V. Contreras
Seattle, Washington, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"If Victoria Wimer Contreras feels like flashing the Victory sign, she is certainly entitled to do so.
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The Seattle singer and pianist known simply as V took the stage Sunday night, Nov. 13, at the Feedback Lounge with her new four-piece band, officially billed as V + the Noise, for a powerful set of songs from her upcoming album. It'll be her first full-length album in 10 years (her previous long-player was with Assai, a band she formed with her sister Tamara).
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?It was a special night for Contreras, as well as the Feedback Lounge.Contreras has graced stages at a number of all-woman concerts,among them last summers Wine, Women and Song at the Neptune Theater. But her show at the Feedback Lounge was the first in a series of intimate, sit-down VIP concerts and Contreras raised the curtain with style and class. " - Seattle Times
V ictoria was the girl who could sing any note and sing it well. Without a doubt, this lady could win American Idol. She was classy and beautiful and really sang the diva-style well. - Seattleshowgal.com
Still, for all the exceptional performances (and each of these women delivered at least one), the stunner was local pop-rock chanteuse V‘s delivery of “Crazy” and her show-closing rendition of “Sweet Dreams,” for which the entire tribute was named. - Kim Ruel - Sound Magazine
Victoria Wimer Contreras is by no means last on this list, for any reason other than that I knew she would be the hardest to write about. She has the most "legitimate" musical background of ANYONE who was on that stage that night. She has studied with Maestro David Kyle (vocal coach to Ann Wilson, Liza Minnelli, and Geoff Tate, just to name a very few). Victoria studied music and vocal jazz in the esteemed Central Washington University music program. Her leanings have been more toward jazz until recently (thank God for us rock and country fans). Her duet of Oasis' "Wonderwall" with Jeff Rouse at the Hootenanny was a stunning jaw-dropper. She doesn't have anything up on iTunes yet, but check out "This Is Not Goodbye" on her MySpace page for at least a tiny example of what she is capable of. If the world were right all of the time, Victoria would be a huge star right now.
- Seattle Weekly - Duff McKagan
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
THE ALBUM: Strings pour, horns soar and a refreshingly soulful voice takes center stage. You are suddenly transcended to 1962. You begin to sway to a familiar nostalgic sound. Then, the lyrics take over and a touch of modern instrumentation is unveiled. The sheer poetic relevance and honesty jolts you. Bold, bright, clever, incensed, dark, strong, silly, sad…this is not a sound from the 60’s but the sound of today and tomorrow.
Transfixed, you journey through this eerie world, and somehow you cannot seem to get enough. The album ascends, the final track arrives and yet you are already hitting repeat. You take note. This might be revival of the album.
THE GIRL: An award-winning childhood short story writer, V. (Victoria Wimer Contreras) has won the hearts of Seattle with her rich, soulful voice as a featured vocalist with Seattle Rock Orchestra, Patsy Cline’s Sweet Dreams tribute, McDonalds commercials and the National Anthem at Mariners, Sonics and Seahawks games. Often referred to as the little girl with the giant voice, her rich tone has earned her comparisons to Karen Carpenter and Linda Ronstadt. A type-A songwriter with a historical phobia of sharing her original compositions, V has been a slave to her piano and a pen composing over 40 album contending songs over the past two years. The result unveils a stunning collection of timelessness. Perhaps the most unique aspect is that no one in Seattle has heard her original compositions ever…until now.
THE FACTS: The album was produced, engineered, mixed & mastered by Martin Feveyear (Brandi Carlile, Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Common Market, Blue Scholars and the man whom V. refers to as a genius). It features string & horn arrangements by Andrew Joslyn (Macklemore / Passenger String Quartet). The album includes Seattle’s finest musicians: Rebecca Young, Jeff Fielder, Rusty Willoughby, William Stover, Andrew Josyln, Natalie Mai Hall, Eric Padget, Tom Yoder & Craig Flory.
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