Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the #DoubleRelease show last night! Thanks to Jack Chandler & Art In for hosting. Thanks to Emili Earhart & Michael Groome aka And Illusions for sharing their soundscapes and sonic explorations & kicking off the show. Thanks to Jacob Bicknase, Cooper Schlegel, Joshua Agterberg & Alex Charland for sharing their beautiful compositions as Left Field Quartet – congrats on the release guys; killer set! Thanks to Jess Jacobson & Elizabeth Jesion for coordinating the Sharks&Crafts table. Thanks to my shark bros Ben Willis, Pat Reinholz, Corey Murphy, Michael A Koszewski & Abe Sorber, it’s always a pleasure and an honor to spend time together as Lovely Socialite (est. 2009!). #DoubleShark (& thanks to Scott Gordon of Tone Madison for this freakin badass picture!)
Be sure to check out Left Field Quartet’s new release “Please Take Us Seriously” >>
“An omnivorous mutant of a band.” – Isthmus, Daily Page “ …this band is deeply odd in its bones,” – Tone Madison “Fans of Modern Jazz, Contemporary Classical Music, Rock & Hip-Hop will become captivated by the amazing sound of Lovely Socialite.” – High Noon Saloon
Lovely Socialite [ website | facebook ], formerly Lovely Socialite Mrs. Thomas W. Phipps, is a Madison-based six-piece that combines the aesthetics of modern jazz with contemporary classical, driving rock, and hip hop. Lauded for their bold and intricate compositions, the group often draws comparisons to Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. The band’s original music combines strict notation with moments of improvisation and maintains a healthy balance of dark and heavy rock grooves with quirky jazz obscurities.
While Lovely Socialite’s unusual mix of strings, traditional Chinese instruments, brass, and a jazz rhythm section suggest that the group might be a contemporary music ensemble, it is their use of stomp boxes, vocal processors, and other electronics that makes the group a suitable fit for any rock, hip-hop, or jazz bill. In fact, Lovely Socialite has been privileged to share the stage with such artists as Dessa, of Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree, as well as performing live on the UW Madison Terrace with Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes.
In October of 2015, Lovely Socialite released their second full length album. Nearly two years in the making, “Toxic Consonance” was recorded at Blast House Studios in Madison with Landon Arkens. “Toxic Consonance” represents an edgier and more mature version of the band than their previous endeavor, “Registers Her Delight” (2012), and features extensive production efforts mixing found sounds, vocal samples, and electronic effects into their live-style recording.
We’ve finished our second album, “Toxic Consonance”! It was such a pleasure to work with master architectioneer Landon Arkens once again at Blast House Studios during the recording & mixing of this album. Now in post-production, we are designing the cd-packaging, commissioning album art, mastering the cd, etc… this is where we need your help! By pre-ordering our new album, now through 8/1, you will help us to cover these costs!
There are all sorts of sweet Socialite swag in our perks section; including t-shirts, posters, an exclusive ep, house shows, & Mike, our drummer, will even clean your pool!
Thanks so much for your support!!
Check out our first music video single from the new album, “Black Yukon Sucker Punch”!
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Lovely Socialite is:
Abe Sorber – Vibraphone
Ben Willis – Double Bass, Electric Bass
Brian Grimm – Cello, Pipa, Gaohu, Hammered-Guzheng
Corey Murphy – Trombone
Mike Koszewski – Drums, Percussion
Pat Reinholz – Cello
We had a wonderful show last night @ Bright Red Studios! Thanks to all who came out!
∮ Lovely Socialite explored a quartet free-improv set with Pat on cello, Abe on vibes, Mike on assorted home-made percussion and drum set, & BCG on gaohu, pipa, bass & cajon. So much open, quiet space. We were able to explore individual solo moments all around, as well as every duo pairing within the larger quartet. Very rewarding, as most Socialite sextet improvs exist in a wall-of-sound-madness! I was grateful to explore sparcer orchestrations for such an open ear’d audience. (new album due out by early fall!)
∯ Taralie of Spires That In The Sunset Rise, known as Tar Pet when solo – gave us a really deep set. My favorite two pieces were in the middle. One was a layering of melodic cello drones that bubbled forth minute changes, all playing against one another to create a long landscape. Once the scene was set, she switched to sax and blew an elegy to Ornette Coleman, who passed away this week. I think we all knew what it was about, because Taralie was so excellent and clear in her delivery of the meditation. What a way to send-up Ornette! [peace, respect]
…oh yeah, DISTORTED CELLO DRONES!!!. < that’s all I need to say on the one that followed.
∰ The touring musician of the night, Jonah Parzen-Johnson (Brooklyn, NYC), treated us to his carefully crafted ‘bari-sax + electronics’ compositions. Inbetween pieces, he would share introspections and wonderments de jour. Anything his soul was searching at the moment. A lot of it about how we interact with each other, but all of it posed in the form of (yet) unanswered questions. Much appreciation for the insight into his being and process. Jonah is on tour for his new album “Remember When Things Were Better Tomorrow”, which you should buy right now! He’s halfway through a 5 week tour, help support his final leg with a purchase of his well developed music!
Twin Peaks Party: music, book signing, coffee, screen printing, costume contest, and more!!!
