Flower Sermon: A Brief History of Lotus - Dropbox

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOTUS

CONTENTS
InTRO
LOTUS VIBES
GERmInATIOn
nOmAdIc
POST LOTUS
OUTRO
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-15
16-20
22-23

L otus first started
as the brainchild of guitarist
Luke miller. Born and raised
in Lakewood, colorado, Luke
took up the guitar after a
friend left the instrument at
his house on accident. The
guitar was not Luke’s first
stab at music, as his parents
enlisted him and twin brother
Jesse in piano lessons when
they were young. The miller’s
didn’t take to the instrument
at that age, but Luke would
revisit the keys later in life.
After High School, the
miller brothers separated to
pursue studies in music at two
different institutions: Jesse
at St. John’s college in Santa
Fe, new mexico and Luke at
Goshen college in Indiana.
The latter of which would
become the eventual birthplace
of Lotus. First formed in the
Fall of 1998, Lotus began its
lifecycle as a quintet. The
intial line-up was Luke, Steve
clemens, Joel Jimenez, Andy
Parada and mike Rempel. In
the Spring of 1999, Jimenez
and Parada would leave the
group, making space for
brother Jesse to fill playing
bass as he left St. John’s in
favor of Goshen. This left
Luke miller playing keys and
rhythm guitar, Jesse on bass,
mike Rempel playing lead
guiatar and Steve clemens
on drums. The Fall of 2001
would see the addition of
chuck morris on auxillairy
percussion. This would go on
to be Lotus’ most consistant
line-up and the one that really
sparked their success.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOTUS 5

6
LOTUS VIBES
Lotus started out like many
acts, playing shows at their
school, local bars and small
clubs; but their sound and
notoriety would soon spread.
The time between their
inception in 1998 and the
release of Vibes in 2001 saw
them expanding to venues in
St. Louis, Harrisburg and their
hometown of colorado. Lotus
has since garnered much
of thier fame on the road,
so it was only befitting that
their first proper release be a
compelation of live cuts from
those early tours.
FLOWER SERmOn
Released in early 2001, Vibes
stands as a testament to the
band’s penchant for improvisation
and spontanaeity.
The title refers to the feeling
concertgoers received as a
result of the bands loose,
energetic and free-roaming
jams. combining elements of
jazz, rock, ambient and electronica,
Lotus’ first album was
a breath of fresh air for a
jamband scene which hadn’t
seen such ecclecticism from
one act before.
The album sees the band’s
drummers creating an expansive
percussive backdrop
for the rest of the group to
explore. comprised exclusively
of instrumentals, Vibes’ ethos
is to allow listeners to not
only groove to dance ready
beats and melodic guitar like
those found on tracks like
‘l’immeuble’ and ‘Intro to a
cell’, but also get lost in more
experimental textures, as
showcased on extended cuts
such as ‘decay/Rebirth’ and
‘Far from Empty’.

GERMINATION
The years leading up to and
following the release of
Germination were an exciting
time for the band. In 2002
they signed their first record
deal with Harmonized Records,
who in turn released their first
two albums. The time period
also saw them embarking on
their longest tours to date in
the Summer/Fall of 2002 and
the Winter of 2003. These
tours marked Lotus’ first use
of keyboards and samplers
on stage as well as their largest
audience yet: 500 plus in
madison, Wisconsin.
In 2003 Lotus followed up
the successful jumpstart Vibes
with another collection of
live tracks: Germination. The
hour long release features
many songs that would go on
to become Lotus staples and
fan favorites. Standouts like
Umbilical moonrise/ moonset,
Flower Sermon and nematode
have all gone on to be some
of the most sought after requests
at live shows. Germination
also features the track ‘crescent’–an
excerpt from a jam
that was only played once.
The Germination album also
marked a small stylistic change
for Lotus; as it not only featured
the long atmospheric jams of
Vibes, but also saw a focus on
high energy build-ups and
crescendoes that have now
become a crucial element to
Lotus’ live shows.
Germination is still for sale
on Lotus’ webpage, Vibes on
the other hand is now out of
print and has become a rare
commodity for the Lotus
faithful. Lotus’ defining album
however, would be released
the following year.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOTUS 9

