A new singer has boosted the sound of one of Cayman’s best-known bands.
Jamaican Tanisha Lewis – known by the stage name Rene – is fronting Suite Elite, and she comes with some pedigree.
Paul Boxwell, bass player and band manager, explained that the Montego Bay-born singer has recorded with some impressive names.
“She has worked in the studio with Queen Ifrica, Andrew Tosh – son of Peter Tosh – and worked with renowned producer Handel Tucker,” he said.
“She has a vocal likeness to many acclaimed artists such as Etana, Whitney Houston and Etta James.”
He added that Rene aunched her career by taking the first-runner-up position in the Digicel star search competition in 2004.
“When she was asked to join Suite Elite, she was a little hesitant at first but says now it has been a great experience working with such highly talented musicians, and I know we have a very bright future together,” Boxwell said.
Suite Elite has been around in one form or another since 2008. Band members include drummer Charles Ebanks, Lingga Rinaldy on guitar and Marlon Salmon on keyboards. The band has had a very busy year so far, with more to come as 2015 dawns, said the bass player.
“The band already has many bookings for the 2014–2015 season yet still have time to complete some original recordings between rehearsals and performances,” said the musician.
The performances, he continued, are aimed at the corporate tourism sector.
“The band has always been known for its diversity and Rene has enhanced that incredibly. There are always crowd favorites – and boy, can she work the crowd – but her true colors show with the rock and reggae songs, when the band gets rocking, the crowd ain’t stopping, and every night ends with the cries of ‘encore.’”
One place to catch the band is on Sept. 27 at the Unlike Cayman event, a touring arts and culture festival. At that gig at Camana Bay, the band will be backing Shameka Clarke, who has a great affinity with Suite Elite.
“Shameka is an unrivaled local talent and had filled the post as Suite Elite’s lead vocalist during the summer of 2013 whilst the band were looking for a new permanent replacement,” Boxwell said.
“Unfortunately, she was unable to fill the permanent position due to career commitments. However, the bond that was made during that short time continues to bear fruit with a number of shows throughout the past 12 months.”
These events included the Pirates Week festival, where Boxwell said that the gig was so successful that they were asked to return as an opening act for the Alice Hines show in George Town, plus opening for Diana King and Kymani Marley at the 2014 Spring Splash put on by Youngblood Promotions.
For more details, visit thesuiteeliteband.com.
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