Loto Ball
Chicago, Illinois, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
For example Chicagoan outfit Loto Ball Show, about whom we wouldn’t have found out perhaps in a long time if it hadn’t be for a fortunate coincidence on the myspace place, another object of constant derision which has nevertheless been a steady source of goodness.
Loto Ball Show look and sound business, they are the sort of band you would expect to see playing in some dingey and damp basement cellar where people dress in black jack it old school style, you know, get sweaty and dance the mess away, that is the way to go. They make a dark, muscular and intense hick garage blues racket with the relentless gusto of The Bad Seeds fucking Deanna, sharpened by the non-cliched post punk apocalyptic edge one finds in Public Image Ltd. (also exemplified in early-day Liars), sexy horns add an extra bit of epic omph to their clanging and banging onslaught, the outcome sounds awesomely instantaneous in the same excellent way as, for example, the Black Lips or In The Red days Deadly Snakes, now kids, that is a rare thing. - 20 Jazz Funk Greats
Loto Ball Show's (starring Loto Ball from weirdo death punk band The Phantomb Limbs) debut album Levy on the Eyeway reeks of paranoid desperation - Bizarre to say the least... Like being sold tickets at a carnival to some hellride that won't let you off. Slightly reminiscent of Minimal Man's classic The Shroud Of, songs like "Dead Kiss" and "I Can Be Your Eyes" have that same synth art-damage quality but with more of a punk edge. "Poseidon Waltz", "Oriental Danzig", and "Loto Ball Show" sound like a death march performed at a late night cabaret held in an insane asylum. "Hoodlim" leans more towards No Wave influence. Like Arto Linsday singing for The Contortions, or Gilbert Godfrey fronting the Birthday Party with Lora Logic. Other songs on Levy on the Eyeway are variations of these ingredients, blending a cacophonous stew of very unique sounds. For those who like their synth/art-damage/no wave with more of a punk backbone, the Loto Ball Show is definitely for you. - Sputnick Musick
First off, the opening track "MC Kenney" is one of those annoying vocal-only introductions. At 35 seconds, it's a throwaway; likely an inside joke. But once you get past that, Levy On The Eyeway is a surprising ride. The true opener is "Dead Kiss", a song that begins with a pointed key riff but quickly dives into a loud, blaring punk-ish track & and it's pretty freakin' good. Loto Ball Show, then, fits the category of bands like Kickball and Wet Confetti. The trumpets draw comparison to the unfortunately defunct Seattle experimental post punkers Automaton Adventure Series (later, they droped a few words to simply be Automaton). "I Can See Your Blue Eyes" doesn't necessarily take the album up a notch, but it's noteworthy nonetheless. One also gets the distinct impression that Loto Ball Show has a special affinity for Old Time Relijun. (What other band blends classic wild punk songs with orchestration?) This namely comes via some crazy saxophone playing, though also heard are trumpets, keyboards and maybe a few other instruments. "Poseidon Waltz" and "Oriental Danzig" are instrumental tunes, showing the band's diversity in songwriting...not many bands can pull off a post-punk instrumental. The rest of Levy On The Eyeway continues what "Dead Kiss" and "I Can Be Your Eyes" started: the tunes are packed with wild percussion, blaring trumpets and screeching saxophones. The guitar riffs are loud and distorted, and the vocals are indistinctly indecipherable. This album is proof that one should not discount albums that come in those narrow CD sleeves. - Fensepost blog
Discography
Jack Acid - Destroy The Boat EP - Lookout Records 1993 - Trumpet
BoyScouts of Annihilation – Mucous EP - self-released 1996 – Composition, Keys, Vocal
Circus Redickuless - Bomp Bomp EP – Black’n’Blue Records 1996 – Composition, Keyboard
The Phantom Limbs - Murder Us Windpipes EP – Atakra Records 2000- Vocal
The Phantom Limbs – split with Fleshies EP – Atakra Records 2000- Vocal
The Phantom Limbs - Applied Ignorance LP – Alternative Tentacles Records 2001 -Vocal
The Phantom Limbs - Displacement LP – Alternative Tentacles Records 2003 –Vocals, Trumpet
The Phantom Limbs - Patience EP – split on Hungry Eye Records with The Vanishing 2004 – Vocal
Jello Biafra/ The Melvins – Never Breathe What You Can’t See – Alternative Tentacles Records 2004 – Background Vocal
The Phantom Limbs - Random Hymns EP – GSL Records, also Hungry Eye Records 2005 – Vocal, Trumpet
Mucca Pazza – A Little Marching Band – self-released 2006 - Trumpet
the Loto Ball Show - I Can Be Your Eyes EP - vocals, trumpet, keys, composition
the Loto Ball Show - Levy on the Eyeway - trumpet, keys, composition
Photos
Bio
Loto Ball began reaching the people in the early 90s playing trumpet and messing around in weird punk bands until he started his own group the Boy Scouts of Annihilation with his Los Angeles friend Rich Moreno (New Collapse, Centimeters, Frank Alpine). He toured the West Coast with the Scouts but had his first national tours in the mid-90s with Chicken John’s (GG Allin) Circus Redickuless, performing as organist and clown.
In the latter half of the 90s, the Boy Scouts of Annihilation became something of Los Angeles noise punk legends due to their dismal repetitive music and Loto’s outlandish sense of theatre.
In 1999, this reputation drew Oakland’s Phantom Limbs to recruit Loto as front man.
Loto Ball’s visceral expression of existential distress laced with black comedy, along with the hyper-charged and unusual compositions of keyboardist Stevenson Sedgwick helped earn his band the honor of No. 1 Indie Rock Band in San Francisco (S.F. Bay Guardian Best of the Bay awards 2003) and the chance to record two albums with Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles record label. After 5 years and 220 performances with The Phantom Limbs, including 3 U.S. tours and 2 European tours, Loto Ball left the band in 2005 to move to Chicago.
In the Windy City, Loto has involved himself in many collaborations and ongoing projects, including zany circus-punk marching band Mucca Pazza, the Arts of Life artist community, Reversible Eye gallery, and the Loto Ball Show.
Loto has been branching out into new medias and forms of expression. He toured the central and southern states in December 2009 with a band and a dance troupe. He toured Europe Fall 2010 with a multi-media performance utilizing projections, trumpet, keyboard, and electronics.
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