Waking Elliot

Hundreds turned out for the SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) Day CT event at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center on March 26 to see female artists, musicians, crafters and dancers perform, display and sell their works.

SWAN Day CT coordinator Jennifer Hill (also frontwoman for the band Jennifer Hill & Co.) said qualifying the event was simple. “I think it went off pretty well,” she said. “I think next year we can make it even bigger. Everybody made money, so I was excited.”

Mary Carsons, of the Manchester-based band Waking Elliot, called the event “amazing,” and said the SWAN mission of bringing female artists together was exceeded.

“I love seeing all the artists and the vendors here,” Carsons said. “I'm discovering a lot of new musicians that we weren’t aware of, and making a lot of great contacts. It's creating this nice community that wasn't here before.”

Carsons added that SWAN Day also helps put female musicians in a truer light. “Especially in music,” she said, “women are thought of as vulnerable. This helps promote us as strong. We’re a force to be reckoned with.”

Windsor-based band The Grimm Generation (Carmen Champagne and Jason Krug) played a set of their “morning after music,” but said they wanted to change things up a little for SWAN Day.

“We mixed it up,” said Krug. “We sort of gear our stuff toward the event. Coming into this, we looked at all the different styles of bands, and decided we wanted to come as close to a glam-rock show as we can.”

“Really awesome,” Champagne said of the event. “We've only played together for about a year now, so to be able to come in and play one of the biggest events in Connecticut was awesome.”

Artist Kerry Kozaczuk created an original painting – from blank canvas to completion - on the music stage while the bands were playing.

“I had no idea what I was going to do,” she said. “Originally, I thought I might do a self-portrait while looking in a mirror. The way the lighting was, the first thing I saw against the canvas was my shadow, so I traced that and kind of morphed it into other things from there.”

Kozaczuk joked with one of the bands, telling them their music was too upbeat for her painting. “I wanted the painting to stay within the theme it was in,” she said, “but it was kind of hard because I wanted to be throwing the brush all over the place, dancing.”

Kozaczuk said she really related to the burlesque dancers, and cleared up any misconceptions about them.

“What they're doing is an art form,” she said. “They finally take that really sensual, passionate, sexy woman’s body and put it on display in a way that displays their talent, and not to objectify themselves. They use it as their canvas – their instrument.”

Hill said after the festival’s first time in East Hartford(after three years in Hartford), the EHCCC may indeed become SWAN Day CT's new home, as it suited the event well.

“I think the seating area in the auditorium was good for everybody,” she said, “and the extra rooms. I would like to come back here again.”

“The venue is the best yet,” Kozaczuk said. “The best space - best acoustics.”

Hill added that she hopes to keep the annual event growing every year.

“I hope to expand it as much as I can,” she said. “I'd like to put more bands up, and maybe have it go longer.”

For more information, visit www.womenarts.org, or visit SWAN Day CT on facebook.com.

- The Reminder

Waking Elliot
Waking Elliot is a rock/alternative/pop rock band from
Manchester, CT. Waking Elliot consists of Mary Carson
(vocals), Allyson Brown (key/vocals), Evan Forstrom
(guitar), Kevin Bieler (bass), and Rob Jeffrey (drums).
This band has been together for a couple of years and
they have been playing at different gigs, including a recent
one, opening for 30 Seconds to Mars. In this performance,
they did a good job, keeping the crowd alive
and wanting more.
In other events, on November 26th Waking Elliot
will be having a release party for their third album, Simply
Pathological. This album will have six tracks on it.
This album has an upbeat tempo to it. Their song “One-
Two” is first off their album and it shows what most of
the album sounds like. Also, if you go on
purevolume.com you can download songs “Hide and
Seek” and “Truth or Dare.” You can also add yourself to
the mailing list, and they will send you information on
what is coming. They will also send some of their
songs to see what you
think. Since July, they
have already sent two of
the tracks that come
from their album Simply
Pathological. If you want
to learn more about
them, go to their website
at www.wakingelliot.com. - Michelle Baker/ "The Raider Review"

One of the largest arts festivals in the area is coming to the East Hartford Community Cultural Center on March 26.

SWAN (Supporting Women Artists Now) Day is celebrating its fourth year in Connecticut. This year will bring a new mix of musicans, crafters, painter, sculptors, dancers, and artists of other media.

Coordinator Jennifer Hill said the Cultural Center suits the festival rather well, and she hopes East Hartford becomes SWAN's permanent home.

The centerpiece of the festival is the main music stage. Performing artists are scheduled to include She Eats Planets, The Grimm Generation, Sarah LeMieux, SisterFunk, Canyon, Addie Brownlee, The And Band, Laura Ganci,Waking Elliot and Hill's own band, Jennifer Hill and Co. All of them, except for Canyon and Brownlee are from Connecticut.

