{"id":31930,"date":"2019-06-12T10:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=31930"},"modified":"2019-06-06T08:02:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T12:02:00","slug":"on-stage-sibling-powered-lawrence-comes-to-the-met","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=31930","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Sibling-powered Lawrence comes to The Met"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lawrence<\/p><\/div>\n

Usually, mid-week is a slow time for live music \u2013 especially Wednesday nights. But that isn\u2019t so this week \u2013 not this Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The area music calendar has several great shows in a variety of genres \u2013 indie-pop, blues and pop-rock on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Years ago, a much older generation had George and Gracie \u2013 comedians George Burns and Gracie Allen.<\/p>\n

The current under-25 generation has Clyde and Gracie \u2013 musicians Clyde and Gracie Lawrence.<\/p>\n

Together, they record and tour as an indie-pop band called Lawrence. On June 12, the brother-and-sister band will perform at The Met (858 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, http:\/\/themetphilly.com<\/a>) as the opening act for Jon Bellion.<\/p>\n

The siblings are touring in support of the band\u2019s sophomore album, \u201cLiving Room,\u201d which was released in September 2018.<\/p>\n

When the band takes the stage at The Met, it will be performing songs from \u201cLiving Room,\u201d which peaked at #2 on iTunes R&B\/Soul Chart last year. The new music continues to receive critical praise \u2013 including serious kudos from NPR\u2019s World Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur show in Philly is the first show of this tour,\u201d said Clyde Lawrence, during a phone interview last week. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re still in New York finishing up some projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this band, it\u2019s mostly people I met in college when I was studying at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Our first album was \u2018Breakfast,\u2019 which came out in 2016. We went on the road from there. We spent a couple years doing pretty intense touring. Then, we went in the studio to make \u2018Living Room.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Gracie Lawrence said, \u201cWe recorded \u2018Living Room\u2019 late 2017 into early 2018. We were always touring and found time in between tours to record.\u00a0 Whenever we were home, we\u2019d do more recording.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band line-up of Lawrence features Clyde Lawrence (Keys, Vocals), Gracie Lawrence (Vocals), Sam Askin (Drums), Sumner Becker (Alto Sax), Jordan Cohen (Tenor Sax), Michael Karsh (Bass), Jonny Koh (Guitar), and Marc Langer (Trumpet).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe basically record everything in our sax player Jordan\u2019s home studio in Long Island,\u201d said Gracie. \u201cWe did most of \u2018Living Room\u2019 there as well as some newer stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the in-and-out, now-and-later recording process on \u201cLiving Room,\u201d there could have been a problem with the album\u2019s cohesiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cCohesiveness is a really tricky thing,\u201d said Clyde. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to tell. But at the end of the day, there is a cohesiveness because the stories come from Gracie and I. Even though the music is done different, it\u2019s done in the same place and it\u2019s sung with our voices. On the other hand, we want a wide diversity of songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gracie said, \u201cClyde and I write so much that we always have a ton of songs. But when you\u2019re putting an album together, you do have to identify where the album is going and what your vibe is. Not all the songs are always going to work together, Sometimes, there are songs outside the vernacular of the album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawrence is versatile but is primarily a pop-soul band.<\/p>\n

When Clyde was at Brown University, he started a soul, pop and funk band with drummer\u00a0Sam Askin, bassist\u00a0Michael Karsh, guitarist\u00a0Jonny Koh, trumpeter Marc Langer and\u00a0saxophonists\u00a0Sumner Becker and\u00a0Jordan Cohen.\u00a0The band naturally found itself immersed in soul music. Gracie, who already was an established actor with film and Broadway credits, joined the band. Lawrence moved forward from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gearing up to release a new song in the next few weeks,\u201d said Gracie. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re just going to continue releasing singles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clyde said, \u201cWe want to put singles out frequently to keep people\u2019s attention. For this tour, we\u2019re not the headline so we\u2019ll play a shorter set with more upbeat songs \u2013 songs from \u2018Living Room\u2019 and new material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Lawrence \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/WwxZi_ZK0mw<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at The Met, which has Jo Bellion as the headliner, will start at 8 p.m. Ticket prices start at $15.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Wylder<\/p><\/div>\n

Wylder, an indie-folk band from the Washington, D.C. area is going out on an eight-date tour in June \u2013 a tour that will touch down locally on June 12 at World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In a way, the talented quartet is putting the horse before the cart as its new album \u201cGolden Age Thinking\u201d will not be released until July 12.<\/p>\n

