Suite 16’s ‘Phoenix Rayne’ pulls out of Maricopa Salsa Festival amidst apparent struggles

Krystal Laman’s Suite 16 Girls, Phoenix Rayne or whatever else they might decide to call themselves, appear to be in trouble.

Three of five members of the all-female vocal group based in Maricopa have quit.

The group has lost the use of a vehicle, previously supplied by its former beverage sponsor, Boink International of Tempe. Boink fulfilled its agreement to provide the full-size rental SUV, complete with its own product branding, for 35 days of filming. The agreement ran out weeks ago.

And, as of about 9 p.m. Thursday, Suite 16 had pulled out as performers in Maricopa’s Fourth Annual Salsa Festival Presented by inmaricopa.com, just two days before it was to take the stage at Pacana Park under the name Phoenix Rayne.

“While it’s unfortunate, we respect their decision,” said Marty McDonald, acting director of Maricopa’s Community Services Department. “We have an exciting musical lineup for the event, and we will not miss a beat.”

Taking their place will be Tropical Vibes, a salsa dance demonstration troupe. The troupe will perform and provide free salsa lessons.

Also joining the lineup, as recently as Thursday, is Havana Soul, a quartet that plays excellent music and has garnered exceptional reviews while playing at Carlos Santana’s Maria Maria at the Tempe Marketplace, McDonald said. The Big Zephyr will kick off the event and the headline performer, EastonAshe, will close out the day with a strong performance.

While the concert at Pacana Park will go on, it is unclear what is in store for Phoenix Rayne.

“My daughter quit the group, as did several other girls,” said Pam Goddard, mother of former Suite 16 Girl Whitney Goddard.

Pam Goddard on Thursday said she and her daughter will explain why “in the next few days.”

According to the elder Goddard, Laman canceled the concert at the Salsa Festival three weeks ago, a detail McDonald said he was not made aware of until late Thursday when he called Laman to confirm her group’s one-hour slot near the beginning of his lineup.

Until recently, Pam Goddard had doubled as mother of one of the “girls” and an unpaid assistant to Laman. She made and answered phone calls and email on behalf of the group from her home in Cordova, Tenn.

When a series of news reports revealed information about Suite 16 that didn’t jibe with what she was hearing from Laman, her initial response was disbelief.

She was not alone.

Concerns regarding the proper collection and delivery of funds meant for charity, for example, had become a local hot button for some and a non-issue for others.

Torri Anderson, the Maricopa liaison for Against Abuse Inc. of Casa Grande, defended the Suite 16 Girls as being “trustworthy,” saying that she was confident that Laman’s “check was in the mail” to the non-profit’s head quarters in Casa Grande for the full amount of donations collected at a benefit car wash done in the organization’s name.

“I’m not worried,” she said.

In 2005, a Web designer who created a media kit to attract advertisers for Laman’s Temple Magazine, said Laman told him his check was in the mail, too.

He’s still waiting.

“They actually agreed to pay me for the work I did, but I never received any payment,” said Dan Smith of Lucid Realm Design. “It was a ‘check’s in the mail’ situation. This was when I was just starting my business and was very naive.”

Smith said he discontinued his relationship with Laman and her co-publisher and husband, Matthew Laman, because he began to suspect that the business “was a scam to sell advertising and never make a magazine.”

“I just had a feeling,” he said.

Pat Griffen, executive director of Against Abuse, did not immediately return a phone call seeking confirmation of receipt of the check, which Anderson said was likely in the $100 range.

Meanwhile, Michael Arabshian, of Chicago, said potential sponsors of Suite 16 and women considering working under Laman’s direction might want to think twice. He is related to Laman by marriage.

“The community and the other girls involved should be forewarned,” he said, suggesting that they do a little research about Laman on their own.

Meanwhile, community support remains reasonably strong for what now appears to have become, at best, an ill-fated attempt at fame.

Copa Tan is still willing to offer free services for the women, although an employee on Thursday said no one has stopped by since April 15. Previously, the women had been tanning daily at the local salon.

Xtreme Fitness is still providing daily personal training and access to its workout facilities, without charge.

And, as recently as last weekend, Laman staged auditions at the Arizona Women’s Expo seeking a sixth woman to join the group and collected applications from an unknown number of women seeking their shot at fame.

Xtreme Fitness was the lone sponsor from Maricopa listed on promotional materials for the event, but two new sponsors from the Northwest Valley had climbed on board.

Laman, the creative director of the Suite 16 Girls/Phoenix Rayne, has repeatedly maintained that her efforts to launch the group into the next all-female singing sensation have all been well-intentioned.

On Thursday, however, she hung up on a reporter without offering any comment.

Remaining, yet dwindling, local support aside, Pam Goddard’s once-protective attitude toward Laman seems to have changed.

“I want to apologize for not believing your investigative reporting and believing Krystal (Laman) instead,” she said late Wednesday. “Pass this on to your editor for me.”

Editor’s Note: Against Abuse Inc. on Friday reported having received a $200 check in late March from the Goddard Foundation on behalf of the Suite 16 Girls. The Goddard Foundation is a charitable organization based on Cordova, Tenn., that provides scholarships, student financial aid services and awards. They did not report having received funds raised locally at a benefit car wash.

Previous coverage:

Part One focused on the community’s reception of a group representing itself as the hottest, undiscovered all-girl band and questions surrounding the project.

Part Two focused on the people who comprise Suite 16, where they came from and why they are here.

Part Three focused on the less-than-squeaky-clean background of Suite 16.

Part Four focused on Suite 16’s potential impact on local individuals and businesses.

Suite 16 Girls to hold auditions Saturday at the Women’s Expo

Photo by RuthAnn Hogue