lowercase p

"Going to a lowercase p show isn't for the quiet bunch. Bandmates Phil Reese (keyboards), Brandon Downs (bass) and Gabriel Cruser (drums) have other plans.

I look around the room as Downs pretends to shoot rays out of his bass onto the crowd. It's amusing and affective as people were actually participating and pretending they were under attack. The truth is they were, from the first note where heads started banging to the last note when the dance show spread out onto the dark streets of downtown Lowell. The Mambo Grill couldn't contain the sound, you see, lowercase p can't be contained and is destined for bigger spaces.

Going to a show where they play is like asking to be put in a trance and it dares you to not listen, but you will. Their songs and their chemistry with the audience makes you feel like you're helping create the music. I see that this space is packed. A place where people usually go for their Mexican fix has been transformed to a stage for the Lowell trio that has been turning heads for the past two years.

I couldn't help but to keep looking around because I'm still trying to figure out the secret of how this instrumental band has people young and old jamming out under the same roof. This sound was crossing generations and more so bringing them together. I expect and know I will see more great things to come from this band."
- Francisco Collazo, Boston Correspondent for Fashionindie.com

Reviewed by: Abbie Tumbleson
11-14-07

lowercase p, an Avant-Dance-Jazz band out of Lowell, Massachusetts, brought their jams to Pierce Hall on Saturday November 3. The band consists of electrically savvy keyboardist Phil Reese, mohawked drummer Gabriel Cruser, and gnarly bassist Brandon Downs. The event was sponsored by Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP).

The Undercover Treasure Chest Parade opened the show with a thirty-minute set that busted out original numbers as well as some funkified covers. The band included Franklin Pierce's own Ry Amidon on bass and Jonathan Perri on guitar.

lowercase p has played in Taiwan and across New England. They delivered a set that had everyone in the audience dancing with energy. One of their songs was described by Cruser as being "a song with the feeling of being underwater." He also encouraged people who were sitting down to get up and dance.

Some of the songs lasted as long as 15 minutes and they played strong for over an hour-and-a-half, with the show ending around 11 p.m.

lowercase p provided the campus with a symphonic cornucopia of sounds to kick off the month of November, and gave all of our ears perpetual hope that they will someday return to Franklin Pierce.

The band just released their first album, "When Your Fingers Find the Shapes," on Timetone records. - Pierce Media Group Online

Reviewed by: Dana Forsythe

lowercase p / Goosepimp Orchestra
At the Lily Pad
Cambridge, MA
March 15, 2008

As has been the case since the Lily Pad opened up in their Inman Square location, loud shows like tonight’s tend to draw vocal criticism from the neighbors telling them to turn that racket down. “Lets just meditate for five minutes,” said Brandon Downs, bass player of lowercase p with dead seriousness to the crowd.

Soon after getting the OK to start up again, lowercase p, including Gabriel Cruser on drums and Phil Reese on keyboards, were at it again. Bringing back a slowly rising groove, the band managed to work the music to a peak and finally unleashed it on the eager crowd.

lowercase p, a keyboard driven funk trio in the vein of the New Deal with a dash of Medeski, Martin and Wood, hail from Lowell, where they’ve honed a hippie, dance friendly show, playing for the multitudes of U-Mass students looking for a good time. Reese, donning a plastic Viking hat, huge circular black glasses and a never ending smile, silently communed with his drummer and bass player as they seamlessly jammed through songs like set staple “Mill City Songo,” and the Heart cover “Magic Man” (a crowd favorite.)

Behind a few keyboards and at least two Moog pedals, Reese appeared as a mad scientist dropping in melodic chemical ingredients into a delightfully toxic brew. Rifling through a bounce packed set, LP closed with a cover of the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Aeroplane,” setting the stage for the Latin, funk bombast of the Goosepimp Orchestra.

After a year of shows and the release of their EP Hit It and Quit It, the GPO has honed their act, milking every ounce of positive energy driving from their instruments and bashing the audience over the head with it. Since they formed in 2004, the group has gone through many lineups, but with the fairly recent additions of trombonist Josh Filgate and trumpeter John Albertele, their musical punch is more potent.
Calling out a count to “Palabra,” Cantor’s eyes lit up in anticipation, as the horns blared jazz bombastic hits to start of the song.

Backed by Dave Pelletier’s Latin bass groove, Bob Greel’s percussion and the steady yet firm drumming of Joe Calabrese, Goosepimp settled into a tight groove, moving the audience to swing wildly to the music.

