Niki Luparelli has been on the greater-Boston music and comedy scenes for several years now. The gorgeous blonde can be seen and heard fronting her band the Gold Diggers in area nightclubs. She can also, depending on her schedule, been found scantily clad in one of her cabaret comedies and or making her audiences busting their lungs with mad laugher at her Steamy Bohemian show Jerkus Circus.
It can be hard to define Luparelli’s role is in the local entertainment industry, since she is multi-talented and offers so many different mediums. “My job is avoiding getting a full-time day gig in a cube. I’m an entertainer,” she said.
Luparelli began taking voice lessons when she was twelve. She has a B.A. in Music and a B.A. in Communications from the University of Rhode Island. Her comedy talent is something she couldn’t learn in school. “I was a stand-up comedy junkie since about 10 years old, when I first found it on television,” Luparelli said.
Asked if she is more of a musician than a comedian, she answered, “No, I definitely would say I’m equally both, but musician pays more.” She has released a CD titled Technicolor Radio with her musical/comedy partner Lainey Schooltree under their troupe name The Steamy Bohemians. Fans can buy it at www.cdbaby.com/cd/steamybohemians
The Steamy Bohemians comedy duo began to take shape when Luparelli and Schooltree met during their freshmen year at the University of Rhode Island, where both majored in music and both “had the same, brutal voice instructor,” Luparelli said.
Luparelli was straight forward about how Steamy Bohemians has evolved over the years “Once we stopped giving a shit about making money or getting famous, the act turned into the fine-tuned hilarious chaos you can see whenever we feel like doing a show,” she said.
Luparelli is also the sexy platinum blonde chanteuse who fronts the Gold Diggers band, a three to eight piece outfit made up of some of the best musicians working today under the age of 40. Niki Luparelli And The Gold Diggers are a vintage retro cover band who play numerous specialty shows, like speakeasy prohibition era music, David Bowie songs, Italian lounge songs, James Bond theme songs, and songs by famous blondes from the 1980s. The Gold Diggers can either accompany Luparelli as a band format or they can back up her cabaret productions. Even when it’s just Luparelli and the Gold Diggers, her shows are still cabaret in the style of banter she uses in between songs and in the choice of songs, many of which were written to accompany entertainment.
“Dan Burke and I began playing together in late 2007,” Luparelli said. “We added Geoffrey Oehling on bass and a drummer just before 2009. Now, depending on the gig, we also have sax, trumpet, violin, and trombone available.”
There is actually enough of a market for this style of vintage lounge music to allow Luparelli to find plenty rooms to sustain that band. “We’re very busy,” she said. “In fact, there’s so much of a market, that there are other local retro lounge acts also able to make money doing a similar cabaret concept, as opposed to when I started playing out and it was just Dan and I for almost two years. Between Boston, Worcester, Providence, and various casinos, we are working at least a few nights a week.”
Luparelli also puts on several cabaret shows separately from her work with Steamy Bohemians and the Gold Diggers, although she uses the same musicians as The Gold Diggers. These comedy style cabarets, like one based on the James Bond movie Goldfinger, were inspired simply because Luparelli and her cabaret cohorts enjoy 007 movie themes. She and her band mates and some of her favorite burlesque dancer from Boston and Providence will put together a show, and Luparelli will do the booking. A few of their show venues are Oberon, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Twin River Casino; Foxwoods Atrium; Lucky’s Lounge, Boston; and Cuban Revolution, Providence, Rhode Island.
“We will be at Beatnik’s in Worcester this Saturday the 24th and at Byblos Lounge in Worcester on May 11th,” she said. We’re at Twin River Casino on Sunday April 1st from two to six p.m., and at Foxwoods Friday April 27th and Saturday April 28th 9:30 p.m. to1:30 a.m.”
Needless to say Luparelli is on a strict regimen of diet and exercise to be able to fit into her either form-fitting or barely there costumes.
“I walk the track with my dog or I work out on an elliptical; some free weights and yoga. I also gave up meat and that’s been helping too,” she said.
Worcester is Luparelli’s city of origin and it remains her base to this day. When asked if Worcester has been a good launching pad for her career, the funny lady said, “HA! Yup, I’m totally famous. I’ve tried to escape a few times, but I kept screwing up my life and having to move back. Now I own a house here, so I’m stuck until the market turns around.”
All kidding aside, Worcester offers a large talent pool for Luparelli to choose from when she is looking for musicians. “I found my band in Worcester, so I’m pretty satisfied,” she said. “I haven’t needed any actors or behind the scenes people yet. I am the (wo)man behind the curtain.”
Luparelli has won Female Entertainer of the Year 2011 in Worcester, Sexiest Musician, and Best Jazz band for her Gold Diggers. She is currently nominated for Best Jazz and Sexiest Musician again this year and readers can vote for her at
http://www.thepulsemag.com/wordpress/2012/01/2012-worcester-music-awards
Luparelli’s full schedule for this year, including stand up comedy dates, Steamy Bohemian dates, is available at
www.nikiluparelli.com When asked where she’d like to take her career next, Luparelli quipped,
“I’m ready to play Europe and Vegas with the band. As soon as I find that booking agent.”
“I am also New England’s number one Marilyn impersonator, and can be booked for that at
http://www.gigmasters.com/Marilyn-Monroe-Lookalike/Niki-Luparelli/