"We have always taken the grassroot philosophy when it comes to life, especially music," said Denise Troy of Sister Funk. "We believe that a fortress is nothing without a strong foundation, so [we] encourage and empower. Being an all-female band we couldn't be more proud and thrilled to be participating in an event dedicated to the acknowledgement and support of women artists."

Hill said the lineup is a broad mix of genres and centers on local artists. LeMieux has performed, along with Hill, at all three previous events.

“I think we’re going to throw in a few surprises,” Hill said of her band’s performance. “The surprise may be that we do a couple of covers. We don’t usually do that. I like to be a little theatrical at SWAN.”

“Upon hearing about SWAN the last few years and watching how it has been growing bigger and bigger, we felt we had to participate,” said Carmen Champagne, lead singer of the Grimm Generation. “It's wonderful to be a part of an event that celebrates the many talented independent female artists within the community.”

“We are overjoyed to have been chosen as performers,” said Waking Elliot member Mary Carson. “There seems to be a perception that women can't 'rock.' As a band fronted by two female vocalists, it is our goal to help change the way people view female artists. We are in full support of the SWAN Day mission and we are thrilled to participate in the event!”

“Females can be very catty and competitive, but we can also be compassionate shoulders to lean on,” said Ganci. “This event represents females who are all about helping each other out, and who want to build a community of female artists and fans of female artists who are like-minded in the sense that we want to build one another up, not tear each other down.”

Martha Richards, founder and director of WomenArts, which created the SWAN Day events internationally, said the Connecticut event, one of more than 500 world-wide, is one of the five largest, thanks to Hill and her supporters.

“It’s a holiday,” Richards said. “We encourage anyone who wants to create SWAN Day events, and we’ve had them in 14 countries. There’s one in Bulgaria, one in Kenya, and one in Germany this year.”

Richards said the idea came about because of discrimination against women artists.

“WomenArts had been thinking that we needed a signature event,” Richards said. “Our two goals are to increase opportunities for women artists—meaning either jobs or funding—and then the other one is to increase the visibility for women artists.”

“The venue is the most different thing about it this year. It adds more integrity to the show,” Hill said. “It’ll make it feel like more of a production, which it is. I think it makes things nicer for everyone involved. I’m basically looking for a home base, and this would be a nice fit, and I think the show will add something to the community of East Hartford if this is going to be our home base.”

“Jenn does a really great event and it seems to grow every year,” Richards said, adding that the event also fosters an avenue for local artists to network.

“What we’ve found is that it’s the first time that they’ve made those types of connections and it’s really exciting for them to be working together on a project,” Richards said. “Many artists suffer from isolation of different kinds, but it’s good for them to get together and feel that sense of community.”

Part of that community-minded inclusion, locally-supplied refreshments will also be available.

East Hartford brewery Ten Penny Ale, concessions from the EHCCC, and caterer Pin-Up Girl Catering will each have food and/or beverage stations at the event.

The event runs from 6 -11:00 p.m. on March 26 at 50 Chapman Place, East Hartford. Admission is $12.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/swandayct or www.womenarts.org.

- Reminder News

Waking Elliot is an alternative rock band hailing from Manchester, CT. The band features lead vocalist Mary Carson, lead guitarist Evan Forstrom, bass guitarist Kevin Bieler, drummer Robert Jeffrey and keyboardist/vocalist Allyson Brown. The album opens and closes with (arguably) its strongest tracks - One-Two and 'Second Star To The Right. "One Two" has a powerful bass line (courtesy of Robert Jeffrey) that perfectly matches the gutsy lyrics, "Give me the old one-two." "Second Star To The Right" is a lighters-in-the-air anthem spotlighting Mary Carson's incredible vocal abilities. 'Hide And Seek' and 'Charade' are energetic pop-rock singles, with 'Hide And Seek' reminiscent of Paramore. The ballad on the album, 'Hold Me Here' is gorgeous. While Carson can clearly belt her mutant lungs out, she displays that there is power in subtlety. Her voice is tender, vulnerable and utterly enchanting. Allyson Brown's light piano keeps the song from becoming too heavy, and her vocals - on 'Hold Me Here' and throughout the album - are exceptional, as well. An incredibly well written and produced debut from a band that proves there is nothing "local" about this local band.
Submitted by J. Crash (Connecticut)
- Customer CD Review on CD Universe

"...Following was Waking Elliot, also based out of Connecticut. I was extremely surprised by how great their set was. The band features two female vocalists, with lead vocals by Mary Carson and keys and back-up vocals by Allyson Brown. The lead vocals were incredibly strong, and their sound was surprisingly polished for a local band. To me, they sounded like a mix of Meg & Dia, Between the Trees, and Automatic Loveletter. I would definitely recommend checking out this band; they have potential to be huge in the next few years." -Molly Kluba, Music Never Sleeps
- Music Never Sleeps