Band leader Jendayi Bonds chats with Amy Poehler, is
named Austin’s “It Girl” by Austin Chronicle.
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Charlie
Belle (L-R): Gyasi Bonds, Jendayi Bonds, Zoe Czarnecki. Photo Credit: Barclay
Ice & Coal.
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& SHARE
“Get To Know”
is the title track from the upcoming EP by Charlie Belle. Hear it now
exclusively via Rookie!
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“Yup, she
rocks.” – Austin Chronicle names
Jendayi Bonds of Charlie Belle Austin’s “It Girl”
Charlie
Belle is an Austin, Texas-based trio
comprised of three teenagers with 30-plus years of music-making between them.
The group, comprised of sister and brother Jendayi
Bonds (vocals, guitar) and Gyasi
Bonds (drums, vocals), and Zoe
Czarnecki (bass) will see the national release of its debut EP on
January 13th, 2015. The
title track “Get To Know” is
streaming now via Rookie
as the website’s November theme song. Hear the song the site calls “super-melodic,
toe-tapping guitar-pop” now
and read an interview with Jendayi here.
The catchy sing-alongs of Charlie Belle bring to mind the English “alternapop” sound of 90’s –
bands such as The Sundays, Belly, and The Lemonheads (more popular in the UK than its native Boston,
after all) to name a few. Charlie Belle – named for the Bonds siblings’ great-grandmother –
further sites Esperanza Spalding, The Strokes, and Arctic Monkeys as more contemporary influences. In fact, Jendayi hopes to co-write with Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner someday.
At 16-years-old, Jendayi
is the elder in Charlie Belle. Born
in Atlanta, she picked up the guitar at seven years old after moving to
Philadelphia, quickly began writing her own songs, and at the age of ten,
formed Charlie Belle with Gyasi after relocating to Austin in
2008.
Gyasi was only four when he began drum lessons and it didn’t
take long to discover that he was a natural. The youthful energy of Gyasi’s funky pace-setting is what
gives away his age – he turned 14 this month.
Bassist Czarnecki started out
on her instrument when she was only eight. A driven and disciplined
14-year-old, the Austin native’s laid back bass lines on “Get To Know” contrast her outgoing personality.
In 2011, the then-duo covered “Strange Powers” (dang, these kids are cool!) for a series of
videos related to the promotion of the documentary of the same name about The Magnetic Fields. Shot in Gyasi’s
bedroom when he was just eight-years-old, the clip later landed
them in USA Today.
Soon after, Jendayi
was interviewed by Amy Poehler as part of the comedienne’s
“Smart Girls at the Party w/ Amy Poehler”
web series and, at age 14, Jendayi
fulfilled a personal goal when Charlie
Belle was invited to perform at the Austin
City Limits Music Festival, an appearance that became the jump-off point
for the band as a live act in Austin.
As Charlie
Belle begins down the road towards national recognition with the national
release of its debut EP, the band is continuing to get noticed at home. Just this fall, The Austin Chronicle named
Jendayi the “Best ‘It’ Girl” in the
paper’s annual “Best of Austin” issue, summing up their coverage with a simple
statement: “Yup, she rocks.”
We think you’ll agree.
Austin-based trio Charlie
Belle will see the national release of its debut EP “Get To Know” on January 13th,
2015. Members of Charlie Belle are
available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
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Charlie Belle Links
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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion
