Frankie Tease Blog

Whitney Streed is a prominant comedy performer in the Portland Oregon Burelsque circuit who is also dabbling in combining Burlesque & Stand-up comedy. Frankie Tease sat down to ask this busy gal a few questions about comedy and burlesque, why she moved to Portland, OR., and what she has in store for you as her audience. FRANKIE-When did you get started in stand up comedy and what or who inspired you? WHITNEY-I started doing stand-up about two years ago. I had a job where I had a lot of free time but I couldn't seem to find any kind of creative outlet, even though I was craving some kind of art. I had thought about doing stand-up kind of in the back of my mind, but hadn't seriously considered it. Then one day I had this weird experience where I was wearing this shirt and I thought, "I should wear this when I try an open mic." By the end of the day I was like, "No.You should do it now. Now is the day. Go and do it!" And so I wrote a set list in a

Frankie Tease sat down to talk with one of Portland, Oregon's favorite visiting Burlesque performers. Topics include: Honolulu, how a life-long ballerina started doing Burlesque, and what does Portland have to do with Honolulu anyway? Frankie- How long have you been a resident of Honolulu? Violetta- I was born and raised in Hawaii! I'm Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, European and Native American, which I think is a great representation of Hawaii's unique cultural strata. I love my island home and the "aloha spirit" that resides here! Frankie- That's beautiful. In Honalulu you are a burlesque performer and producer am I correct? Violetta- I consider myself a performer more than anything, I've helped to produce shows but usually do so as a choreographer and costumer. I'm thinking about beginning to produce on a limited basis though. Frankie- You are an amazing performer that is always well recieved in Portland for your unique choreograph

Photo courtesy of Amanda Richards After over two years of working with Amanda Richards aka DeManda at all types of Burlesque Shows, Miss Frankie Tease sat down with Amanda to discuss her brand new Grammy nominations, how she got on the PNW Burlesque circuit, and what it's like to be a Singer/Songwriter, Bohemian Country Songstress in Portland, Oregon. FRANKIE So Amanda, how did you get the news of your "Official Grammy Nomination" this week? AMANDA Well I got a call from my manager saying "we have some good news for you' and I hadn't heard from them for a while. And they said 'You're up for Grammy nominations this year'. It took about a week for me to get the list of what all the categories were, six total. [Here are the six nominations 1-Record of the Year : Cookies & Whiskey 2-Record of the Year : Perfect Cup of Coffee 3 - Song of the Year: Ballbuster 4- Best Female Country Vocal Performance: Ballbuster 5-Best Country Song: