I am..... Dracula!
You might remember my band, The Twilights,
and our monster hit "Transylvania 6-5000."
It was big in our neck of the woods.
Tonight... as the full moon rises...
I command invite you to join me
as I introduce another fang-tastic
group. To my delight... all of its
members share a blood bond.
I SUCK... THEY DON'T.
YO, DRAC - BITE ME, BITCH!
(On second thought... don't.)
(On second thought... don't.)
I'm Jesse Pinkman, and I don't mean no disrespect,
pops, but Mr. Knight and I are partners, see, and
we got this. We're running the show and we
don't need any help from the likes of you,
so flap your wings and take off!
pops, but Mr. Knight and I are partners, see, and
we got this. We're running the show and we
don't need any help from the likes of you,
so flap your wings and take off!
Now here's Mr. Knight to introduce
this super cool band!
this super cool band!
Thanks, Jesse. This is a coming of age
story about The Cristeas - five young
siblings, three brothers & two sisters,
who live in the Los Angeles area.
Like the Partridge Family, Cowsills,
Donny and Marie and The Osmond
Brothers, the Cristeas are a musical
family. The sibs are members of a
rock band that 's riding a tidal wave
of popularity across the country.
Their father manages the band
and produces their recordings.
We begin our journey with a video from April 2013. The children
were all in their places with sun-shiny faces, looking very much
like they were posing for a family portrait. Sweetness and
innocence were the order of the day as they performed
a cover of "Stay," an international hit by
Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko.
"Stay" - Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko
cover by The Cristeas (April 2013)
cover by The Cristeas (April 2013)
Fast forward to December 2014. The Cristeas still looked and sounded
squeaky clean as they sent us a Christmas greeting in the form of a
song entitled "Ho Hey," a cover of the 2012 worldwide hit by
the American folk rock band The Lumineers.
squeaky clean as they sent us a Christmas greeting in the form of a
song entitled "Ho Hey," a cover of the 2012 worldwide hit by
the American folk rock band The Lumineers.
"Ho Hey" - The Lumineers
cover by The Cristeas (Dec. 2014)
cover by The Cristeas (Dec. 2014)
L I L I A C
With the passing of time comes change. It is now September 2015.
The band of brothers and sisters has a new name, Liliac, and a new look,
sound and attitude. A metamorphosis is underway. Clearly the cute kids
are becoming real rockers as they do the Troggs' monster "Wild Thing."
"Wild Thing" - The Troggs
cover by The Cristeas/Liliac
(September 2015)
cover by The Cristeas/Liliac
(September 2015)
Pair-mit me to interrupt you, Mr. Knight.
You have conveniently
left out one very
important part of
the story, one very
interesting fact.
You failed to mention
that the Cristea family
has its roots in the
old country!
HEY...
DON'T EVEN
GO THERE, BRO!
I told you before,
Grandpa Munster,
Mr. Knight and I are
handling this post.
We don't need you chimin' in every two seconds.
So why don't you just dry up and blow away?
ARE YA FEELIN'
ME, BITCH?
It's okay, Jesse. Calm down. Now that
Dracula has let the bat out of the bag,
so to speak, it's time for readers to know
the whole story. Liliac, the Cristea kids,
these adorable poppers turned rockers,
are the children of Florin Cristea, who
grew up in Transylvania, Romania, not
far from Castle Dracula. Florin came to
America where he met and married Nineta,
also born in Romania. The couple settled
in Southern California to raise a family.
The rest, as you are seeing and hearing
in this post, is rock history. Now let's
continue to follow the timeline.
Two more years pass. It is December 2017, and the Transylvanian transformation is
complete. Now one of the great up-and-coming bands in rock, Liliac erases all doubts
about their cred with a cover of Metallica's classic "Enter Sandman." Keep your eyes
and ears on the act's hottest attractions, the three oldest children, all in their teens.
Watch and listen as Samuel shreds on lead guitar, Aby kicks butt on drums and
younger sister Melody, absolutely KILLS on lead vocals and bass guitar.
Melody says she was first influenced to sing rock by one of my favorites,
Ronnie James Dio, the late, great frontman of Elf, Rainbow, Sabbath, Dio,
and Heaven & Hell. As you are about to hear, Melody does a superb job of
channeling Dio and other legendary masters of metal including, in this
performance, Metallica's James Hetfield. I have to be honest. When I
watched this video for the first time, I thought that I was listening
to the Metallica recording with the Cristea kids doing a fantastic
lip sync. Imagine how astonished I was to realize that this
amazing sound was actually produced by the Liliac band.
Behold the rock resurrection, the rock reincarnation.
They are fierce. They are bold. They are mighty.
They are... Liliac!
complete. Now one of the great up-and-coming bands in rock, Liliac erases all doubts
about their cred with a cover of Metallica's classic "Enter Sandman." Keep your eyes
and ears on the act's hottest attractions, the three oldest children, all in their teens.
Watch and listen as Samuel shreds on lead guitar, Aby kicks butt on drums and
younger sister Melody, absolutely KILLS on lead vocals and bass guitar.
Melody says she was first influenced to sing rock by one of my favorites,
Ronnie James Dio, the late, great frontman of Elf, Rainbow, Sabbath, Dio,
and Heaven & Hell. As you are about to hear, Melody does a superb job of
channeling Dio and other legendary masters of metal including, in this
performance, Metallica's James Hetfield. I have to be honest. When I
watched this video for the first time, I thought that I was listening
to the Metallica recording with the Cristea kids doing a fantastic
lip sync. Imagine how astonished I was to realize that this
amazing sound was actually produced by the Liliac band.
Behold the rock resurrection, the rock reincarnation.
They are fierce. They are bold. They are mighty.
They are... Liliac!
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
cover by Liliac (Dec. 2017)
cover by Liliac (Dec. 2017)
Few groups can match the musicianship, spirit and grandeur of an act like Iron Maiden,
one of the pioneer bands of the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the 70s
and 80s. Liliac proves their metal mettle in a video that dropped two weeks ago.
