NOTLOB PARLOR CONCERTS
AT THE LORING-GREENOUGH HOUSE PRESENTS
TRIPPING LILY
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Notlob Parlor Concerts are presented at the historic Loring-Greenough House, 12 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA. 02130. Built in 1760, the venue is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has been an historic house museum since 1926. Its beautiful period decor and intimate size make it an ideal setting for acoustic music.
Notlob’s twenty sixth production of the 2007-2008 season is TRIPPING LILY! If the patrons are plentiful and well-behaved, they will be treated to selections from the forthcoming album "Getting Good at This Thing”.
THE BACK-STORY
Tripping Lily's acoustic folk pop sounds were formed long before they made their move from Nashville to Boston. Their edgy, unique sound took shape when Monica and Demetrius starting writing and recording more than five years ago. With a strong intent to improve upon their craft, Tripping Lily made the move to Boston. Whether they're exploring new music genres or soaking up popular literature and art, Tripping Lily has found their home on the East Coast.
A group of musicians who draw their inspiration from within, with Demetrius Becrelis (guitar/mandolin/vocals), brother Alex Becrelis (guitar/mandolin/vocals), Monica Rizzio (fiddle/vocals), and Laird Boles (upright bass), Tripping Lily blends a unique sound of traditional and contemporary genres.
Touted as fresh, energetic, and alive, Tripping Lily's pop-rock groundwork is cross-fertilized with folk music and cutting edge vocal harmonies. The band's unique ability to absorb traditional music while speaking to the here and now is proof of their versatility as contemporary musicians. Tripping Lily seeks to exploit the empty space of the canvas. They unravel everything they've known and in turn, end up in a better place.
The band has truly claimed their own place in the world of music.
Instrumentation
Alex Becrelis - mandolin, tenor banjo, guitar and voice
Demetrius Becrelis - ukulele, guitar and voice
Monica Rizzio – ukulele, fiddle and voice
Laird Boles - upright bass
Discography
"The Couch Sessions" Sept 06
(tentative title) "Getting Good at This Thing", release date Summer 2008.
TRIPPING LILY is currently being played on indie/college radio stations nationwide
Visit www.myspace.com/trippinglily to see on YouTube!
Links
BOSTON GLOBE - Scott Alarik - Feb 1, 2007
Equal parts sassy bluegrassers and moody urban songwriters, jazzy jammers and sighing torch singers, Tripping Lily is nearly a genre unto itself. The folk-pop quartet formed in Nashville, but calls Boston home now, and its sound appeals to neotrad and alt fans alike. Guitars, mandolins, and fiddles prance behind airy, quirky melodies that feel both rootsy and modern. The harmonies lull like lullabies, then jolt as if shot through jumper cables.
CLUB PASSIM
Tripping Lily is one of the most fun and exciting new bands coming through the scene right now.
WUMB FOLKWAVES
Boston Folk Radio
WUMB has consistently helped young or up and coming local artists get airplay and recognition. Some of them have become or on the way to becoming- household names such as Lori McKenna or Josh Ritter. Another good example is a group from Cape Cod called Tripping Lily. They released their first CD in November. Within several weeks they hit the Number Three spot on the list of most played songs on WUMB for that week.
(Tripping Lily “For Five Years or More” number 1 on WUMB Top TEN Playlist Airplay.)
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Band with Mount Kisco roots plays Armonk
By SAMANTHA SPECTOR
(Original Publication: March 16, 2007)
Tripping Lily, the quartet - three of whom are barely of out college - make the kind of music most artists shy away from. The name of the band gets it just right: from jazz-inspired folk to bluesy traditional melodies, the songs off their first album, the live-recorded "Couch Sessions," literally trip through the genres.
"We found people were coming up to us after the shows and asking what kind of music we play," says Demetrius Becrelius, who plays guitar, mandolin and bouzouki (a member of the mandolin family) for the band. "This was pre-name, of course. And we'd say, "Well, you tell us." And we heard the same term over and over again - that we trip over different genres - so we ended up using it in the name.
"The reason that it fits us so well is that we really do trip. Not to the point that you can't recognize what the music is and what it falls under, but we capture a really large bracket. We also have the James Taylor and other artist influences that come through, but really we combine everything to make it our own."
The anomaly of Tripping Lily doesn't end at the music. Although they remain unsigned, "Five Years Or More," one of the tracks from the album, has been number one on WUMB 91.9 and is in regular rotation on various other stations throughout Massachusetts.
"We recorded the first album by ourselves," says Monica Rizzio, who plays fiddle and sings in the band.
"We are definitely going to do another album, probably with that same live feel again. We weren't capturing the sound we create [in a regular recording studio] because our music is so physical and interactive that it's hard to do on a multi-track recording."
