From Tell All Your Friends:
Kurt Heasley, frontman, founder, and sole constant member of the highly influential indie rock band the Lilys announces official, one-time-only, “big band” Lilys shows for Saturday, October 10th at the Lithuanian Music Hall in Philadelphia and Friday, October 9th & Sunday, October 11th at Baby’s All Right in NYC .
The show is called “Corruption Wrecked My Life”, and features never before or rarely performed early material by the Lilys spanning 1990 to 1995 and will primarily cover material from 1992’s In The Presence of Nothing, 1993’s A
Brief History of Amazing Letdowns and 1994’s Ecssame The Photon Band.
While the Lily’s musical style and approach shifted continually in its history, their early recordings, including the stunning debut album In the Presence of Nothing, were strongly influenced by My Bloody Valentine. The Lilys’ first seven-inch single “February Fourteenth,” released on Slumberland Records in 1991, even gives direct tribute to their impact. It’s important to note that MBV’s own frontman Kevin Shields is a huge fan of Kurt Heasley’s work, and in his book on Loveless for Continuum’s 33 1/3 series, writer Mike McGonigal called the Lilys “the only post-MBV ‘shoegaze’ band that mattered.”
1994’s Eccsame the Photon Band, described as a “hallucinatory revelation” by Marc Hogan of Pitchfork, marks the Lily’s shift to a slower, moodier, and more spaced-out sound. “I went closest to what my 23 year-old brain could stand with Eccsame— to the edge of my own mortality and sanity,” Heasley says. “as far as the period, the energy, the zeitgeist of what we were intending, that was the only time we ever did it.” An imminent, meticulously remastered vinyl version on a newly revitalized Frontier Records will please fans. “There’s no reason that should be a $200 record,” Kurt says.
With Don De Vore (Lilys, Sick Feeling) as musical director (Gtr,keys,samples) for this one-off event, they’ve put together a big band version of the Lilys, that in addition to Heasley, features James Richardson (MGMT), Will Berman (MGMT), Travis Roseberg, Matt Werth (RVNG Intl. founder), Chris Colley (School Of Seven Bells), and Alex Craig (Limited, Ducktails, Big Troubles).
The expanded format of “Corruption Wrecked My Life” is just another development in the Lilys’ ever-revolving lineup that has included more than 72 different musicians since 1991, as well as a myriad of collaborators. Heasley is always pushing the boundaries of his music. This show can be seen as a retrospective performance celebrating the brilliance of his craft and his lasting influence on the current indie scene.
THE LILYS PLAY THE LITHUANIAN MUSIC HALL ON OCTOBER 11TH