Formed in Virginia by singer Will McCarry, the band also features Lonnie Southall (guitar\/mandolin), Mike Pingley (drums) and Jackson Wright (bass\/piano). The group developed its own blend of indie-rock, chamber-folk and indie-folk \u2013 rock with strings and complex vocals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was going to Mary Washington University in Virginia and met Lonnie and Jackson there,\u201d said McCarry, during a recent phone interview from his office at a non-profit group that defends wildlife. \u201cMike came down from William & Mary and joined the band. Before that, the band had gone through line-up changeds with college friends. Lonnie and I met in a comic book class.<\/p>\n

\u201cLate in 2016, the line-up became set. Mike\u2019s first show with us was at Mary Washington two years after we graduated. We still try to play a show at Mary Washington once a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the four musicians\u2019 collegiate days in Virginia, they moved to the Washington, D.C. area to continue their musical journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe D.C. music scene is hard to break into,\u201d said McCarry. \u201cBut we\u2019ve found our niche. The album release show will be at The Hamilton in D.C. on July 12. We\u2019ll be bringing in some orchestral friends. We\u2019ll also be doing shows later at two D.C. clubs \u2013 Jammin\u2019 Java and Black Cat.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur first LP was \u2018Rain and Laura\u2019 in 2016. That was our last full-length. Since then, we\u2019ve released a few singles. We put out our single \u2018Ready To Break\u2019 in 2018 and that kick-started the cycle for the next album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Train\u2019s Pat Monahan premiered the \u201cRain and Laura\u201d album\u2019s first two singles \u201cBitter\u201d and \u201cSave A Way\u201d on his Sirius XM program, Train Tracks. The band\u2019s music has also been featured prominently on the ABC show \u201cThe Good Doctor\u201d as well as many popular MTV programs. In 2018, the quartet performed aboard The Rock Boat XVIII along with Need to Breathe, Barenaked Ladies and Sister Hazel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur latest single \u2013 \u2018Ghosts\u2019 \u2013 came out a few weeks ago \u2013 on May 17,\u201d said McCarry. \u201cI write \u2018Ghosts\u2019 on the farm I grew up on in Leesburg, Virginia. It\u2019s a tribute to the house there that\u2019 100 years old and has a lot of ghost stories. I think about it as a place where ghosts meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a lot of ways, \u2018Ready To Break\u2019 is a bridge between albums. The rest of the new album is deeper introspective indie-rock.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecording \u2018Golden Age Thinking\u2019 was a long process. We wrote about 30 sings before we went in the studio. We all voted on our favorites. I have a group of guys who get my vision. We started recording the album last June.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to L.A. and did 11 tracks at Kingsize Studio. We spent two weeks out there honing the record to what we wanted. I had ben working on some of the songs for three or four years. Then, we have a nice space at home where we tracked the backup vocals. We also spent a day at 38 North Studio in Falls Church. The album is introspective and reflective \u2013 and still around a base of acoustic guitar rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Wylder \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/l3n0KvCozWI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live, which also features Motherfolk and Homestead Collective, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12.<\/p>\n

Sellersville is a long way from the Everglades, but Alligator presence will still be felt in the Bucks County town on July 12.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lil Ed & The Blues Imperials<\/p><\/div>\n

On Wednesday night, the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) will present a blues band double feature with two Alligator Records recording artists — Lil Ed & The Blues Imperials And Selwyn Birchwood.<\/p>\n

Lil\u2019 Ed & The Blues Imperials, beloved around the world as reigning champs of the raucous, slide-stoked Chicago sound, have spent more than 30 years cranking out high-octane blues on a series of critically acclaimed albums and in thousands of club, theatre and festival performances around the globe. With sales of over 120,000 units under their belts, this legendary band is captured at the top of their game on its latest album \u2013 \u201cThe Big Sound of Lil\u2019 Ed & The Blues Imperials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lil\u2019 Ed is Ed Williams, Chicago-born blues guitarist, singer and songwriter who has risen to fame on the strength of his standout slide guitar work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last year, I wasn\u2019t working as much as I usually do,\u201d said Williams, during a recent phone interview. \u201cIt\u2019s partly because of the weather. Last year, we did 200 shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Big Sound of Lil\u2019 Ed & The Blues Imperials is bursting with Lil\u2019 Ed\u2019s rollicking slide-work and raw-boned vocals on a joyous blend of burning boogies, romping shuffles and heart-stopping slow blues. The ever-ready Blues Imperials continue to be his perfect sidekicks — laying down greasy, percolating grooves with reckless precision.<\/p>\n

Lil\u2019 Ed \u2018s backing band — The Blues Imperials — are bassist James \u201cPookie\u201d Young, guitarist Mike Garrett and drummer Kelly Littleton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always used a four-piece band — two guitars, bass and drums,\u201d said Williams, during a recent phone interview. \u201cKelly, Mike and Pookie are my guys. This is a really tight band. These guys have been with me for about 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams and his half-brother Pookie Young, received childhood encouragement and tutelage from their uncle, blues guitarist, songwriter and recording artist J. B. Hutto.<\/p>\n

\u201cJ.B. would come and play for my family,\u201d said Williams. \u201cSlide guitar was the instrument for me because it shimmied. J.B. would play his slide and the 40-watt light bulbs in our house would dim.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started playing guitar when I was 11 or 12. J.B. would always play songs by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and Elmore James. The Muddy Waters songs always had a lot of slide guitar. That\u2019s what I really liked a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been almost 30 years since Lil\u2019 Ed & The Blues Imperials released their debut album \u201cRoughhousin\u2019\u201d on Alligator<\/a> Records. The band\u2019s most recent album is \u201cThe Big Sound Of Lil\u2019 Ed & The Blues Imperials\u201d in 2016. \u00a0All of Li\u2019l Ed\u2019s records over the last three decades have been on Alligator Records, a Chicago-based label specializing in blues music.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack around 1985, I was playing a North Side club here in Chicago and Bruce (Iglauer, producer and owner of Alligator Records) heard me play,\u201d said Williams. \u201cHe invited me to play a couple tracks on a compilation album called \u2018The New Bluebloods.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to their studio and did 15 songs. Then, we kept going. We cut 32 songs in a couple hours. That was where all the songs from \u2018Roughhousin\u2019 came from.<\/p>\n

\u201cI signed with Alligator Records then. Bruce and I shook hands and we\u2019re still together 30 years later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams has started working on his next album for Alligator, but no release date has been set.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of write as I go because I write about things that I see or little things people say,\u201d said Williams. \u201cA good example is my song \u2018Icicles in My Meatloaf.\u2019 My wife had made meatloaf — some of it was for dinner and she froze the rest for later.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she defrosted it and served it, it wasn\u2019t heated up all the way. My mother-in-law started to eat it, came across a part that was still frozen and said — there\u2019s an icicle in my meatloaf.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get that kind of vibe going. I look around me. I try to focus on what\u2019s going on around me in the world — all the things that happen in everyday living in all our lives. That\u2019s why people relate to my songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a little studio in my house. I\u2019m always sitting down plucking on my guitar. I get a groove going and then decide if it\u2019s a heavy song or as happy song.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2013, the band was awarded the Living Blues Critics\u2019 and Readers\u2019 Awards for Best Live Performer. The band won this same distinction in the 2012 and 2011 Living Blues Critics’ Poll. The group won the coveted 2009 Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year, the same honor they received in 2007.<\/p>\n

In his live shows, Williams presents fans with an overview of his career — and a heavy dose of the blues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got so many songs that I can play,\u201d said Williams. \u201cEvery show, I try to mix up the material — old songs from 25 years ago along with newer songs. I also throw in some covers — Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Elmore James — all the good ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always working on songs \u2013 trying to find new material. I\u2019ll probably get in the studio soon. It\u2019s about time. I have a few songs ready to go. When that happens, I give them to the group and let them work on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am hoping to get in the studio sometime soon. I\u2019m probably going to have 20 songs ready. I\u2019m hoping that in a couple months that Bruce will come up and ask if we have something ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Selwyn Birchwood<\/p><\/div>\n

With his fiery guitar and lap steel playing, his trailblazing, instantly memorable songs and gritty, unvarnished vocals, Birchwood is among the most extraordinary young stars in the blues. His deep familiarity with blues tradition allows him to bust the genre wide open, adding new sounds, colors and textures, all delivered with a revival tent preacher’s fervor and a natural storyteller’s charisma.<\/p>\n

