Infectious Unease

the first angels song i wrote on harp was written in november, 1993 so i feel like that is the first spiritual inception of the group. i had the idea to have harp, flute and cello together way back then.

YOU ALL HAVE INTERESTING BACKGROUNDS COULD YOU TELL THE READERS OUT THERE WHAT YOUR BACKGROUNDS HAVE BEEN?

Carol Tatum: Originally from Dallas, Texas, Carol Tatum has been playing stringed instruments since age seven and is the founding member and songwriter, arranger and producer for "The Angels of Venice." In addition to harp, Carol plays mandolin, Irish bouzouki and hammered dulcimer. She is an ASCAP member and published writer including co-writing songs for the rock group Kingdom Come on PolyGram and Warner Bros. ermany labels. She produced and arranged the Cat Stevens song "Sad Lisa" (Track #2) for Windham Hill Records' compilation CD "Summer Solstice" which remained #6 on Billboard's New Age chart for the entire summer of 1997. Her rendition of an early 14th century piece appeared as Track #2 on Windham Hill's "The Renaissance Album" (July 1998 release). She has released two CDs of original music in the U.S., Canada, Taiwan and Hong Kong and the second "Angels" CD was reviewed and "highly recommended" by Billboard magazine. Her compositions and arrangements have further been used for various movie and video soundtracks. She has been interviewed three times for the Los Angeles Times Calendar section (1996-1997), and has extensive recording and live performance experience. In her spare time, Carol enjoys music composition and studies 12-13th century medieval European history. Carol makes her home in Glendale, California.

Joanne Paratore: Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Joanne Paratore is the sister of the acclaimed world classical duo pianists Anthony and Joseph Paratore. She obtained her Bachelors Degree from Boston Conservatory of Music with a major in classical piano. In addition to piano, Joanne is a composer, producer and arranger with extensive concert and recording experience. She has produced three CDs of classical music currently sold in Tower Records ("First Kiss", "Passionate Kiss", "Classic Romance" - Four Winds Records) which are presently enjoying nationwide radio airplay. As keyboardist/pianist for The Angels of Venice, Joanne appears on Windham Hill's "Summer Solstice" CD and the Windham Hill release "The Renaissance Album" (July 1998 release). In addition to her activities as a musician, Joanne has been in the business of music for many years. She recently played a role in the promotion of Lalo Schifrin's nominations for two Grammy Awards (composer of the classic "Mission Impossible" theme). She further was invited by Berklee College of Music to be a guest speaker on the topic of record promotion and the ins and outs of the record business. In her spare time, Joanne enjoys swimming and spending timew ith family and friends. Joanne lives in Silverlake, California.

Flutist Laura Halladay: began playing the flute twenty years ago at the age of twelve. She earned a B.A. in music from California State University Northridge graduating with honors. Since that time, she has continued her studies with Roger Stevens, former principal flutist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Since beginning her professional career in the Los Angeles area, she has performed with Burbank Symphony, Westchester Symphony, Solo Repertory Orchestra, Santa Ana Winds, Casa Italiana Opera Company, Palm Leaf Ragtime Orchestra and California Junior Symphony as principal flutist. She has been featured soloist with West Valley Chamber Orchestra, Musicale Classical Concert Series, Van Nuys Civic Orchestra and the Chamber Music Society of California. She recently received a gold record for her flute playing on the Linda Ronstadt album “Canciones de Mi Padre.” Other recording credits include a performance with a woodwind quintet for a Disney wildlife special, educational films for Film Fair Corporation, flute, piccolo and alto flute on jingle and commercial recordings. Laura makes her debut with Angels of Venice on Windham Hill’s “Summer Solstice II” compilation CD. In her spare time, Laura enjoys ballet, teaching flute and spending time with her musician husband, David, who works with Burt Bacharach. Laura lives in North Hollywood, California.

LOOKING WITHIN THE CD ‘AWAKE INSIDE A DREAM’ YOU ARE INFLUENCE BYMEDIEVALHISTORY/CULTURE, MYTHOLOGY, NATURE, MOVIESWOULD THIS ASSUMPTION BE CORRECT?

yes, i am very influenced by history, especially medieval european history such as the crusades and eleanor of aquitaine, the powerful queen of england and mother of richard the lionheart, because she created what was termed "courtly love" and was instrumental in fostering support of the arts and of the troubadours in her court and bringing the world out of the dark ages and causing music to florish. i am also influenced by shakespeare, egyptian, celtic, roman and greek culture and all religions, archetypal mythology and anything ancient. there are certain movies i love that influence me visually to write songs such as "excalibur", "braveheart", "rob roy", "amadeus", "legend", mel gibson's "hamlet", "gothic", "dangerous liasons", "dracula", "interview with a vampire", an obscure movie starring the exquisite actor peter o'toole called "the dark angel" and most of all franco zefferelli's "romeo and juliet." i am also very much influenced by the imagry in my dreams
- beautiful dreams...as well as nightmares - thus the title of our second CD "awake inside a dream"...

WHAT INSTRUMENTS DO YOU ALL PLAY. AND IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR INSTRUMENTS YOU ENJOY THE MOST?

joanne paratore plays piano and synthesizer and also composes her own songs. laura halladay plays C flute, alto flute, baroque flute, all recorders, piccolo and shawm, a medieval reed instrument. peggy baldwin plays cello and i play harp, hammered dulcimer, irish citern, mandolin, guitar, synthesizer and a bit of percussion and write the music for the angels of venice and arrange for any copy or medieval songs we choose to record or perform.

TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOT HEARD MUCH OF YOUR MUSIC HOW WOULD DESCRIBE IT?

you could call us "M 'n Ms"!!! Medieval/Neoclassical/Middle eastern!!!

WHAT SORT OF PROCESS DO YOU GO THROUGH WHEN COMPOSING YOUR MUSIC?

it is never the same. many times, just as i am going to sleep or waking up, i hear whole symphonies with all the instrument arrangements in my head and it drives me crazy because getting it out of your imagination and onto a piece of
paper is the tricky part and i'm not very good at it!!! so i have lost many ideas trying to scribble them down in the dark when i am half asleep! sometimes even if it's 3:50 a.m. i'll force myself to get up and as i'm walking into the living to get pen and paper i'm cursing to myself saying "i hate being a musician!!!!" :::laughs::: also, i seem to always hear ideas when i'm in the shower. when the water covers my ears, i seem to go into a whole other world and hear music! many times i have jumped out of the shower dripping wet to mumble something into a tape recorder or write something on paper!! i also hear melodies driving in the car, or sometimes they just come to me when i least expect it. the process is never the same.

ARE YOU INFLUENCE BY ANY OTHER BAND OR COMPOSER?

beethoven, bach, led zeppelin, bernard herrmann (film composer), nine inch nails, depeche mode, the cure, dead can ance, robert rich, la nef, cat stevens, stone temple pilots, traditional middle eastern music, anything medieval such as the haunting chants of hildegard von bingen, the rhythmic cantigas of king alfonso el sabio, etc.

YOU HAVE WORKED ON MOVIE SOUND TRACKS. WHAT WERE THE MOVIES AND HOW DID BECOME INVOLVE WITH THIS TYPE OF WORK?

i was asked by a producer to contribute a song to a soundtrack. i arranged the traditional "scarborough faire" for a movie called "big bully" starring tom arnold. the vocalists on the song were the veteran soul group "the dramatics" and i felt very honored that they would let me direct them on this song. i've also played harp on several independent films.

WHERE HAVE YOU PLAYED LIVE AND HOW WELL WERE YOU RECEIVED?

we have played anywhere from on the street to playing at a event in which sting and don henley also played! i have a picture of me with sting and it sits on my dressing table and i look at it evey day!

IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL YOU PLAN FOR CONCERTS?

yes. we will be touring to promote our debut CD on windham hill's "winter stolstice" tour, which will be a u.s. tour including 20 cities across the country. we will be playing holiday music in our traditional neoclassical style which will be very fun. we will also be flying to finland in March tofilm "winter solstice on ice" along with other windham hill artists and some of the worlds top ice skaters. this is for the A & E network and will be aChristmas TV special in 1999 as well as a video and possible CD. i am so excited about it because we will be filmed in a winter snow castle!!

YOU HAVE BEEN RECENTLY BE SIGNED BY WINDHAM HILL RECORDS/BMG HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT?

our second self-produced cd "awake inside a dream" was reviewed in billboard magazine and "highly recommended," which was so wonderful. christine reed from windham hill read our review and called us and told us our cd managed to
"cut through" the other cds she had come across. and then we signed the record deal!

WHAT ARE SOME OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND ALBUM?

the first cd "angels of venice: music for harp, flute and cello" is definitely more neoclassical, lighter and more melodic than the second cd. it is good "bubble bath" music! and also good to fall asleep to - not boring, just relaxing!! our second cd is darker and more exotic and introduces percussion, hammered dulcimer and unsual instruments as well as my much
beloved medieval and middle eastern-styled music.

WHAT HAVE YOU GOT PLANED FOR THE NEXT ALBUM. WILL IT BE SIMILAR TO THE OTHER
ALBUMS?

our windham hill debut cd will be like "awake inside a dream" and will include the "M 'n M" sound, i.e., medieval/neoclassical/middle eastern-styled music. it will range from traditional angels sounding harp/flute/cello/synth music to some very dark, heavy, haunting sounds. one song called "queen of the sun", inspired by egypt's only female pharoah hatshepsut, has a similar feel to ledzeppelin's "kashmir" and another song has gregorian chanting by my friend
craig villani and is called "lacrimae mundi (tears of the world)" and is verydark and sensual with (pianist/keyboardist) joanne doing a "possessed",improvised-on-the-spot piano solo. so we run the gamut from light to dark. as merlin in "excalibur" would say: "good and evil - there never is one without the other...".

WHAT ARE THE FUTURE PLANS FOR ANGELS OF VENICE?

recording, touring, recording, touring, recording, etc.!

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO THE READERS AND LISTENERS OF
INFECTIOUS UNEASE?

to learn more about angels of venice, please visit our website. we have photographs of the band, animated gifs, beautiful graphics and how to purchase cds, and we will have audio very soon:

www.angelsofvenice.com

i would also like to say thank you, gordon, and thank you to everyone reading this interview. we appreciate your interest in angels of venice, and to all you musicians out there with high hopes of getting your music out to the
world, i say keep your dreams alive and go for the ideal always, because angels of venice is living proof you can go from playing on the street toplaying on a big national tour and getting your album on the record charts.
never give up - never.