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Neon Venus, alternative millennial minstrels, is rocketing onto the music scene with their first CD: The Birth Of Neon Venus. Released in November of 1999, the CD has already found success at an indie level. Good Times , the Long Island Entertainment paper says: Lets start by clearly stating that this Cd, released late last year, was arguably one of the Top Ten CDs of 1999. Persy, a radio DJ at WSGR 91.3FM in Michigan, also selected the CD as one of the top 10 of 1999. Perhaps the main reason for this praise is that Neon Venus songs have hooky melodies and danceable rhythms. The Muses Muse , a successful and popular internet music site, says: I havent heard anything this distinctive since I first plugged in Bowie. Neon Venus are from Puerto Rico. Dont know if this is a typical sound for that part of the world, but in this part of the world they will capture lots of fans with dance tunes like this. Indie-Music.com, another popular music site, says: Wow! Wow is the first word one will say when listening to the recently released CD, The Birth Of Neon Venus. Their snappy, caffeinated tunes from outer space will have you dancing from one planet to another and leave you wanting more. The music on the CD ranges from strong, deep rock to upbeat, dance grooves to sweet, melodic psychedelia. With a style thoroughly their own, the band mixes influences from the last four decades: the message of peace and love from the sixties, fun disco beats from the seventies, alternative sounds from the eighties and from the nineties, drum and Latin percussion loops. There are a total of eleven songs on the CD. One of them, Strange, has a version with Spanish verses.
Strange, in both English and Spanish has proven itself to be the most popular track of the CD, so far receiving airplay in Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama and several commercial stations in the United States, including Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina, Long Island, New Jersey and the Bronx. Strange has also received airplay at college and internet stations. The song was featured in an interview of Neon Venus at Radio Wado, 1280AM NYC, in the program Entre Mujeres. Strange was inspired by a magazine issue on the 50 most well-known love affairs of the last century.Good Times says: Slow and sensual, the song features some lusty Spanish guitar, a non-invasive Latin beat and an intensely-felt vocal.
The cut Aliens has been selected for two compilations, one by an internet radio station in Florida, and another for Listen, Learn and Groove, a compilation to be distributed by Female Musician to high school students who wish to pursue a career in music. Aliens most recent airplay came from the show Teen Talk on WGBB 1240AM and WUSB 90.1FM, both in Stony Brook, Long Island. The songs appeal comes not only from its title but from the message as well. As the band says, Aliens is in honor of those musicians with the courage to follow their hearts, and is a call to everyone to pursue their inner dreams.
As Good Times points out the heart of Neon Venus is the sultry lead singer Venus, a.k.a. Lissette Napoleoni, and her soulmate and co-writer Valentine, a.k.a. Peter Valentine, who also plays all the guitars, keyboards and bass on the CD, as well as singing backup vocals. The band started when Lissette Napoleoni and Peter Valentine met, as legend goes, in the Strawberry Fields of Central Park. Valentine and Venuss vision of the future is a world where females and males share balanced roles and where people dance together as one earth without boundaries.
On stage, their Puerto Rico born lead singer exudes an aura of sensuous power and playfulness. She has a strong, deep voice, at once unique and memorable. she is solidly backed up by Peter Valentine on guitar and vocals, and Nester Salazar on percussion. Neon Venuss CD release party in November of 1999 was featured on onlinetv.com, where a short music video of the NY show is now available. Onlinetv.com described Neon Venus to their viewers, saying: Great pop rock done just right for you. This young, bright band has the energy you are looking for.
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