Image: Shani Silver

What’s wrong with this picture?

Absolutely friggin’ nothing.

Juliette Commagere, of the band Hello Stranger, melts faces and hearts alike, wielding a Moog Liberation as her axe of choice – something that helped establish Commagere as our first Goddess of the Keytar.

There’s a whole slew of great Hello Stranger photos at Shani Silver’s Flickr page.

via the Synthtopia Flickr Group

New addition to the Synthtopia Flickr Pool – this great shot of keytarist Victoria Asher of Cobra Starship.

Should Victoria Asher be recognized as the next Synthtopia Goddess of the Keytar?

Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Joining the all-powerful Juliette Commagere, Imogen Heap, Lauren Rocket & Naomi Jarman as officially recognized Synthtopia Goddesses of the Keytar is Valerie Poxleitner, aka Lights.

Synthtopia’s Goddesses of the Keytar are an exclusive group of women that are doing what they can to keep the frequently maligned keytar at the forefront of popular music.

Poxleitner is a Canadian synth pop singer-songwriter, best known for her songs February Air, White, Drive My Soul, and The Last Thing On Your Mind, featured in 2008 Old Navy video commercials

Her style focuses more on synthpop than keytar pyrotechnics, as shown in this live video performance of Drive My Soul.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you know of other women that should join Synthtopia’s quintet of keytar queens? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

via Ambyr

Image: DeenaOodles

From a great set of keytar portraits.

Imogen Heap previews her new album, and does a little jumping around with a keytar.

Another fun find via DeadAct – Zlad’s Supersonic Electronic – could be the worst synthpop music video ever, but the keytar goddess may just redeem it. 

Zladko “Zlad!” Vladcik is a fictional character of the equally fictional nation of Molvanîa.

It’s an unfortunate law of the universe that guys always look stupid playing the keytar.

While there are plenty of memorable keytar goddesses, Herbie Hancock is the only guy, ever, to look cool playing the keytar.

Here’s Hancock looking pretty badass with a Roland AX-7:

Jean Michel Jarre may have come pretty close to looking cool with a keytar, but he’s got that French je ne sais quoi on his side.

Guys can look cool playing the drums, the electric guitar, the saxophone, the bass, the congas, keyboards, the theremin – all sorts of instruments. But looking cool playing the keytar poses a unique challenge.

Need proof of this unfortunate fact?

Here you go, with apologies to all the male keytarists out there:

This Keytarist Rocks The Shrubbery Like No Other

The Keytar Fun Guy’s Jamming Makes The Man In Bright Red Suspenders So Very, Very Happy

This Keytarist Philospher Gets His Hookah On

This Keytarist Duct Taped His Instrument

At least – that’s what she said.

This Keytarist Looks Like Wolverine, Has A Steampunk Keytar, And Is Ready For His Balloon Jaunt

Guy Experiences The Unique Pleasures Of A Tyco Keytar

Even Badass Tattoos Couldn’t Save This Keytarist

This Guitarist Looks Sexy Enough To Get Chicks. But The Keytarist Looks Like He Just Farted A Death Cloud

Joining the awesome Juliette Commagere, Imogen Heap & Lauren Rocket as officially recognized Synthtopia Goddesses of the Keytar is Naomi Jarman of the progressive electronic band Crisium.

Jarman handles the keyboards for the group, along with the other core member of the group, David Goodman. 

When Jarman’s not wielding the Yamaha KX5 keytar, she’s at the helm of a massive Analogue Systems – System 8500 modular. synthesizer:

You can preview a selection from Crisium’s CD, Letters from the Voyage, below, and find out more about the band at their site. 

via BigCityMusic

Joining keytar goddesses Juliette Commagare and Imogen Heap is Lauren Rocket, of punk girl group Rocket.  

Rocket describes itself as “a volatile combination that leaves one wondering what the results would be if the Shangri-Las crashed the stage during an early Motley Crue gig.”

Starting out as a threesome of Laurens, Rocket released their first album, Too Hot to be Bothered, in 2005. Evolving into “a five-piece rock ‘n’ roll circus” later that year, their first-ever live show was headlining at the legendary Viper Room on the Sunset Strip. 

Since then, the girls have driven coast to coast with the intentions of introducing the world to Rocket. Rocket has also opened for Rancid, Sugarcult, OK GO, Morningwood, The Sounds, The Supersuckers, Kill Hannah, and The Dwarves, and has toured with The Lashes.

Images: punkassphotos

Imogen Heap, above, is a Grammy-nominated English singer-songwriter from Essex, best known for her work as part of Frou Frou and for her 2005 solo record Speak for Yourself.

She’s also known to show off some keytar & vocoder chops:

Keytars have been the subject of ridicule for years because of their association with 80’s hair bands.

Fortunately, today’s keytarists aren’t like the keytarists of the 80’s. If there’s any doubt in your mind about that, you’re probably not familiar with Juliette Commagere, above, the keytarist & vocalist of Hello Stranger.

Hello Stranger is an indie alt-rock band…..at least it was, before Commagere went all medieval on the rest of the band:

Guess her ‘mates made one too many keytar jokes.

You can see Commagere in action below, or download the Hello Stranger single Take it to the Max.

Just don’t make any keytar jokes.

Know of any other keytar goddesses changing the perception of this much-maligned instrument? Let us know in the comments!