As you will see the two youngest members of the band, Ethan on rhythm guitar
and Justin on keyboards, are now coming into their own as rock showmen.
Witness another spectacular performance by a band that's for real,
a band that is making believers out of hardcore metal heads
and, week by week, winning new fans all over the world.
Feel the unbridled excitement as Liliac performs
Iron Maiden's "The Trooper."
one of the pioneer bands of the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the 70s
and 80s. Liliac proves their metal mettle in a video that dropped two weeks ago.
As you will see the two youngest members of the band, Ethan on rhythm guitar
and Justin on keyboards, are now coming into their own as rock showmen.
Witness another spectacular performance by a band that's for real,
a band that is making believers out of hardcore metal heads
and, week by week, winning new fans all over the world.
Feel the unbridled excitement as Liliac performs
Iron Maiden's "The Trooper."
"The Trooper" - Iron Maiden
cover by Liliac (Sept. 2018)
cover by Liliac (Sept. 2018)
Marty Balin, the primary founder of
Jefferson Airplane, died three days
ago here in Tampa. One day later,
Liliac released their cover of the
Airplane's first and best known
hit, one of the most important
songs to come out of the 1960s
West Coast counterculture scene.
The Cristeas do the song justice
and honor the memory of rock
pioneer Marty Balin. I think
you will find every reason
to love Liliac's version of
"Somebody To Love!"
"Somebody To Love"
- Jefferson Airplane
cover by Liliac (Sept. 2018)
cover by Liliac (Sept. 2018)
Liliac has a dream...
to change the world one song at a time.
If anyone can do it... they can!
Dawn will soon break.
I think I'll grab a bite before bed.
I could go for a Bloody Mary.
Fangs for being here tonight.
I hope you enjoyed the post.
(It's much more pleasant than a stake.)
I'd like to have you for dinner
sometime soon. Until then, I will
satisfy my craving with Adam's apple.
Yeah whatever,
Uncle Fester.
Knock yourself out.
Meanwhile, find out
what's cookin' on
my hit TV show
Breaking Bad
now screaming streaming on Netflix!
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI left a comment using a different web browser but it's not showing. It wouldn't let me use my Google account, so I had to use the name & Url option to sign in. Can you see if it threw my comment in your spam folder? I may need to comment again. Thanks, my friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteThanks for coming, dear friend! Unfortunately, upon checking my spam and "awaiting moderation" folders, is see no trace of your comment. It seems to have vanished. I hope you can find the time to try again.
Thank you, Cathy!
Tom,
DeleteHokey smoke, I love the Cristeas family! They do a furtastic job covering some heavy hitters in the rock industry and they certainly have a shot at making it big in the business. I think it's meowvalous that this family of five siblings enjoy playing mewsic together, especially considering the opposite is true for most families with kids going in different directions. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep it together as they grow up and spreading outward. Thanks or the introduction. Excellent post, my friend. I'm glad I didn't miss out on this one!
PS: I think the problem has something to do with Safari but I'm not sure why that is, though. It's time to hit the drawing board on this one.
Tom,
DeleteAs I thought I had something set on Safari which kept blocking my commenting. I think it was where I had no crossing tracking set which I suppose keeps my Google+ info from being seen by your blog. It's just a hunch. :)
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteThanks for making the effort to return and compose another comment. You lost me with your explanation of the technical difficulties you were encountering, but I'm glad it all worked out. (Looking on the bright side, it was a great way for me to rack up 4 early comments on the post :)
I am thrilled to know that you like what you see and hear with regard to the mewsical family the Cristeas aka Liliac. Know what? I discovered them only five days ago! I was so impressed, so blown away, that I decided to rush a post into production. I had already finished the post when I discovered just yesterday that Liliac released a cover of "Somebody To Love" following the death of Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin. It was back to the drawing board to work that new video into the post. The result was a perfect storm - Halloween, the Dracula legend tie-in to the family origin, the death of Balin and Liliac's newly released cover of the Airplane's biggest hit, and the fact that Mrs. Shady and I just finished watching the Breaking Bad series a few days ago. All of those elements came together in this post.
I think this mewsical family is going places. It will be a pleasure to follow them and see what happens next.
Thank you again for the extra effort this morning, dear friend Cathy. I will meet you on the dance floor tomorrow. Until then have a super Sunday!
Tom,
DeleteMy technical issues might be in part to the recent macOS Mojave upgrade or it might even be simpler than that, just my settings were wrong to begin with. For the past four years I've used Firefox primarily as my web browser but while reading some of the security changes Apple added to Safari then I felt it best to switch back. Now, I have to get my Firefox favorites moved to Safari and make sure everything is running smoothly again. There's always something I stumble on like with my commenting issues this morning that needs a bit of tweaking. At least I gave your post some extra miles this morning.
Your discovery and timing worked perfectly. I didn't even know Marty Balin passed away this week. Lilac's "Somebody To Love" cover is very good. I can't believe how much the band has changed from just five years ago. I might have to consider sharing this group on my site. Again, thanks for the introduction and have a blessed Sunday!
Hi again, Cathy!
DeleteAs you know, I cannot comment on your blog without first switching to my old account on Shady Dell Music & Memories. If I forget and try to leave a comment from Shady's Place, the commentt disappears and is sent to your spam or moderation folder. It ain't always easy but friends get it done. Once again I thank you for all the extra effort on a Sunday morning.
Yessum, the title Breaking Badass also worked well for this post because the Cristeas have changed a lot in style and substance in only five years, transforming from poppers to rockers. They have demonstrated the ability to handle various styles of material including modern pop/R&B, folk rock, heavy metal, classic British metal and 60s Baby Boomer rock. I am very impressed by these young singers and musicians!
