Oscars Served with Style

Enjoy tonight's 80th Oscar awards on ABC with a great drink. The music of tonight's ceremony will be provided by a flavorful band known as Pink Martini. They provide a jazzy sound and describe their invite to the big show as a "dream come true". The group is best known for their song and album, both named Sympathique which came out in 1997. The Portland, Oregon group started out in 1994 playing at campaign events, civil rights rallies and other political functions. They bring forth a combination of jazz, swing, lounge and classical and find their inspiration in movies made in Hollywood way back in the late 1930's all the way through 1964. Basically the group is like an old fashioned Hollywood Movie, "Sunset Boulevard" or "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The head of the group is Harvard alumni, Thomas Lauderdale who took piano lessons at age six, and says he found disco records many years ago like YMCA to be "horrific". Tonight, Lauderdale and his 12 member band will look to set the backdrop for a swingin' 80th Oscar Awards show. (SOURCE) Read more at the Pink Martini Wikipedia entry. See the Pink Martini official website. See Pink Martini's album Sympathique at Amazon.com.