MUSIC

(Boston, MA) – The Beehive, the uber-hip award-winning restaurant and live music venue, named one of the Top 100 Jazz clubs in the world by Downbeat Magazine, will be making musical history during their 2nd Annual Bastille Day Celebration on July 14, 2009 from 5:00PM – 2:00AM. The Boston, MA-based “The Beehive”, known for their world-class talent and musical innovation, will once again be pushing the envelope as they present a special reunion/tribute concert to the iconic and often controversial French singer-songwriter, musician, actor and director Serge Gainsbourg. While Gainsbourg passed away in 1991 his legacy has lived on as an icon, often referred to as one of the world’s most influential musicians, and has become part of the fabric of French-pop culture. Performed for the first time ever in North America by “Gainsbourg Etcetera" - a musical collaboration of Gainsbourg’s wife Bambou Gainsbourg, son LuLu Gainsbourg and five of Gainsbourg’s former musicians including: Gary “Mr. La Javanaise" Georgett, Mike Rathke, Tony “Thunder” Smith, John Kumnick and Stan Harrison, this event is truly musical history in the making as the group performs renditions of Gainsbourg’s works and original arrangements by LuLu Gainsbourg. “The impact that Gainsbourg had on not just French culture, or music culture, but on popular culture itself… is immeasurable. We’re honored to have been able to work with the incomparable Tony Smith, Bambou Gainsbourg, LuLu Gainsbourg and everyone involved to make this event happen. The event is truly about “La France Today” – these performers are not only world-class, but a strong representation of modern French pop culture,” Said Bertil Jean-Chronberg, General Manager of The Beehive and event organizer. The event will be not only an all-star collaboration, but also a joint performance bringing in the contemporary French pop sensation ElodieO to the stage to both open the show and perform live with Gainsbourg Etcetera! ElodieO’s music has been described as an elegant mix of 60's Nico-esque pop and 90's golden era trip-hop and down-tempo. Intermittent French Electro-Pop and Gainsbourg re-mixes will be provided by Christopher Muther Dj’ing for the event. So as Boston becomes Paris for one night only, The Beehive will also feature casual-French inspired fare and specials via the restaurant, flowing champagne bubbles (with the most extensive champagne list in New England featured at The Beehive) and one of the most authentic and exclusive Bastille Day celebrations in the U.S. This exclusive event is brought to you not only by The Beehive, but in-part by the in-kind sponsorship of: Kronenbourg, Absolut Vodka and The Lenox Hotel, Back Bay Boston. About The Beehive: The Beehive is an underground Bohemian bistro featuring amazing cuisine, libations, artwork and live music nightly. Nestled below the Boston Center for the Art’s historic Cyclorama in Boston’s South End, The Beehive serves the eclectic fare of Chef Rebecca Newell, rustic comfort foods infused with American, European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern influences. Open for dinner 5:30 pm to 1:00 am seven days a week, and with cocktails and live entertainment available nightly until 2:00 am; The Beehive is the perfect location for after-work cocktails, dinner, live music, events and more. Come to taste the cuisine, come to view the art, come to hear the music or simply come to share in the merriment. The Beehive is at 541 Tremont St., 617-423-0069; beehiveboston.com . Dinner 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., bar to 2 a.m., entertainment nightly. Brunch Served Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 am until 3:00 pm, bar menu 3:00pm to 5:00pm. About Serge Gainsbourg: Born Lucien Ginzberg in Paris on April 2, 1928, his parents were Russian Jews who fled to France following the events of the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. After studying art and teaching, he turned to painting before working as a bar pianist on the local cabaret circuit. Soon he was tapped to join the cast of the musical Milord L'Arsoille, where he reluctantly assumed a singing role; self-conscious about his rather homely appearance, Gainsbourg initially wanted only to carve out a niche as a composer and producer, not as a performer. Still, he made his recording debut in 1958 with the album Du Chant a la Une; while strong efforts like 1961's L'Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg and 1964's Gainsbourg Confidentiel followed, his jazz-inflected solo work performed poorly on the charts, although compositions for vocalists ranging from Petula Clark to Juliette Greco to Dionne Warwick proved much more successful. In the late '60s, he befriended the actress Brigitte Bardot, and later became her lover; with Bardot as his muse, Gainsbourg's lushly arranged music suddenly became erotic and delirious, and together, they performed a series of duets — including "Bonnie and Clyde," "Harley Davidson," and "Comic Strip" — celebrating pop culture icons. Gainsbourg's affair with Bardot was brief, but its effects were irrevocable: after he became involved with constant companion Jane Birkin, they recorded the 1969 duet "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus," a song he originally penned for Bardot complete with steamy lyrics and explicit heavy breathing. Although banned in many corners of the globe, it reached the top of the charts throughout Europe, and grew in stature to become an underground classic later covered by performers ranging from Donna Summer to Ray Conniff. Gainsbourg returned in 1971 with Histoire de Melody Nelson, a dark, complex song cycle which signalled his increasing alienation from modern culture: drugs, disease, suicide and misanthropy became thematic fixtures of his work, which grew more esoteric, inflammatory, and outrageous with each passing release.

