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Lucas Cates Concert
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Posted by kimhirning Mon Aug 18, 2008 17:08:53 MDT
Viewed 145 times
0 responses 0 comments Start: Sep 5, 2008
Time: 7:30pm
Price: $10.00
Contact: ISU Activity Board and Pocatello Arts Council | www.isu.edu/tickets
Location: Stephens Performing Art Center, Pocatello, Id 83201

Lucas Cates performing September 5th at the Jensen Grand Concert Hall.

The Bio   
Biography: Lucas Cates

When Lucas Cates imagines his dream gig, he sees his brother and friends in the front row, screaming fans thousands deep behind them, and the majesty of the Red Rocks amphitheater looming above the scene.

Considering the momentum the Lucas Cates Band is building with its debut album, “Contradictory,” that scene may be very real before long. Cincinnati’s “City Beat” said the band plays “infectious pop that swings like Jack Johnson and bites like Elvis Costello,” and “Broadjam Review” characterized the title track as “unique pop-country-rock-punk cool.”

Cates started his musical career playing trumpet during school in Madison, Wisconsin; then continued in Plymouth, New Hampshire, where he attended college and realized his musical gift extended to guitar and then songwriting.

“My friends taught me the ropes and I improved quickly,” Cates says. “Once I realized that songwriting came more naturally than anything else I had ever done, that’s when I made my decision to pursue it.”

He returned to Madison, played some open mics and met Robert J., ringleader of the band The Moon Gypsies and producer for PopBomb Records. The producer took an interest in Cates’ songwriting, recorded a January 2005 acoustic demo with him, and offered him a record deal.

Cates, along with bandmates (and high school friends) Matt Rodgers, bass and back vocals; Britton Rice, drums and back vocals; and Robert J., who the bandmates refer to as their “older, illegitimate adopted brother/producer, electric guitars and back vocals; began the work of writing and recording “Contradictory.”

For the singer/songwriter, the process usually begins with the music. “I have licks or pieces of songs that eventually fall together into verses, choruses and bridges,” he says. “After that I experiment “vocally” with melodies—no words, just nonsense.”

Cates says that when he finds a tune that he likes, he waits to be inspired. “Words can’t be forced,” he says, “I strongly believe that.”

Now Cates and his bandmates have a critically-acclaimed album that’s making the rounds of college radio stations nationwide—and there’s more good work already created. “We have a great new batch of songs that are not on the album,” he says. “Eight or so, and more to come.”

The band is trying to follow their album’s regional airplay with live performances to build their audience. “Our live performance is great and everyone that has attended a show has expressed how much better we are live,” Cates says. “I want everyone to leave having had a great time. I like the random guy shouting out in the crowd, the girl in the front row batting her eyes and my family and friends conglomerated together in an intoxicated huddle bobbing their heads.”

The audience for his music is going get more diverse very soon: one of the tracks from the album, “4everymore,” has been picked up by the Cincinnati Ballet for a new modern dance piece.

Wherever it’s performed, Cates says that his music comes from within. “You create the song and you sing it from your heart,” he says. “I just want to connect with someone. It may just be one person, but that’s what it’s about for me.”

Rhonda Kelley
Rainmaker Publicity , Boston MA

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