Fiona Frensche & Denny
Bridges
Fiona Frencshe a.k.a. Ashley Wilkes
has been performing for more than two decades, opening for acts
such as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, The Coasters,
The Crests, and Herman’s Hermits. The singer/songwriter toured colleges and clubs throughout the 90’s with her
original band The Ashley Wilkes Band http://rock-the-world.com/awb.html. Fiona has performed at cabarets and lounges in NYC, resorts in the Catskills, B&B’s
in PA & NJ. For the last five years Frensche has
performed on Carnival Cruise Lines ships and sings in Portuguese, Spanish,
French, Italian & German
to diverse audiences including guests from Central & South America, Europe and all over the Caribbean. With a developing interest in Jazz, Swing
& Bossa Nova, she began playing keyboard and ukelele. Moonlighting with former bandmate (drummer
& Percussionist) from the Ashley Wilkes Band, Naomi Watanabe &
Fiona Frensche formed Luna Petticoat
http://lunapetticoat.tripod.com
and performed Vintage Pop songs and girrly sing along songs popular with the Kitch & Kaboodle audiences
in Ocean Grove, NJ.
Denny
Bridges hails
from England and has played guitar for more bands than you could shake
a stick at. A veteran in the industry, Denny toured Europe playing guitar with The Third Ear
Band http://www.btinternet.com/~rubberneck/thirdear.html for 3 years, the highlight being in 1973 a nomination
for a BAFTA award for the filmscore "Music From Macbeth".http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067372/awards. With
a developing interest in recording Denny turned his attention to record producing under the tutelage of Beatles’ producer George
Martin. Working with Mr. Martin in London and on the island of Montserrat, Bridges garnered credits with acts as
varied and notorious as Carly Simon, Jeff Beck http://jr.com/JRProductPage.process?product=3956733, Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker, Annie
Lennox, E.L.O. & Brian Eno, just
to name a few. Relocating to the states in the late 80’s, Denny continues to tour and produce from his studio in
NYC.
Frensche invited Bridges to play guitar
for a cruise ship engagement and the musical duo Grande Tourismo
was born. Presently the duo Fiona Frensche & Denny Bridges perform
Pop, Jazz, Folk & Blues standards with Bossa Nova and European classics added for variety.
The duo is performing a Cabaret Revue of well
known & loved songs made famous by French legends such as Piaf, Josephine
Baker, Eartha Kitt and Bridgette Bardot.
Recently a Summer 2007 tour has been scheduled
to include appearances at various Carnivals, Fairs & Festivals in the MD, NY, CT New England area.
A repertoire of European favorites from the
30's, 40's and 50's as well as old vaudeville tunes are on the song list. Keep an eye out for a barrel organ
to lend a Montmartre flavor to the eclectic mix of musical numbers one can hear from the trio of Merry Music Makers: FIONA FRENSCHE, DENNY BRIDGES, & PIERRE the dancing chihuahua.
Former & Future Appearances include:
Towles Court Artwalk, Sarasota FL, Sweets Cafe, Central Park, NYC, Got Wine
& Cigars, Dunedin, FL
Carnival Cruise Lines’ ships
“PARADISE, GLORY & SPIRIT,
Norwegian Cruise Lines’ NORWEGIAN DREAM, DAWN & MAJESTY
Contact: (727) 374-2871
grandetourismo@yahoo.com http://grandetourismo.tripod.com
