Kim Lamothe Tree-oh
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Kim Lamothe Tree-oh

Providence, Rhode Island, United States | INDIE

Providence, Rhode Island, United States | INDIE
Band Pop Singer/Songwriter

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"CD REVIEW: Kim Lamothe - Mystery of Viburnum"

Singer, songwriter Kim Lamothe just released her latest CD entitled Mystery of Viburnum in 2010. She sings & plays ukulele & acoustic guitar & brings an impressive 4 piece line up to the table which includes Eric Hastings (drums) Brendan Whipple (Upright Bass) Michael Samos (Lapsteel) & George Hazelrigg (Hammond Organ) Lamothe hails from Providence Rhode Island.

Logging in at just over 52 minutes the CD kicks things off with sonic into piece “Last Dime” set against delicate raindrops eventually lending itself to Track 2:”8A”: a vibrant intro piece that serves up driving rock rhythm against bluesy rock guitar accents, with well placed vocal accents from LaMothe. Track 3 “Mystery of Viburnum” serves up a grooving jazz/blues ditty, against rock solid rhythm section & impressive Hammond Organ chops making for an impressive psychedelic-rock groove. Track 4 “Red” shifts gears a bit with it’s slow moving acoustic vibe eventually lending itself too an impressive musical ballad combining the perfect balance of alternative rock, blues & even folk. The CD gets off the ground solidly serving up 3 compelling tracks in a row. As the CD slowly unfolds I can hear many different musical textures reminiscent of classic acts as such as Jewel, Fiona Apple, & early Melissa Etheredge. The music itself combines classic elements of bluesy-rock with an aftertaste of R&B, Jazz, Folk & even Psychedelic 70's rock to Alternative Rock. The musicianship of everyone involved is clearly world class & even Jam Band in it's delivery. I especially like all the low end rock grooves presented on each of the songs. Kudos goes out to Eric Hastings (drums) for sitting pretty in the pocket & pushing the natural accents extremely well. You will also notice lush layers musical instrumentation layered everywhere served up hot via the solid low-end rhythm backbone. The CD has some truly impressive moments on it showcasing impressive playing, musicianship, & world class instrumentation via a fascinating vocal delivery from Lamothe. Zeroing in now on Lamothe’s vocal style - rather unique & fluid in its overall flow & ebb delivery. It goes down smooth but has a classic raspy jagged edge, reminiscent of such singers Bonnie Rait, Wynona Judd, Melissa Etheredge with even a dash of Janis Joplin. From compelling “Packhorse” to foreboding “Diesel Dad” to slow slithering “Rocky’s” to rocking “Ginger/peach” & “Looped” to slow grooving “ Bloom” this CD has something for just about everyone. The CD ends with “You are my “Sunshine” the perfect finale statement for a CD like this.

From start to finish Mystery of Viburnum is a compelling musical catalog from Kim Lamothe & company. The writing & playing abilities of her band are as good as they get within the genera. - The Muse's Muse


"The Kim Lamothe Tree-oh officially in bloom"

Tiverton-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Kim Lamothe doubles as a full-time organic gardener and owner of Greenlion Design, and her new sophomore release, Mystery of Viburnum, provides the perfect landscape for the Kim Lamothe Tree-oh to fully bloom. The follow-up to her '08 solo debut Philodendron, Mystery of Viburnum (available at cdbaby.com and iTunes) captures a coolly confident and engaging musicians with a vocal approach that exudes "a pleasant tension of emotion, expression, and range," as accurately summed up in the bio. Lamothe loves her some Joni Mitchell and, like contemporaries Ani DiFranco and Regina Spektor, she can brighten the room while breaking your heart. Viburnum is a 2010 must-have, hands-down one of the year's best local releases.

No one knows Rhody native Kim Lamothe like fellow singer and close friend Allysen Callery, who also happened to drop one of '10's finest earlier this year with Hobgoblin's Hat and has shared dozen of stages statewide since they first met on the circuit six years ago. Callery recalled the early encounters.

"Kim was totally raw, dropping F-bombs on stage and wearing her hair in cornrow-braided dreads," Callery told me. "She looked like a little lion, and her performance was impossible to not react to. But it was her poetry that really made me listen. What she had to say, her honesty and bluntness, was pretty incredible, and it's all still there today.

Those unique rhythms are now fortified by Brendan Whipple on upright bass (he also played on Hobgoblin's Hat) and drummer Eric Hastings, a Seattle transplant who saw Lamothe and Whipple play a set at AS220 a few years back and offered his services.

