Patti Cake

Artist Information

Biography

Singer Kritty Uranowski grew up in a household with musicians who were loving and incredibly loud (in personality & volume alike). She attended Musical Theatre school and then moved in with a band. There she met Daniel Daniel S. Bedard and they became fast friends. After a brief falling out, they reunited and formed the group White Suede with several other Toronto musicians, including Adrian Traub-Rees and Anna Sudac.

While performing background vocals in White Suede, Uranowski found herself with a small but quickly growing catalogue of her own pop tunes. Influenced by The Shangri-las, The Ronettes and other girl groups of the sixties, as well as alternative acts such as Bobby Conn, Cat Power, The Silver Jews and Hole, she decided the time was right to start a small rock outfit of her own.

Recruiting drummer Eli Franken, the two started hammering out tunes and drinking pops on the hottest summer days of 2010.

In need of a bassist, Uranowski took to craigslist where she decided to post the exact same ad Courtney Love posted when forming her group, Hole. It said:

"I want to start a band. My influences are Big Black, Sonic Youth, and Fleetwood Mac."

Bassist Jordan Andrews replied saying:

"Courtney, Well played. - Erik"

Jordan was a perfect fit. Along with D.D.S. Bedard on lead guitar, the foursome recorded their first EP, "The Prime Minister of Cool Chicks" in early 2011.


On "The Prime Minister of Cool Chicks":
"Uranowski’s big, soulful pipes immediately grab your attention, and the Motown and country influences breathe new life into the punked-up Phil Spector formula. They’ve also got oodles of sunny, bouncy energy.." - Benjamin Boles, Now Magazine

They are joined live by backup vocalists Stephanie Guthrie and Lara Zarum and keyboardist Jeremy Woodcock.

On their live show:
"Buoyant psych-pop, 60’s girl groups, and hints of Motown coalesce smoothly resulting in a sound marked by female harmonies, jangly guitars, and uptempo energy. But front and centre is singer/guitarist Kritty Uranowski’s soulful and expressive vocals, the singular tool that really carries the music. " The Lonely Vagabond, http://www.lonelyvagabond.com/

Instrumentation

Discography

2011, "The Prime Minister of Cool Chicks" EP
http://patticake.bandcamp.com/

Official Website

http://patticake.bandcamp.com

Links

• MySpace
• Twitter
• Facebook

Audio

• Boy Detective
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• He Went To Town
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• Bananas
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• Nobody Loves Me (Wah Wah Wah)
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• PATTI CAKE - RANCHO RELAXO [+ Show ]
  

  Drawing from different genres we’ve all come to know and love, it’s easy to understand Patti Cake’s ...Drawing from different genres we’ve all come to know and love, it’s easy to understand Patti Cake’s undeniable charm. Buoyant psych-pop, 60’s girl groups, and hints of Motown coalesce smoothly resulting in a sound marked by female harmonies, jangly guitars, and uptempo energy. But front and centre is singer/guitarist Kritty Uranowski’s soulful and expressive vocals, the singular tool that really carries the music. With a strong debut EP, impeccable musicianship coupled with a nostalgic nod to the past, Patti Cake is definitely worthy of more attention.

• SummerWorks: Theatre Festival's Music Series Continues to Grow and Thrive [+ Show ]
  

  The SummerWorks Music Series has established itself as more than just an afterthought to the theatre...The SummerWorks Music Series has established itself as more than just an afterthought to the theatre festival, and this year’s is better than ever. Over the next two weeks, a ton of established local acts will perform at the Lower Ossington Theatre, while up-and-comers like upbeat soul-garage-rocker Patti Cake play the free kick?off party tonight in the MOCCA Courtyard.
  
  Even though Patti Cake’s been together less than a year, lead singer/songwriter Kritty Uranowski appears to have few doubts about their ability to stand out from the pack of 60s girl-group-influenced rock bands.
  
  “I’m not too worried about sounding derivative, because I’ve got a voice that’s actually suited to [the genre],” she says, chuckling. “I see a lot of girls doing this, but I can actually sing. Okay, that’s kind of rude and I didn’t mean it like that, but it’s true.”
  
  Yeah, that sounds cocky, but take a listen to Patti Cake’s self-released EP, The Prime Minister Of Cool Chicks, and tell her she’s wrong. Uranowski’s big, soulful pipes immediately grab your attention, and the Motown and country influences breathe new life into the punked-up Phil Spector formula. They’ve also got oodles of sunny, bouncy energy, though much of the material had much mellower, darker beginnings.
  