Behind the group’s Latin, psychedelic funk are the masterminds of the GPO, longtime friends Greel and Cantor, who traded lines back and forth throughout the night as if in a frantic rush to tell each other a bent melody story.

Greel’s Latin roots shone through as did his many years on the jazz circuit playing with his father, while Cantor’s past metal life, pushed through its way through via absurdist guitar licks.

Firing through a smaller set, songs like “(You’re Never Too Young To Have Vietnam) Flashbacks”, “Obiatchuaries” and “Chenopods (Bong Rips Through Baghdad)” moved the crowd into a frantic sweat.

“Forinho Magico,” a Cantor tune he penned while in Spain, killed. With a funky circus like chorus and almost out of time verse, the song was a great example of how the GPO likes to keep it’s audience lively, smattering them with off kilter melodies, only to bring them back into the sweet funky fray.

Like a hit of music to your brain, you don’t know what you’re listening to until you’re dancing to it. By looking at the each of the band members, it was clear they were getting as much out of the performance as anyone else in the room.

http://www.performermag.com/nep.livereviews.0805.php - Northeast Performer May 2008

By Kris Lindstrom, Staff Writer
10/03/2007

The Umass-Lowell jazzy jam band that is lowercase p has defined what it means to be rhythmic and melodic, while also being spontaneous and psychedelic. Their drummer, however, digs a little deeper when asked about the sound of the experimental jam band and says only one word, "Unafraid."

"Our focus is on spreading the new full-length [album] to many listeners, playing lots of shows and developing our sound and second album," says Gabriel Cruser, the drummer and Umass graduate. "Our ultimate goal is to impress those who impress us."

Well known for their Friday night shows at the Mambo Grill in downtown Lowell, lowercase p also has stretched their reach to clubs in Boston, New York, Burlington and Providence; and is starting off next year with shows in Pennsylvania and a hopeful in Chicago. "Although we try to enjoy the process more than the product, I assume momentum will grow and progress will continue exponentially." Cruiser continues, "There is no end in site, and we have only gotten better."

Lowercase p started two and half years ago as a Umass-Lowell jazz lab ensemble, with bassist Brandon Downs, Cruser on drums and Phil Reese on keyboards. The three hooked up freshman year of college through the music department (all music majors). Previous to the jam-band sensation, they were in the Rock Hip-hop outfit called Dr. Professor where they were playing all over New England.

Due to the loss of guitarist David Janco, lowercase p was formed. They were only a side project at the time, but they flourished in popularity and transformed into a touring band which just released a strong first album "when your fingers find the shapes". "Three best friends is a great foundation for a band looking for longevity," the band said from their house "Ill Salt," a name with significance that cannot be stated due to the band's privacy. This house not only plays the role of their "humble abode" but also acts as their jam space, play house and studio, which is where their first album came to life.

These three draw a lot of inspiration from their fans but not as much as they do from each other. "The feeling we get when the music is on and we're all on the same page is untouchable by any other experience," they continue, "I think the simple curiosity of how far we can push the band is inspiration in itself." - Lowell Sun

By Lisa Kelly, Sun Correspondent
10/11/2007

Instrumental music has never sounded this cool. The avant-jazz dance-trio known as lowercase p is sure to transform your assumptions about music with no lyrics. The Dracut-based band has been jamming for around six years, and bringing a refreshing sound to the ears of Merrimack Valley residents.

Gabriel Cruser on the drums, Brandon Downs as the electric bass player and Phil Reese, a master of the keyboards, make up this eclectic group of mid-20-year-olds.

One listen to their debut album, when your fingers find the shapes, which dropped on Aug. 11, and pure auditory bliss ensues. The nine tracks that can only be described as synchronized noise, (in the best possible way), are likely to put you in a trance-like state. You can't quite put your finger on what you're hearing, but before you know it, you're enraptured.

Not bad for a compilation that was contrived in the band's living room. "This album is a huge accomplishment for us. It was very D.I.Y. in a sense that it was all recorded by us three, in our house with very limited space," says Cruser.

The band members are also adept at track producing -- they all studied sound recording at UMass Lowell.

"I'm in a constant state of trying to use what I learned, but also get back to the basics as a musician, forget the rules, and just try to make music that people (including myself) will like," says Reese, who is working towards a master's of music in sound recording.

Lowell natives are sure to be amused by the first track "Mill City Songo," a keyboard dominated, almost psychedelic ode to the city that shaped them. Other notable tunes include "Spider Song" and "3one8," which sounds like a trippy elongated introduction to a '60's classic rock song, but keeps you hooked.