"This album is a marked evolution, for sure," Lamothe told me earlier this week while chatting up her CD release gigs, "even though my name is out front Eric and Brendan incorporate killer ideas and we fully develop them into 'Tree-oh' songs."

Lamothe presents plenty of introspective moments on Viburnum, and understandably so, given their creative origins. "A lyric or two might pop into my head, and I'll bring those ideas to a huge box of poems I wrote when I was 19," said Lamothe. "I had an old typewriter and I'd constantly write about my life at that time, so I'll dig through and piece songs together."

Lamothe isn't shy about freeing up some skeletons, including her mother's struggle with alcoholism on "Fool" ("My mother taught me to be sneaky enough, just like she fooled me/Yeah, over the river and through the woods I will fool you"). "I'm glad to open up about my alcoholic mom, it's a vulnerable feeling but I want other adult children of alcoholics not to feel so alone," Lamothe said. "For awhile I struggled with releasing some of these songs because they're so directly about my mom's drinking, but I'm glad I did now.

"It's like, 'fuck it,' you know?"

I asked about some of the standout cuts on the album, including "Diesel Dad" (one of the tracks featuring former Brown Bird guitarist Michael Samos on lap steel). "I sent out a message asking friends what objects or images reminded them of their father," Lamothe said, linking and likening dear-ol' dad to the "dusty Jackson Browne records on the shelf" and "the bottle of moonshine tucked way under the sink."
Lamothe's delivery enhances every track; on "Reclaim/Rearrange," she bounces along while sneaking in the line, "Wakin' up smellin' like peach and ginger, hot sex, beer, and regret." She summons Joni Mitchell on the title track ("You know that song about how I could drink a case of you") and welcomes the impending drama on "Looped." "Bloom" and "Red" are top-notch heartbreakers; the latter song and "Fool" ranks among her best yet. And the riff alone on "Rocky's" is pretty stunning.

" 'Rocky's' was written just a few days before we hit the studio, just me, my guitar and a few mics, and one take," Lamothe recalled. "It felt perfect, and everything Eric and Brendan added to it was perfect." An estranged loved one drops by on "Rocky's," but Lamothe will have no part in playing the victim: "I like it that you just stopped by to say hi/You sit on your side of the room and I'll sit on mine."

Similar to friend Callery, Lamothe excels in delivering a unique spin on the female acoustic songstress. "Kim's folk always seemed a little urban and funky to me, even though she lives in the country and works with flowers all day long," Callery told me, beaming with pride.

"Watching her grow through the years has been an honor, and seeing her perform with the band gets me teary-eyed," she said. "Kim and the Tree-oh have a lot of fun playing together and it shows.

Chris Conti - Providence Phoenix


"Flower Girl, Tivertons Kim Lamothe releases new CD"

BY MATT KEEFER
She came bearing a vase of flowers. “This one’s an Heir- loom Rose,” Kim Lamothe said, pointing to a large, pale yellow blossom nestled among cinnamon-scented stock and blue delphinium arranged with geranium leaves, pea ten- drils and lisianthus from her own Tiverton garden.
“I did a huge job yesterday, and everyone needs to get flowers.”
The 30-year-old horticultur- alist and owner of Green Lion Design is a budding (pun unintended) musician on the local scene. And Lamothe brandishes a guitar as well as she does a pair of clippers, if her Dec. 3 release “Mystery of Viburnum” is any indication. Named after a type of flower, like her previ- ous album “Philodendron,” “Mystery of Viburnum” pres- ents a semi-autobiographical collection of stories and char- acters that quotes Joni Mitchell and Peter Rabbit. “It’s probably about my child- hood and growing up in an alcoholic home,” she says of the album. “I definitely would like to shed light on that
because I know there’s a lot of children with alcoholic par- ents out there who feel... ” she searches for the word, “shitty.”
And while “Viburnum” is in part about her childhood, there are moments that break out and develop in organic and unexpected ways, espe- cially on the title track. “[Viburnum] smells extreme- ly strong and intoxicating,” mentions Lamothe about the title flower. “It’s overwhelm- ing, at least to me. It’s very potent.” And this seems as accurate a description of the new album as a flower’s likely to be.
The other two-thirds of her trio, consisting of Brendan Whipple on bass and percus- sionist Eric Hastings, lend their recording know-how and musical theory knowl- edge. Having recorded “Philo- dendron” in Whipple’s base- ment, those familiar with Lamothe’s organic, lyrics- driven storytelling approach will find themselves in newer, morepolishedterritory.
“This one’s a lot better recorded because it’s mas- tered properly. It cost a lot more money,” she said, laugh-
ing. “On this we’re going for what the trio sounds live. I don’t do double vocals... because once you start adding stuff, it’s hard to stop.”
As for her sound, Lamothe mentions that “I get compared to Ani DiFranco.” It’s a fair accolade for the all-acoustic “Tree-oh,” excepting Lamothe’s slightly more pinched voice and her freer song structure. “I’m not really a chorus-verse-chorus-verse writer. I don’t really plan the songs, they just come out.”
Lamothe will play the Black Box Theatre in Cranston this Friday, Nov. 19, at9p.m,andholdaCD release party Friday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m. at Local 121 Speakasy in Providence. She also is scheduled to play Sidebar
Bistro in Providence on Fri- day, Dec. 10, from 7-10 p.m.
“People are really willing to go out and get off the couch and support other artists, and keep these venues alive,” Lamothe says of the local music scene. “It’s pretty
amazing to come from a place where so many bands are really making it nationally. Deer Tick and Low Anthem totally exploded in ways that I don’t think they even thought was going to hap- pen.” And, with any luck, per-
haps Lamothe’s band will find themselves there.
Matt Keefer can barely pronounce “horticulturalist,” but that doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate a good vase of flowers. - Mercury Magazine


