Eben Levy (guitar); Ian M. Riggs (bass); Vito Dieterle (sax)
Influences
John Prine, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett, Jonathan Richman, Randy Newman, John Guare, Edward Albee, Richard Yates, Ionesco, Yoshitoshi, Bulgakov, Neil Young, the Beatles, the Who, Caro & Jeunet, Charlie Chaplin, Bonnie Raitt, Leon Redbone, Hoagy Carmichael, Donna Summer, Warren Zevon, Rickie Lee Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Marcus Roberts, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Chet Baker, Nino Rota, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Beck...
Ethan Lipton and his Orchestra play a brand of jazz folk country lounge that’s drawn comparisons to the music of Randy Newman, Leon Redbone and Tom Waits. With melancholy wit and a cockeyed worldview, sepia-toned singer-songwriter Lipton and bandmates Eben Levy (guitar), Ian Riggs (bass) and Vito Dieterle (sax) deliver songs steeped in mixed-message sincerity and soul.
A fixture of the New York scene, Ethan Lipton & his Orchestra earned acclaim for its 2007 debut studio album MR. SOFTY, available on CD Baby or on Itunes, the follow-up to two live albums (A NEW LOW, BABY I FEEL THE SAME WAY) on indie Home Office Records.
The band shows up often at Joe’s Pub and has played all over New York Celebrate Brooklyn, Bryant Park, the 92nd St. Y Tribeca, Roosevelt Live, Rockwood Music Hall and Barbes, around the Northeast at the Vermont Arts Exchange, Camden Opera House and MassMoCA, and in LA at Tangier, the Silverlake Lounge and the Derby. The band has been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition and contributed a memorable cover of “Corner Soul” to the Clash tribute album THE SANDINISTA PROJECT.
To join the email list for Ethan Lipton & his Orchestra or learn more about the band, go to www.ethanlipton.com. And thanks for stopping by!
"Hilarious, twisted, sophisticated, schleppy and sad all at once…songs that take the mundane of life and twist it"
(NPR’s Weekend Edition)
"Tender, wise and occasionally hostile, Ethan’s like the tipsy uncle at the family reunion who spills the shameful secrets—it's uncomfortable but hilarious, and everyone feels better once the truth is out."
(National lead singer Matt Berninger, in the New York Times)
"Ethan Lipton & his Orchestra are not your average band. They're not even your non-average band. They are out there. I'm talking past Pluto the non-planet out there. And that's a good thing. "
(Mainstream Isn’t So Bad)
"With the distinct high warble of his voice, homespun folksy tunes, and gentle good manners, Ethan Lipton seems to have mistakenly wandered into the 21st Century directly from the Great Depression."
(Popmatters)
"It’s always enjoyable when a singer-songwriter throws some humor into his misery."
(Timeout NY)
“Ethan Lipton makes me want to hear everything he's ever done."
(Orange County Register)
“With his earnest brown suits, mournful eyes, and neat mustache, Ethan Lipton” looks less like a silken-throated lounge lizard than he does a beaten-down ad salesman—an ordinary Joe singing gentle songs about everyday life."
(New York Magazine)
"Sad little songs packed full of absurdity."
(Fluxblog)
“Big of schnozz, thick of moustache and dulcet of voice, Mr. Lipton croons unlikely urban haikus and wry ballads.”
(New York Observer)
I "met" you during Dr. Wayne Dyer's movie Ambition to Meaning. You & your orchestra are superb. Your music is such a pleasure to hear, especially knowing the good heart you have behind it!
Question: Could you post a video performance of your "Old People Don't Whisper" ? I love that song & the way you sing it. If we are lucky, we will ALL be old people someday! (Not all of us get that honor!)
Thank you, and keep spreading the truth. Life is love, and vice versa!
Hi Ethan.. My 6yr old daughter loves to listen to you! She was an extra in Ambiton to Meaning and ever since then asks to hear your music daily.. I like you too!
Ethan,Thanks for havimg me as a friend. Love the lyrics and really dig the humor you bring. Thanks for having me aboard (sounds like a bannana split) Thats funny dude P e a c e
I live in Tucson Arizona and our amazing, community radio station KXCI (kxci. org) played "Girl From the Renaissance Fair" the other day. I was absolutely stunned by the beauty and playfulness of your song; can't wait to hear more. Well done! I'll be spreading the word.
Hey Ethan and Co.- Trevor Exter, who introduced me to your music, is playing at my theatre company's fundraising party at the Pilates Garage in Park Slope this Friday- if any of you are free I'd be thrilled to have you at the party-- check out http://magistheatre. blogspot. org for the details. Hope to see you there!
Hi Ethan, Thank you for the add, but more importantly, thank you for recording Mr. Softy - things have never been the same for me after hearing Hit It and Pirates of the Heart... who knew I'd ever hear the words evaluate, transcripts, and bleed in the same song and actually love it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I'm so sorry but Jason and I will not be able to join the festivities tonight. We'll have to do some post-birthday celebration this coming week. Hope you have lots of fun though. XOXO
Ethan, I don't know if you remember me, but I remember you. We went to UCLA together. I hope you are well, and things are great. I just came back to acting after leaving for literally 12 years. Peace to you, Jay Laisne