Thanks again for coming to chat, dear friend Cathy, and enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
Tom,
DeleteGo ahead use your new account. Let's play around with this to see what the problem is, if you want. I thought perhaps it had something to do with not having had any approved comments on my site but I know I approved some of those first ones. It'd be interesting to see how WP handles your new account. Just let me know ahead what you've done so I can be on the look for when you do this and if you don't want to fool with it then that's okay, too. I'm just curious as a Cathy is all. :)
The Cristeas definitely went from poppers to rockers. lol Thanks for dropping for coffee and mewsic. Have a pAwesome week!
Dear Curious as a Cathy, :)
DeleteThanks for returning to chat, dear friend! AOK, the next time I visit CAAC I will post my comment from this new account and we'll see if the screen explodes. I will be sure to back up my comment so that if I have trouble I can merely switch accounts, paste the comment in the box and submit.
I am indeed having a pAwesome week thanks to friends like you, Cathy. Thanks again!
Tom,
DeleteWell, it looks like your comment didn't explode nor get dumped into my SPAM folder. :) That's wonderful mews! Oh yeah, I thought I'd let you know I updated today's post. I added a poem I wrote after reading another blogger's inspired word prompt. I'm stretching my creativity a bit but I feel it's something I need to do. Thanks for trying your new account when you visited today. I'm glad it worked. Have a furtastic day and thanks for sharing in my morning coffee routine!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteYessum, I was pleased to see my comment get published on CAAC this morning w/o any problem. Now I can avoid switching back to the old account when I visit you. That caused me problems a couple of times when I visited another friend's blog after commenting on yours. I forgot to switch back to the new account and, for some reason, the gremlins on my other friend's blog decided not to accept comments from my old account. They went straight to the spam folder :) Now that we are all on the same page I'm happy.
I just returned from a shopping trip and will now swing over to read your poem. Thanks for coming, dear friend Cathy!
Tom,
DeleteInternet gremlins have eaten my comments a number of times and it's usually a simple fix once you figure it out. I'm glad that we have things ironed out on my blog, as well as the brief problem I experienced after changing my default web browser's settings. Technology can be tricky. Have a marvelous day and thanks for the suggestion on my photo. I'm going to play around with the idea to create something fun for Halloween. :)
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteI can't wait to see what you do with that skyscape picture to turn it into a Halloween scene.
As you can see, the gremlins struck at Shady's Place late last night, removing the first two videos in this post. For some reason the Cristea family deleted all of their videos uploaded before 2015. It's a good thing I didn't wait a week to run this post or you and most of my other followers would not have had the opportunity to watch the Cristea's 2013 and 2014 videos "Stay" and "Ho Hey." That's how it goes.
Hey, thanks for turning me on to your poetry page! I am still 'verklempt" after reading your beautiful lines.
Have a wonderful day, dear friend Cathy!
Not a bad rendition of either Enter Sandman or The Trooper. They do have very clean vocals and sound.
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex!
DeleteThanks for coming over on a Sunday, good buddy!
Knowing your taste in music, I suspected you might appreciate the Liliac band's covers of these Metallica and Iron Maiden tunes. I agree. They are a tight band with a clean sound. Lead zinger Melody Cristea uses the correct diction, milking the words of the songs for all they are worth, thereby performing covers authentically and with the same passion, fire and spirit as the original artists. She's amazing!
Thanks again for joining me on a Sunday morning, good buddy Alex, and have a great week!
Talk about very talented kids! It’s rare that they come from the same family who do heavy rock. I had to giggle that the geeky boy with full braces is now a rocking cool dude! His voice and the voice of that little girl is amazing alongside with the guitar playing and the sister on the drums. It will be fun to see their rise in rock and, when they have more life or more happenings in their lives, how the6 will sing afterwards. How many sing a song when they are young, and they sing it so well but as t8mes goes on that same song has deeper meaning and they show it through their singing. I hope you (ave a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteIt's great to see you again, dear friend. Thanks for coming back over to see what's up (what's cookin') at Shady's Place!
I'm glad you agree that America's Got Talent (and Romania, too) - proof coming from the sight and sound of this up-and-coming LA-based rock band Liliac. Yessum, all of the kids have blossomed, and all five bring their musical gifts to bear in these cover songs and videos. It's hard to tell which direction the Cristeas will take next. Perhaps only they and their producer father know, or maybe they will continue to draw inspiration from artists representing a variety of genres. They have already demonstrated their versatility in authentically covering songs of several different styles.
I'm delighted to know you enjoyed The Cristeas aka Liliac, dear friend BB. Thanks again for dropping in and have a great week!
Quite a talented family unit and what an interesting history! Perfect as we head towards Halloween. I laughed at the Grandpa Munster reference. I received the boxed set of that series for my last birthday and we're slowly, but surely making our way through both years it ran. Still makes me laugh. :D
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with these kids' hard-rockin' sounds. A far cry from the families of old that gathered with their strings around the piano for an evening of music. ;)
Hi, Kelly!
DeleteHow are you, dear friend? Thanks a lot for dropping by on the weekend to savor the sounds coming from the mouths and musical instruments of the fabulous Cristea kids - the band now called Liliac. Given your eclectic taste in music, I predicted you'd enjoy yourself today.
As I stated in another reply, I only just discovered this band less than a week ago and rushed to produce a post on them. What an exciting find! At first I thought their name was Lilac but it is Liliac which is the Romanian spelling of the flower. I guess you could say Liliac is a "flower power" group because their music packs a punch.
The band has a website where you can learn more about them and order their merch which includes a band T-shirt, lead zinger Melody's artwork (she is a splendid artist!) and their CD which includes "Somebody To Love," "Wild Thing," "Ho Hey," Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n Roll" (which itself is a cover of an original by the English band The Arrows) and more. Melody Cristea has drawn comparisons to Joan Jett, but I think she is better, more raw and wild. Melody channels the greats of rock and metal, male and female, past and present.
Here is the band's website:
https://www.liliacband.com
I'm glad you got a kick out of Jesse Pinkman's put-downs of Bela Lugosi's Dracula. I'll tell you what. The Munsters is one vintage TV series that I never get tired of watching over and over again. It's that good.