I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to put together a little 7-piece group called, “Leo Johnson & The New Shoes” (which I believe was coined by our very own Huckleberry Grimm) – comprising of Lovely Socialite members BCG, Abe Sorber, Corey Murphy & Pat Reinholz, joined by Geoff Brady (drums – Stray Passage, Yid Vicious), Rob Lundberg (bass) & Julian Lynch (sax & clarinet). Over the past 2 weeks, Lovely Socialites, including Pat Reinholz, Corey Murphy, Ben Willis & myself, have been hard at work arranging the famous Angelo Badalamenti soundtrack from the show. Recently, I sat down with Scott Gordon of Tone Madison at WORT for an interview on the arranging process – check it out here! >> Tone MSN – Brian Grimm on channeling the music of Twin Peaks
From the MPL: “ Madison Public Library and the Wisconsin Book Festival are pairing up to present Brad Dukes, author of Reflections: An Oral History of Twin Peaksfor the Bubbler Night Light event The Owls Are Not What They Seem. The author will be visiting from Florida and discussing his book through a Q & A style platform.
Craig Grabhorn / c.Cal Design Studio . Artist-in-Residence, with other visiting print artists, will be hosting a Screen Printing party. Patrons are invited to bring their own T-shirts, canvas bags, etc. to have printed with a one-of-a-kind, Lynchian-inspired design.
Tandem Press, local professional press and artistic laboratory, will display prints by Twin Peaks’ director David Lynch and discuss his creative experimentation process.
There will be Twin Peaks-inspired live music (Road House-style) from Leo Johnson and the New Shoes (music arranged by Lovely Socialite Mrs. Thomas W. Phipps): musicians include Julian Lynch – sax & clarinet, Geoff Brady (Yid Vicious, Stray Passage) – drums, BC Grimm (Lovely Socialite) – bass & cello, Corey Murphy (Lovely Socialite) – trombone, Abe Sorber (Lovely Socialite) – vibraphone, Pat Reinholz (Lovely Socialite) – cello.
More music and weirdness from Half Whale.
Plus we’ll have donuts stacked to the sky, coffee (black as midnight on a moonless night), and pie that is worth the stop. Twin Peaks-inspired cocktails and refreshments by Forequarter
Come dressed as your favorite Twin Peaks character and have your picture taken in the Black Lodge photo booth.
For three years The Brothers Grimm have been heading the experimental music series “Tea & Improv” at Dobra Tea. Sadly, Dobra will close it’s doors this January, 2014. We’ll have one last show on Thursday 1/9 as a way to say thanks to all who have worked/come out to enjoy these events since 2011. DB, BC, & Eric will all perform short solo sets, as well as improvise together.
It can be difficult to find a welcoming platform for experimental & improvised music. Dobra has been our enthusiastic home base for much of this Madison experience. It has not simply been “a venue”, but a meeting place of disciplined philosophies, where music & tearoom perfectly alight in purpose – to have conversation. In a vibrant, hue-struck room with no internet or to-go options, the result is meaningful discussion with close friends. It was never the intent of our music to overpower the space (& people in it) to a hush, but rather to be another conversation & accept all happening sounds as music/inspiration. 3..2..1.. Now! ~ All conversation is improvisation. We fuel off the energy you give us and channel it back, vibrating the air. No sound is excluded from this Cageian discourse ~ kettle boils, clayware scrapes, somewhere a laugh, all is music.
Perhaps the most important element of performance in Dobra has been a public space for unknowing teagoers to encounter “avant-garde”//”difficult-edgy-freaky-‘nonmusic’music-skronky-improvised-noise…stuff”. We’re thankful for situations where people may come/go at any moment, have lively chit-chats, not feel they have to be classically-stuffy/know-the-rules, & happen upon experimental music over the flowing cup. Hearing such racketous free-for-all (beautiful to some…) on a record, coming at you through the speakers can be challenging for unpracticed ears – but having that be a live experience and seeing that the musician performing extended techniques is another breathing, sweating, emoting, human being that is trying to communicate something to you – is when this music becomes immediate & relateable. The more you as an audience give of your energy/vibes – the better the conversation is.
We’ve released a couple of albums at Dobra, including: Moonish Lodestar (2013) by Watercourse Quartet & Redolent Spires (2012) by The Borthers Grimm. Had wonderful performers such as: Watercourse Quartet w/ Ben Willis, Pat Reinholz (aka Weather Duo + Brothers Grimm); Lovely Socialite, db pedersen, Eric Miller, Thollem McDonas (aka Thollem Electric), Brian Tairaku Ritchie, Sult w/ Jacob Felix Heule, Guro Skumsnes Moe, Håvard Skaset; Timbre, Samuel Lockridge, Brother Stripes w/ Timothy Russell & Nick Zoulek; Prom Night Records w/ Brad Henkel, Nathaniel Morgan, & David Grollman; Dale Kaminski, Joey Molinaro, Zane Merritt, TJ Borden, Wrest Trio w/ Benjamin Bennett, Jack Wright, Evan Lipson; Stray Passage w/ Geoff Brady, Brennan Connors & more! – The tearoom has also played host to local Hindustani & Carnatic Indian Music group Saaz, Baroque & early western period instruments, & Yuri on the Russian domra.
Thanks to Qi Hong for fostering communitea.
Thank to the close friends who have come out over the years to support &/or participate in these happenings.
Thanks to all of the great Devoteas who have worked at Dobra & become a part of our lives.
Mine All Mine and GrimmusiK present COLIAS 1, the first in a new series of ambient releases that started with a simple prompt: “What does ambient music mean to you?” The result is a compilation of heard and unheard material from the minds of Madison’s most prolific experimenters (with regional and national guests).
The compilation is a collaborative produced between Mine All Mine Records and GrimmusiK, & will be available as a limited edition two disc physical release. Packaging design and album art by John Praw of Mine All Mine.
The release party will feature Madison locals Nude Human (John Praw + Pat Reinholz), Brothers Grimm with DB Pedersen, and special guests CJ Boyd (represented on the compilation as part of Kurva Choir) and long-time Mine All Mine collaborator eskimeaux. The show will be held at Bright Red Studios on 9 Ingersoll Street, Madison, WI.
