Her voice isn't velvety soothing - it's rough, abrasive, bluesy, mesmerizing in its passion. You most probably wouldn't be able to listen to it while having a chat with your friend over a light beer (although a shot - or two - of tequila might work.) Hardcore Venezuelan folk songs straight from the streets of Seattle. Yva Las Vegas (or Las Vegass as she herself spells it) could be described as anything but ordinary or subtle. Born into a rich family in Caracas, Venezuela, she came to the States in her teens in 1979, and eventually took her native South American folk songs to the streets of Seattle. Here goes the Christmas fairy-tale part: one day she was invited to sing at a surprise birthday party for the former Nirvana bass-player Krist Novoselic. Yva remembers, "I was just planning to go over and sing 'Happy Birthday' and split, but I ended up playing Venezuelan folk songs all night. Believe me, I had no intention of starting a ban...