Tom, Jim,
George; Kil, Tina, Cathy
Click
here to Visit the Official
Voice
of Cheez Website
"... Buffalo supergroup the Voice of Cheez has been offering fans one of the most inspired Zappa tributes this side of Ike Willis' work with Project Object... The ensemble... plays Zappa with reverence, sophistication and vitality."
- Buffalo Artvoice
The Voice of Cheez is a band in Buffalo, New York that performs the music of Frank Zappa.
Guitarist Tom Fenton and bassist Jim Iarocci have long been Zappa fans, beginning with the Mothers of Invention days. In 1995 the pair talked more than a dozen of their musician friends into "abandoning" their mothers on Mother's Day evening and coming down to a local hot spot, Nietzsche's, to play some of Zappa's songs.
The evening was a great success - so much so, that some of the participants formed a 10 piece band, called it The Barking Pumpkins, and performed a second show the following Halloween.
Since then, the band (renamed the Voice of Cheez) has played every Mother's Day and Halloween weekends at Nietzsche's, and on other select occasions over the years.
The current Cheez lineup is a dedicated core of musicians who have all been there since the beginning. They are:
Tom
Fenton - guitar,
vocals
Jim
Iarocci -
bass,vocals
Tina
Peel - vocals and
madness
Kilissa McGoldrick
Cissoko -
saxophone, flute, vocals
Cathy
Carfagna -
keyboards, vocals
George
Olmsted -
drums
The Voice of Cheez repertoire includes more than 50 songs from Zappa's prolific career, including selections from Apostrophe, 200 Motels, We're Only in It for the Money, and Joe's Garage. A generous helping of Frank's doo-wop oriented songs showcases the group's considerable vocal talents. Voice of Cheez shows are neither "Zappamania" imitations, nor sterile recitals - they're spirited rock'n'roll, played with a sense of fun and respect for Zappa's musicality and wit.