Music
Press
"Layabout's keyboardist Tex Miller is exceptional, lending his pop material a deft, jazzy air, and each of his band mates is equally adept." - Demo Critiques
"This music is smart, challenging, and wonderfully easy to listen to." - Jamie Lyon
"I can absolutely say that Layabout is making music that you don't hear anywhere else right now." - Quin Bernhagen
"...a fundamentally original sound...a refreshing change from the usual pop radio drivel...something really phenomenal..." - Brighid Mooney
"Built around the electric piano playing and vocals of Edward "Tex" Miller, this trio elicits praise from all who like their pop with less power and more panache." - Ezra Waller
"...the smooth quality of the jazz-inspired tune packs an undeniable charm, and you can't help but dig it. This goes without mentioning the appeal of Tex Miller's velvety, somewhat vulnerable voice which melts over the instrumental accompaniment. His voice is an absolute asset to every song..." - Barbara May
"This is quiet and beautiful stuff and darn close to the perfect soundtrack..." - Eric Stytzer
"If Keyboard were a record label, we could get rich with unsigned artists like these." - Carl Lumma
Discography
"Honest Woman," EP, 2004
"Suburban Legend," EP 2007
Multiple tracks have been featured on domestic stations and stations in England, France, Italy and Germany. Streaming airplay is available on the band's websites: www.layaboutband.com and www.myspace.com/layabout.
Photos
Bio
Fresh off the heels of a successful December tour of Germany that included various radio and print interviews (conducted exclusively in Germany by founder Miller) and a nationwide movie theatre promotional campaign that brought lead single "Arms Around the City" to audience members just before the previews, Layabout looks to expand its reach both domestically and internationally with a slate of new tunes and an ever-growing ambition for bigger and better things.
Currently in a new incarnation, the band, a Los Angeles-based pop/jazz trio founded by native Texan keyboardist and vocalist Edward “Tex” Miller, continues to astound its audience with a unique brand of piano music that touches equally on Ben Folds and Steely Dan, while incorporating harmonic elements from the works of such luminaries as Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel and evoking the thoughtful rhythms of Bill Evans.
Miller’s compositions and arrangements – equal parts Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, and Kurt Wagner (of Lambchop) – are fortified by the aggressively tasteful playing of drummer Matt Price, a master of jazz and country alike; and the guitar wizardry of Kevin Crimi, whose instinctual playing colors every tune.
Jon Griffin, who produced the band's latest record, takes the band’s sound to new musical heights by creating a wonderfully live acoustic environment that captures every nuance. Its six tracks, which feature the added warmth of a horn section and vintage synthesizer, are masterfully mixed into a carefully wrought finished product.
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