Written by myself and my freind the honorable Reverand Patrick Salomon (Pictured Below)One year ago, you would have been hard pressed to find one person in the south central Pennsylvania musical know that knew of a little band called Witches in Bikinis. However, this year at the Millennium, the ratio of in-the-loop to out-of-the-loop had almost flipped. With a handful of people forgoing Sofari So Good’s set to camp out at the front of the stages that Witches in Bikinis would soon perform on, the returning rockers had carved a niche out in Harrisburg.
The group’s chromatic count was reduced by one as the orange bikini clad Joanna Walchuck a.k.a. JoJo—the first witch in the band—could not attend the show because of prior commitments. However, their energy and entertainment level did not falter.
Delighting fans, new and old, with their particular brand of theatrical based, b-movie themed catchy, lively, and bouncy rock, WIB got the crowd moving like no other band on Friday or Saturday night.
It goes without saying that the Witches themselves are a tour de force on the stage. Singers Karen Weatherwax and Carolyn Demisch, aqua and pink respectively, grace the audience at MMC12 with their sexy vocal talents while dancing along with Julie Betts, Emily Reiter, and Elizabeth Ellis—purple, green, and blue respectively. The choreography is stellar, and the band behind the ladies is comprised of nothing but talented musicians.Dance routines for the older songs from their first, self titled, album were created by two official choreographers. For the newer tunes, the ladies themselves design the routines. WIB is in the process of recording a new album, title TBA. At the Raddison they showcased several new tunes, including Freak Show and Jen of the Jungle.
But how did this phenomenon get started? Who’s idea was it to have a bunch of good looking girls, with great pipes and theatrical talent to boot, on stage backed by a handful of proficient musicians that play campy, horror style, non-offensive fun schlock rock? And, more importantly, why didn’t anyone have it sooner?
WIB is the brainchild of lead guitarist, Bill Rozar. With a degree in piano composition from Rutgers, and an appreciation for 70's rock and horror movies, Rozar created the concept of WIB."I wrote some songs, recorded some songs with friends," says Rozar after performing at the Raddison on February 16. "Eventually we had a whole album's worth of songs."On Halloween of 2005, Rozar held a CD release party at The Slipper Room in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. For the first year, gigs consisted of two "Witches" dancing to prerecorded background tracks. In September of 2006, a live band was added to the mix consisting of Rozar on guitar and keyboard, drums, and bass. More dancers were added to the mix as well as a rhythm guitar to make up the theatrical rock show that we see today.Rozar draws influence from growing up with old 60's rock, 70's surf rock, and B horror flicks. He watched The Ed Sullivan Show as the British Invasion hit our side of the pond and grew up listening Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper. His love of rock and roll permeates throughout the entire WIB experience, giving the edge to what some would consider a campy gimmick show.Rozar explains that WIB was originally more of a theatrical production, but he wanted to add more music."A lot of people on Broadway tried bringing the rock stage to the theater," explains Rozar. I'll be honest, I don't like Broadway tunes that much... I wanted to bring the theater to the rock stage."WIB certainly brings theater to the rock stage, with an undeniably original edge, while still staying true to the creator's rock roots.
The group’s chromatic count was reduced by one as the orange bikini clad Joanna Walchuck a.k.a. JoJo—the first witch in the band—could not attend the show because of prior commitments. However, their energy and entertainment level did not falter.
Delighting fans, new and old, with their particular brand of theatrical based, b-movie themed catchy, lively, and bouncy rock, WIB got the crowd moving like no other band on Friday or Saturday night.
It goes without saying that the Witches themselves are a tour de force on the stage. Singers Karen Weatherwax and Carolyn Demisch, aqua and pink respectively, grace the audience at MMC12 with their sexy vocal talents while dancing along with Julie Betts, Emily Reiter, and Elizabeth Ellis—purple, green, and blue respectively. The choreography is stellar, and the band behind the ladies is comprised of nothing but talented musicians.Dance routines for the older songs from their first, self titled, album were created by two official choreographers. For the newer tunes, the ladies themselves design the routines. WIB is in the process of recording a new album, title TBA. At the Raddison they showcased several new tunes, including Freak Show and Jen of the Jungle.
But how did this phenomenon get started? Who’s idea was it to have a bunch of good looking girls, with great pipes and theatrical talent to boot, on stage backed by a handful of proficient musicians that play campy, horror style, non-offensive fun schlock rock? And, more importantly, why didn’t anyone have it sooner?
WIB is the brainchild of lead guitarist, Bill Rozar. With a degree in piano composition from Rutgers, and an appreciation for 70's rock and horror movies, Rozar created the concept of WIB."I wrote some songs, recorded some songs with friends," says Rozar after performing at the Raddison on February 16. "Eventually we had a whole album's worth of songs."On Halloween of 2005, Rozar held a CD release party at The Slipper Room in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. For the first year, gigs consisted of two "Witches" dancing to prerecorded background tracks. In September of 2006, a live band was added to the mix consisting of Rozar on guitar and keyboard, drums, and bass. More dancers were added to the mix as well as a rhythm guitar to make up the theatrical rock show that we see today.Rozar draws influence from growing up with old 60's rock, 70's surf rock, and B horror flicks. He watched The Ed Sullivan Show as the British Invasion hit our side of the pond and grew up listening Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper. His love of rock and roll permeates throughout the entire WIB experience, giving the edge to what some would consider a campy gimmick show.Rozar explains that WIB was originally more of a theatrical production, but he wanted to add more music."A lot of people on Broadway tried bringing the rock stage to the theater," explains Rozar. I'll be honest, I don't like Broadway tunes that much... I wanted to bring the theater to the rock stage."WIB certainly brings theater to the rock stage, with an undeniably original edge, while still staying true to the creator's rock roots.
But what about the nay-sayers? Surely, there are people who say that the band is just a gimmick, and a bad one at that. However, the WIB haven’t encountered any of those haters.“[if they think that] they haven’t said it to my face,” said Reiter. “Generally we get very positive feedback. I think they know that it’s a fun show, that we’re not taking ourselves too seriously. I mean we are, but in a very light-hearted way.”
Their work has paid off in the sense that WIB is slowly but surely building a grassroots fan base that is as committed as they are loyal.
One of the chimpanzees that were called up on stage during “Party like a Chimpanzee” was Tamara Heagy, a devoted fan to the WIB cause. Heagy, a 28-year old District Attorney Association employee from Lemoyne, first heard of the band through an ad for Millennium last year. She had one thought after seeing the ad…this is odd.
It was the band’s theatrical style attracted her to WIB at first.
“We sat down and watched them, and it’s like watching a show. There’s singing and dancing, they’re very engaging. Since I do theatre as well, it’s like they speak to me completely.”
Heagy performed in shows such as Guys and Dolls and Pippin’ while attending Lebanon Valley College, studying music recording technology.
Since last year’s performance at the Radisson, Heagy, whose musical tastes range from 1930’s swing bands to Hoobastank, has traveled to every show in PA, sans one, to watch her favorite band. Because of her hardcore commitment to the group, she’s become a friend of manager Julie Rozar, and has even been invited to stay at their house up in New York.
However, it was WIB that has actually come to Heagy’s residence.
Before a show at Gulifty’s in Harrisburg, the band was invited to come and change into their costumes at Heagy’s house, located only a couple blocks away.
“Usually they just change backstage at the show…and you don’t want to do that,” explained the superfan, clad in her own dark purple wig, “so we said, ‘hey guys, why don’t you just come on over, relax a little bit, and get your costumes on.’ So we just basically hosted them for the evening.”One thing is for sure, WIB is quickly finding a home in south central Pennsylvania.
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