10
NOMADIC
By 2004, Lotus was growing
rapidly and expanding their
fanbase in the niche jamband
scene. The end of 2003 saw
them performing their first
new Year’s Eve show which
took place in Greensborrow,
north carolina; the theme
being “The Future is now;”
an apropo title considering
Lotus’ bugeoning popularity.
2004 for would also see the
bands first national tour as
they embarked on a run of
shows that took them across
both coasts and in between.
However, the biggest leap
Lotus would take this year
FLOWER SERmOn
would be the release of their
first true studio recording:
Nomad.
Recorded during march and
April of 2004 in Pittsburg, Nomad
saw Lotus mastering new
techniques in the studio. many
of the songs on the album were
already staples in the Lotus
live rotation, but the Nomad
recording process afforded
them the oppurtunity to revamp,
rearrange and master
them in a studio setting.
Nomad’s anthemic 9 song
tracklist is a pictaresque
soundscape that defined
Lotus’ playing going forward.
Equal parts smooth jazz,
mellow funk and ambient
electronica, Nomad is an
album that, as put by miller,
“...could compliment most
any listening situation, be it
a dance party, headphones
and cup of tea, or road trip.”
From the introductory beat
of opening track ‘Suitcases,’
to the flowing ambience of album
closer ‘colorado,’ Nomad
takes listeners on a journey
that is ripe with head-bobbing,
foot tapping grooves.
Album highlists ‘Livingston
Storm’ and ‘Travel’ have Lotus
at their most mellow, carving
out headspace amongst trippy
synths and smooth guitar.
Other tracks such as ‘Greet
the mind’ and ‘Jump Off’ see
the band stepping up the
tempo for some serious funk.
nomad also features Lotus’
arguably most popular song
‘Spiritualize,’ which is lenghty
journey that follows a driving
synth paired with airey atmospherics
that rise up into an
epiphanal crest of blissful
guitar and driving beats to
only drop down into a serious
electrofunk grove.
Nomad went to the top of
the Home Grown music network
charts and finished out
the year as HGmn’s top selling
album. It was also nominated
for a Jammy in the category
of new Jam of the Year. Nomad
was sending Lotus on their way
to stardom. After its release,
the members of the band were
able to quite their day jobs
and focus exclusively on
music full-time.

12
The music of Nomad propelled
Lotus onto the Festival circuit,
allowing them to play in front
of huge crowds the likes of
which they could have only
fathomed when they first
started playing. music and
camping festivals like All
Good, Wakarusa and Jam on
the River got Lotus’ music
into the ears of thousands of
new listeners, and they would
soon become mainstays at
many festivals nationwide.
In 2006, Lotus released
their second studio album,
their last for Harmonized
Records. The Stregth of Weak
Ties wasn’t as well received
or critically lauded as nomad,
but it still featured a host of
Lotus classics such as ‘Tip
of the Tongue,’ ‘Kesey Seed,’
‘Bubonic Tonic’ and ‘Blue Gi-
ant.’ TSOWT also showcased
Lotus’ first use of prominant
vocals as opposed to sampled
textures.
The next year, Lotus put out
the two disc live set Escaping
Sargasso Sea on the label ScI
Fidelity (curated by fellow
jammers The String cheese
Incident). The album showcased
songs from previous
albums as well as material
that had yet to appear on
disc. Said tracks include the
stop/start dance party ‘Wax,’
guitar ballad ‘Wooly mammoth,’
the atmospheric nomad out
take ‘Thru the mirror,” and
funk burners ‘Slow cookin’
and ‘mikesnack.’ The whole
album was the best showcase
for a Lotus live show yet, and
further cemented them as one
of the best live acts around.
FLOWER SERmOn A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOTUS 13

Like Nomad, Escaping Sargasso
Sea received much critical
praise. It was nominated by
Guitar Player magazine for
“Best Live Album of 2007”
at the Jammy awards, and
was a mainstay on many web
pages and magazines’ year
ending ‘Best of’ lists. many
writers commended Lotus
for their return to focused
rock-oriented jams. The band
had always been adapt at
the blending of two distinct
genres (rock and electronica)
but the release of Sargasso
distiguished them from fellow
‘jamtronica’ artists such as
The disco Biscuits, The new
deal and Soundtribe Sector 9.
By this time in their career,
Lotus had established themselves
as one of the primiere
groups within the jam band
scene. They had been touring
consistantly since the release
of their first album and had
now elevated to performing
shows at theaters and larger
clubs across America.
2007 also saw the releaase
of Copy/Paste/Repeat Lotus:
Remixed, a compilation of
dance and electronica reworks
of Lotus songs. Being largely
of an electronic nature themselves,
Lotus’ catalogue lends
itself well to the remix treatment.
The disc features tracks
redesigned by the likes of
Telepath, Lymbyc Systym, J
Tonal, dJ Harry and bassist
Jesse miller himself. The album
is a diverse set of electronic
styles including but not limited
to: House, Trance, Techno, down
Tempo, Glitch and dubstep.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOTUS
15

