Veronique Chevalier
Encyclopedia
Veronique Chevalier is an award-winning American mistress of ceremonies
, singer-songwriter
, music producer, comedienne and parodist popular in the steampunk
community. She produces live cabaret in Southern California and is an emcee of steampunk events nationwide.
in Corvallis, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Liberal Studies, and is a trained classical ballet dancer.
Since 2005, Chevalier has been producing and hosting "Veronique's Red Velvet Variety Show", a live vaudeville
and cabaret
production featuring local as well as "big name" musical performers, unusual acts, magic, burlesque and comedy. Former performers in Chevalier's shows include Unextraordinary Gentlemen
and Unwoman
. Recent shows have also been cosponsored by Gilded Age Records and SepiaChord.com.
Chevalier has a credited cameo role in the 2005 short film mocumentary, Camp Burlesque, and also appears in the companion book Postcards from Camp Burlesque.
Chevalier is also a singer and songwriter. In 2005 she produced an "info-tainment" benefit project—a theatrical show and recording—called Cabaret4Choice. The recording garnered Chevalier the Unanimous Choice Award for Best Independent Cabaret Artist at the 14th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards.
In 2008 she produced the album, "Polka Haunt Us", featuring guest artists including Lili Haydn
, Kerry Christensen
, Marion Ramsey
, and Vinny Golia
. The album was a critical success, and was an official entry on the 51st Annual Grammy ballot in the Polka category (the final year prior to a decision by The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
to discontinue the category). Her song, "Beer Hall in Hell" has been played on the Dr. Demento
radio show, and her song, "Vampire Surprise" won The Mad Music Archive's 2007 "Best New Halloween Song". Chevalier is also one of twenty artists featured on "A Sepiachord Passport", a compilation recording released by Projekt Records. Her track, a tango entitled, "The Dance Master", has received favorable reviews.
In May 2010, Chevalier performed at The Steampunk World's Fair
in Piscataway, New Jersey. In July 2010 she was emcee of the Saturday steampunk "after-party" at San Diego Comic-Con International, where the headliners included The Slow Poisoner
, Unextraordinary Gentlemen
and Voltaire
.
In March 2011, Chevalier was the MC and opened for Unextraordinary Gentlemen
and Abney Park
at Wild Wild West Con, a steampunk convention and festival held at Old Tucson Studios
in Tucson, Arizona.
Singles:
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
, singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, music producer, comedienne and parodist popular in the steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
community. She produces live cabaret in Southern California and is an emcee of steampunk events nationwide.
Life and career
Chevalier attended Oregon State UniversityOregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
in Corvallis, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Liberal Studies, and is a trained classical ballet dancer.
Since 2005, Chevalier has been producing and hosting "Veronique's Red Velvet Variety Show", a live vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
production featuring local as well as "big name" musical performers, unusual acts, magic, burlesque and comedy. Former performers in Chevalier's shows include Unextraordinary Gentlemen
Unextraordinary Gentlemen
Unextraordinary Gentlemen is a musical project formed in Los Angeles in 2005 by bassist/keyboardist Richard Pilawski & vocalist/lyricist Eric Schreeck to "...explore our love for post-punk, synth-pop, industrial & experimental music combined with the literary genre of Victorian fantasy." The...
and Unwoman
Unwoman
Unwoman is a solo artist from San Francisco, California. Musician Erica Mulkey mixes cello and vocals with electronic influences. The music she creates is difficult to label with an established genre, but contains characteristics of synth pop and goth...
. Recent shows have also been cosponsored by Gilded Age Records and SepiaChord.com.
Chevalier has a credited cameo role in the 2005 short film mocumentary, Camp Burlesque, and also appears in the companion book Postcards from Camp Burlesque.
Chevalier is also a singer and songwriter. In 2005 she produced an "info-tainment" benefit project—a theatrical show and recording—called Cabaret4Choice. The recording garnered Chevalier the Unanimous Choice Award for Best Independent Cabaret Artist at the 14th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards.
