Next Tuesday, students and community members will get a taste of the eclectic offerings of the musical group “Pink Martini”. The group, founded by Thomas Lauderdale in 1994, is a self-described “little orchestra.” Classical, Latin, jazz and classical pop all influence the group’s work. The Dartmouth sat down with China Forbes, one of the band’s lead vocalists, to discuss her experience in the group.
Why did you decide to join “Pink Martini”?
CF: Well, I was already singing and writing songs and I had recorded a solo album in New York, where I was living and playing shows. And my Harvard [University] classmate Thomas Lauderdale called me up and desperately begged me to fly to Portland, Oregon to fill in for a singer for some big shows he had booked for the band “Pink Martini”, which had just started. I didn’t know what “Pink Martini” was and I was all the way across the country doing my own thing, but he was so persuasive that I flew to Portland. I had a great time, and I had this adventure and met everyone. Everyone was so neighborly and different from New York, and I finished the weekend and went home back to minding my own business. He asked me to come back and do another show the next month. He lured me for the whole month of December to be an artist-in-residence. Thomas is so creative and an exciting person to be around, and it just feels like there are limitless possibilities when you’re with him. I was very seduced by that — I felt like “Pink Martini” was a really fun thing to be a part of. I continued commuting from New York for three years before I eventually moved there and became the full-time singer.
How would you describe the style of the group?
CF: It’s a very eclectic style that’s sort of based on the classical piano of Thomas’ background and then influenced a lot by Latin rhythms and percussion and multiple languages. It’s music of the world — very inclusive, romantic, life affirming, hopeful music.
How does singing in multiple languages influence the work?
CF: Well, originally we started out singing songs from films, many foreign films. We did “Never on Sunday”(1997) in the original Greek. We did “Song of the Black Lizard”(1997) from the Japanese film of the same name [“Black Lizard” (1968)]. We were naturally doing that and we wrote the song “Sympathique” (1997) in French because we both spoke French and had studied French and wanted to sing in French. We had a singer in the band who was Spanish at the time who sang in Spanish. All of those languages were already in the repertoire and then it became a fun challenge and an expansive approach to continue learning songs in different languages. Especially as we traveled around the world our fans really demanded it. So after years of traveling to Turkey now we have songs in Turkish, and we have songs in Arabic and in Chinese and Japanese, and it just goes on and on. It sort of became our thing to keep learning different languages.
You also worked as an actress. How does that artistic role compare to being a singer-songwriter?
CF: One thing that I loved about music is that I had agency and I was the one writing the material and performing it and booking the gigs. I was able to just do my artistic thing whenever I wanted, and I wasn’t at the mercy of casting agents.
What is your favorite part of performing and traveling with “Pink Martini”?
CF: I love the camaraderie. It’s like a family, and I always had fun with all the guys and gals who were on tour. I loved seeing the world. It’s been incredible to be in this band and to have been able to travel to so many places. The variety of accommodations from a terrible hotel on a strip somewhere in the middle of nowhere to the most beautiful lush gorgeous hotel in Switzerland right on water that I’ll never forget. It’s kind of amazing to have that range of experiences. We played in incredible venues. It’s a lot of peak experiences...It’s not glamorous at all in many ways. It’s a real roller coaster ride. But when you get home from touring, it’s very hard to return to be a person who has to drive a car, cook and get groceries.
When did you start on an artistic path? Why do you think you decided to stick with it? Are there any moments in particular that stand out?
CF: When I was eight years old I fell in love with Donna Summer, and I wanted to be her. I learned how to sing by imitating her. Over the years I took piano, I taught myself guitar and I started writing songs. It’s sort of like I was born to do this. I feel like when I’m singing and on stage and everything leading up to performance has been done — I’ve gotten to the venue, I’ve rehearsed, I’ve put on my makeup, I’ve gotten dressed. You step on stage and I sort of feel like, ‘This is what I was meant to do.’ It’s an incredible feeling. But over the years I reached a point where I was burnt out, and I wanted to stop. I had a two-year-old son at the time, and I lost my voice and had to have vocal cord surgery. My body stopped me and gave me a chance to have a break, and during that break when I didn’t know if I would ever be able to sing again — let alone did I want to — I realized I really did want to sing. That was so much of the essence of who I am. I am someone who sings to myself all day long, and I needed to get back on stage. I love performing, and I chose to return to it from a place where I didn’t have to. That was an amazing realization to know that I am choosing it, and it is what I want to do.
