ELIZA(BETH) JANE SCHNEIDER

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Eliza Jane Schneider, actress, songstress, oral historian, and playwright, is a woman of many voices. Currently, she can be heard worldwide on Comedy Central’s hit animated series, "South Park," as Wendy Testaberger, Shelly Marsh, Principal Victoria, The Mayor, Mrs. Cartman, Mrs. Crabtree, Stan’s Mom, and Kenny’s Mom, among others. She also voices most of the female characters on MTV’s animated show, "3-South". The daughter of a Native American law attorney, she spent her formative years on a Chippewa Reservation with her two older brothers. Her father was a math and drama teacher at the School of Arts high school in Rochester, New York, where she graduated as salutatorian. She also participated in a theater program at Northwestern University's National High School Institute and graduated from UCLA as a world arts and cultures major. For her senior thesis, she made a cross-country road tour in a former ambulance studying regional dialects. Based on her research, she developed and performed original one woman shows entitled "`I'm Not Weird' -- American Perspectives" and "Freedom of Speech." Her other solo plays, "USA 911" won her inclusion in the California Arts Council’s Touring Artist’s Roster, and "Road Trip" won a Drama-logue Critic’s Award for Outstanding Performance. Schneider has traversed the globe, collecting over 1000 recordings of dialects, several of which are used in her CDs and award-winning multiple character solo shows. Recurring on UPN’ "Girlfriends", Schneider portrays multiple characters on NBC’s, "Spy TV," PIXAR’s upcoming feature, "Finding Nemo", and Paramount’s Mel Gibson film, "What Women Want". Dubbed by the press as the "Queen of Saturday Morning", she has also starred in two CBS Saturday Morning live action television series, the Emmy-Award winning "Beakman’s World" and Howie Mandel’s "Amazing Live Sea Monkeys", for which she also wrote music. She has just completed recording the children’s album, "Rusty, Lulu, and Magical Izzy." which she co-wrote and co-produced with Debi Derryberry and E.G. Daily. Her solo play, "USA 911" won her inclusion in the California Arts Council’s Touring Artist’s Roster, and "Road Trip" won a Drama-logue Critic’s Award for Outstanding Performance, despite its status as a "Work Ever In Progress". Schneider’s current solo show, "Freedom of Speech" is a 34 character documentary of her 317,000 mile journey throughout America in a converted ambulance, on a mission to define American culture. An alumni of UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures Dept. and the Eastman School of Music, Schneider sings and plays violin in several bands, including the critically acclaimed country trio, "Honeypig," (www.honeypig.com) LA’s foremost Jewish punk band, Gefilte Fuck (www.gefiltefuck.com) and the electronic/rock bands "Electric Skychurch" and "Blue Girl," a self-written rock-opera/ performance-art piece which won her inclusion in the LA New Times "Best of LA 2000" issue. She has performed in dozens of plays, including the title roles in Antigone (Chicago) and Agnes of God (New York), and she has directed two. She is currently collaborating with dialectologist Robert Easton on the publication of her exhaustive dialect research, and she will be premiering "FREEDOM OF SPEECH" in August 2003 at The New York International Fringe Festival.

