Lotus Effect

"Wow; talk about ambition. I knew the four guys in Lotus Effect had pretty lofty aspirations for their long-awaited full-length album, ... now that I’ve heard the full scope of Totality…well, I’m back to “wow,” again. - Jeremy Hart, Space City Rock

“Gods and goddesses, theology, science, white eye contacts and that burning question of whether or not we are alone in the universe are all addressed [by] Lotus Effect.” - Lance Scott Walker, 002 Magazine

"I should hand it to these guys, this has been an epic experience to review this great progressive and powerful album that has each song flow seamlessly to the next." - Kevin Card

"It's arguably the most visually ambitious music video ever shot by a local Houston band, with special effects that rival many big budget efforts that you'd normally see on A-level artists." - Houston Press

“The coming year includes potentially spectacular releases from established acts and promising upstarts in every genre imaginable, from indie-pop and rap to country and rock en Español. It's going to be a very good year.” - Joey Guerra - The Chronicle

"Lotus Effect has been working on a new album for over a year, ... to ensure they live up [to] the accolades heaped upon their previous work. - Houston Press

"Lotus Effect tops Revolver Underground's list of Best of 2011." - Revolver Underground

Winner of the 2010 Houston Press Music Award for "Best Rock". - Houston Press

"The group's EP Rabbits and Royalties was one of the top releases of the year, and they picked up a Houston Press Music Award for Best Rock as proof." - Houston Press

"What you get with Lotus Effect (out of Houston), is a rock band poised for a breakout. These four guys have a solid foundation built with a little speed, a little thrash, and a lot of heart." - Sonic Dissonance

"What Muse once was, and now only pretends to be, Lotus Effect is." - Houston Press

Your 2010 Houston Press Music Award winners:

Best LP/CD
Devin the Dude, Suite 420

Best EP/7"
Grandfather Child, "Waiting for You"

Best Song
Mike Stinson, "No One to Drink With"

Local Musician of the Year
Nick Gaitan

Best New Act
Tim Qualls

Best Male Vocals
Lee Alexander

Best Female Vocals
Ira Perez

Best Songwriter
Kristine Mills

Best Rock
Lotus Effect

Best Punk
Skeleton Dick

Best Indie-Rock
Wild Moccasins

Best Progressive Rock
Tax the Wolf

Best Hardcore/Noise
A dream Asleep

Best Metal
Pinche Gringos

Best Instrument/Experimental
Two Star Symphony

Best Latin Traditional
Mango Punch

Best Latin Contemporary
Los Skarnales

Best Latin Hip-Hop
Chingo Bling

Best Mainstream Hip-Hip
Bun B

Best Underground Hip Hop
Fat Tony

Best Reggae/Dub
Potbelly

Best Jazz
Free Radicals

Best R&B/Funk/Soul
2 Dollar Sound

Best Blues
Little Joe Washington

Best Zydeco
Zydeco Dots

Best Country
Robert Ellis & the Boys

Best Folk
Flying Fish Sailors

Best Roots-Rock/Americana
Sideshow Tramps

Best Cover/Tribute Band
Beetle

Best Guitarist
The Mighty Orq

Best Bassist
Nick Gaitan (The Umbrella Man)

Best Drummer
Ash Hendley (World's Most Dangerous)

Best Keyboards
Jennifer Grassman

Best Miscellaneous Instrument
Geoffrey Muller

Best Club DJ
GRRRL Parts

Best Producer
DJ Red

Best Radio Personality
Rod Ryan (94.5 The Buzz)

Best Radio Station
KPFT (90.1 FM)

Best Radio Program
The Rod Ryan Show (KTBZ)

Best Record Store
Cactus Music

Best Local Label
Space City Records

Best Live Music Venue
Warehouse Live

Best Instrument/Equipment Store
Guitar Center

Best Local Twitter Personality
Slim Thug - Houston Press

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com.

?Here's part of a email we received about two weeks ago, verbatim:

"This is Dremaceo with Lotus Effect and we wanted to throw in our lot for artist of the week. We were extremely fortunate to win the Houston Press Music Award for Best Rock, but our goal all along when we first formed as a band was to be Artist of the Week and then commit mass suicide. Which is why we've only submitted ourselves once before, we really weren't ready until now."

If you use the phrase "mass suicide" anywhere in your request to be selected as Artist of the Week, you automatically get the nod. It's called the Mass Suicide Clause. Duh.

