Mad Orange Fools

Music

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General Info

Genre: Experimental / Pop / Psychedelic
Location Portland, Oregon, US
Profile Views: 45065
Last Login: 3/25/2012
Member Since 6/21/2004
Website soon
Record Label Cornsilk
Type of Label Indie
Bio
MAD ORANGE FOOLS is the sonic playground of multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter Zy Orange Lyn. Clearly influenced by selective elements of 60s art rock, the avant-pop sounds of Mad Orange Fools include bright hooks and harmonies, jangly guitars, pulsating basslines, solid backbeats (often made with household objects), and plenty of psych-fiddle, all composed, played, and sung entirely by Mr. Lyn himself (whoopdee-flippin-do). He does have a band of Fools to perform the stuff live (though he does also play solo sets occasionally). Lyn has played in and/or recorded with many other bands, usually violin work; including HEARTLESS BASTARDS (on their 2009 LP "The Mountain", plus occasional appearances with them, such as Austin City Limits, both the tv show--which will air 23 January, 2010--and the festival), BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE (as the multi-instrumentalist guy in 2003/4, check "Tepid Peppermint Wonderland" double disc retrospective/"If Love Is the Drug" U.K. single), ASS PONYS (on the album "Grim"), MOTH, MIDDLEMARCH, HIGBEE (on the album "Pirate Radio 666"), ASTATIC (as the drummer for several months), MELLOW DRUNK (a nice bunch of acoustic gigs in 2004) and THE LOVE KILLS THEORY, among others; he also had the thrill of appearing many times onstage with GUIDED BY VOICES (playing his fiddle, usually on "Don't Stop Now"). He especially enjoys jamming with DJs. Currently residing in Portland, Lyn has recently recorded a new Mad Orange Fools EP called "ReVerSeR"; it contains 7 tracks (produced by the legendary FILBERT EGGPLANT) and will be released in March of 2010; December 2010 will see the release of a 21 track instrumental LP. Mad Orange Fools is part of a collective of Portland/Eugene musicians known as CORNSILK, which includes artists such as REDOX, WE RIDE AT DAWN, BRETT ESTEP, FILBERT EGGPLANT & THE KUMQUATS (in which Lyn is a prime mover/composer), FUZZY SIMPLETON (of We Ride At Dawn), SUBTLE GIANT (of We Ride At Dawn) E.L.F. (Filbert and Fuzzy), SQUIRMY (Filbert and Subtle Giant), LURKING ECHO SHIFTERS (Zy Lyn and Brett Estep),and SUPERHERO SEVEN, to name a few, often with mutual personnel. Plans are percolating. In the meantime, Mr. Lyn does his best to live-up to a couple of SPINAL TAP maxims: to "be a full-time dreamer" (David St. Hubbins), and to "Have a GOOD time ALL the time" (Viv Savage). He also enjoys playing marbles with radishes, and making playing cards out of knickers.
Members
ON RECORDINGS: Zy Orange Lyn (everything; vocals, 6 and 12 string guitars, electrified violin, bass, drums, keyboards, etc.); CURRENT LIVE LINE-UP: Zy (lead vocals, electrified violin, acoustic guitar, 12 string Rickenbacker, percussion)/ Nick Leibrecht (guitar, vocals)/ Federico Johansson (bass, vocals, electric toothbrush)/ Smith Smith (drums, percussion, electric zither, vocals)
Influences
the Beatles, Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, the Church/Steve Kilbey/Marty Willson-Piper/Peter Koppes, Daniel Amos/Terry Scott Taylor, Middlemarch (Cincy band, not the book), Robyn Hitchcock, The Move, Quincy Jones, Klark Kent/Stewart Copeland, Love & Rockets, XTC, Ramones, Guided By Voices/Robert Pollard/Tobin Sprout, Prince, Erik Satie, Jimi Hendrix, Grammaw Cheezit, Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac, Richard Brautigan, Calvin and Hobbes, Snoopy, Roald Dahl, the Wind in the Willows, Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, art, women, life
Sounds Like
"Mr. Lyn does not exactly play the violin, it's more like he's running barefoot and blindfolded along the edge of a cliff while strangling a cat and using echo. When songwriting, he likes to pretend he's the Beatles, or the Church. I mean this in the best possible way." (Filbert Eggplant, producer)/////// "lo-fi but not low quality...Well-thought out songwriting is displayed with full use of guitars, bass, an effects processor, homemade drumkits (pots, pans, kitchen drawers, pillows, mouth noises, you name it) and, of course, the violin..." (Billy Catfish, musician and occasional rock journalist)