Liliac is a versatile band, and so there's no telling what type of song they will tackle next. After seeing and hearing what they have done over the last five years, I am confident that whatever they do they will do it very very well.
Thanks again for joining the Halloween fun, dear friend Kelly. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and have a wonderful week ahead!
Shady,
ReplyDeleteYou have me cracking up with this post! I love the fights you have going on between Jesse and Dracula. Smile I needed today.
WOW! Liliac sounds amazing! She is a true metal head and I am blown away. I'm blown away by the whole clan, but I am especially blown away by Liliac. I might see if I can turn any of these videos into MP3s and when I start decorating for Halloween next week, I'll play these pieces.
Thanks for sharing, as always dear friend!
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteThank you very much for coming by, dear friend!
It helps if you have watched Breaking Bad but, either way, I'm glad you got a chuckle out of Jesse Pinkman throwing shade at Dracula. Mrs. Shady and I just finished the Breaking Bad series and I liked it so much that I wanted to make reference to it on the blog at some point. With the Cristeas evolving into the rocking band Liliac, I saw my chance to play off the name of the series and work a Jesse and "Mr. Knight" story line into the post.
Just so we're clear, Liliac is the name of the band. The lead zinger you are so crazy about is younger sister Melody Cristea. She's only 15 or 16 and already has the cred of a rock veteran. Melody is an old soul. She performs with all the passion, fire and spirit required of classics like these. Simply put, Melody was born to rock. They are were!
Thank you again for taking a look and a listen, dear friend JM, and have a wonderful week ahead!
Hi Shady,
DeleteThank you for clearing that up! Sorry I disappeared for a few days - I was scrapbooking and relaxing. This weekend I might have to listen to Liliac when I scrapbook.
Have a great Thankful Thursday, dear friend!
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteIt's good you visited early in the week because you got to see and hear the first two songs in the post, the Cristea kids performing covers of "Stay" and "Ho Hey." Both videos disappeared overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Apparently the family pulled the vids because they only want to be known for their achievements as a rock band from 2015 to present. You can still find other early Cristeas videos elsewhere on YouTube, just not on the family's channel.
Have a wonderful weekend, dear friend JM!
Very familiar with "Enter Sandman" by Metallica … awesome cover by Liilac if then it was a cover … me thinks they were lip singing/ stealing … Love, cat.
ReplyDelete… lip syncing … I hate spelling mistakes … c.
DeleteHi, cat!
DeleteThank you for coming down, dear friend! I figured you might be able to relate to the Cristea family and their Eastern European back story.
Nay Nay, dear friend. On "Sandman" and all these other songs, you are actually listening to the sound coming from Melody's pipes and her sibs' musical instruments! Liliac obviously does lip sync performances in order to shoot their videos, but they are lip syncing to their own recordings, not the recordings of the original artists. I was fooled at first, too. I thought they were lip syncing to Metallica's "Sandman" sound track. I couldn't imagine those snarling sounds were coming from a 14 or 15 year old girl. But that's Liliac you are hearing, cat, I promise. Just read the comments beneath their videos on YouTube or check out their listings on Spotify, iTunes and other outlets. It's their singing and playing recorded at Dracula Productions:
<< Enter Sandman (cover) performed by LILIAC rock band. Vocals by Melody Cristea Guitars by Samuel Cristea Bass guitar by Melody Cristea Drums by Abigail Cristea Rhythm Guitar by Ethan Cristea Keys by Justin Cristea Produced by Floren Cristea and recorded @ Dracula Productions, Downey CA. >>
Thanks again for dropping by, dear friend cat, and have a super week!
Let's all get ready for the Transylvanian Invasion.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kirk!
DeleteYou might be right, good buddy! I think Drac's onto something here. A couple of years ago I ran several posts featuring the exciting crop of female dance-pop artists that are based in Romania and making a splash around the world. Now here we have Liliac, a band with roots in Romania that is setting the world of rock on fire. It's safe to say the Romanian music scene is thriving and people everywhere are paying attention.
When they are not recording in the Dracula Productions studio, the brothers and sisters of Liliac are delighting crowds with their live shows on Santa Monica Pier. I wish I lived on the Left Coast!
Thanks again for coming, good buddy Kirk!
Gosh Shady, have you caught your breath on this one after posting, yet? Talk about stealing the show...these kids are about to steal the industry, lol!
ReplyDeleteThe only song I did not know is the Iron Maiden one, but, oh well, it belongs to Liliac now! And, they've got HAIR, don't they! You're right about "Enter the Sandman". I could swear that they were lip syncing to the song! Gosh Shady, is this for real? She has really got the voice! ...Look out Heart and Joan Jett! One thing about these kids and their videos...they do it all themselves, from costumes to dance and stage presence. No frills and no props! They only offer up themselves!
And their cover of "Wild Thing"...too much! I love The Trogs, but I have to say this band took it to own! I just can't say enough about their covers. Their choice of cover songs is interesting and even thought they perform mostly rock, each choice is unique, not sounding like the same group! I love them!
There are not enough words, and my knowledge is not so great to be the best judge, but my hearing is still pretty good, and these kids play some mean instruments, with passion, I might add! Not one of them appears to be bored or uneasy in their tasks!
So, Jesse and Shady-I think you've got a winner here! From the Jefferson Airplane, Rihanna and The Lumineers...all great songs presented, and the best covers ever! Good job, Liliac!
Sorry to be so late, Shady! I'm having my bathroom renovated, and it's a mess! I've put it off too long though, and the time came to 'bite the bullet' and get 'er done! I'm pretty tired, but at least I have a bathtub for the night, lol
Great post, I love this group! Really good musicians and vocalists! Hope you are doing well, Shady! Our rain has stopped for now, but I think there will be more. Have a great week, dear friend!
Hi, Suzanne!
DeleteHow are you, dear friend? Thank you very much for coming to the rock fest presented by Dracula, Jesse Pinkman and Jesse's partner in grime "Mr. Knight," and featuring the talented up-and-coming West Coast family band Liliac.
