Honker

Hilarious, twisted, sophisticated, schleppy and sad all at once...songs that take the mundane of life and twist it. - NPR's Weekend Edition What smells like special and sounds like awesome? Dubbed 'Best Lounge Act of 2009' by New York Magazine, Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra play a brand of uncategorizable folk/jazz/country/lounge- lizardry that's drawn comparisons to the music of Leon Redbone, They Might Be Giants, Randy Newman and Tom Waits. They release their sophomore studio album HONKER on June 29, 2010. With melancholy wit and a cockeyed worldview, sepia-toned singer-songwriter Lipton and band-mates Eben Levy (guitar), Ian Riggs (bass) and Vito Dieterle (sax) deliver songs steeped in irreverent sincerity and soul. Featuring guest vocals from Matt Berninger of THE NATIONAL, Cynthia Hopkins of GLORIA DELUXE and a chorus of middle-school students, HONKER was funded entirely by fans around the world through funding platform Kickstarter, and continues Lipton's unique gift of conveying thoughts and emotions most don't want to admit. 'I'm worried about how the soul is doing, mine and other peoples, acknowledges Ethan. I'm worried about what the world is doing to the soul, how it's giving the soul a hard time. And I'm trying to give the soul a little comfort, a pat on the back, a reason to laugh at itself, or even just a clearer picture--a more compassionate explanation--of why, no matter how hard it tries, it's never going to win.' A fixture of the Downtown scene, Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra earned critical acclaim with their 2007 debut studio album MR. SOFTY, which was a staple on Vin Scelsa's WFUV radio show. The band has been featured on NPR's Weekend Edition, sold out Joe's Pub and performed at such venerable locales as the Prospect Park Bandshell (Celebrate Brooklyn), Bryant Park, MASS MoCA, the Vermont Arts Exchange and the Camden Opera House, as well as favorite New York clubs like Barbes and Rockwood Music Hall. The band also contributed a memorable cover of Corner Soul to the Clash tribute album THE SANDINISTA PROJECT and performed five songs in The Shift, a feature film starring Portia De Rossi. 'We're here to represent the half-empties of the world, declares Ethan Lipton of his band, now entering it's fifth year as a quartet. We know there's some good news buried in all the bad, and we're trying to dig it out and get it to the people who need it-on finger sandwiches of delight, if possible.' With his earnest brown suits, mournful eyes, and neat mustache, Ethan Lipton looks less like a silken-throated lounge lizard than he does a beaten-down ad salesman-an ordinary Joe singing gentle songs about everyday life. - New York Magazine Big of schnozz, thick of moustache and dulcet of voice, Mr. Lipton croons unlikely urban haikus and wry ballads. - New York Observer It's always enjoyable when a singer-songwriter throws some humor into his misery.' Time Out New York 'Ethan Lipton & his Orchestra are not your average band. They're not even your non-average band. They are out there...past Pluto the non-planet out there. And that's a good thing.' Mainstream Isn't So Bad.