Low Society
United States, Tennessee, Memphis
Low Society
About Low Society
ROOTS ROCK REBELLION!
Mandy Lemons, winner of the 2015 Emissaries of Memphis Music Peoples Choice Award, and Sturgis Nikides, who recorded and toured with the legendary Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer, John Cale (of The Velvet Underground) - aka/Low Society - are blazing new trails on the stomping grounds of Blues Roots and Americana music. Texas Blues, Memphis Rock 'N Soul and a healthy dose of New Yo
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Members
Sturgis Nikides
Unless you’re a big fan of John Cale’s solo work, you’re probably unfamiliar with Sturgis Nikides. Sturgis was Cale’s guitar player through the 1980s, and has a long, colorful history as a professional musician. Simply put, it’s easy to call him a time-honored vet and indisputable master of the steel guitar, but his first full length solo album stretches his talents to the limit, and allows him to reveal much more than knockout playing. Nikides’ Man of Steel goes beyond your average blues rock, evoking indigent American toughness on so many levels it recalls everything from to John Huston. This is blues on a transcendental level, and to be honest, I think it gives Ry Cooder a run for his money. Nikides plays that fucking thing, that hard steel slide guitar, in a way that doesn’t ask of the listener anything more than their ears and their time. It is not necessary to be an expert on the blues, nor to even be keen on blues music in general, to appreciate the full range of what’s going on here. This music grabs the listener with an instrumental articulation of melancholy that transcends the blues genre while remaining essentially true to it…it is classic yet contemporary, and technologically bolstered without sounding clean. It seems, like all the greatest guitar playing, at once effortless and impossible. For those who are aware of Nikides’ music, these observations are anything but new. However, his confident voice and richly visual lyrics are indeed a revelation. Songs such as “She Got a Gun” and “Room 204”, the album’s best tracks, shimmer with emotional truth of the highest order, that which comes from real bruises and hard earned street experience. The guy pours his damn heart out with fearless intimacy. Man of Steel is brought down by a tired old Rolling Stones cover, but despite it being unnecessary, Nikides’ earnest handling makes it sound fresher than it should. Man of Steel is more than a blues record, it’s a vivid blend of elements all finely honed by the artist throughout his life, and as such, remains one of the true standout efforts of this or any year. This is that kind of music you hear as if it were part of a film you can’t remember seeing, assuming a widescreen scope in certain spots, and the claustrophobia of personal obsession in others. Man of Steel thrives on the dirty and lowdown aspects of life, but not without a sense of redemption. Nikides allows you to tap into a main circuit of hard life, of roads that don’t seem to end. It’s an astonishingly ambitious one-man show that announces Nikides as more then a mere axeman. I hope there’s a follow-up. – GENE GREGORITS, Sex & Guts Magazine Aug,2004
Sturgis Nikides
Banjo Player Blues Band Guitarist Session Musician SongwriterUnless you’re a big fan of John Cale’s solo work, you’re probably unfamiliar with Sturgis Nikides. Sturgis was Cale’s guitar player through the 1980s, and has a long, colorful history as a professiona...
Mandy Lemons
Mandy Lemons sings the blues with an astonishing powerhouse voice which mixes original southern fried soul and northern attitude. She hails from one of the blues ‘capitals’ of the world, Houston Texas, home of the late great Lightnin’ Hopkins. Her mother exposed her to Billie Holiday at an early age, which made a lasting impression. You will be astonished to hear so much power coming out of such a small figure, and you can clearly hear the influences of Koko Taylor, Etta James, Bessie Smith, and of course Janis Joplin. Her performances are visually and emotionally dramatic, approaching legendary status. Hans Werksman of the music blog ‘Here Comes The Flood’ says "seriously lacking in stage fright, Miss Lemons is able to scare the shit out of Joss Stone". Mandy "escaped" Houston in 2003 and headed to New York City. Five years later fate intervened and a mutual friend introduced her to Sturgis. They immediately began writing and recording and played their first show together in 2008. Among their hundreds (and counting) of shows, notable Low Society appearances include the 30th International Blues Challenge in Jan 2014, Mississippi's Juke Joint Festival for four consecutive years (2011/2012/2013/2014), the BluesAlive Festival 2012 in Sumperk & Zlin, Czech Republic and Chorzow Poland, and NYC's Howl Festival for three consecutive years (2009/2010/2011).