16
POST LOTUS
The live Sargasso disc and
Lotus’ remix album kept the
band out of the studio proper
for close to two years. However,
their next release would
further prove Lotus’ diverse
set of sensibilities. Lotus followed
up a guitar-centric live
album and a volume of dance
remixes with a set of songs
heavily influenced by post
and indie rock of all things.
Hammerstrike, released by
ScI Fidelity in Fall of 2008,
marked a new direction for the
band as the disc focused less
on funky grooves and electronica
and more on guitar
driven, emotional compositions.
FLOWER SERmOn
Album opener ‘Behind midwest
Storefronts’ is an epic
bombast of guitars and strings,
while album closer ‘disappear
in a Blood-Red Sky,’ uses
similiar guitar heavy melodies
interlaced with chimey vocal
choruses. While these and
tracks like ‘One Last Hurrah’
and ‘Turquise’ evoke postrockers
like Explosions in the
Sky and Sigur Ròs, they still
retain Rempel’s signature guitar
work and the breakbeat
percussions of drummers
Steve clemons and chuck
morris. many tracks feature
these new influences, but
songs like ‘Bellwether’ and
‘Age of Inexperience’ retain
Lotus’ electronic flare albeit
more akin to dance-rock as
opposed to the mellow sounds
of earlier albums.
Although its influences were
foreign to many Lotus stalworths,
Hammerstrike was
ultimately accepted by fans
and its songs have become
standouts in their live shows.
Hammerstrike was also praised
by critics as a quailty LP that
showcased a band at the top
of their game embarking on a
new style.
The stylistic changes on
Hammerstrike could be seen
as a conscious departure from
previous sounds in order to
not be pigeonholed. Jesse
says in an interview: “I think,
in some circles, Lotus will
always be identified as a jamband—and
to some people
that isn’t a bad thing. But
when you read it in the press,
it’s often meant as some kind
of slam against the band and
it usually has nothing to do
with music. It’s become a code
word for a certain type of fan
or something and really has
no reflection on the music.”
This type of critical thinking
is what sets Lotus apart from
their peers and other members
of the ‘jam’ scene. The release
of Hammerstrike would mark
the beginning of Lotus’ transformation
from a jamband act
to a band constantly shifting
styles while exploring new
sounds and textures.

18
Lotus followed the release
of Hammerstrike with two
EP’s of new material entitled
Oil on Glass and Feather on
Wood. The two EP’s each
have their own distinct sound
but fit largely into those
explored on Hammerstrike.
Oil on Glass sounds notably
heavier than its counterpart,
Feather on Wood, and sees
the band exploring dual guitar
compositions akin to bands
like Ratatat. This EP focuses
more on dance rock and
features remixes by Kypski as
well as a hip-hop spin on the
Hammerstike cut ‘Alkaline.’
On the other hand, Feather on
Wood has a lighter, airier feel
to it than other Lotus releases.
consisting of nearly exclusively
of post-rock compositions,
FOW continues the band’s
explorations of sounds more
often found in indie circles
than on the jam circuit. Again,
however, they still maintain
the band’s signature style in
the form of spiraling guitar
solos, creative drum work,
grooving basslines and
melodic keyboard playing.
The Oil on Glass/Feather on
Wood EP’s mark Lotus’ skill
at taking a style and adapting
their sound to it, creating
something new all their own.
FLOWER SERmOn A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOTUS 19

20
oAfter the release of Hammerstrike
and their two EP’s,
Lotus found themselves at a
bit of a crossroads. Original
drummer and founding member
Steve clemons left the band
to spend more time with his
family. Soon after, percussionist
chuck morris departed for
similiar reasons. The band
perceivered though and enlisted
wayfarer drummer mike
Greenfield who had worked
in many other jamtronica
acts as well as collaborated
with members of Lotus in the
side project Ghostepper. So,
without a percussionist and
in the service of a new drummer,
Lotus began work on
FLOWER SERmOn
their fourth full-length studio
album–this time as a quartet.
Simply entitled Lotus, this
album finds the band building
upon the new influences established
on Hammerstrike,
while revisiting some of the
electronic ecclectism they
crafted on earlier releases.
Tracks like ‘Golden Ghost’
and ‘Bush Pilot’ show an expanded
use of samples while
the songs ‘Blacklight Sunflare’
and ‘Harps’ blur the line between
electro and rock n’ roll.
The influence of indie rock
can be seen again in the airey
synth pop of ‘The Surf’ as well
as the post-rock dance track
‘In an Outline.’
Although it could be blanket
termed as dance rock or elec-
tronica, this title fails to hint
at all the tiny floruishes and
myriad of styles at play here.
Lotus is an album whose influences
are as diverse as the
band that created it. Even
though it misses some of the
key members who started the
group, Lotus captures the
essence of its history.

A fter over ten
years of nonstop touring and
recording, Lotus shows no
signs of slowing down. The
band has seen remarkable
growth in the past few years.
They continue to play bigger
venues across America and
larger stages at bigger festivals.
Lotus even has their own
festival now. Summerdance in
Garrestville, Ohio welcomes
Lotus Lovers for 3 days of
music and camping featuring
2 nights of Lotus plus a host
of other acts.
At the time of this writing,
the band is again set for its
annual new Year’s Eve show
in Philadelphia. This year
however they’re expanding
from the Electric Factory to
the much larger Festival Pier.
After that, they have a full
schedule of dates going from
the midwest, down South and
then up the Atlantic coast.
The band is even preparing to
release more music following
the success of their self-titled
album. Tracks not appearing
on the LP as well as entirely
new ones have begun making
the rounds in the band’s live
sets. 2011 also saw the return
of percussionist chuck morris
to the band, allowing Lotus to
again work as a quintet.
So as the band regains some-
thing old and familiar, they
continue to move forward into
planes new and unheard of.
When asked, “What’s next for
Lotus?” The answer is simple:
anything and everything.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOTUS 23

END
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