"This album isn't currently available from Ladyslipper but you can purchase it from www.cdbaby.com or the duo's own website at www.nondomestiks.com
Here are their Notes from CD Baby:
The Non-Domestiks are Rosalba Gallo and Katrina Wylie, a Philadelphia area duo. They met after Katrina answered an ad Rosalba placed in a local paper in 1998 when she was looking for a collaborator. They were destined to meet as there were two other earlier times in their lives their paths almost crossed. They attended the same college at the same time (and also dropped out about the same time). Then some years later, they both were good friends with two different members of the same local band.
When Rosalba and Katrina first met, they hit it off immediately and found they had a chemistry in both their writing and sound which they consider to be reminiscent of 70's rock. Their vocals are amazingly similar to the point where it's difficult to tell them apart.
In just a few months after they started working together, they recorded their first EP 'Time to Turn' going out originally under the name of 'Beat Theory.' They quickly gained recognition, opening for Mary Lee's Corvette and playing at the Tin Angel, one of Philadelphia's most prominent venues. The EP also received air play on WXPN, a popular college radio station in the area. One local promoter described the CD as 'ethereal.'
Due to the plethora of bands in the area with the word 'theory' in their names, they decided to change it to 'The Non-Domestiks.' They chose the name mainly because they just liked the way it sounded (not to mention, they hate housework!). Plus, they do have a European connection in that Katrina was born in England and Rosalba is first generation Italian. They also feel their music has a European sound.
As far as influences, Rosalba's are The Beatles, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Joe Jackson, Tears for Fears, Janis Ian, and Suzanne Vega, to name a few. Katrina's influences range from The Beatles, Elton John, and k.d. lang to the Go-Go's, Joan Jett and 70's pop music like the Carpenters and Abba.
Some of these influences can be heard on their current CD, 'TRY.' Songs on the CD have also been compared to artists like Todd Rundgren and Aimee Mann. 'TRY' starts off with a powerful 80's techno-pop sounding tune 'Just a Game' followed by the mellow ballad, 'I Love You.' The rest of the CD consists of melodic lite rock tunes with the more progressive 'Guilt Driver' thrown in.
Rosalba and Katrina both enjoy playing a lot of different instruments but consider the keyboard to be their primary instrument. In addition to the keyboard, Rosalba plays guitar, bass and drums and Katrina plays guitar and woodwinds (saxophone, clarinet and bassoon). Being multi-instrumentalists gives them the independence to record their CDs entirely by themselves and still have a lot of variety in their sound. For live performances, however, they have a back-up bass player and drummer. On the side, for fun, the occasional dollar and to expand their performing opportunities, they also work as an acoustic cover duo occasionally mixing in some of their original tunes.
Individual Background
Rosalba is primarily self-taught on all her instruments. She started playing piano by ear at the age of 7. She picked up the guitar at 16 and went on to study classical piano at college for two years. She didn't finish college deciding instead to play with a cover band full-time. After playing in cover bands for years, she decided to quit the cover music scene in 1998 and follow her dream to play her own music. She sought another female artist to perform and collaborate with as two-part harmonies are an important element in her music and writing lyrics didn't come as easily to her as writing music. She put an ad in the paper - Katrina was the first person to answer and turned out to be exactly what she was looking for. Rosalba always felt she had a knack for playing drums and in recent years has developed to the point where she now plays drums professionally (her drumming can be heard on 'Guilt Driver,' one of the tracks on 'TRY'). She currently plays drums for the local original rock group, Prima Donna.
Katrina started playing piano when she was five. She began writing songs at the age of 10 after learning a few chords on the guitar (throughout the years, she's written over 250 songs). She took up the sax in grade school and went on to play bassoon in high school. She majored in music at college but found she wasn't as dedicated to playing the bassoon as to writing and playing her own music. Some time after dropping out, she co-formed an original hard rock group which she left after several years to move in a more mellow direction. She enjoyed writing and recording her own music but wanted to find someone to work and perform with. She checked the local Musician's Grapevine ads for years but never clicked musically with anyone until she met Rosalba."
