Lubriphonic- Chicago Rock & Soul Stew

Lubriphonic 2011 Press pics

photo by Paul Natkin photo reserve

Digging deep and giving it all in everything they do Chicago’s Lubriphonic specialize in a unique offering of funky rock n’ roll. The septet’s tight and raw sound is immediately familiar, fusing the roots of soul with explosive in-your-face delivery and sensuous R&B dance music.

The best description of the band’s sound comes from Relix Magazine: “Superb, adventurous, diverse, simply mesmerizing instrumental work. Steeped in soul, rock, pop, and blues Lubriphonic’s members play with a tenacity and precision that sets them apart”.

Lubriphonic is the brainchild of guitarist Giles Corey & drummer Rick King which began as a residency at Chicago’s legendary Checkerboard Lounge, where they recruited some of the best blues, funk, and rock musicians in the city for improvisational live sessions in which the kinetic energy that make a band were initiated.

The evolution from performing as sidemen for the city’s most legendary blues stars such as Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Koko Taylor into an original group came from the hunger of each musician to develop their emerging funky sound.

Guitarist Corey explains “Everyone in Lubriphonic comes from the Chicago blues or gospel music pools. I met Rick King while playing in blues bands in Chicago, and when we eventually wanted to start a band together all of the cats we knew played the blues. All these guys that had a strong foundation in Chicago roots music who understood the feel and the nuances, but were dying to stretch out. Lubriphonic turned out to be a good vehicle for that.”

It’s this expression of creativity and energy at each performance that is paramount to Lubriphonic. “We are a live band first and foremost. There’s a palpable energy emitted by any large gathering of people,” Giles continues. “When you perform for an audience and give them positive energy, they take what you give them, amplify it and then throw it back to you. It’s a fantastic feeling.”

Lubriphonic – made up of Giles Corey (vocals, guitar), Richard King (drums), Pennal Johnson (bass), Charles Prophet (saxophone), Norman Palm (trombone) – tour extensively, crisscrossing the country playing festivals, theaters and clubs spending over 220 days a year on the road.

Sold out shows, national tours and their evolving sound are proof enough of how relevant Lubriphonic is going to become in the coming years. The group’s recent studio debut “The Gig Is On” manages to contain the trademark explosive live energy an accurate studio portrayal. Ivan Neville was a featured guest on keys. Since first forming in 2002 Lubriphonic already boasts a nationwide fan base, playing to crowds opening for such acts as Buddy Guy, George Clinton, Maceo Parker, Dr. John, Galactic, Bruce Hornsby, Derek Trucks Band, Karl Denson, The New Mastersounds, Jon Popper Project, Karl Denson, and Buckwheat Zydeco.

Entirely committed to continuing their mission, Lubriphonic is happy to be playing the music they love and winning over new fans each new night at each new city. “As a sideman one of the things you learned is how to be professional. I learned how to give to an audience, no matter what. That’s what you’ll get at a Lubriphonic show.”

WXRT's Tom Marker reviews Lube show

CraterTech Magazine - Exposed & In the Light, an interview with Giles

Recording with Ivan Neville!

Exploremusic.com

Lubriphonic To Headline Groovefest 2010

Guitar Edge Magazine

Mousike Magazine

exploremusic.com "The List"

Glide Magazine "Track By Track"

Glide Magazine "Under The Radar"

HGMN Review Of "Soul Solution"

Radio Relix Review

Buzzine Magazine Show Review

Review of show "All About Jazz"

Buzzine Magazine CD Review

Grateful Web Review of Lube show at Double Door

New Yorker Magazine : Night Life — July 31

Lubriphonic was created by the guitarist Giles Corey and the drummer Rick King, who recruited some of Chicago’s best sidemen—guys who had played with the likes of Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and Koko Taylor. The group features a crackling horn section and a tremendously fluid five-string-bass player (Pennal Johnson), and Corey, who’s also the vocalist and the main songwriter, drives the engine with both funky rhythm playing and blazing leads. Read more here:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/events/nightlife/2010/08/02/100802goni_GOAT_nightlife#ixzz0uqY9tVCJ

BROOKLYN BOWL
61 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg (718-963-3369):

Steve Cagle
Broadcaster, "Blues Spectrum"
KVMR FM Community Radio
Nevada City CA

You can read my review of "Soul Solution" in the on-line KVMR Listeners Guide, http://www.kvmr.org/lg/lg20100405.pdf. It's on page 20.
If you want any hard copies of the newsletter, let me know how many and where to mail them.
Hope this opens up a lot more visits to California! How 'bout some club gigs? I play you a lot on my blues show on KVMR and everyone I've turned on to your music absolutely loves it. One good friend who's seriously into music says, "Best album of the new millennium!"
Keep the music comin'!

Todd Altschuler, Offensive Coordinator
Mousike Magazine

Hey all!
Just returned from Telluride and have to recommend booking Lubriphonic at your club or concert series this winter. They've played Summit, Denver, Telluride and Crested Butte before, but never the Vail, Aspen or Steamboat areas so you might not know much about them.
Normally a band that plays night shows, Lubriphonic filled in for a band that wasn't able to make their afternoon main stage appearance. They had 5,000 people dancing and frolicking in musical bliss for the full hour and twenty minutes. Oh, and then they rocked their late-night set at the 200 person capacity Fly Me To The Moon Saloon where mobs of people showed up early and waited eagerly throughout the night for the one-out, one-in policy.
My opinion of the band is that Giles Corey is one of the best frontmen to come out of the music scene in a while. He's extremely talented and energetic and seems like a masterful improviser. The equally talented band members all follow suit musically with a set of music that you can tell is flowing out of them based on instinct and inertia instead of any sort of premeditation. They are all rhythmic geniuses as well as masterful lead soloists. For the best example of this, check out Soul Solution, an original song by lead guitar and vocalist Giles Corey which can be listened to for free (along with the rest of their afternoon TBB set) on their website www.lubriphonic.com. There are a few solos and one of particular mention is the bass solo by Rob Bell at about 7:50 into the song, which is absolutely phenomenal. Showing their range, they launch into a soulful version of Wilson Pickett's Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You, one of a few covers they mixed in throughout their sets of mostly original songs.
Should they find they're way to any or all of your venues this winter, you can be assured of extra publicity for this band in whichever issue of Mousike is about to come out. Please contact Phil@simonsaysbooking.com to book Lubriphonic.
Take care,
Todd