"Quote"

"... a set by the Kim LaMothe Trio that brought to mind the music of Rickie Lee Jones and late period Joni Mitchell." -Ian Fitzgerald - Ianfitzgerald.com


"Kim Lamothe goes for natural sound on new record"





Kim Lamothe goes for a natural sound on new record

Leave it to an organic gardener and an arborist to create a "natural" sounding record.

The team of singer/songwriter Kim Lamothe and upright bassist Brendan Whipple have blended their talents to compose an 11-track CD to be released this fall.

The CD is a collection of Lamothe's original compositions to be titled "Philodendron," which means "tree lover" in Latin. The trees are particularly known for their tolerance and durability.

"Philodendrens are like my music," Lamothe says. "Their strength helps me get through my adversity.

"And I like the sound of the word."

Lamothe works as an organic gardener while Whipple is an arborist who works with trees. Lamothe's company is Green Lion and Whipple's company is Whipple Tree.

Lamothe will be performing solo at the New Wave Cafe this Thursday evening.

"My intention for these recordings was to get a 'live' feel," Lamothe says. "I wanted it to be truly me on the recordings. It seemed weird to put on a bunch of layers. This approach sounds better to me."

Whipple thinks that they met that goal.

"She mentioned before the recording that one of her main goals was to capture the 'live quality' of her music," he points out. "I think it really captures that. She moves around a lot when she plays and you pick that up on the recordings. I think it's cool that we could capture that unpolished dimension. She wanted a raw, organic sound and she got it."

Whipple also contributed percussion and banjo to some of the tracks. There are also some natural recordings of rainfall on some of the songs.

The recordings have brought up the same term from listeners – "unique."

"What really took me was her vocal style," Whipple says. "Her quality of poetry and the way she phrases her words comes across like no one I've really heard before," Whipple says.

"Her playing and singing styles are both unique," says Ron Poitras, who is mixing and mastering the CD at Feedback Studios in Freetown. "She's a very creative songwriter with her own style, which is something very rare in the acoustic world."

The recordings were done at Whipple's home studio, Zero Over Zero, in Westport. The CD Release Party will be held at The Church Street Coffeehouse in Warren, RI, in September.

The Tiverton, RI resident had approximately thirty songs to choose from.

"I was trying to capture a moment in time from my musical adventures," Lamothe says. "I also wanted something to sell at gigs."

And they're likely to sell. Lamothe is an intense emotive performer – Melissa Ethridge's fire and Chrissy Hinde's cool with an angry punk rock streak.
- New Bedford Whaling City Reviews


"Lamothe scores with orchestrated spontaneity"

aturday, September 20, 2008


Lamothe scores with orchestrated spontaneity

In 1945, the film "Detour" emerged without fanfare from Hollywood's series of B-movie studios referred to as "poverty row." Since then it has embedded itself in the cultural consciousness of America, achieved critical acclaim and has been selected for preservation by the Library of Congress although it was a practically budget-less production featuring unknown actors, just a few minimal sets, a single exterior, stock footage, wobbly back-projection, literally funny editing and the clumsiest noir dialogue you can imagine.

It remains a haunting and unrivaled testament to pure storytelling and something that, once seen, is not easily forgotten, both for its flaws and its merits.



Local mainstay Kim Lamothe has achieved something similar, albeit on a much smaller scale, with her debut disc, the self-produced "Philodendron."

