Jason Schimmel-guitar, vocals
John Whooley-tenor and baritone sax, keys, vocals
Luke Bergman-acoustic and electric bass
Zach Cline-guitar
Lee Smith-drums
Additional Musicians:
Dave Murray
Dan Robbins
Mike Shannon
Dave Abramson
Bill Horist
Barry Phillips
Adam Shulman
and many others...
Influences
Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Bernard Hermann, Raymond Scott, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, John Zorn, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Django Reinhardt, Bireli Lagrene, Bill Frissell, Jimi Hendrix, Thelonious Monk, Red Garland, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Ventures, The Tornados, Brian Wilson, Joe Meek, Peter Thomas, Burt Bacharach, Mr. Bungle, Naked City, Elsa Popping, The Boredoms, Massacre, Black Sabbath, Goblin, Mesuggah, Mahavishnu Orchestra, White Noise, Sun City Girls, Taraf de Haidouks, Ivo Papasov, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Farmers Market, J.S. Bach, Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, George Gershwin, Olivier Messiaen
Orange Tulip Conspiracy was formed in 2008 by Jason Schimmel [Secret Chiefs 3/Estradasphere] and consists of a collection of avant-garde musicians from the underbelly of the contemporary music scene.
These Seattle multi-instrumentalists play musical chairs with their instruments as well as perform tight compositions, which give way to improvisational virtuosity. The listening experience engages with a unique musical narrative style opening a virtual world in the ear with hypnotic grooves, sweeping orchestral movements and film noir turns of phrase. Heavy and enigmatic.
The self-titled debut album was released in July of 2008 on Mimicry Records.
Here is a review by Alan Bishop [Sun City Girls, Sublime Frequencies, Abduction Records]
Written and arranged by Estradasphere guitarist Jason Schimmel, Orange Tulip Conspiracy is an audio thrill ride into an expanding universe of drama, action, beauty and horror. Entirely instrumental, cinematic in scope, and backed by a monster cast of players (including Seattle's Bill Horist and Dave Abramson, Secret Chief 3's Trey Spruance, and the members of Estradasphere) Schimmel has composed and arranged 12 unique and highly-stylized tracks featuring countless areas of exploration with an array of sharp solos and clever tempo changes. It swings, it sways, it grooves and it rocks-these guys can play anything with frighteningly epic precision: eccentric lounge, Italian Giallo, futuristic metal, café' Romany, near eastern jazz. These are merely vague points of reference as descriptions like these don't do the music justice. These tracks are lean and tasty without a spec of fat on the plate blending classic retro styles with new ideas that cannot be properly articulated. Although Schimmel is an amazing guitarist and he proves it beyond any doubt on this record, there is a balance of spotlight and the list of insanely diverse instrumental elements all put to well-crafted use is staggering: pianos, Fender Rhodes, cello, bazooki, various brass, violin, organs, clavinet, vibes, accordian, banjo, exotic percussion, and much more drifting over powerful rhythm sections that morph from one mood to the next with seemingly no effort whatsoever. This should be a highly sought-after document for those interested in investigating the frontier of modern popular instrumental ensemble music, and an absolute must for any Estradasphere fan.
Thank you for thou "add" my brothers, just as the wind flows across the dawning sky, a man waking up to dispelling thoughts of a pure mixture of reality and re-fragmenting of emotions. In the concurrent state of living another day without contemplating it as a deep thought, but a blur of reattached emotion. The past continues to ensue the mind, as he yells to the heavens that the coffee with a shot of Canadian whiskey was about as tasty as smoking an old and very dry cigar from the previous week.
really enjoyin the cd guys. Hope all is well. It was cool hangin with ya'll in denton. Hopefully next time we cross paths you won't be so road weary and we can play some tunes. Take care. Cheers, Glenn
This month's featured show is this Saturday, June 13th! Savannah prog act Sinister Moustache performs their cinematic nightmare of shapeshifting songs. www.myspace.com/sinistermoustache. Then NC band Actual Proof is a jazz-funk fusion act that rocks a mean xylophone. www.myspace.com/actualproof3. Headlining is sci-fi middle eastern funk act Consider the Source, on tour from NYC. www.myspace.com/considerthemusic. This show is only $6!!!! See you at the Wormhole this Saturday!
Awesome show tonight at Webster Hall! I wish you much success, and hope you all have a great time on tour. I'm already looking forward to seeing you guys play NYC again - may it be real soon!
Splendid show at the Comet! We should hook up for a double-bill in Seattle sometime, it would make for a compatible pairing and we have many friends in common. All the best on your tour...
finally getting around to noting, for the record, that your tour opening Seattle show KICKED MAJOR ASS. if you are reading this and still trying to decide whether to attend a show, LISTEN TO ME NOW AND THINK ABOUT IT LATER: *GO* ~ and btw, this plea comes to you from a down-to-earth and picky-as-ever 39 year old connoisseur that's attended over a thousand gigs, by everyone from Albert King... to John Zorn. p.s. - *GO*
Killer show at the Hi-Dive last night guys. Everyone was on point and my mind was successfully blown. Also, Jason + John + Same Stage = Awesome. That's all.
Once again it was awesome getting to share the stage with you last night! Look forward to possibly catching up with you in SF in a few weeks. We'll be in touch! -AF