I've got carpal tunnel from typing since 5 am. Today is one of the busiest days of the blog year as two major hops fall on the same day. Having serviced most of my accounts, I have finally returned home to Shady's Place to reply to your generous comment.
I am very happy to know that you appreciate Liliac as much as I do. Liliac is dynamic, exciting, electrifying - able to handle various styles of music and do it convincingly, including their very timely cover of the 60s Baby Boomer classic by Jefferson Airplane in honor of its fallen founder Marty Balin.
Like you I was stunned when I first watched Liliac's "Enter Sandman" video and heard the voice of a veteran male rocker coming from a 15 year old girl - lead zinger Melody Cristea. I thought she was doing a lip sync to the Metallica original but, by golly, it is actually Melody's voice. Need proof? Check out the band crushing it live on the Santa Monica boardwalk on the 4th of July 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YlTnrykJ3o
Simply put, Melody Cristea is an old soul inhabiting the body of a young woman. Her singing is otherworldly, her voice wild and untamed like the cry of the banshee. Female-fronted rock and metal bands are a hot ticket these days and, with a voice like that hers, Melody and her band seem destined for greatness. I'm thinking she could become the next Maria Brink and the band the next In This Moment. Liliac's "Sandman" cover is the "sticky video" on their profile page - the one featured at the top - the one most people seem to agree is their finest performance to date. The video has received 1,134,813 views on YouTube! What does that tell you?
I am also very pleased that you singled out the Liliac band's cover of "Wild Thing" because, along with "Sandman," it is my favorite. I keep going back and watching that video again and again, listening to Liliac's arrangement and the style in which they perform in the video. Keep in mind that it was released in 2015 when Melody was only age 13 or just turning 14. I am truly mesmerized by her poise and showmanship and her sassy, playful treatment of the song. Liliac's "Wild Thing" is, in my opinion, a new classic.
Yessum, Melody sings with fire and passion. Samuel is also a fine singer who regularly performed an imitation of Michael Jackson on SM Pier a few years ago. All five brothers and sisters are great musicians. I would say the band's most challenging workout to date is the Iron Maiden song "The Trooper" and they tore into it like it was theirs from the start and performed it with the necessary technical precision. I am thoroughly impressed and so are discriminating hardcore metal heads who give Liliac's work enthusiastic thumbs up.
I hope your home renovations are going smoothly and also hope your part of Texas is easing into autumn without any extreme weather. It is still too hot here, plus we have the stench of the red tide outbreak to contend with. It's awful - burns the eyes and closes the throat!
Thank you again for joining the fun on day one, dear friend Suzanne, and have a wonderful week!
Holy Crow! Now that is some young talent there! I love how you took us from their poppy beginnings to their hardcore rock present. I couldn't imagine that low voice coming from that young girl! I'd love to hear how she sounds just speaking. The girl on drums is fantastic too. And on lead guitar, that guy fits the mold all the way. I just hope they keep their heads, all of them. There's so much to get into out there, especially in the music industry, Lord knows. I hope they can keep away from the partying and stay serious about growing into their talents. Do you know anything about their parents, besides being Romanian? Are there any interviews with them? I'd love to hear from them.
ReplyDeleteRomainia sounds cool! I loved your tie-in with Transylvania and Dracula and all the play on words that you utilized throughout your post. That was fun and made me giggle in so many spots.
Do you know anything about how they came to name the band Liliac? I know lilacs (and I love lilacs: we had a big beautiful lilac bush in my backyard growing up and I used to love those gorgeous lavender flower blossoms: the beauty of them but especially the fragrance! What I didn't like about it was getting the "switch". I had that whipped on me a few times -- not many, mind you, but I deserved it each time. The threat alone was enough to curtail any bad behavior we had in mind...)
I have no idea what a liliac is, if it even is anything...
Liliac's covers were fantastic, all of them, even the ones when they were the Cristeas. My favorites are "Enter Sandman", "Wild Thing" and the tribute cover of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love." I hadn't heard about the death of Jefferson Airplane's founder Marty Balin. How old was he? What did he die from? I'm not surprised I didn't hear anything about it: I'm preoccupied with the Kavanaugh rollercoaster and the "limited in scope" FBI investigation. Good God help us! I spent a good portion of yesterday and this morning too faxing letters to several senators, not that it will do any good but you never know...
Re: Breaking Bad: Was I the one who turned you onto the show and suggested you start watching it? I think I might've been. I'm thrilled that you have finished the series. Wasn't it kickass?? OMG, I loved that. I got my Mom and Dad into it as well. :) The ending was awesome, was it not, with that contraption rigged up in the trunk? That was a scene I played over and over. It was brilliant. And the ending, with Badfinger's "Baby Blue". Perfection! The series finale resulted in a major surge in downloads of Badfinger's song. I did a blog post about the Breaking Bad finale a few years back for the Blood, Boobs and Carnage blogfest. That show was excellent all the way around: the writing, casting, acting, production, soundtrack, everything! Love Bryan Cranston. And Aaron Paul. They made such a good team. Have you been watching the spinoff "Better Call Saul"?? I remember you saying that you and Mrs Shady watch it but are you current? I'm behind a few seasons so I need to catch up but that's a good show too.
Anyway, AWESOME post today Tom! Loved it! Thanks for the introuction to those very talented siblings. Will be interesting to follow their trajectory and see where they go. Far I'm sure...
Have a good week coming up...
Michele at Angels Bark
Hi One-L!
DeleteThanks so much for being a great friend and swinging over here on day one, even though you were obviously up to your ears in alligators putting together posts for two blog hops. I appreciate your visit, Michele!
I’m glad you appreciate the remarkable cover performances by the exciting and talented Liliac band and enjoyed following along as they were "Breaking Badass" from innocent poppers to seasoned rockers. I agree that lead zinger Melody Cristea at times seems possessed by a demon. How else can you explain the sounds coming from her young throat?
