WOMAD

Lautari special guest Carmen Consoli

From Sicily

Carmen Consoli was born in Catania in 1974. Her father is a guitarist, who made her love blues and black music. At the age of nine, she began playing the electric guitar and, when she was fourteen, she started performing cover versions in a rock-blues band, the Moon Dog’s Party.Her cover band had a very respectful repertoire – from Jefferson Airplane and the Free or other big rock names. Songs that gave success to important black music performers, like Otis Redding, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and the beloved Janis Joplin, were chosen in order to exalt Carmen’s voice. This kind of music does not have to amaze you, since Catania is the only Sicilian town where a rock scene exists and is well-established.While in other areas musicians play fusion and sing traditional Italian songs, this town has got different groups and hosts the Cyclope Records (Mario Venuti, Flor, Nuovi Briganti and tributes Gram Parsons Tribute and Battiato non Battiato).Francesco Virlinzi, Cyclope producer and owner, was present in a Moon Dog’s Party’s performance and was immediately struck by Carmen: she was only fifteen, but her talent was already evident. Thus, Carmen plunged herself into her “vocation” and started her adventure.She moved to Rome, where she created a new blues band and decided to grow her musical competence, while jotting down some songs.