A recent trip to Taiwan's Spring Scream Festival in April gave overseas fans a chance to see lowercase p live, and gave the band a taste of the rock star life.

"It was an amazing experience. We got a lot of respect there, and international audiences appreciate music artists in a different way. They just give off a very loving and intense vibe. It was very surreal," says Cruser.

But other performances pale in comparison to their bi-weekly Friday shows at Lowell's Mambo Grill.

"People feed off the energy that only the combination of this specific trio of individuals could create. They can feel the love that we put into what we do at our live shows, and in turn, show us love by listening, dancing, reacting," says Downs.

By now you're probably wondering how this unique band got its equally quirky name. Cruser has an answer that will take anyone back to grade school.

"Remember when you were in elementary school and you practiced writing on that paper with dotted lines? The most satisfying letter to write is a lowercase 'p'." - Lowell Sun

By Mandee Macchia, Connector Contributor
10-16-07

Formed in 2005 when keyboardist Phil Reese, electric bassist Brandon Downs, and drummer Gabriel Cruser were asked to play at a small, hip restaurant in Downtown Lowell, lowercase p embarked on what was to be the beginning of a jazz-dance revolution. They found quite a home in this melting pot of a city, what with the burgeoning, supportive audience that has begun to follow their every move. Having played and lived together for more than six years, the tree men had collectively worked to create a genre that is still somewhat indescribable. lowercase p has been called everything from Avant-Dance-Jazz to experimental electronic jazz, to Lowell-Nova, their own classification of their unique sound. The funky dance vibe and solid drum beat combined with the unusual, captivating sound accented by the experimental keyboardist can adapt to fit a multitude of moods and atmospheres.

lowercase p has played all over New England, hitting states like Rhode Island, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts, whilst maintaining their bi-weekly gig in Downtown Lowell at the quaint Mexican restaurant, the Mambo Grill. They also flew across the world in April of 2007 to be one of the headlining bands in Taiwan’s Spring Scream music festival. After two years of gigging consistently in Lowell, the band finally announced the coming of a long-awaited debut album. In August of 2007 lowercase p, in conjunction with Timetone Productions, released a 9 song instrumental CD. One would not expect “when your fingers find the shapes”, the band’s first professional recording/finished album, to look and sound so experienced and so clean.

After following lowercase p’s movements throughout the Lowell community it’s nice to finally find their efforts come to fruition in album form. Even more so, it is amazing to see the following that they have generated in the city. Their energetic, full body-and-mind groove with the music that they create permeates into the crowd, grasping hips and begging them to dance. Their effective intensity has begun to draw UMass Lowell students from campus, brining them to Lowell’s Downtown.

When they first began their Fridays at the Mambo Grill on Merrimack St. lowercase p was received quite warmly. In the beginning, the crowd that the band drew to the small, cozy restaurant mostly consisted of friends and musical colleagues that admired and loved the members of the band. Being a small restaurant, lowercase p would set up near the windows facing the street and play to coming-and-going customers who would listen to them as they enjoyed burritos and quesadillas. Then people began to stay a while, ordering a beer or two and sometimes even a margarita; remaining just long enough to properly soak up their spectacular sound. Over time, word began to bleed into the university about the shows. Free and full of life, each performance is one to remember. Almost instantly, friends began to tell friends, and music major after music major made it to a biweekly ritual to catch lowercase p for their perfectly timed two-hour gig. Mambo Grill, as small as it is, was now starting to get packed every show lowercase p would play.

Last Friday was a fantastic culmination of all the networking and advertising the band did over the summer and during the first days of the new fall semester. Soon after they began at 8:30 p.m., the room was packed with people, young and old. Most of the tables had been pushed aside and half of the restaurant was devoted to dancing. Hot, loud, and powerful music pumped through everyone in unison. As their first performance since summer ended and school began, lowercase p definitely started with a bang. There are no words to effectively describe what was seen and felt in downtown that night, but the air was pungent with their melodies and ridden with the spirit of the students finally becoming a part of their university’s historic downtown.
- The UMASS Lowell Connector

Reviewed by: Glenn Astarita
10-21-07

This New England-based trio merges a few retro ‘70s era prog-rock type innuendoes with jazz-rock, house beats and other genres. But more importantly, they pronounce a unique group methodology that activates an antidote for many of the roads previously traversed. Their order of magnitude is wide-open, which is a good thing and is one of the prevalent traits inherent in the band’s chemistry. Structured, loose and at times off-kilter, this unit aims to prod the mind’s eye via a far-out and entertainingly appealing trip that somehow makes sense.