Tripping Lily - whose other members include Becrelius' brother, Alex (mandolin/guitar/vocals) and string bassist Laird Boles - will bring their high-energy set to The Hillside Church in Armonk tonight. The show is somewhat of a homecoming for Rizzio, who grew up in Chappaqua and attended Fox Lane High School in Mount Kisco.
The intimate setting suits the band's own performance philosophy perfectly.
"We try to separate the gap that seems to be between the audience and the stage," says Demetrius. "There's always that fine line between the way we would act around our own house or family and now we try to keep that feeling and bring it onstage.
"If Alex does something to humor me or bother me, I don't wait until I get offstage to bring it up. We take the opportunity to play into that and invite the audience into it. It seems to work for us because it relaxes us. We get compliments on the music but a lot of people seem to appreciate the formula. It feels good to hear that the fans feel comfortable when we perform."
Adds his brother: "We have a responsibility to be entertaining but also send them home feeling like they know you, not just musically. We try to talk to as many people after the show as possible"
Tripping Lily bring the same mentality to the music they perform. Inspiration for music can come at any time to the members of the band and none of them seem to try to stop the process.
"We each write our own songs and each lyric is individual," says Alex. "The person singing is the one who wrote it but we collectively get together and put the music together."
Demetrius jumps in: "We kind of look around. Part of the song may be about me or I might write it about someone else. We take different pieces and try to make sense of something though our songs. 'Nothing Goes Right,' [a track off of "The Couch Sessions"] was written by Alex and is completely fiction, but it also was inspired by a movie and other things surrounding him."
The band also draw on a host of musicians for inspiration when writing their original music. Their influences range from James Taylor and The Police to traditional jazz and Celtic tunes.
"I listen to a lot of music," says Demetrius. "A lot of jazz. Laird is a real jazz musician and shares it with us. Some of the newer stuff that we haven't recorded seems to be a little more positive, more upbeat. I hear more swing in there, with a little rock and pop in it as well.
WOMR- Bradford Street Bluegrass Radio Hour
Tripping Lily’s sound is cutting edge: soothing sounds with outstanding vocals and an almost magical blend of acoustic instruments,” Jim Hughes DJ and host of WOMR, 92.1 said. “They have a sound and style that will appeal to all types of musical tastes, a band with many good things in store for them in the future.
Brunkalla Violins
Martin Brunkalla
When you roll jazz, Celtic, bluegrass, pop, folk (and more) all into one, add some solid acoustic rhythm, refreshingly creative harmonies, and polished musicianship, you have Tripping Lily,” Martin Brunkalla owner of Brunkalla Violins.
Nameless Coffeehouse
Maureen LeBlance, Nameless Coffeehouse
Sure-fire musicianship and smart, incisive lyrics give
Tripping Lily their breezy yet complex style. Multi-instrumentalists
Monica Rizzio, Demetrius and Alex Becrelis, and bassist, Laird
Boles, have honed a distinctive, memorable sound!
~ Maureen LeBlanc, Nameless Coffeehouse, Cambridge, MA
Artist’s websites:
http://www.trippinglily.com
http://www.myspace.com/trippinglily
Date: Saturday, May 3, 2008
Doors: 7:30pm
Concert: 8:00pm
Suggested minimum donation: $15, + $1 LG House preservation fee.
Notlob website: http://notlobmusic.googlepages.com
Artist information: http://www.myspace.com/notlobparlorconcerts
Reservations: As seating is limited to 40, reservations are recommended. Email notlobmusic@gmail.com Reservations expire 15 minutes before concert time, when unclaimed seats will be released to walk-ins.
Venue & accessibility: Loring-Greenough House, 12 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, the large yellow house at the intersection of Centre and South Streets, across the street from the Civil War monument. Handicap accessible; call 617-524-3158 for more information. Please do not call the venue for any other reason.
Directions: http://www.lghouse.org/information.htm
Parking: The Loring-Greenough House lot holds 12 cars, gates are closed when full. Parking is also available on the street and in the public lots located behind Blanchard’s liquors, one block away and the Mellon bank, two blocks away.
MBTA: Take #39 bus from either Back Bay Station or Forest Hills Station to the Monument stop, directly in front of the Loring-Greenough House, at the intersections of Centre and South Streets.
Dining: There are several fine restaurants on Centre Street within 2-3 blocks, with on street parking and a large public parking lot behind Blanchard’s. At Centre Street Café – http://www.centrestcafe.com/ - (669A Centre Street, 617-524-9217), show proof of your reservation and get 10% off. More information at http://groups.google.com/group/notlobmusic/web/centre-street-cafe-becomes-a-notlob-restaurant-partner
Coffee, tea, water and pastries are available for a donation.
