songs progressed. Cool Kidz is probably the best example as it features an initial groove that barely strays from its original statement. The same holds true for Tall, Dark & Handsome but as a novelty/comedy song, it's perhaps more excusable (less so a few of the forced lyrics/rhymes even as chuckle-worthy as they are).

Would that I knew if VFP had a full-length CD in store (perhaps called Dinner Fork? Salad Spoon). If the answer is yes, you can probably save the $7.00 + $2.00 S&H for this all-too-brief release. But if there are no new recordings planned for the near future, treat yourself to this charming, smooth concoction and you won't be sorry.


Valerie Kolko:

To me, there's only one good way to describe this awesome EP from Vote for Pedro: smooth. Delicious and delectable, full of pop and jazz sensibilities and appealing to a wide audience, Cocktail Napkin has something for everyone. A rockin' beat, four original tracks that could easily be heard on any Top 40 radio station, and an old school favorite done up to the extreme with not a hint of messiness, boredom, or blandness.

Opening up the album is Do You Trust Me, a head-bopping, Taunia Soderquist-penned and -led number, but without all that sloppy remixing and overinstrumentation. I particularly like the clean rhythm and the beat-driving bass, along with the vocals over percussion in the bridge. Soderquist also leads the re-invention of Summertime, demonstrating a vocal range any female would envy. This is the piece that exemplifies the monster power of Vote for Pedro, with difficult dissonant chords, a complex rhythm section, and not-to-be-taken-lightly scat section performed by one of the male group members (uncredited). Like "Stand by Me" on Blue Jupiter's break-out masterpiece Ear Candy, Summertime stands out as one of those a cappella innovations that will be remembered as genre-bending and breakthough.

Ben Jackson's beats fill the album with a vibrance that is echoed in spot-on background vocals and an energy that makes the vocal space sound much bigger than the mere three voices on Cocktail Napkin. His lyrics on Cool Kidz are a bit contrived, and I get that it's supposed to be an homage to the 90s, but his performance and the studio production are a better throwback than the actual words he's singing ("I carry a two-way pager … ") His samba beats create an effective background on Cocktail Napkin, easily my favorite track on the album. With Shah Salmi's dead-sexy tenor lead and Amy Malkoff's great lyrics, this piece comes off with soul and sultriness, and I can't help but want to pull my boyfriend off the couch and dance. The album's closer Tall, Dark, & Handsome pays a vocal tribute to Bette Midler's Otto Titsling in "Beaches", and fares almost as funny. I won't give away the punchline, but suffice it to say that it's full of drama and executed quite well, even if the arrangement gets repetitive after a while, which can be forgiven since the story is the focus of the song.

Cocktail Napkin is an apt title for this first release from this Boston group, comprised of seasoned members of the Boston vocal scene. It's an appetizer, a taste of something yummy and interesting, and at seventeen and a half minutes, it leaves you wanting more. Whether you like a smooth scotch or a fruity mixed drink, Vote for Pedro will have you licking your lips to come back for a second imbibing.
- RARB.ORG

http://akamai.www.berkleemusic.com/assets/display/2166517/2166516.jpg - Wednesday, 9/22/2004

http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00000435.html - 02/23/03

http://www.allaboutbuford.com/wilmington.pdf - 08/09/2002

http://akamai.www.berkleemusic.com/assets/display/2166540/2166539.jpg - 08/18/2004

FULL INTERVIEW URL:

http://wmbr.org/m3u/Droppin%27_Knowledge_20091022_1600.m3u - WMBR 88.1 FM Cambridge "Dropping Knowledge"