“Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat takes Weimar-era cabaret and throws it down the velvet goldmine. The Cramps would be proud. There will be leather. There may be guns. You will submit.†– Austin Chronicle
Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat is the naughty brainchild of Stephanie Stephens and Adam Sultan, two musicians and actors and from Austin, TX. The duo recently completed a video (LINK) for the charismatically clever track “Grey†(MP3) from their debut album, Take That! Sample lyric: “I see a red door and I want it painted grey. Did you a expect a rhyme other than grey? That would be fancy. Like Sid & Nancy. Not grey.â€
Initially a cabaret act influenced by Weimar Republic Berlin, Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat soon expanded into what one critic calls “Sado-vaudevillian punk.†Their diverse sound combines everything from classical music to classic rock, performed with outrageous style and irreverent humor that touches on half a century’s worth of history.
Their debut CD, Take That! (Pressing Records) ranges along the German countryside from Marlene Deitrich to Kraftwerk, then crosses the border into Eurotrash dance, punk rock theater, and even Texas swing. The CD’s dozen songs attack everything from synth pop to polka, without fraying the strands from Mistress Stephanie’s proud whip. The CD’s sound is brought to life in the band’s always memorable stage shows—in which the brazen Mistress humors and challenges the audience (see “Grey†LIVE) while her “Kitty†contrasts with sneering insouciance and manic guitar slinging.
Adam Sultan began his musical career as a guitarist for Sony Recording artists Poi Dog Pondering, the eclectic folk dance group that currently resides in Chicago. Since then he has performed solo and with his own bands, while also working as an actor and composer in the Austin theater scene. He has ventured into several improvisational and jazz-tinged ensembles including Golden Arm Trio and Spank Dance Company.
Stephanie Stephens is a singer and an actress who has performed in numerous Austin plays, musicals and operas. She has produced avant-garde recitals and shows, and performed with various artists including Golden Arm Trio and The Walter Thompson Orchestra. Ultimately though, she is the Mistress – a sultry chanteuse with a punk rock heart and a guitar-slinging pussy. Meow.
Artist: Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat
Title: Take That!
Label: Pressing Records
01. Weimar
02. Get Off My Chest
03. Shake Your Dance Stick
04. Too Hard
05. Heaven
06. I Hate Cabaret
07. Awfully Confusing
08. Grey
09. Little Death
10. Down Boy
11. Johnny Gewürztraminer
12. You Say You Love Me