HONEY PIG

Honey Pig “Man, do they make sweet music,” praises Country Weekly columnist Larry Holden. He’s talking about all-girl country pop harmony group Honey Pig, who’ve been catching the eyes and ears of fans and industry folk alike. Musically, “Honey Pig present their country-folk tunes in three-part harmonies that carry you right into the heart of Dixie Chick territory,” says Music Connection Club Editor Bernard Baur. “I’d compare us to the Judds, Dixie Chicks, Emmy Lou, Dolly, and Linda Ronstadt as a trio,” says Honey Pig vocalist Laura Milby, who, along with Corrie Shenigo and one of Hollywood’s biggest voiceover actresses, Debi Derryberry, make up the vocal front for the band. For the girls in Honey Pig, music has been part of the equation since day one. “I have been singing as long as I can remember, smiles Debi Derryberry, whose voice has been heard internationally in Paramount/Nickeloden’s Academy Award-nominated character Jimmy Neutron. Derryberry, supplies the voices for a gamut of characters including the Emmy Award-winning show “Life with Louie” to flicks like Charlotte’s Web II and Disney’s Lady and the Tramp II and the voice of Mattel's hugely popular lead Diva Star doll "Alexa.” The elfin-sized voice over actress started young, and like many, found that music was in her family. “My grandfather was a professional singer, she recalls. “I got my first guitar when I was 9 and wrote my first song when I was 9. My Mom and brother and sister would always entertain ourselves on roadtrips with 3 part harmonies that we learned in Girl Scout choir, camp or school.” Laura Milby got her vocal training in the same age-old place as Bach and Elvis – church. “Church choir, church musicals, church, church, church,” she recalls. Milby and her six brothers grew up in rural Virgina, where she tinkered with a variety of instruments, including piano, flute and bass. She has a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Virgina Tech and has toured from the East Coast to Seoul, South Korea with musical theater productions. Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Corrie Shenigo was raised by an opera singer and rock n’ roll guitarist, which explains her schizophrenic range of music influences. She has appeared on stage, screen and radio for as long as she can remember, most memorably working alongside Al Pacino in the feature film, Hits. Shenigo has appeared in The Young and the Restless , Days of Our Lives and with Ernest Borgnine in The Blue Light. She spent a summer touring with Smokey Joe's Café, and returned to LA in search of a project that she could really "sink her teeth into." She found that with Laura and Debi and is thrilled to be the newest member of Honey Pig. "It's been so great... I can't imagine doing anything else." Honey Pig formed in the San Fernando Valley and quickly released Exactly We Are, which drew regional acclaim. “So good it’ll make you holler soo-wee!” praises Country Weekly, while Music Connection flat out declares, “go get the CD – it’s right purty!” Fellow trade Music Biz lauded, “Vocally tight and strong, high in the quality of the tunes,” adding “…their music speaks the language of the new millenium.” Honey Pig’s live shows also gained the band accolades. “Honey Pig is a heart-warming, endearing and very funny group,” says Music Connection, adding, “ Their harmonies are magical and their countrified folk tunes are ingeniously written. This is an act that could make the Grinch smile and have you humming their songs all the way home.” Sweet music, indeed.

GEFILTE FUCK

Gefilte Fuck was one of the first Yidcore bands from Los Angeles. Jews From The Valley, a punk outfit featuring Gefilte Fuck's Mark Hecht and local scenester Bob Moss (of Wednesday BBQ fame) preceded it by a few years, but Gefilte Fuck had a sound and style all their own.Each member would wear a tallis, yamulke, or both. Singer Howard Hallis would come out holding a bottle of Manichevitz wine and scream out to the crowd "Yer all a bunch of G-ddamn bastards! Oy!" and proceed to throw chunks of gefilte fish on the dance floor. The hardcore punk guitar would start, and there would be a Hora dance moving in the center of the mosh pit. It was quite a sight, and each show was a lot of fun. The sets would consist of hardcore versions of popular Jewish songs such as "Hava Nagila", "Dreidel", a few originals such as "Kibbutz" (written by Bregman), and some parodies ("Smells Like Jew Spirit"). All the members of the band were Jewish except for Robin, the drummer. He didn't seem to mind, though. Eliza Schneider joined the band in time.  Gefilte Fuck played some big shows, including Magica Sexualis (with The Imperial Butt Wizards, Deathride 69 and others), the Los Angeles Cacophony Society Show at Young Moguls in Hollywood, as well as the Cacophony New Years Eve party for 1992/1993. The biggest gig the band ever played was at the Park Plaza Hotel for the Ben Is Dead "I Hate Brenda" party, where over 600 people were in attendance (the show was featured on MTV and actually showed a blip of Gefilte Fuck playing). Gefilte Fuck also did a gig at UCLA's Dixon Art Building where the band was attacked by men in bear suits. It was featured on the cover of The Daily Bruin.

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