The Non-Domestiks are Rosalba Gallo and Katrina Wylie, a Philadelphia area duo. They met in 1998 after Katrina answered an ad Rosalba placed in a local music paper looking for a collaborator. They seemed destined to meet as there were two earlier times in their lives that their paths almost crossed. They had attended the same college at the same time (and also dropped out at about the same time.) Then years later they were both good friends with two different members of the same local band.
When Rosalba and Katrina first met, they hit it off immediately and found they had a chemistry in both their writing and sound which they consider to be reminiscent of 70's rock. Their vocals are amazingly similar to the point where it's difficult to tell them apart. In just a few months after they started working together, they recorded their first EP "Time to Turn," going out originally under the name of "Beat Theory." They quickly gained recognition, opening for Mary Lee's Corvette and playing at the Tin Angel, one of Philadelphia's most prominent venues. The EP also received air play on WXPN, a popular college radio station in the area. One local promoter described the CD as "ethereal."
Due to the plethora of bands in the area with the word "theory" in their names, they decided to change it to "The Non-Domestiks." They chose the name mainly because they just liked the way it sounded (not to mention, they hate housework!). Plus, they do have a European connection in that Katrina was born in England and Rosalba is first generation Italian. They also feel their music has a European sound.
As far as influences, Rosalba's are The Beatles, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Joe Jackson, Tears for Fears and Suzanne Vega, to name a few. Katrina's influences range from The Beatles, Elton John, and k.d. lang to the Go-Go's, Joan Jett and 70's pop music like the Carpenters and Abba. Some of these influences can be heard on their current CD, "TRY." Songs on the CD have also been compared to artists like Todd Rundgren and Aimee Mann. "TRY" starts off with a powerful 80's techno-pop sounding tune, "Just a Game," followed by the mellow ballad, "I Love You." The rest of the CD consists of melodic lite rock tunes with the more progressive "Guilt Driver" thrown in.
Rosalba and Katrina both enjoy playing a lot of different instruments but consider the keyboard to be their primary instrument. In addition to the keyboard, Rosalba plays guitar, bass and drums and Katrina plays guitar and woodwinds (saxophone, clarinet, and bassoon). Being multi-instrumentalists gives them the independence to record their CDs entirely by themselves and still have a lot of variety in their sound. To expand their live opportunities, Rosalba and Katrina also tour and perform as an acoustic duo mixing it with bass guitar, keyboard and woodwinds. They also perform cover music occasionally as either a duo or trio with Vince Giardini on bass/guitar (see Links and Covers pages).
Regional venues they have played since 2000 include, most notably, The Tin Angel, The World Cafe, The Nail, Doc Watson's Pub (opening for Mary Lee's Corvette), Coffeeworks, La Tazza, The Treehouse as well as a number of other area clubs, restaurants and coffeehouses. They've also played CBGB's Gallery in New York City and often tour the New England, New York region playing for the 3rd consecutive year for the Women's Concert Series at the Highlands Inn in Bethlehem, NH and as featured artist for Heidi-Jo Hanson's Songwriters Showcase in Northern Mass.
Rosalba and Katrina's voices blend comfortably together into lush harmonies which they augment with keyboard, guitar, woodwinds and other instruments. The overall flavor is 70's Rock but if you listen to their music, you'll find a taste of techno-pop, mellow ballads and progressive music too. These two women dropped out of the same college at about the same time, never meeting until years later, to follow musical trajectories that eventually converged in The Non-Domestiks.