In 2008 she produced the album, "Polka Haunt Us", featuring guest artists including Lili Haydn
Lili Haydn
Lili Haydn is a violinist, vocalist, composer, guitarist, and actress. As a child, she pursued a career as an actress; at age eight she discovered the violin and began to focus on classical music. By the time Haydn was fifteen, she had played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.After graduating from...
, Kerry Christensen
Kerry Christensen
Kerry Christensen is an American yodeler . He yodels in both western and Alpine styles. He also plays the accordion, the zither and the alphorn and is very good at imitating chickens....
, Marion Ramsey
Marion Ramsey
Marion Ramsey in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an American actress. She was a regular on the series Cos but is best known for her role as the timid Officer Laverne Hooks in the Police Academy movies...
, and Vinny Golia
Vinny Golia
Vinny Golia is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation....
. The album was a critical success, and was an official entry on the 51st Annual Grammy ballot in the Polka category (the final year prior to a decision by The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
to discontinue the category). Her song, "Beer Hall in Hell" has been played on the Dr. Demento
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
radio show, and her song, "Vampire Surprise" won The Mad Music Archive's 2007 "Best New Halloween Song". Chevalier is also one of twenty artists featured on "A Sepiachord Passport", a compilation recording released by Projekt Records. Her track, a tango entitled, "The Dance Master", has received favorable reviews.
In May 2010, Chevalier performed at The Steampunk World's Fair
Steampunk World's Fair
The Steampunk World's Fair is a Steampunk convention produced by Oneiroi Productions It was held in Piscataway, New Jersey in 2010 and Somerset, New Jersey in 2011, both times during the month of May....
in Piscataway, New Jersey. In July 2010 she was emcee of the Saturday steampunk "after-party" at San Diego Comic-Con International, where the headliners included The Slow Poisoner
Andrew Goldfarb
Andrew Goldfarb is a musician, artist, and novelist living in San Francisco, California. He is a member of the bizarro fiction movement in literature....
, Unextraordinary Gentlemen
Unextraordinary Gentlemen
Unextraordinary Gentlemen is a musical project formed in Los Angeles in 2005 by bassist/keyboardist Richard Pilawski & vocalist/lyricist Eric Schreeck to "...explore our love for post-punk, synth-pop, industrial & experimental music combined with the literary genre of Victorian fantasy." The...
and Voltaire
Voltaire (musician)
Voltaire , is a popular dark cabaret Cuban-American musician...
.
In March 2011, Chevalier was the MC and opened for Unextraordinary Gentlemen
Unextraordinary Gentlemen
Unextraordinary Gentlemen is a musical project formed in Los Angeles in 2005 by bassist/keyboardist Richard Pilawski & vocalist/lyricist Eric Schreeck to "...explore our love for post-punk, synth-pop, industrial & experimental music combined with the literary genre of Victorian fantasy." The...
and Abney Park
Abney Park (band)
Abney Park is a band based in Seattle that mixes elements of industrial dance, world music, and steampunk influenced lyrics in their work. Their name comes from Abney Park Cemetery in London...
at Wild Wild West Con, a steampunk convention and festival held at Old Tucson Studios
Old Tucson Studios
Old Tucson Studios is a movie studio and theme park just west of Tucson, Arizona, adjacent to the Tucson Mountains and close to the western portion of Saguaro National Park. Built in 1939 for the movie Arizona, it has been used for the filming of several movies and television westerns since then,...
in Tucson, Arizona.
Stage persona
Like many in the steampunk community, Chevalier has assumed a "stage persona" and created a backstory for it:Discography
Albums:- Cabaret4Choice (2005) (Executive Producer)
- Polka Haunt Us (2008)
Singles:
- Vampire Surprise (2007)
- Beer Hall in Hell (2009)
- Internet Date (2010)