Right off the vampire bat (see what I did there?) I want to give a shout out to Florin Cristea (aka Floren Cristea aka Chriss Floren), the father of the family, who manages the band and produces their recordings. Florin is an experienced West Coast music producer and, get this, the family's recording studio and video production facility is called Dracula Productions. :) Clearly the Cristeas are "all in" - happily capitalizing on the vampire legend as it relates to their Romanian roots. I don't know who else is involved in the operation, perhaps only Florin, but these Liliac videos are expertly shot and edited. As you know I did this kind of work in the 80s and 90s, made some music videos of my own, and I appreciate the camera angles, choreographed stage moves, editing and special effects used in these vids. These are by no means amateur productions. They are done professionally.
Here is the link to the Liliac band's official website. Again, it is very professional looking. Be sure to check out Melody's beautiful artwork offered for sale on the site!
https://www.liliacband.com
The individual members of the musical Cristea family introduce themselves in a delightful video on YouTube. I think you will enjoy this, Michele:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K1FYs6Gqgk
I'm glad you mentioned Abigal (aka Aby) the fierce drummer of Liliac. Aby's bio indicates that she is a brainy beauty. Once a quiet and reserved student focused on math and astronomy, Aby dreamed of someday traveling to Mars. When she discovered Queen drummer Roger Taylor, she was inspired to take up rock and metal drumming and is now "out of this world" having transformed herself into one of the hardest hitting female drummers in the Los Angeles area. Lead guitar player Samuel performs some blistering solos and is quite a showman. A few years ago Same did Michael Jackson impersonations during the band's live shows on Santa Monica Pier where they still appear every weekend to the delight of visitors young and old. Here is Liliac's official video (with studio audio) of their cover of Brit rocker Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train." the vid contains footage shot as Liliac performed the song live at the Pier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYheheoxYhk
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"Liliac" is indeed a thing, but I didn't find any info stating why the name of the band was changed from The Cristeas to Liliac. Liliac is the Romanian spelling of the word lilac, and so the band's name apparently makes reference to the shrub and its flower or to the lavender or purple color of the blossoms. Perhaps the name indicates that the band is primarily female-fronted and is also used ironically to hide the fact that lead zinger Melody and her sibling band mates routinely tear the roof off the sucker.
DeleteI am pleased to know your Liliac favorites match mine - "Wild Thing," "Enter Sandman" and "Somebody To Love." I was Melody’s age when Jefferson Airplane formed. Liliac’s cover of JA’s first big hit "Somebody To Love" captures the raw energy of the original, the spirit of young America in the mid to late 60s when the pop music landscape was changing dramatically. Melody voice channels that of young Grace Slick. I love her diction, how she “chews” on the words and stretches syllables to achieve the authentic sound of the original. Liliac’s video cover of "Somebody To Love," released just one day after the death of Airplane co-founder Marty Balin, is a wonderful way to honor him for his contributions to rock music. Balin died here in Tampa at age 76. I have not found any articles that have revealed the cause of death.
Actually is was Mrs. Shady's son who first urged us to watch Breaking Bad. I'm so glad we listened to him. The cast is superb, every actor and actress involved, and the writing, directing and every other aspect of the show are all first rate. BB is a brilliant TV series, possibly the best ever, and I was sorry to see it come to an end. Yessum, that scene in the final episode with the military style weapon in the trunk ripping rounds through the walls was epic. Yessum, we also watch Better Call Saul which is another fabulous series, and we have watched all available episodes thus far. The only downside is that the series is a prequel to BB and yet the characters (Mike, for example) look noticeably older.
I am thrilled that your eyes and ears matched mine on Liliac. I think the Liliac sibs are on their way to stardom. If they stick with it, keep their heads on straight and let their talented dad continue to guide them, they are going to be huge.
Thank you again for hustling over here early, dear friend Michele. I very much appreciate that. Enjoy your week!
All I can say is WOW...what pipes that little girl has! It almost doesn't seem that she could have a voice like that..almost looks fake..but I know it's not and I enjoyed seeing them as teeny-boppers growing into heavy metal rockers. I think they are quite talented and also they have fabulous hair..just sayin'! I hope they have a continued career but also keeping they're heads about them and not get crazy in the music field. Loved them tonight dear Shady and a quick shout out to Dracula...tis the season for the bleedin'! Have a good week!
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DeleteHi, YaYa!
DeleteThank you very much for coming by this early in the post's run, dear friend. That is very nice of you!
I am excited to learn that Liliac wows you as much as they wow me. Melody, age 16, is indeed a little girl with powerful pipes. She was born to rock and her brothers and sisters are equally qualified. "Is it live... or is it Memorex?" I can tell you that Melody's gravel voice is the real deal. Listen to Melody as the band performs live on Santa Monica Pier doing a song by another little rocker with powerful pipes, Melody's primary influence - Ronnie James Dio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkEFl3WZMfI
Lead Guitarist Samuel used to do Michael Jackson impressions on the Pier. Here's Sam doing his Michael dance to "Billie Jean":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np30nVLCwLA
Now watch this video of the Cristeas getting into the spirit of Halloween as MJ's "Thriller" plays in their car as it is rolling down the highway!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTOdgmHr1xU
I knew you would notice the hair on the Cristea kids. I'm so glad you enjoyed their performances and agree they have star potential. I'm also happy to know you got a kick out of Drac as co-host of this week's post.
Thank you again for your cheery visit and comment, dear friend YaYa, and have a great week!
"Somebody To Love" has come a long way since Gracie Slick and The Great Society version. Jerre
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi, Jerre!
Delete(Can you tell from all the deleted comments that I am sleepy, very weary from a grueling day on the blog circuit? This is one of the busiest days on the blog calendar.)