It also doesn't hurt if your music is unquestionably good and heartfelt, with it once having been described as being "What Muse once was, and now only pretends to be." That's called the Muse Sucks Now Clause, by the way. So we linked up with the Lotus gents to talk about gay porn, winning HPMA Best Rock and getting drunk and tearing your apartment to bits.

Rocks Off: You know what's cool? What's cool is that picture of y'all's heads where it's the all-white background. It looks like something that'd be on a flyer trying to convince people to join a cult. Or try gay porn. Excellent.

?Lotus Effect: Yeah, you know, we had a couple of white medical gowns lying around from Gabe's last stint at a mental health facility and we were like, "Who are we to let good medical gowns go to waste?" And that's not the first time we've heard the gay porn reference, which is why our bassist Jason Malley generally begins all his conversations that he has never been in gay porn.

RO [laughs]: You guys won Best Rock. We assume that you guys have spent the last two weeks sending messages online to the bands that you beat about how much better you are than them. That's what we do with the Chronicle every day, anyway.

LE: No, actually, we spent a lot of time staring in the mirror with our instruments posing with our trophy. It was really cool to win, though. We put in tons of hard work and are proud of the music we've put out, but at the same time there are so many deserving bands. We consider the entire Houston music scene one big family, and in our hearts we share this award, but it's staying on our mantle, though.

RO: Is there a better song to have playing in the background when you're getting drunk and tearing your apartment to bits because you found out your girlfriend gave a guy a handjob at The Drake last weekend than "Mercucio"? We proclaim not.

LE: That's pretty messed up, because my girlfriend did give a guy a handjob at The Drake last weekend. But I was tearing my apartment to shreds and ripping phone books in two listening to Celine Dion. You're probably right. I should have been playing "Mercucio."

RO: Why did you all pick the name "Lotus Effect"? We've spent the better part of two days trying to figure out how it ties to music, but I just can't do it. Leaves? Water? Buoyancy? Totally lost.

LE: Well, the lotus effect refers to the Lotus flower's inability to get wet. Water just rolls off of it. Also, when we were thinking of where we fit in the sea of music out there it just seemed appropriate because we kind of just do our own thing. We're a progressive band that's not a progressive band.

?Our biggest thing was we wanted to make progressive music that was accessible to people who normally wouldn't listen to progressive music. We wanted to be the gateway band to Porcupine Tree. And I can't swim.

RO: When, where and for how much can someone in Houston see you perform live next?

LE: We will be playing with our idols, metal legends Katatonia (Sweden) along with Swallow the Sun (Finland) and Orphaned Land (Israel) October 2 at the Meridian. Tickets are $15 advance and they have some really cool VIP packages at myonstageevents.com. But we'll play your next house party for free, just give us a keg and a ride home.

RO: Anything else you all want to plug? Now's the time to do it.

LE: Yeah, give blood, people. It's the easiest way to save lives. I know most of yall's blood alcohol content will probably make giving blood toxic to the recipient but let the doctors be the judge of that. And we do have our new EP, Rabbits & Royalty, available now. You can find it online or swing by Cactus Records. And we love us some hugs so remember that the next time you see us. - Houston Press

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com.

Here's part of a email we received about two weeks ago, verbatim:

"This is Dremaceo with Lotus Effect and we wanted to throw in our lot for artist of the week. We were extremely fortunate to win the Houston Press Music Award for Best Rock, but our goal all along when we first formed as a band was to be Artist of the Week and then commit mass suicide. Which is why we've only submitted ourselves once before, we really weren't ready until now."

If you use the phrase "mass suicide" anywhere in your request to be selected as Artist of the Week, you automatically get the nod. It's called the Mass Suicide Clause. Duh.

It also doesn't hurt if your music is unquestionably good and heartfelt, with it once having been described as being "What Muse once was, and now only pretends to be." That's called the Muse Sucks Now Clause, by the way. So we linked up with the Lotus gents to talk about gay porn, winning HPMA Best Rock and getting drunk and tearing your apartment to bits.

Rocks Off: You know what's cool? What's cool is that picture of y'all's heads where it's the all-white background. It looks like something that'd be on a flyer trying to convince people to join a cult. Or try gay porn. Excellent.

?Lotus Effect: Yeah, you know, we had a couple of white medical gowns lying around from Gabe's last stint at a mental health facility and we were like, "Who are we to let good medical gowns go to waste?" And that's not the first time we've heard the gay porn reference, which is why our bassist Jason Malley generally begins all his conversations that he has never been in gay porn.

