Photography and interview by Rachel Lynch
What would it be like to live your life as a work of art? A work of art that’s in progress, that is the masterpiece is unfolding in every moment of your life.
As I stood on the side of the stage that night in downtown Manhattan with my two cameras, one of the band’s best friends and part time stylist, leaned into my ear and said, “You’re lucky to be photographing them, they’re really a work of art.”
And as the night progressed, and I saw the rock n roll unfold, I had to agree. Unlike a lot of New York bands, there was something so in the moment about this one. They way the preformed, and they way they sounded, it was so present. You had no choice but to be there, in that moment, with them.
The VeeVees are fronted by Detriot-born, Sophia Urista with her hot outfits and ability to get the crowd aroused with her moody vocals. She was saturated with Motown, gospel and classic rock growing up. This shaped her and gave her “a desire to channel the intensity of life, because Detroit is a very intense place to be born.”
She has always identified as an artist and a creative vessel. “The responsibility and journey, for me, is to find the balance between what I’m channeling and how to deliver the message to the audience.”
She’s inspired by hot girls on instagram, and 30% of her personality comes from the last indie film she saw.
The guitarist, Garrett Cillo, serves up just as much spice, and wore a skin-tight skeleton suit to perform that night. “You’d be surprised how comfortable a nylon skeleton suit is,” he said.
Cillo grew up playing punk music in the basement of old churches, and can still remember the first time he heard Iggy Pop on the track, “Search and Destroy.” The band’s single, “Cream of Heaven” started in his bedroom, on his guitar, and naturally evolved from there. His favorite food is wine, and to him, rock n roll means, “those born to love and grove.”
The drummer, Andrea Belfiore, is inspired by everything from a plate of carbonara pasta to a burlesque show. He’s only been listening to two bands his entire life, “Led Zeppelin and Led Fucking Zeppelin.”
Belfiore was born on the Adriatic coast of Italy. “Unfortunately there, being a musician means people look at you like you have no future,” he said. “To me it means I can bang and make love to my drums, still broke but with a future and smile on my face.” When asked what it’s like to play rock n roll in New York, Belfiore claimed, “It’s like having the Empire State Building up your butt. It’s gonna hurt for a while, but if you can handle it, it means you are a true rock star.”
Their bassist, Art Novoselsky, comes from a small town in Upstate New York. He usually plays in skinny white pants, with matching white boots, and no shirt, ever.
“I’m still in awe of the early days of Zeppelin and Guns N Roses, which is where a majority of the influence comes from not wearing a shirt. It’s rock n roll.” “Playing music in NYC is a dream, but it’s fucking hard,” he said. “Regardless of the audience, we’re going to bring a damn good show. We just have a blast playing music, ideally, that translates to the audience seeing us have fun, letting loose, and them following our lead, and getting wild with us.”
During their second-to-last song that night at Irving Plaza, five topless girls walked out onto stage and facing their backs to the audience. Sophia grabbed a bucket of black paint mid-song, and started writing on the girl’s chests. At the end of the song, they all turned around to reveal “THE VEEVEES” spelled out on their bare skin. Needless to say, the audience went absolutely wild, and they ended the performance with a bang and a fire hula-hoop dancer on stage. But what’s the best part about a show? In the words of Sophia, “Someone always gets laid.”
