It’s Saturday night in Brooklyn. Far beyond the reach of the club scene, a crowd of tattooed artists, jazzheads, and DIY scenesters gather on the rooftop of an old factory out in Bushwick. It’s the home base for the Suite Unraveling, a band that even in the wilds of this artists’ neighborhood is entirely unique. Saxophones battle the driving drums, videos play across an old water tower, and fiery redhead Lily Maase shoulders her guitar and begins to play.
The Suite Unraveling is a band that doesn’t quite know what to call itself, which suits Maase just fine; “let them show up at our shows and tell us what it is,” she says. She’s focused on her music, taking her experiences – of growing up in the Southwest, of going to art school in rural Texas, of living in the belly of the urban elephant – and folding them together into fractured, impressionistic, narrative songs.
Though Maase may write the music, the band brings it to life, and her stories takes shape through close collaboration with her bandmates—saxophonists Evan Smith and Peter Van Huffel, bassist Matt Wigton and drummer Fred Kennedy. The resulting music is lively and danceable, raw yet intimate, and leaps easily from jazz to indie rock to the avant garde without losing its own sense of style.
Well I've been listening to the CD all day and it is great. I love all the subtle energy that is put in, even during the soft moments.
I have a small indie group and I have been trying to find a name for the longest time, and your lecture really helped. The group is now called "Anything Can Happen" and I really appreciated your insight into this art form. Thank you Lily and I wish you the best of luck in everything you do. -Mark
Hey Lily, I actually have a couple of little questions. I was wondering how well your note reading/ theory skills were when you first went to college. Hope all is well. thanks :) Ali
