Goosepimp Orchestra

If you looked at the band members of Goosepimp Orchestra,
you might be able to guess their target audience: long-haired, earth-loving flower children who like to dance.
And the guys of Goosepimp are OK with that. But hippies aren't the only people flocking to Boston bars to
hear them play.
The seven-man ensemble attracts parents, bikers and bubble-gum pop listeners alike. In fact, you'll usually
find these different groups dancing together in packs of up to 150 people.
"We have such a unique energy and sound that anyone can listen and dance to our music," says Mike
Cantor, 23, who plays guitar for Goosepimp. "There's really something for everyone."
The self-proclaimed "psychedelic Latin funk" band cites their inspirations as a melting pot of James Brown,
Santana, Jimi Hendrix and John Scofield - those who are not so knowledgeable in musicology would tag
them a danceable jam band. Goosepimp features six Northeastern University students: Joe Calabrese, 21,
on drums; Adam Pelletier, 22, on guitar; David Pelletier, 22, on bass guitar; Jon Albertelly, 21, on trumpet;
Josh Filgate, 21, on trombone; and Bob Greel, 22, on keyboards - and Cantor, who attends the New
England School of Art and Design.
Cantor, a graphic design major, and Greel, majoring in architecture, knew each other from their hometown
of Ashland, and when both began school in Boston, they set out to get a band together. Social networking
led them to their current roster and the seven quickly began composing together.
"Our songs are about 40 percent composed and 60 percent improv," explains Cantor. "What we write may
not necessarily be what everyone hears."
"We are blessed not to have a composed and refined sound. It's different all the time," adds Greel.
Their innovative writing style was recently put to the test when the ensemble recorded its first EP, "Hit It and
Quit It," which was released in July. The CD features three instrumental tracks written collaboratively with
very original song titles: "Honey, I Funk the Kids," "Forinho Magico" and "Pepper People."
Goosepimp says they owe the success of the record to gigging at Northeastern University, having played
several functions throughout their semesters there. Most recently, Goosepimp headlined the Alumni Festival
at Fenway Park this spring - their biggest gig yet.
"There were all sorts of kids and parents running around, dancing and shaking with us," recalls Greel. "It
was awesome."
The band frequents the Northeastern area and the bars surrounding the apartment on Mission Hill in Boston
where all seven of them currently live - "It's easier to practice that way," quips Cantor - often teaming up with
nonprofit organizations for fundraisers. Proceeds from their performances have benefited everything from
cancer research to Hurricane Katrina relief, and band members are planning a pro-Earth concert.
Though Goosepimp has had success because of their college experiences, each player agrees the bachelor's degree they will soon receive is nothing more than a backup plan.
"The degree is a fallback," says Greel. "Why not follow our dream? We're too young to give up now."
Cantor agrees.
"We believe in our music. We want to tour and record a full-length release. We're not going to stop just
because we're done with school. That ending is only the beginning of something else."

For more information about the band, visit www.goosepimp.net.

Orchestrating success - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/music/x1281991498 - Elizabeth Valerio/Metrowest Daily News, MA

Classes were out for Thanksgiving break, but afterHOURS was filled with eco-friendly music enthusiasts who came to see student bands Modal Citizens and Goosepimp Orchestra last Tuesday night.

The concert was sponsored by Students for Environmental Action (SEA).

"We're hoping to have fun, raise awareness about environmental injustice and some money for ACE (Alternatives for Community and Environment)," said Nicole Stewart, a junior industrial engineering major and SEA outreach coordinator.

ACE, a Roxbury-based organization, brings Boston residents together for environmental justice issues, said Khalida Smalls, interim executive director for ACE.

SEA sold $5 T-shirts designed and stenciled by freshman civil and environmental engineering major Bobby Meskill to benefit ACE.

Students could also make their own Goosepimp Orchestra shirts with stencils made by Rick Shaw of Goosepimp Productions, a group of the band's fans that does its artwork and promotions, before the show in the Curry Student Center West Addition. By the end of the night, SEA raised $130.

Senior Jeremy Hanson, a political science major who is interning in ACE's member communications department, said working for the organization is "inspiring."

"It's such a great environment and the organization has so many good people linked to it," he said.

The seven-member Goosepimp Orchestra, self-described on its MySpace page as a "Psychedelic/ Latin/ Funk" group, took the stage and kicked off with "You're Never Too Young to have Vietnam Flashbacks."

The audience pushed aside the tables in front of the stage and began toe-tapping, arm-waving and hip-shaking to the beat.

For the final song, "Forinho Magico," the band invited audience members to come dance on stage with them.

"The show was awesome. There was more energy and more people than usual," said Leah Rosen, a senior environmental geology major.

"Goosepimp Orchestra continues to impress me," said Eric Siegmann, a junior technical engineering major who has seen the group before. "They just keep getting better since I first heard them two and a half years ago."

Bob Greel, who plays keys and percussion for Goosepimp Orchestra and is a senior architecture major, said he appreciates the friends and fans of the band.

"Our friends are freaks, and when you find other freaks like you, it is so important to keep them close," he said. "All we do is show the good energy that's already there." - Northeastern News

Goosepimp Orchestra / Lowercase p
At the Lily Pad

Cambridge, MA

March 14, 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.


-Review and photo by Dana Forsythe - Northeast Performer Magazine

Awesomeville, Allston, MA
10/31/2008
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.

Next up is the Goosepimp Orches-tra, an eight-member, high-energy funk band from Mission Hill. Dressed as funky renditions of dead political and religious figures, the band takes the stage. With occasional psychedelic breakdowns, Goosepimp is mostly comprised of screaming instruments that are edged with Latin percussions and horns with experimentally aggressive music that can funk it’s way into the heart of any soul, Goosepimp is a tight fit for anybody who is a fan of world music, jazz, or psychedelic funk. They play tonight with precision—tightly knit and super energized. More than dancing happens as the crowd responds to Goosepimp with flailing limbs and thrashing heads, all the while jumping up and down with a vivacity and unison that almost topped the band’s. Utterly complex, powerfully funkadelic, and with no care toward theory, Goosepimp takes hold of the night.

Goosepimp Orchestra may be too much for some people, but on Halloween night at Awesomeville I can’t imagine I’d find those people here.
After Goosepimp leaves the stage I can feel myself pulsing with excitement. As Campaign For Real-Time starts playing I can’t help anticipate how perfectly they will follow the previous acts. They’re tighter than any band I’ve seen tonight, and still have the energy and stage presence groups need to make it in music. I spend their entire set trying to figure out a genre or sub-genre to place them into as the crowd dances wildly around me. To no avail, I realized that C4RT is a mix of anything and everything that you hear on and off the radio. With poppy yet zany electronic backing to every song, the heavy use of guitar, and the standard backbone drummer, C4RT is vocalized by a hipster-sounding man whose throaty voice resembles none other than his own. Campaign For Real-Time is electronic indie-rock with a heavy layer of garage grime just under the surface. Their consistent beats and synthetic waves of electronica keeps the dance floor flowing and the party going until Halloween night finally turns into the first of November. (Amanda Macchia) - NOISE MAGAZINE