Parlor Social

PARLOR SOCIAL BIO

Voted ‘Hot 100 Unsigned Live Artists and Bands in the USA’ by the national trade Magazine, Music Connection for a second year in a row, Parlor Social—Dessy Di Lauro (vocals), Ric’key Pageot (keyboards)—brings a fresh approach to the music scene. Their electrifying live shows are more than just a performance, they are an unrivaled jubilated experience. Backline’d with a band equipped with old style instruments & props (a saloon piano, full brass horns, accordion and banjo), tappers, & jump n’ jiving lindy hoppers, PARLOR SOCIAL pays detailed homage to the Harlem Renaissance. But the undercurrent of their urban & hip-hop beats reveals their sound is a uniquely new creation they’ve dubbed “neo-ragtime.”

PARLOR SOCIAL is fronted by Montreal-bred husband and wife team Dessy Di Lauro and Ric’key Pageot. Dessy provides sultry vocals that flawlessly encapsulate the spirit of Uptown’s early 20th Century cultural boom through the prohibition era, but she offers a timeless approach that’s all her own. Serving as musical director and pianist/ accordionist, Ric’key is either playing the squeezebox or tickling the ivories with an affable buoyant stride that promotes the infectiously festive atmosphere of their concerts.

It’s no wonder Dessy and Ric’key are the embodiment of the aforementioned jazz icons they idolized—Dessy grew up admiring and studying musical icons from Ella Fitzgerald to Stevie Wonder. After her mother placed her in the church choir at the ripe age of 4, Dessy’s perennial rendezvous with music began. Singing and performing, or what she calls her “gift from God,” set her on a road to lyrical destiny—a road that led her to background session singing with Patti Labelle, Deborah Cox, and The Neville Bros, and a coveted leading part on Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba show out of Orlando, Florida.

Ric’key was raised in a musical family. His mother and his father, who was an accomplished touring bass player, enrolled Ric’key in classical piano lessons at the age of 8. He later parlayed his skills into garnering several opportunities and milestones, including becoming the youngest musical director ever hired by Cirque Du Soleil when he joined the creation team to work on their groundbreaking arena touring production, Delirium. The large band consisted of an impressive line-up of eleven musicians and six lead singers, among them, Dessy.

Dessy and Ric’key’s musical paths eventually lead them to each other. What initially started as a professional relationship (Ric’key produced Dessy’s debut solo EP, A Study of a Woman’s Soul), ended in a flourishing marriage. Dessy and Ric’key began a new life together and set their sites on Los Angeles.

In 2010, produced and backed by her husband Ric’key, Dessy released her first solo music video “Why U Raggin’, which won two Hollywood Music in Media Awards, including Best R&B/Soul Song of the Year. Her sophomore effort, 2013’s This is Neo-Ragtime, set them on an even bigger path of stardom when the album’s first single “Jump n’ Jivin’” was featured on ESPN throughout the 2013 NCAA basketball Final Four Championship. 2015 brought us her latest EP Say Hep Hep, now nominated for an Independent Music Award (IAM) for ‘Best Urban EP’, which boasts the aptly titled single and music video “Let Me Hear You Say Hep Hep.” Their latest single, “It’s Complicated (Let Go)’’ is also nominated for an IAM for Best R&B/Soul song of the year.

Dessy and Ric’key realized their harmonious journey has been more than a love affair. The duo combined their shared experiences along with their knowledge & respect for the artists who paved the roads before them and conceived of Parlor Social. Recently, they’ve performed their show at the Blue Note Jazz festival, CMJ Festival in NYC, London, Atlanta, Vancouver, Whistler, Montreal International Jazz festival, London and The BRIC JazzFest in Brooklyn, opening for Kamasi Washington.

In September 2016, well –respected music critic Patrick O’hefferman raves PARLOR SOCIAL has “undeniably the best live performance in the Los Angeles club scene, if not the nation”.

When Dessy and Ric’key aren’t wowing audiences as PARLOR SOCIAL, they’re contributing their artistry throughout the industry. Ric’key has toured with world-renowned, multi-platinum icon Madonna for her ‘Sticky & Sweet,’ ‘MDNA’ and ‘Rebel Heart’ tours, along with Motown Legend Diana Ross’ ‘More Today Than Yesterday’ tour. He’s also recently written & recorded for R&B songstress Jill Scott and funk legends Earth, Wind and Fire. Dessy has showcased her eclectic songwriting talents in several seminal jazz haunts, including with platinum-selling saxophonist Eric Darius’s 2014 opus, ‘’Retro Forward’’ produced by Kenny ‘’Babyface’’ Edmonds’s right hand man, Antonio Dixon.

PARLOR SOCIAL is back in studio working on their upcoming album set for a release in early 2017. The album will include their new song ‘’Higher Place’’ which features an 11-piece big band arrangement written and directed by Dr. Benjamin Wright whom has collaborated with superstars such as Micheal Jackson, Janet Jackson, Outkast, Justin Timberlake, etc. Their new album will also feature the New Jack Swing king himself, Teddy Riley on vocoder. Riley has produced and written for Micheal Jackson as well, Lady Gaga, NSync, Bobby Brown, and Whitney Houston, but he is mostly known for writing, performing, and producing the 1996 Blackstreet smash-hit, No Diggity. For the song’s 20th anniversary on September 30th, PARLOR SOCIAL posted a youtube video of them interviewing Riley discussing his music and legacy to help commemorate the milestone anniversary.

PARLOR SOCIAL posted on their Facebook page a recent live performance their neo-ragtime rendition of the hit ‘No Diggity’ with Teddy Riley himself as a special guest. The video has been watched nearly 50,000 times, shared over 175 times with over 550 likes in less than two weeks.

With the help of their undeniable determination, Parlor Social is certainly on their way to making a mark in the music industry.