JOHN MEDESKI'S MAD SKILLET
Featuring WILL BERNARD, KIRK JOSEPH & TERENCE HIGGINS
To Headline THE LODGE ROOM In LOS ANGELES, CA
On SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23
SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM Out Now
Hear/Share "INVINCIBLE BUBBLE" | Hear/Share "ADELE"
"[Mad Skillet] was slamming and quite danceable while Medeski showed himself to be the most inventive, playful and creative keyboard player on the scene since the late, great Sun Ra." - Variety Magazine
"John Medeski's final reckoning may be as one of the seminal collaborators and musical catalysts of our time." - Austin Chronicle
Who:
JOHN MEDESKI'S MAD SKILLET
featuring Will Bernard, Kirk Joseph & Terence Higgins
When:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Doors: 8pm
Where:
THE LODGE ROOM
104 N. Ave 56, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90042
(323) 509-2861
Tickets:
$25 ADV // $30 DOS
More Info
About:
John Medeski's Mad Skillet will headline The Lodge Room in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, February 23. The date is part of a U.S. winter tour in support of their self-titled, debut album on Indirecto Records. Led by the hugely influential keyboardist John Medeski and featuring guitarist Will Bernard and the legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band rhythm section of sousaphonist Kirk Joseph and drummer Terence Higgins, Mad Skillet is first and foremost a product of New Orleans. The band's inception can be traced back to the late-night sets that go down every year during New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. For years during that annual festival-after-the-festival, Medeski would seek out gigs with Bernard, a New York-based guitarist rooted in jazz, but adept across genres. After traversing various players and configurations, the tandem hooked up with Joseph and Higgins, both of whom Medeski had met when he produced the Dirty Dozen’s 1999 record, Buck Jump. Fiery after-hours shows at spots like the Little Gem Saloon firmed up the band’s profoundly intuitive rapport.
"Something happens there. There's something in the air, the water, the food," says Medeski. "Every time we play, it really is magical. We get together and this thing lifts. It has a life of its own, beyond any of us. There's a lot of ESP in New Orleans music. There’s a certain feel that New Orleans guys have that you can’t get anywhere else."
Indeed, Mad Skillet has an X factor that sets it apart from the rest of Medeski's remarkable discography. Throughout the 9-track effort, Higgins finds that elusive space shared among second-line, swing, funk, Afro-Cuban rhythms and hip-hop. Joseph, the scion of the late New Orleans lion Waldren "Frog" Joseph, holds down the low end with a power Medeski calls the “reality factor that comes through with the sousaphone: heart, mind, ears, breath.” As for Bernard, there's "just something that happens to Will in New Orleans that is unexplainable," Medeski says. Recorded at the Living Room, a studio housed in a Depression-era church straight across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans, Mad Skillet finds the guitarist showcasing the scope of his abilities and tones like never before. Medeski's longtime friend and collaborator Scotty Hardprovides invaluable sonic guidance at the mixing board.
While Medeski's name is out front, the album reflects a spirit of interplay and equality among members. Bernard contributes the sauntering soul of "Man About Town" and the rocking, Meters-esque workout "Little Miss Piggy." Joseph offers "Adele," whose gorgeous melodica melody evokes desert vistas and Ennio Morriconescores. Two spontaneous group compositions, "Tuna in a Can" and "Psychedelic Rhino," present an engaging variation on the avant-garde. Sun Ra's "The Golden Lady" is marked by atmospheric use of Medeski's Mellotron bass-clarinet timbre and killer spy-movie guitar. The keyboardist's tunes include "Invincible Bubble," (hear/share) a cathartic, open-hearted tribute to his step-daughter; "Piri Piri," with its hip, rapid-fire unison lines; and "The Heart of Soul," for MMW's late booking agent Chip Hooper, featuring masterful slide guitar and hard-grooving R&B piano.
But more than a collection of tunes, Mad Skillet is about an energy and a city. "The hang before you play is just as important as the session," Medeski concludes. "You have to really be open to get to that place, to get to that vibration where it's all coming together."
John Medeski's Mad Skillet
Tour Dates
February 15 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox
February 16 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
February 17 - Bend, OR - The Domino Room
February 19 - Chico, CA - Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
February 20 - Crystal Bay, NC - Crystal Bay Club Crown Room
February 21 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow’s
February 22 - Berkeley, CA - The UC Theatre
February 23 - Los Angeles, CA - The Lodge Room
March 30 - Savannah, GA - Savannah Music Festival
April 19 - Atlanta, GA - Sweetwater 420 Festival
April 20 - Black Mountain, NC - Pisgah Brewing Company
April 26 - New Orleans, LA - Tipitina's
April 27 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
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