RO [laughs]: You guys won Best Rock. We assume that you guys have spent the last two weeks sending messages online to the bands that you beat about how much better you are than them. That's what we do with the Chronicle every day, anyway.

LE: No, actually, we spent a lot of time staring in the mirror with our instruments posing with our trophy. It was really cool to win, though. We put in tons of hard work and are proud of the music we've put out, but at the same time there are so many deserving bands. We consider the entire Houston music scene one big family, and in our hearts we share this award, but it's staying on our mantle, though.

RO: Is there a better song to have playing in the background when you're getting drunk and tearing your apartment to bits because you found out your girlfriend gave a guy a handjob at The Drake last weekend than "Mercucio"? We proclaim not.

LE: That's pretty messed up, because my girlfriend did give a guy a handjob at The Drake last weekend. But I was tearing my apartment to shreds and ripping phone books in two listening to Celine Dion. You're probably right. I should have been playing "Mercucio."

RO: Why did you all pick the name "Lotus Effect"? We've spent the better part of two days trying to figure out how it ties to music, but I just can't do it. Leaves? Water? Buoyancy? Totally lost.

LE: Well, the lotus effect refers to the Lotus flower's inability to get wet. Water just rolls off of it. Also, when we were thinking of where we fit in the sea of music out there it just seemed appropriate because we kind of just do our own thing. We're a progressive band that's not a progressive band.

?Our biggest thing was we wanted to make progressive music that was accessible to people who normally wouldn't listen to progressive music. We wanted to be the gateway band to Porcupine Tree. And I can't swim.

RO: When, where and for how much can someone in Houston see you perform live next?

LE: We will be playing with our idols, metal legends Katatonia (Sweden) along with Swallow the Sun (Finland) and Orphaned Land (Israel) October 2 at the Meridian. Tickets are $15 advance and they have some really cool VIP packages at myonstageevents.com. But we'll play your next house party for free, just give us a keg and a ride home.

RO: Anything else you all want to plug? Now's the time to do it.

LE: Yeah, give blood, people. It's the easiest way to save lives. I know most of yall's blood alcohol content will probably make giving blood toxic to the recipient but let the doctors be the judge of that. And we do have our new EP, Rabbits & Royalty, available now. You can find it online or swing by Cactus Records. And we love us some hugs so remember that the next time you see us. - Houston Press

Houston progressive alternative rock band, Lotus Effect is bold and brilliant, both in delivery and perception. The music on the band's latest LP Rabbits and Royalty doesn't fit comfortably into the genre of hard rock, or even alternative, for that matter, but it's different.

The vocals of Dremaceo Giles are so emotion filled, the meaning behind the lyrics leave no room for shallow interpretation. The standout track "Fireflies" is where we find the band's cohesive structure. With Gabriel Blog on drums, Rick Marquez handling the guitar, and Jason Malley with bass, Giles leads the story in perfect pitch. The solo break down highlighting Blog’s talents clears the space with ease.

While Lotus Effect has been compared to Muse, Soul Asylum and others, the commonalities exist merely in genre. "Warhol," a track that brilliantly explores the relationship between Andy Warhol and his muse Edie Sedgwick is executed with such grit and pain, what emerges is a story of beautiful decay. Giles is vocally magnificent.

The production, facilitated by Mike Thompson of Ivory Tower Studios leaves little room for error with Rabbits and Royalty. While complex in rhythm, the music is accessible and can be liked with ease, especially with an audience outside of the typical "rock" demographic. Tinges of soul, and blues filled themes could present as anachronistic for some, but with Lotus Effect the elements are measured exactly right.
- S.O.U.L. Magazine

So my favorite thing about the newly released Lotus Effect EP, Rabbits & Royalty, was looking through the lyrics to see why/how the band's inspirations came across in song.

While browsing the band's online persona, I came across their home page, where the first two bands they list as similar acts are Soul Asylum and Muse. Ummm, no. Lotus Effect is a kabillion times better than the musically criminal implosion that became Soul Asylum after "Runaway Train" and Lotus Effect has a much harder sound than early Soul Asylum (although closest to SA's debut Say What You Will...) and they lack the orchestral intensity of Muse.

That said, what you get with Lotus Effect (out of Houston), is a rock band poised for a breakout. These four guys have a solid foundation built with a little speed, a little thrash, and a lot of heart.