Thanks for popping in for the post, good buddy! (It's much more pleasant than a stake. Just ask Drac. :)
I just now went back to YouTube and reviewed the original version of "Somebody To Love" by Grace Slick & the Great Society. I had listened to it a few years ago but forgot how it goes. It is another sensational recording, isn't it? Along with that original folk-rock version and the famously recorded Jefferson Airplane rock recording, I hope you appreciated how the song was handled by the Cristeas aka Liliac.
Thanks again for your visit and comment, Jerre. I invite you back here this coming Saturday when the conductor will holler "All aboard... the Night Train." See you then!
Could this be about James Brown? I think I have all his 45s up till they started making albums. Jerre
DeleteHi, Jerre!
DeleteI don't want to be a spoiler, so I will just say yes... and no. If they have been kept in near mint condition, those early James Brown singles of yours on Federal and King are valuable collectibles by now.
I hope to see you Saturday or in the days that immediately follow, good buddy Jerre. Most of my posts are spaced six days apart now.
Have a great week and thanks again for your support!
I Don't Mind waiting and being Bewildered until the Wee Wee Hours Of The Night. I Think the wait will Try Me but when the time comes then I Feel Good. Yes, they are all in sleeves, not original, but sleeves. They all play OK but have labels with my name on them. I know I have some others that are also somewhat rare. Delchords records are going fairly high over seas but I don't think I will put them on Ebay yet. Gotta go. Jerre
DeleteHi, Jerre!
DeleteI Want You So Bad to be here for this Saturday's post. It's Out of Sight. I'll Go Crazy if you don't show up so Please Please Please be here. I guarantee you will Shout and Shimmy. Get it Together and Let Yourself Go, good buddy. Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved and Don't Be a SPMM Drop-Out. Say it Loud - I'm a Rat and I'm Proud!
If you have stickers or labels on your records, they are more valuable to you than to collectors. I wrote my name on every record in my first collection of 45s and instantly diminished their value 90%.
I have my two near mint Del-Chords singles in paper sleeves inside plastic sleeves and stored in a dust free, light free box.
Have a great day, Jerre!
Hi Shady, Dracula & Jesse P.,
ReplyDeleteI don’t know where you found this awesomely talented family! What a treat, they rock !!! I love all their songs! Two of my all time favorite songs are “Stay” & “Sandman”. ( one extreme to the other) Love their cover! But, the Cristeas/ Liliac rendition of “Wild thing “ blew me away- I love how they changed it up a bit!
I sent this to my son, who lived in CA, he said he has seen them perform on the Santa Monica pier!
Breaking Bad is the he best, my fav series of all time! I see Jesse still hasn’t lost his smart allylic attitude even on the blog, LOL!
Thanks for sharing this family treasure!
Toni Deroche
Hi, Toni!
DeleteThanks for joining the fun as I proudly introduce "the Cristea family jewels" - five talented siblings who are taking the rock world by storm under the guidance of their manager/producer father who was born and raised near Dracula's castle in Romania.
I'm happy to learn that the Rihanna cover resonated with you. I didn't know that was one of your favorites along with "Enter Sandman," not to be confused with "Mr. Sandman" by The Chordettes. :)
Wow, Toni, I'm delighted to find you and so many others who think the Liliac version of "Wild Thing" ROCKS, RULES, KILLS, SLAYS and DESTROYS! Just study that damn thing. Watch the video again and listen to the song. Liliac's cover truly is a new classic.
So cool that you contacted your son about the post. I'm jazzed to find out that he actually remembers seeing Liliac perform at SM Pier.
You and I have discussed Breaking Bad many times. You were one of the people who for years encouraged me to give the series a try. I often mentioned it to Mrs. Shady and she turned thumbs down. It wasn't until her son insisted that we sit down and start watching it with him that we realized how great a series it is. I was sad to see it end but they finished while still on top and went out with a bang. I'm glad you appreciated Jesse's wisecracks directed toward Dracula.
Thank you again for being here to meet and greet Liliac, a band that is surely going places far beyond Santa Monica Pier. Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend Toni!
This post has something for everyone, a Halloween theme, an introduction to new talent, and great music to enjoy for even people like me who don't usually embrace the heavy metal genre.
ReplyDeleteThis talented group illustrates the opposite of sibling rivalry. They are a perfect example of sibling collaboration: not only because of their familial origins, but also because they use their musical gifts to the best advantage. They easily succeeded at producing convincing covers of different musical styles and forms of songs as they matured.
Their voices match the instruments in intensity and blend harmoniously with them, bringing out and showcasing each others' strengths. They're natural performers, and I have a feeling that it didn't matter what growth into a new musical form their band took, they grew up, and grew into it - TOGETHER!
It's really entertaining to see their metamorphosis. Their dad obviously knows them, and also the recording business, well enough to show them at their best in videos. I just hope they don't go the way of the Jacksons. I think I read somewhere that theirs' was not an ideal situation.
I never watched Breaking Bad, but seeing Bela Lugosi right at the beginning of the post reminded me of one of my first dates with my husband. During a shortcut we took through a cemetery under a full October moon, he stopped suddenly, stared at me with wide eyes, and launching into a perfect Count Dracula accent, said, "I vant to drink some blood.....!!" Scared the wits out of me!
I think Halloween is pure harmless fun for kids and adults alike. However, a lot of people in our neck of the woods see it as evil and satanic, and have "fall celebrations" instead.
I recognized two songs on the post: "Somebody to Love" and "Wild Thing". I first heard the latter in the very funny 1989 movie "Major League", about a group of social misfits and prison inmates who were tapped to form a baseball team. Charlie Sheen played a pitcher whose eyesight was so bad that he threw ridiculously 'wild' balls, but he became the fan's favorite and the team went on to win games. Every time he came to the mound, with spiked hair and Goth appearance, the PA system started blasting "Wild Thing" and the crowd went crazy. It's quite a song, with or without the movie reference, and I love it, although I personally am not very wild!
"Stay" and "Ho Hey" were new to me, but I liked them enough that I had to play them several times. I was amazed at the polished performance of the little guys in the family too. On "Sandman" and "Trooper", also unfamiliar songs to me, I was mostly preoccupied with the flying hair, but I was able to appreciate the total command these young musicians showed over their instruments. I kept an open mind!