Although Gainsbourg never again reached the commercial success of his late-'60s peak, he remained an imposing and controversial figure throughout Europe, where he was both vilified and celebrated for his shocking behavior, which included burning 500 francs on a live television broadcast and recording a reggae version of the sacred "La Marseillaise." Gainsbourg also created a furor with the single "Lemon Incest," a duet with his daughter, the actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. In addition, he posed in drag for the cover of 1984's Love on the Beat, a collection of songs about male hustlers, and made sexual advances towards Whitney Houston on a live TV broadcast. Along with his pop music oeuvre, Gainsbourg scored a number of films, and also directed and appeared in a handful of features, most notably 1976's Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus, which starred Birkin and Andy Warhol mainstay Joe Dallesandro. He died on March 2, 1991.

About elodieO: Born in Paris, France, elodieO's initial fascination was musical theatre. This led her through a rigorous multi-disciplinary study of: Classical and modern dance techniques and choreography; Cello playing; Acting; and Singing. She has since added Video directing to her wealth of talent, as showcased in the CD-ROM video segment of this release. Her coming to New York City in 1996 sponsored by a French government scholarship was a validation of her unique vision of modern musical theatre. Her inspiration then was Pina Bausch. After two albums in collaboration with multi instrumentalist Manuel Bienvenu (elm (popcornlab), sunny scenics (telescopic)) with whom she created elm in 1997, elodieO presents her solo album, as well as a video clip. elodieO's compositions and arrangements recall Yann Tiersen, Craig Armstrong or a stripped-down Philip Glass in her classicals referenced cinematic imagery, and her delicate singing whisper has been compared in emotion and tonality to Nico (Velvet Underground) and Bjork on the one hand and the 60's French pop of Françoise Hardy on the other. The songs on this CD are divided equally between French and English but her modernist bel canto charm transcends any language she may sing in. In these days of good but interchangeable electro-pop artists from Europe- Luomo, Stereo-Total, Laub amongst others - elodieO presents a refreshing acoustic audibility to a genre that rely too much on unnecessary large orchestration, but then she is also supported by actual instruments as Cello, Harp, Guitars, Contrabass and Hammond Organ. Of her work as one half of ELM, Rolling Stone magazine wrote in 2002: elm and its delicate pop, whispered by elodieO and her charming french accent, could very well make itself a place in our record collection this winter. Comfortably settled in between the records of Katerine, Autour de Lucie and Tue-Loup.

About Musicians: Gary ³Mr. La Javanaise" Georgett (Clavier), An alumnus of Berklee College of the Music, Georgett was doing session work, touring with his original band and theater scoring when he was invited on the Love On The Beat tour for Serge Gainsbourg, ³Casino de Paris². Georgett subsequently contributed keyboard and creative work to ³Charlotte Forever²(Serge & Charlotte Gainsbourg), ³You¹re Under Arrest² (Serge Gainsbourg), resulting in the live 1998 tour, ³Your Under Arrest², and the live recording,² Au Zenith². He was also the keyboardist on ³Made In China² (Bambou), and movie soundtrack for ³Stan The Flasher² (Serge Gainsbourg). He was scheduled to record a record with Gainsbourg and the Neville Brothers when Serge suddenly passed away. Georgett went on to work in theater programming keyboards, providing sound design and has over a hundred shows to his credits. He has been involved in the early beginnings of shows such as ³Aida, ³Ragtime², ³Swan Lake², ³Fame Becomes Me² (Martin short) and ³Pirate Queen². He has worked with some of the top orchestrators and conductors in theater such as David Cullen, Larry Blank and Harold Wheeler. Georgett also records and produces corporate and artist clients in his project studio, GSS Audio Production and resides in New Jersey. Mike Rathke (Guitares), Though probably best known for his enduring partnership with Lou Reed, both as a guitarist and the co-producer of many of Reed's most highly regarded late works--including "New York," "Magic and Loss," "Songs for Drella," and "Ecstasy"-- Mike Rathke has also worked with a remarkable range of other highly regarded recording artists and performers including latin star Ruben Blades, influential punk pioneer Richard Hell, the singer songwriter Michael Kroll, and the eclectic pop Belgian band Betty Goes Green. Most recently, he has been recording with Kevin Hearn of the Barenaked Ladies and produced Guy Lesser's indie project, "12 Songs." In addition to Rathke's work with Reed in the studio and on stage, he was musical director of Robert Wilson's two acclaimed plays, "Time Rocker" and "PoeTry," and worked with Wim Wenders on music for the feature films, "Until the End of the World" and "Faraway so Close." Tony ³Thunder² Smith (Batterie & et les choeur), Tony¹s discography speaks volumes of his ability to master a wide range of styles and any musical challenge from latin to rock to jazz to pop. Tony started his career playing with the great Santana and recording and touring with the latin rock groups ³Malo² and ³Azteca². Later, he co-founded the jazz fusion ³Jan Hammer Group², with whom the great rock guitarist Jeff Beck toured and recorded the album ³Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live.² Among the many other artists Tony has played and recorded with are jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, jazz saxophonist David Sanborn, Germany¹s ³bad girl² of rock Nina Hagen. And last but not least, Tony recorded and toured throughout France and Europe with France¹s legendary Pop icon ¬ Serge Gainsbourg, from 1985 until Serge¹s passing. Currently, Tony is recording and touring with Lou Reed. With Lou, Tony has been involved in ³The Soul of a Man ¬ Martin Scorcese Presents the Blues², and has had the honor of performing for President Bill Clinton, President Havel of the Czech Republic, and Pope John Paul. Tony just recently returned from a world tour with Lou in support of the new film ³Berlin², a live performance of Lou¹s album ³Berlin², which was directed by Julian Schnabel and recently opened at the Tribeca Film Festival. Since 2004, Tony also is a Professor of Percussion at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

For more information, please visit www.tonythundersmith.com