  “I went through a horrible breakup, made a fort out of my bed, wrote all these depressing country ballads and then sped them up and turned them into pop songs.”

• Playing Jenga with Patti Cake
  

  A video interview with Kritty and Dan of Patti Cake

• Summer Lovin' with Jane's Party at The Silver Dollar (Ft. Patti Cake) [+ Show ]
  

  Patti Cake Fronted by Kritty Uranowski (guitar, vocals) who donned quite the bedazzled show-stopp...Patti Cake
  
  Fronted by Kritty Uranowski (guitar, vocals) who donned quite the bedazzled show-stopping pageant dress, and featuring the “doo-wop” duo of Steph Guthrie and Lara Zarum on back-up vocals, Patti Cake are the modern hipster version of a classic 60’s girl group, but with a roller derby “grrrl” edge. In that, you get the sense Kritty could kick your butt if she wanted to. There are boys in this band too – Dan Bedard (guitar), Jordan Andrews (bass), Jeremy Woodcock (keys), and Adam Hindle (drums) – but I will admit, it took at least four songs until I really noticed them (sorry boys!). Such is the power of a voice like Uranowski’s.
  
  Featuring songs off their aptly named EP Prime Minister of Cool Chicks, Patti Cake entertained the crowd with a set that could have easily fit in at a high school homecoming dance in the 1960’s, and fittingly included a cover of “Stop In The Name Of Love” by super-girl group The Supremes that came complete with coordinated dance moves. The set ended with the deep and soulful track “Nobody Loves Me Anymore” – except, I’m pretty sure the crowd was smitten with you Patti Cake, so much so that they demanded “one more song!” Uranowski put down her guitar for a cover of No Doubt’s “Sunday Morning,” a perfect choice. Unbridled by an instrument, this allowed her theatrics to take center stage, while we unleashed our inner 10-year old selves and sang along.

• Friday, I'm in love...with two bands I saw at CMW this year [+ Show ]
  

  I started this one off really well though, with Patti Cake, fronted by the excellent Kritty Uranows... I started this one off really well though, with Patti Cake, fronted by the excellent Kritty Uranowski. Kritty is one of those frontwomen who can not only sing circles around her peers, but has personality to spare — she’s just a ton of fun to watch and listen to.
  
  As a bonus, Patti Cake’s music is great too. Any mash-up between retro girl groups and indie rock is right up my alley, and I give bonus points for a song about a ghost cat. Can’t wait to see this band again.

• Mechanical Forest Sound @ Canadian Music Week [+ Show ]
  

  My one excursion from the Dollar took me down to Queen Street to see a set that was a striking count...My one excursion from the Dollar took me down to Queen Street to see a set that was a striking counterpoint to the glacial sombreness I'd just witnessed. Locals Patti Cake traffic in something closer to exuberance — or at least that's the spirit channelled by frontwoman Kritty Uranowski. The recent fashion cover model sings with a smile and a brassy tone that tugs the whole band into a more cheerful, kodachromed landscape. That fits with plenty touches of classic 60's songcraft — including a pair of swaying backing vocalists. But the retro flourishes were countered by some more modernist signifiers, including one song's paean to Lindsay Lohan. Most of the songs here were quite fab, and the overall spirit was bright and welcoming, just right for a sunny day.

• Patti Cake at CMW 2013 [+ Show ]
  

  Self described as “A 60's girl group meets a 90's grrrl group” this band entertained the patrons of ...Self described as “A 60's girl group meets a 90's grrrl group” this band entertained the patrons of The Velvet Underground. Their description is great because at any given time you would have thought you were listening to the 60's girl band playing at the drive-in on Happy Days. Very catchy and melodic they kept people dancing and bobbing all during their set.

• Les Sans Culottes and Sphinxs with Patti Cake and The 8 1/2's at The Silver Dollar [+ Show ]
  

  With the best time slot, the best crowd, and the best hair (a wig?) Patti Cake all but stole the sho...With the best time slot, the best crowd, and the best hair (a wig?) Patti Cake all but stole the show. Singer Kritty Uranowski’s got a voice so big that when she belted it for the first time it came as an eye-popping surprise; but rarer than that is the band’s ability to take the crowd into their wacky musical world.

Setlist

Basic Requirements

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