Brendan Whipple, playing stand-up bass, is frequently much too high in the mix. His instrument clips, her instrument clips. In places, her voice is much too low; in other places she stops singing altogether and lets Ani Difranco take a verse or two. I'm assuming that the sound between tracks, whether it's rain or a projector flicking, is intentional, because it works. It all works. From the banjo that is out of tune with the other instruments, to the odd fingerings that send a spiraling buzz through a track here and there, it works.

The recording was done live between Lamothe and Whipple, with additional instruments, the banjo, some harmonica, guitar layers, dubbed in later. The effect is that of a live performance in which Lamothe's rhythmic ability carries meandering riffs through a ramshackle selection of songs that are not recited but expressed.



A well-instructed ten-year-old with the right material can sound mellifluous behind a piano and nearly any well-funded recording artist can overproduce otherwise meritorious work into a state of dull irrelevance, not that Eric Clapton reads this.



To accomplish what Lamothe has accomplished here requires something else: her reputation as a fierce and engaging live performer preceding her, she has constructed something as spontaneous, as impossible to anticipate as being in the zone: behind a mic, in front of a crowd, twenty minutes into a forty-five minute set in your favorite bar; something you can't get for $17.99 at any music store anywhere in the world and something you can't contrive for any amount of money whether you're Coldplay or The Arcade Fire. "Philodendron" offers something different, entirely: orchestrated spontaneity, the prevailing feeling that much of what you're hearing is being created on the spot and belongs to no individual or space.



To borrow from the graffiti lexicon, the production is a tag, the songs are throw-ups, but the performances are pieces. And then, just like that, the disc is over. Like "Detour," getting it out of your head is another thing.



Kim Lamothe plays Courthouse Center for the Art on Oct. 2, as part of the Cappuccino Music Series.

Visit www.myspace.com/kimlamothemusic By G.W. Mercure - Motif Magazine


"Philodendron Review by Matt Keefer"

MATT KEEFER LISTENS IN ON THREE RECENT CD RELEASES FROM LOCAL ARTISTS.
'PHILODENDRON'
KIM LAMOTHE
.. .. .. .. ..
Girl and a guitar, it seems simple, so simple it's almost off-putting, but Kim Lamothe's new album is the bee's knees. The Tiverton resident's guitar riffs seem to take you to new, unexpected places, her voice is fresh and just a bit weather-worn and jaded, and her sound is pared down. The song construction is simple, just that unusual, intelligent and seductive guitar riff, and a bass, but it lends a tired, straggling quality to her lyrics. When she jams, as in "Suspend," her sound opens up and becomes exultant. She doesn't quite pull off "Wood and Coping," which feels just a bit incomplete, but the album as a whole is anything but; it feels passionate and gripping, country and rocking, sub dued and intimate. The pick of the litter.

- Mercury Magazine


Discography

Philodendron: 2008

Mystery of Viburnum: Dec 2010

Photos

Bio

Kim Lamothe is a singer/songwriter (organic gardener) with a unique ability to match poetic lyrics with rhythmic guitar. Her voice has a pleasant tension of emotion and expression with a unique delivery style. Finger-plucked ballads and driving rhythms make her songs diverse and her performances imploring.

Give an organic gardener a guitar and you will get deep rooted songs that bloom.

Accompanied by Brendan Whipple on upright bass whose techniques of bowing, harmonics and drumming on the bass give a unique sound and compliment Lamothe's guitar/vocal approach. Add Eric Hastings on drums who's sensitivity to vocal delivery and dynamics completes the tree-ohs well-rounded sound.

Nominated Best Singer/Songwriter 2009 Providence Phoenix

Nominated Best Female Vocalist 2010 Providence Phoenix and in Motif Magazine

Mystery of Viburnum in Providence Phoenix top 10 local albums of 2010

"... a set by the Kim Lamothe Trio that brought to mind the music of Rickie Lee Jones and late period Joni Mitchell." -Ian Fitzgerald

Notable Venues:

Tin Angel
-Philadelphia, PA
Narrows Center for the Arts
-Fall River, MA
Common Fence Music
-Portsmouth, RI
Stone Soup Coffeehouse
-Pawtucket, RI
Singing Out Against Hunger
-Tiverton, RI
Local 121
-Providence, RI
Jane Pickens Theatre
-Newport, RI

Notable Festivals:

Sunset Music Festival
-Newport, RI
Aquidneck Island Art & Artisan Festival
-Newport, RI
Sustainable Living Festival
-Hope, RI
Tiverton Arts Festival
-Tiverton, RI

Contacts:

Kim Lamothe
kim@kimlamothe.com