MAYLEE & PEGWEE POWER at Supermarket (268 Augusta), Friday (November 13), $10, 416-840-0501 and at Wrongbar (1279 Queen West), Wednesday (November 18), $13.50, 416-516-8677.
Since the dawn of time, humanity has engaged in a battle between good and evil. Not long ago, Maylee Todd created a spirit that offers an alternative to that struggle: the Pegwee.
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“You know how most people have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other?” Todd asks over coffee at Moonbean Café in Kensington Market. “Well, the Pegwee kicks those guys off and is just like, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ It’s all about having a good time.”
The imaginative singer’s make-believe muse, who comes from another planet, is the driving force behind her latest venture, Maylee & Pegwee Power. The group started as a solo act, with just Todd on her harp accompanied by a looping station. She soon realized that wasn’t enough.
“I was writing all these horn and string arrangements, so I thought I should make it how I’d like it to sound and get a band together. So far people seem to dig it.”
While their first proper show was just in September, the jazz/funk/soul/pop band is already building a reputation for rowdy performances.
Which is why her instrument of choice, the soothing and dignified Paraguayan harp, seems a bit of a contradiction. Todd was drawn to it due to her predilection for obscure instruments. Plus, she confesses, it’s not as hard as it looks.
“Anyone can play it,” she says. “That’s the big secret.”
Interview Clips
Maylee, on the musical path that brought her to the harp
Maylee discusses Sweatshop Hop, the regular interactive aerobics event she hosts, which will open her show on Friday
Maylee talks about her Friday show
Video Clips
Maylee’s video for Tunog Ng Taginit (Summer Sounds):
Rare footage of the “Pegwee” in their natural habitat:
Maylee on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/mayleetodd
music@nowtoronto.com