With Phil Reese’s synths, silvery Hammond B-3 organ choruses and the rhythm section’s bustling percussion vamps, the band touches upon supercharged progressive-rock amid some cleverly enacted diversions. On the piece titled “Scully,” Reese’s dark synth-organ vibes ride atop a peppy backbeat, airy choruses and melodically tinged solos. Then with “Spider Song,” the guest artist and saxophonist Jared Ambrose belts out a reverberating series of scrappy notes to complement the band’s quirky groove-building elements. And in other areas, the musicians morph the acoustic-electric element with pumping metrics and wily movements. No doubt, good things should be in store for this tightly-focused unit that proclaims a distinct game-plan. It’s one of those unanticipated surprises that offset the horde of humdrum albums that seemingly flood the market these days. A superfine listening experience indeed…

http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-19275.html - jazzreview.com

Deep within an industrial warehouse a mix of smoke and dust inflame my nostrils as I weave through corners and up stairwells. It’s Halloween night and I can see Jesus, a scantily clad dead bride, and Amy Winehouse stumbling up ahead of me. We’re all following scratchy signs with arrows pointing our way to a venue that promises electric funk, eccentric costumes, and cheap alcohol. The show and party hybrid is the perfect choice for a night like Halloween, one that wouldn’t be the same without decadent mayhem and endless, early-morning dancing.

Walking in, the excitement about the room is palpable. Tripped-out paintings hang randomly on the walls and neon strobes flash about in wild, disarrayed patterns. The place is full of anything and everyone that you could imagine: fire spinners, superheroes, and even Slim Jim. There’s a bar backed by sexy Alice from Wonderland, a loft with two DJ’s, and a seductive pole-dancer with slicked-back hair and big, brown eyes. On top of it all, Awesomeville’s partygoers are in constant motion, like seamless, colorful waves made of bodies and liquor.

The first performance to usher such movement is a band called lowercase p. Decked out in matching skin tight Batman costumes, the drummer-keyboardist-bass player trio (and their stagehand is dressed as Robin) uses fast-paced beats and experimental dance-jazz to open up the night. lowercase p’s energy is incredible, like an ever-present vibration behind their instruments that moves their melodies in core unison. The members play off of each other in perfect, smiling, syncopated rhythms and beats. To describe them as jazz, or simply as experimental club music just doesn’t match up. The band’s style is hard to place, and seeing them live solidifies that whatever it is they have going on is pure magic. lowercase p induces wild dancing using a rainbow of electronic sounds, laden with a cadence of pounding beats and bass lines. Ending their set with a twisted cover of the Batman theme song, lowercase p’s strong, earthy, yet somehow urban music makes a perfectly weird night all the stranger.

http://www.thenoise-boston.com/content/blogcategory/4/18/ - The Noise - 12-2008

Reviewed by: Sam Merrick

Chaos. Beauty. Loss of bodily control. The music of psychedelic electro-dance jazz trio, known as lowercase p, evokes all of the above. Using their sharply crafted compositions as vehicles for vast improvisation and musical experimentation, When Your Fingers Find The Shapes, illustrates how this Lowell, Mass.-based trio has found the perfect balance between “the loose” and “the structured.” While the influences of bands such as Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Aphex Twin, and Om Trio are unmistakable, lowercase p has their own tightly focused agenda. This is a band that has done its homework. Phil Reese on keyboards, Brandon Downs on bass, and Gabriel Cruser on drums merge elements of trance, prog-rock, dub, Latin, and funk into a psychedelic groovescape.

Raw, funky beats and head-bouncing bass lines drive each song with rhythmic precision. However, the trio’s expansive sound can be accredited much to the keyboard work of Reese who, from track to track, demonstrates complete command over his instrument. “3one8” is a perfect example of Reese’s musical multi-tasking, where the eerie B-3 sound vibes atop a frenetic synthesizer melody.

The album’s second track, “Scully,” features a quirky synth lead supported by a funky backbeat and its airy choruses make for effective transitions in and out of the improvisational sections. “Metro” is divided between the beautiful trumpet leads by special guest Scott Kaufman and dark, atmospheric four-on-the-floor dance grooves. All in all, each track off of When Your Fingers Find The Shapes presents a different, unique glimpse into lowercase p’s sonic game-plan. It’s a physically and mentally stimulating experience. (Self-released) - Northeast Performer Feb 2008