Lyrically, it can be quite consuming to see a band pay tribute in some way to someone who meant something, as Lotus Effect does with four of the five songs on the EP (well, one track is doubled up w/ an acoustic version).

On "Fireflies," Lotus Effect uses the tragedy that ended former NFL star & military hero Pat Tillman's life to create a beautifully transparent view into vocalist Dremaceo Giles' soul. On its own, the track stands as the softest song on the EP, then the band outdoes themselves by stripping it down even further with a truly amazing acoustic version.

The other three songs on Rabbits & Royalty will make the hair on your legs stand up. The passion and drive in these three tracks merge the metal sound with something more innocent and stable. All of which makes the entire EP one that's worth looking into.

If I have but one complaint, it's that the EP is just that, an EP. But really, that doesn't matter, when a band can create an EP as brisk and complete as this one, why ruin it with any more songs that may not capture the same look into their souls.

btw, this band is definitely not to be confused with NY ambient artist THE Lotus Effect. - Sonic Dissonance

OK, in your head, we want you to picture Soul Asylum. No, not "Runaway Train." We mean the energy, angsty effervescence of something like "Somebody to Shove." Wed that haunting voice and throbbing guitars to a mild prog-rock sensibility and you have Lotus Effect's EP, Rabbits and Royalties.

The release contains four hard-rocking anthems dedicated to death and the pain of both being gone and being left behind. Now, the songs might be just the teensiest, tiniest bit too long for the increasingly ADD-addled music aficionados that make up the modern radio consumer, but maybe that extra minute and a half is the line between what is popular and what is truly epic.

The release is well-read in pop culture and classic lit. "Warhol" starts the album with an aching invocation to Edie Sedgwick, one of Andy Warhol's muses, while "Mercucio" (misspelling aside) retells the tale of Romeo and Juliet louder and more painfully than Baz Luhrmann could have hoped to.

In fact, the majority of the album is a screaming audio obelisk to loss. Loss of heroes, loves, lives, and everything between and beyond. And while "Warhol" and "Mercucio" speak of public mournings, it's the personal power of "Simple Pages" and "Fireflies" (particularly the acoustic version of the latter that ends the EP) that will make you realize that Lotus Effect is one of those acts whose music will forever mark a page in your life's book.

What Muse once was, and now only pretends to be, Lotus Effect is. - Houston Press

BEST ROCK and BEST GUITARIST nomination for 2010 Houston Press Music Awards. - Houston Press

In a 1982 interview with The Zealots (a Houston band whose influences included King Crimson, Joy Division and Gang Of Four), singer Tim McGlashen told me that one of his band’s goals was “to unite the rock audience and appeal to a wide variety of people.” It was an interesting time. The first wave of punk rock, a reaction to the pretense of progressive and mainstream rock, had come and gone and we had entered into the era of post-punk with it’s too-numerous-to-mention sub-genres. The Zealots had the ambitious goal of bringing together a disparate audience and, during their time as a band, they succeeded.

28 years later, the Houston band Lotus Effect has similar aspirations with the release of their new 5-track EP, Rabbits & Royalty. In contrast to The Zealots (a post-punk band), Lotus Effect originates from the opposite end of the rock spectrum. A self-described progressive rock band, the members of Lotus Effect are well aware of the negative preconceptions often associated with the genre. Singer Dre Giles explains: “From the beginning, we wanted to break that connotation. We wanted to make gritty progressive rock that was more accessible to someone who (previously) would never even consider listening to our genre.”

For the opening track, “Warhol,” Dre’s inspiration came from a small San Antonio dive bar called The Warhol (later renamed as The Ten Eleven) and Andy Warhol’s muse, Edie Sedgwick, after seeing her story in the film Factory Girl. Rabbit & Royalty also includes “Mercucio” (a modern retelling of Romeo & Juliet), and the Pat Tillman inspired “Fireflies”. A free download of “Warhol” is available from the band’s page at ReverbNation.

Lotus Effect will perform tonight, April 24, at Walter’s On Washington at 4215 Washington Ave. to celebrate the release of Rabbits & Royalty along with special guests The Live Lights, Ellypseas, and Cold Forty Three. Admission is $10 and includes a CD copy of the EP.

A portion of the proceeds from Rabbits & Royalty will be donated to The Pat Tillman Foundation supporting future generations of leaders who embody the American tradition of citizen service, and The Pablove Foundation benefitting terminally ill children. - Houston Music Examiner

"'Totality' has been released and it rocks just as hard as ever.” - Creative Control Magazine