Thank you Drac, Jesse and Tom. This post is really "Where the Wild Things Are"!!
Hi, Kathleen!
DeleteThanks for coming to this week's Halloween party, dear friend! This year, for the first time in my ten years of blogging, I am presenting seven Halloween themed posts in a row. To fit it all in I needed to get the string started in September. Next year I plan to begin my salute to H-ween on the 4th of July! :)
I'm happy to know you appreciate the talented siblings of the Cristea clan who have gone from Partridge Family to (Marilyn) Manson family over the last five years. You're right. They seem like a close knit family with no hint of sibling rivalry. The kids seem eager to share the spotlight with other.
Your timing was perfect, Kathleen. Shortly after you visited Shady's Place last night and watched the videos in this post, the blog gremlins dropped in to wreak havoc. The Cristeas, for whatever reason, decided to remove all of the older videos from their YouTube channel including the first two that I had embedded in my post - "Stay and "Ho Hey." I don't understand what prompted them to do it. Perhaps they want to establish themselves as Liliac the rock band and don't want new fans to see the relatively tame pop and folk covers they recorded years ago. Whatever the case, this is the first time I have had two songs disappear from a "live" post with no way of replacing them. Fortunately almost all of my followers have viewed the post by this time and therefore got to see the "Stay" and "Ho Hey" video performances by the kids before they vanished.
I'm glad you appreciate my use of Bela Lugosi's Dracula in the post (stake?). Thanks for sharing the anecdote about Bob giving you a scare in the cemetery. I thought Mrs. Shady and I were the last people on earth to watch the Breaking Bad series. We highly recommend it. I can't think of a better series in the history of television.
When I was young, Halloween was indeed "pure harmless fun for kids and adults alike." Then came the wave of incidents in which cruel people inserted needles and razor blades in trick-or-treat candy or laced it with rat poison. Next came news of extreme acts of vandalism and setting fires on Halloween night. In some neighborhoods, in some cities, Halloween has indeed lost its innocence and is something to be feared, and children are not safe on the streets at night without a chaperon - at Halloween or any other night of the year. It is a different world, not the one we knew as children.
I never saw the Charlie Sheen baseball movie Major League. Mrs. Shady loves baseball movies but dislikes Sheen, and so I doubt we will be watching it any time soon. I see that the version of "Wild Thing" used in the film was recorded by the Los Angeles-based punk band X. It was released as a single but failed to make the chart.
I'm glad you enjoyed the exciting, electrifying performances of the band called Liliac - based in LA with roots in Romania. Thank you again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Kathleen, and enjoy the rest of your week!
This is quite a tale--a musical journey accompanied by the one and only Lugosi and Pinkman. This is a mashup of uber proportions. You couldn't have given a better Halloween kick-off party.
ReplyDeleteHi, Cheryl-Lee!
DeleteWelcome back to Shady's Place, dear friend!
I'm hoping this means you have watched Breaking Bad. I have a knack of referencing movies and TV shows that few of my readers have seen, no matter how popular they are or were. Of course, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to encounter younger folks who never heard of Bela Lugosi. I'm delighted to know you appreciated what I did there with the "monster mashup." Actually this is my second H-ween post in a string of seven. It will be the most I ever ran in a single year. I hope you enjoyed the musical offerings by the LA band Liliac.
Thank you again for your visit and comment, dear friend C-Lee!
I can't believe how young those kids in Liliac are. (Or am I getting old?) Their intensity doesn't quite match their age. They've got some talent!
ReplyDeleteHi, Sherry!
DeleteThanks for coming to meet the Cristea kids aka the rockin' LA-based band called Liliac, dear friend!
They sure do have talent! As you might have noticed, two of the group's early music videos were removed halfway through this posts's live run. I didn't want to tinker with the post for fear of messing things up, and so I will provide you with links to two other early song performances by the Cristea children:
"Let's Dance" (apparently an original song) was uploaded in 2013:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCpyuxbD2rE
"Say Something," which I believe is a Mariah Carey cover, was released in 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_VZzsx3J54
Thanks again for your visit and comment, dear friend Sherry!
Hi Shady!
ReplyDeleteA family that plays (music) together - stays together! These kids should go far. Terrific post for the season ;-) I enjoyed "Wild Thing" and "Somebody to Love" and that mint green guitar was sweet!
Have a relaxing weekend!
Hi, diedre!
DeleteThank you very much for coming, dear friend! I'm glad you were here this week to meet Liliac, the band of brothers and sisters of the Cristea family with origins in Romania and ties to the Dracula legend. I am delighted you agree with me that they will go far. They surely deserve bigger and better venues than the boardwalk at Santa Monica Pier where they entertain the crowd every weekend. Several other readers have singled out "Wild Thing" as a favorite and it is also one of mine. I am following Liliac's YouTube channel and hope to bring you more of their great covers and maybe some originals in future posts.
Thank you again for dropping by and for your supportive comment, dear friend diedre. Have a good Friday and fantastic weekend!
Ok So this was the week I was slammed and didn't even get to post on my blog. Dang, you had me at Jesse!!!! I love love love him on Breaking Bad. He's a terrific actor and for weeks my hubs and I would say Bitch at the end of everything in our own home. LOL
ReplyDeleteNow , lets get to the songs on this post- I have always loved the song Stay by Rihanna and this version was really nice. Metallica to Jefferson Airplane- wow!! Loved both covers and cant believe how young they are with such talent. I'm glad I looked back to see what I missed on your posts. You never disappoint! :)
Hi, Holli!
DeleteI'm glad I found your comment after all these months, dear friend. Thanks a lot! I'm happy to know you are a Breaking Bad and Jesse Pinkman fan and that you enjoyed the rock and metal of the Transylvanian family band Liliac. I think they're going places.
Thanks again for your visit and comment, dear friend Holli!