The Claudettes
A raucous combo equally grounded in piano boogie, punk blues, and cabaret, the Claudettes carved out a cult following in the early 21st century. Led by pianist/songwriter Johnny Iguana, the combo initially played a boisterous and bawdy variation of piano blues, but by the time the group added vocalist Berit Ulseth for 2018's Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium!, the Claudettes had transformed into a witty, rollicking rock & roll cabaret act as likely to deliver a smoldering saloon song as they were to kick out the jams, a transition consolidated with 2022's The Claudettes Go Out!.
A native of Philadelphia who relocated to Chicago after getting hired to play piano by Junior Wells, Iguana established himself as part of the Windy City's blues firmament. Once his time with Wells ended, he played with such heavy hitters as Otis Rush and Buddy Guy, along with leading the punky, organ-driven Oh My God, among other non-blues bands.
Iguana launched the Claudettes in 2010. The group originated as an instrumental piano/drums duo with drummer Michael Caskey, and that's the lineup featured on Infernal Piano Plot…Hatched!, the group's 2013 debut for Yellow Dog Records. The pair added Yana for 2015's No Hotel but the Nigerian-American vocalist only sang on a handful of songs on the LP.
Shortly after the release of No Hotel, Caskey and Yana left the group and Iguana assembled a new version of the Claudettes featuring vocalist Berit Ulseth, guitarist Zach Verdoorn, and drummer Matt Torre. This lineup was featured on Pull Closer to Me: Live in the Piano Room, a live-in-the-home-studio LP released in 2017. The new incarnation of the Claudettes had their first real showcase on the 2018 LP Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium! Produced by Mark Neill, Dance Scandal found the group emphasizing pop songs sung by Ulseth. The Claudettes continued in this direction for High Times in the Dark, a 2020 album produced by Ted Hutt that found drummer Michael Caskey returning to the fold. The group re-emerged in 2022 with The Claudettes Go Out!, an album featuring production by Ted Hutt and Anthony Gravino.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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