Re: NYC: viperHouse at the Knitting Factory 2/21/98

tobiasb@together.net
Fri, 20 Feb 1998 08:23:48 +0000


Hello to all,

Just wanted to let any NYC folks (or wanderers through) know that
viperHouse will be performing at the Knitting Factory tomorrow Sat. Feb
21. The 10 piece acid jazz unit will be playing two shows at 9 and 11
pm.

Thanks.

brian boyes
viperHouse

************************

here's some *updated* viper info for you:

With the release of SHED, their third cd within the past year,
viperHouse has been touring throughout the northeastern United States
and beyond, gathering up a hefty and dedicated fan base. Meanwhile,
radio stations have been continually placing SHED on their
heavy/re-current rotations. viperHouse was also selected by Musician
magazine as one of the top 25 best unsigned bands in the country.

One of the premises of the group is to put the acid back into the acid
jazz (not to mention the jazz). The whole viper thing (in reference to
the name), goes back to the old jazz musicians from the 20's who played
in the spasm bands. Vipers were people of questionable means. . of ill
repute. So what are we doing? Re-empowering the name . . . maybe kind
of.

We do mostly originals, but we love to throw in odd renditions of a
whole variety of tunes such as: Virgin Jungle (Duke Ellington), A call
for all demons, I'll wait for you (Sun Ra), Stoned out of my mind (The
Chilites), Pithycanthropus Erectus (Charles Mingus), Is that all there
is (Peggy Lee), Sunny (Bobby Hebb), For the turnstyles (Niel Young).

This past summer the Vipers had the pleasure of playing some great
festivals such as the JVC International Groove Fest in Toronto, Ben and
Jerry's One World One Heart, The Ottawa Jazz Fest (where they have been
asked to return next year to do a feautre headling act), and The
Discover Jazz Fest opening up for hammond organ legend Jimmy Smith.

ViperHouse has shared shows with ensembles such as The Screaming
Headless Torsos, Groove Collective, Liquid Soul and Michael Ray & the
Cosmic Krewe, and The James Taylor Quartet. ViperHouse will be doing a
show this March with renowned trumpeter, Lester Bowie from the Art
Ensemble of Chicago.

TAKE A LISTEN:
www.AudioNet.com/jukebox/ram/jazz/Viperhouse.ram

CHECK US OUT: http://bigheavyworld.com/viperhouse/index.html