Kansas City Newspaper
Lubriphonic open for George Clinton at Crossroads KC

Trophy Husband, The Kid and I went to see George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic on Friday at Crossroads. Crossroads is the open are behind Grinders in downtown KC. It's a pretty cool place to see a show.

We got there at 5:30, pretty early for a 7 pm show. But we wanted to make sure we had a good parking spot — I won't park Klaus just anywhere you know — and we thought we would get dinner at Grinders too. The menu on concert nights is shortened, but still good and we enjoyed everything we ordered. But 5:30 was just too early. We were finished eating by 6:15 so we moved outside to secure a spot at a table for the show only to learn that at 6:30 they make everyone leave and reenter through the main gate with their tickets. We were near the front of the line and ended up in a better spot than where we started. They had been working on the PA the whole time we were eating dinner, you could hear them doing sound checks outside, and they continued working on it until the opening act, Lubriphonic, took the stage at 8 pm, a full hour after the show should have started. Lubriphonic was great. I was not sure what to expect but we all enjoyed their performance in spite of the PA problems that continued through their set.
Before George Clinton took the stage, there was another act that I just don't know what to make of. They were not near as good as Lubriphonic and I was glad when whatever it was there were doing was over (You damn kids get off my lawn!).

This old-school Chicago-based rocking funk and soul band kicks up the dust with a crackling three-piece horn section and enough energy to blow the fuses at this intimate venue. Its terrific originals sound like '70s covers and when it does dig down for an oldie, as on Curtis Mayfield's classic "If There's a Hell Below (We're All Gonna Go)," it's an all-stops-pulled blast.

— Hal Horowitz / Creative Loafing

GREASING THE EARS
Lubriphonic is a dynamite quartet born out of the vibrant Chicago blues scene. Formed in 1999 as the house band for the legendary southside joint The Checkerboard Lounge, the act has impeccable blues credentials: The four players have played or recorded with such legends as B.B. King, Koko Taylor, James Cotton and Buddy Miles. Yet Lubriphonic is far from your typical blues band. The group plays what it calls “groovy organic alternative soul.” Yet that doesn’t come close to describing the dynamic it creates. Given their resumes, it’s no surprise that the band’s members play with a mixture of tenacity and precision. The thing that sets Lubriphonic apart from many other equally proficient bands is its original material and superb vocals. The band’s songs are steeped in soul, rock, pop and blues and underscored by simply mesmerizing instrumental work. The ten cuts on the superb, self-titled studio effort the group issued last year showcase its diversity. There’s the soulful, beautifully haunting ballad “Girl” and the jazzy “Give It Up,” which boasts some great piano work. A live demo CD shows the band to be even more adventurous live as it ventures into some out-there jams. Guitarist Giles Corey says Lubriphonic appeals to a wide variety of people: “I believe you could put us on just about any type of bill—rock, country, soul, blues—and the audience will be entertained. He adds that the group throws in some hip soul covers and has been known to do “Sugaree” if there are a lot of Deadheads in the crowd. The band has already compiled enough material for another studio set and is considering issuing a liv e album. “ There’s definitely a lot of improvisation,” Corey says of the band’s shows. “We don’t work with setlists and we avoid dead air, which means we do a lot of improv in segues. We don’t always know how we’re going to land, but we always do.” Now seeking a manager and booking agent, the band has its sights set on more extensive touring. Based on what I’ve heard, people should be lining up to work with them.
---Mick Skidmore, Relix Magazine

Most people I’ve spoken to give me the impression they think being a music reviewer is an easy job. I’m here to tell you ‘not so much.’
Take Lubriphonic as an example. My boss came over to me, put the CD in my hand and told me that a review had to be written for February, no matter what. Stifling curses, I took the CD home with me, giving it a few listens here and there, in my car, at the office, in my living room and so on.
I discovered several things. First, I dig these guys. They have a full and fat sound and know when to scream and when to sit back and sigh, musically. Secondly, the vocals are very familiar, comfortable and both easy to listen to and sing along with, even if you can’t hold a note like my self. Thirdly, the songwriting, all done by vocalist and guitarist Giles Corey, makes you want to sing along. It is catchy and poppy without being overbearing.
‘So what’s the hard part’ is what you’re thinking right now. Well, what does all that mean? I mean if I like this disc so much, and I do, how do I convey that to you? Fun jammy bands are a dime a dozen so what makes these guys special?
I think for me it’s the fact that while they don’t dive into the genre-blending that is so prevalent in the scene nowadays, they do reach out and grab classic rock around the throat. I keep hearing echoes of other bands in their songs, in a good way. These guys just remind me of all of the good music I’ve heard over the years in their own subtle way.
So…wait, that was pretty easy, wasn’t it? Man, I have the coolest job in the world. And Lubriphonic rocks
---Al Haroldson, Kynd Music