Biography

VICTOR & PENNY
“Electricity”
Release Date: March 4, 2016
Overtone Records #VP101 – Self Release
Radio Promotion:
Kari Estrin Management/Consulting
Kari@KariEstrin.com | 615.262.0883

“Victor & Penny infuse their music with a strong sense of swing rooted in the riff-driven style of Kansas City jazz to create their own distinctive style.”
--Chuck Haddix, Host of the Fish Fry on KCUR FM 89.3
and co-author of “Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop – A History”

Electricity crackles and sparks with joy and regret; truths and dares; love and love gone wrong all set to a score of vibrant, rhythmic swing and virtuosic musicianship. Electricity is the culmination of 160,000 miles, 5 years and nearly 1,000 performances and is a testament to the incomparable vivacity of Victor & Penny’s live show, with newly added sophistication and rich instrumentation.

Penny drives the rhythm train with her nimble strumming on the ukulele to perfectly complement Victor’s agile, masterful guitar licks. Their spirited vocal exchanges and harmonies illuminate the deeper meaning and feeling of the song lyrics. Victor & Penny’s good humor shines through in their music which often takes unexpected turns, veering from the fiery instrumental, “Penny’s Pounce” to a fresh gypsy-jazz exploration of the musical gem, “Moon Over Bourbon Street”.

Electricity celebrates the positives and negatives of the electrical connection we all feel: the polarity of relationships – the necessary give and take, push and pull, yin and yang. “Day Off Boogie” extols the joys of a rare lazy day at home with your lover, while a tale of dark passion unfolds in the patient murder ballad “Say Goodbye”. “Rickshaw Chase” is a wild Klezmer-inspired ride on a creaky cart and “More In Store” steps spritely to resist the enticing lures of a big box store. Highlights include Penny’s smoky vocals on the jazzy, noir ballad lamenting the end of an affair in “Overtones” and the impassioned delivery of “Hide. Seek.” -- an uncomplicated look at a complicated relation in western-tinged 6/8 time.

Produced by Grammy Award winning Producer/Engineer Mitch Dane, and recorded at Sputnik Studio in Nashville, TN, Electricity features Victor & Penny’s fine band, The Loose Change Orchestra (LCO). The LCO’s rich, resonate sound is created by virtuoso reeds player James Isaac on clarinet, soprano saxophone and melodica; Rick Willoughby on upright bass; and trombonist Kyle Dahlquist. Supplemental instrumentation includes accordion, violin, saw, mandolin, piano and Hammond B3.

Victor & Penny are Jeff Freling (Blue Man Group, Chicago) on guitar and vocals who attended Berklee School of Music; and Erin McGrane (George Clooney's, "Up in the Air" and the cabaret troupe, "Alacartoona") on ukulele and vocals. Victor & Penny were named “Best Folk Ensemble 2015” by the PITCH; “Standout Concert of the Year” by the Joplin Globe; and are two-time Folk Alliance International official showcase artists. Victor & Penny was born when Erin’s father gave her his prized 1951Hofner ukulele and Erin and Jeff discovered their mutual love of Jazz Age songwriting. Sparks, Electricity!

www.VictorandPenny.com