Mandy Lemons
Percussionist VocalistMandy Lemons sings the blues with an astonishing powerhouse voice which mixes original southern fried soul and northern attitude. She hails from one of the blues ‘capitals’ of the world, Houston Texas...
SANCTIFIED is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed “You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down”. The THIRD studio album from international Roots Blues and Americana powerhouse Low Society, Recorded in Belgium and Memphis beginning in October of 2016. Lead vocalist Mandy Lemons & her
partner in crime, guitarist/producer Sturgis Nikides, are joined by the phenomenal Belgian rhythm section of bassist Jacky Verstraeten and drummer Bart De Brueker. Special guests include the return of Lucero's legendary Rick Steff on piano, organ & accordion, Mr. Brian Hawkins on the jaw harp, along with album engineer Will Danger and Andrew McCarthy joining in on percussion.
Rhythm tracks were recorded at Closed Session Recording Studio in Roeselare Belgium, with owner Kristof Maes engineering. All additional recording and mixing at Memphis's historic landmark, American Recording Studio, with Will Danger behind the console. Mastering by Gebre Waddell at Stonebridge Mastering.
I wrote and recorded this song, 'Jake The Rake' about 6 or 7 yrs ago, in the period leading up to Low Society. It's one of those true story deals, about someone who was once a dear friend of mine, who met a bad end. I totally forgot I had uploaded it to the internet and I literally stumbled on it after getting an email from N1M. Take a listen...
Read moreGreetings from Memphis!! It's been a LOOONG time since I've sent a message on N1M! I've got a new album out, and it's racing up the Blues/Roots charts as we speak. Here's the official video for the title track "You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down". If you like it, please drop me a line and share your thoughts with us, so we can reciprocate! Happy Valentines day from me and Mandy!
Best,
Sturgis
About Low Society
ROOTS ROCK REBELLION!
Mandy Lemons, winner of the 2015 Emissaries of Memphis Music Peoples Choice Award, and Sturgis Nikides, who recorded and toured with the legendary Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer, John Cale (of The Velvet Underground) - aka/Low Society - are blazing new trails on the stomping grounds of Blues Roots and Americana music. Texas Blues, Memphis Rock 'N Soul and a healthy dose of New York attitude help define the sound and spirit of their sophomore 2014 album, 'You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down', on Icehouse Records. The album has received critical acclaim from around the world, as well as numerous "Best of 2014" lists. It has also placed on both the Roots Music Report Top 50 Blues Albums Chart for February 2015 as well as the Living Blues Magazine Top 25 Radio Chart for both Dec 2014 and Jan 2015. C Michael Bailey from (expired link) said “...Lemons is a tornadic force of nature laying waste to all of the blues-rock produced since the 1960s...This band, following its mistress Lemons' lead, is a feral and untethered spirit that makes its musical statement like the basement door slamming in the dark, off its hinges”. Among the albums guest appearances are two of Memphis' best known musicians, (expired link). King and Lionel Hampton alumni Dr Herman Green on the saxophone and Lucero's Rick Steff on keys and accordion. The album was produced by Sturgis Nikides, recorded at the historic Memphis landmark, American Recording Studio, and mastered by Stax legend, Larry Nix.
Their NEW album SANCTIFIED is a trans-Atlantic production with native Belgians Jacky Verstraeten on bass and Bart De Bruecker on drums ((expired link)), as well as Memphis legend Rick Steff back on the keys. The rhythm tracks were recorded at Closed Session Recording Studio in Roeselare, Belgium, by Kristof Maes. All additional recording and tracks were done back home - at American Recording Studio in Memphis, TN, with engineer Will Danger. Low Society - Sanctified will be released in May 2017. Get ready! Pre-ordering starts NOW!
Their first two albums have garnered critical acclaim and extensive worldwide airplay, including the enthusiastic
support of (expired link). Kings Bluesville on Sirius XM Radio. The pair has toured non-stop since 2008, literally playing hundreds of shows on festival, juke joint and club stages across the US and Europe. They have appeared at Clarksdale Mississippi's
Juke Joint Festival 5 times and NYC's Howl Festival for 3 consecutive years. After relocating from NYC to Memphis TN in 2012 they began appearing regularly on Beale Street. Other notable appearances include the Bluesalive Festival in the Czech Republic and Poland in 2012, the Blues Foundations International Blues Challenge in 2014 and 2015 and the prestigious 2015 Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland.
All press inquiries:
Frank Roszak
KBA Awardee 2014 PUBLICIST
(expired link)
818-679-7636
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