Birchwood wrote and produced all 13 songs on his latest album \u201cPick Your Poison,\u201d which was released in 2017 on Alligator Records. The album is a testament to Birchwood\u2019s overflowing talents as a blues master \u2013 despite his young age of 34.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018Pick Your Poison\u2019 album was nominated for two Blues Music Awards and we\u2019re still touring it strong,\u201d said Birchwood, during a phone interview last week. \u201cWe\u2019re just working hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started making \u2018Pick Your Poison\u2019 in May of 2106. It was a real challenge for us to get in the studio because our tour schedule was so crazy. I had to do it two or three days at a time. I didn\u2019t finish it until December. We did it at Phat Planet Studio in Orlando. It\u2019s a great studio with a lot of great gear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had already been performing half the record on the road. We finished out the rest of the tracks while working on them over a nine-month period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birchwood\u2019s fans are hoping for a new album soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just writing right now,\u201d said Birchwood. \u201cI write by myself and I\u2019m working on material for a new album. I\u2019ve got eight written and only need a few more. I want to get in the studio in the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birchwood is one of the top acts to emerge in the world of blues music in recent years. In 2013, he won the world-renowned International Blues Challenge — beating out 125 other musicians from the U.S. and abroad.<\/p>\n

He also took home the Albert King Guitarist of the Year Award. After that, it didn\u2019t take long for Alligator Records president Bruce Iglauer to offer Birchwood a contract.<\/p>\n

\u201cBruce heard me play at IBC (International Blues Challenge) in Memphis,\u201d said Birchwood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave him some of my tracks to listen to. I was just hoping to get his opinion on them. Instead, he asked me to make an album for his record label.\u201d<\/p>\n

His album, \u201cDon\u2019t Call No Ambulance,\u201d which was his third overall and first for Alligator Records, received the Living Blues Critics\u2019 Award for Best Debut Album Of 2014.<\/p>\n

Birchwood was born in 1985 in Orlando, Florida. He first grabbed a guitar at age 13 and soon became proficient at mimicking what he heard on the radio. But the popular grunge rock, hip-hop and metal of the 1990s didn\u2019t move him, and he quickly grew bored.<\/p>\n

Then he heard Jimi Hendrix. By the time he was 17, Birchwood was deep into the blues — listening to Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, Lightnin\u2019 Hopkins and especially Buddy Guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was young, I decided I wanted to play an instrument and landed on guitar,\u201d said Birchwood. \u201cI was bored with just hearing the stuff on the radio in the late 90s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard Jimi Hendrix for the first time, I was blown away. It was like a spaceship landed. Then, I started listening to Hendrix\u2019 roots — Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuddy Guy was one of my favorites. He was coming on tour to the House of Blues in Orlando when I was 17 and living there. I went to his show and was completely floored. I said — what I\u2019m feeling coming off this stage is what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birchwood not only is a strong player; he is a very good writer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m writing all the time,\u201d said Birchwood. \u201cI write by myself and bring it to the band. My way to write songs is always different. It\u2019s kind of sporadic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of time on the road with these tours, so I think about songs and start working on them. I grew up listening to Muddy Waters and B.B. King. So, when I\u2019m writing, it feels like blues to me no matter what the form.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe normally like to road-test songs because they seem to develop out of improvisation. I really dig all kinds of blues \u2013 Delta, Piedmont, Chicago and Hill Country blues. Now, I\u2019m trying to make some Florida blues \u2013 original music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just never understood playing old blues all the time. In the United States, if you played in a rock band and did covers, you got mocked. It\u2019s much better to tell your one stories \u2013 and maybe throw an occasional cover into your live show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to stand in stage and be recreating something that\u2019s been done before \u2013 telling somebody else\u2019s tale. I want to tell my own story. I\u2019ll quote a few old songs, but I\u2019ll never do a full cover.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to find a sound that is my sound \u2013 blues, funk, soul, jazz, gospel \u2013 throw it all together and see what comes out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Lil\u2019 Ed & The Blues Imperials \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/l9citE4Xzv0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Video link for Selwyn Birchwood — https:\/\/youtu.be\/MZjeJsN5CcU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Sellersville Theater on June 12 will start at 8 p.m. Ticket prices range from $25-$39.50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Usually, mid-week is a slow time for live music \u2013 especially Wednesday nights. But that isn\u2019t so this week \u2013 not this Wednesday. The area music calendar has several great shows in a variety of genres \u2013 indie-pop, blues and pop-rock on Wednesday. Years ago, a much older […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,11279,9273,9002,11280],"class_list":["post-31930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-lawrence","tag-lil-ed-the-blues-imperials","tag-selwyn-birchwood","tag-wylder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31930"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31931,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31930\/revisions\/31931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}