Live Music - Arthur C. Lee @ Working Hands Beer

1021 12th Street,Hood River OR 97031

21 May, 2022

Description

Surf songs from the PNW, echoing the experimental pop of Yo La Tengo, raw energy of Wilco, and the introspective soundscapes of Brian Eno. “… graceful indie rock… that blends serene guitar melodies, crisp piano notes and dreamy falsetto vocals.” - Oregon Public Broadcasting "Arthur C. Lee meticulously finds the fringes of summertime pop... with trembling vocals backed by sugary harmonies, jangling guitars and tinkling pianos." - East Oregonian “An artist like Arthur C. Lee grabs my ear and confounds my attempts at guitar accompaniment. His defiance of standard progressions is liberating. Lee is both a student and teacher of music and his love of and immersion in jazz shows in his chord stylings.” - Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly Arthur C. Lee is a man who doesn’t ask for much. But early on, he knew what he wanted; to be with those who understood where he came from. To take in the silence of nature. And when he started playing the guitar at 12, he knew he wanted to play music that would affect people to their core. He remembers playing a simple etude on his guitar days before moving out of his childhood home, and his mother crying in the kitchen when hearing the song. Or the lovers dancing on the lawn as his band closed out the summer evening. And the echo in the room when he heard his father play Amazing Grace on the saxophone for the first time. This is what matters most to Lee, and is fully dedicated to his craft. His songs are a reflection of these simple moments that are sometimes the most meaningful. Stepping out of the shadow as a side-man that he has been so known for, the jack of all trades that every band needs, it was time his songs saw the light of day. No stranger to bigger venues as the multi-instrumentalist with Sean Flinn and the Royal We, Ezza Rose, et al, Lee worked out new songs for his 2nd full length at smaller shows and open-mics, giving him the freedom to ease into completing them in an intimate setting. He brought on-board Latin Grammy Award winner Be Hussey as co-producer (Radar Bros, Haunted Summer, Morsel) and their relationship has been fruitful as a building block to a deeper sound. I sit back and marvel at the meticulousness Lee puts into his songs, and the effortlessness and ease of delivery. Listening to these gives me a technicolor experience next to the black and white movie that was his first record, ‘History Of’. Finally out of the side-man’s shadow, he is fully himself on these new songs, and it’s magic.