Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers

Shilpa Ray
Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers
Background information
Origin	Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genres	Punk rock,blues,garage rock, indie rock,punk blues
Years active	2004-2011
Labels	Knitting Factory Records, Bad Seed LTD, Northern Spy Records
Associated acts	Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Sharon Van Etten, Man Man, Nicole Atkins, Acid Mothers Temple
Website	www.shilparay.net
Members	Shilpa Ray
Past members	Shilpa Ray: songwriter, vocals, harmonium, piano, organ Andrew Bailey: Guitar John Adamski: Drums Nick Hundley: Bass

Shilpa Ray: songwriter, vocals, harmonium, piano, organ
Andrew Bailey: Guitar
John Adamski: Drums

Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers was an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York with a blues punk sound led by singer-songwriter Shilpa Ray. Her music has been compared to Blondie, The Cramps and Screamin' Jay Hawkins and her singing has been compared to the style of Patti Smith, Nick Cave, and Ella Fitzgerald. Ray is notable for combining an Indian harmonium with a "big-voiced blues-rock howler" vocal approach. The band signed a record contract with Northern Spy Records and has toured internationally.

A report in the San Francisco Examiner describes Ray's New Jersey upbringing as an Indian American from an immigrant family as contributing to her having a "scrappy" demeanor. As a youth, she was mistaken for an Iraqi and "pelted with beer cans" by hooligans. She dealt with restrictive parents who banned Western-themed music and learned to play the harmonium and piano beginning at age six. In her high school years, she became a stealth Goth and listened to music by punk rock bands such as The Cramps, Stooges and Joy Division. In her twenties, she moved to New York City and worked as a solo artist, singing a cappella at first and later accompanying herself on the harmonium.