LaMP ft. RUSS LAWTON, SCOTT METZGER & RAY PACZKOWSKI TO HEADLINE THIRD ROOM IN ASHEVILLE, NC ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
SUPPORTING NEW STUDIO ALBUM, ONE OF US
Who:
LaMP ft. Russ Lawton, Scott Metzger & Ray Paczkowski
What:
Interstate jammers LaMP are set to headline Third Room in Asheville, NC on Wednesday, September 17. A supergroup of sorts, the trio is comprised by Vermont-based Russ Lawton (drums) and Ray Paczkowski (Hammond organ, Hohner Clavinet, Wurlitzer electric piano) best known for their work in the Trey Anastasio Band, alongside Brooklynite Scott Metzger (guitar) who also serves as guitarist/vocalist in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, as well as being a frequent collaborator of artists like Nels Cline, John Medeski, Shooter Jennings, and more.
LaMP are are touring behind their second studio album — One Of Us — out now via RPF Records/Royal Potato Family, on which they distill singular, road-honed improv instincts into taut, instrumental epics. Consisting of 10 tracks packed into 35-minutes of kaleidoscopic interplay and club-shifting grooves, Relix Magazine praised the album for its “unbridled creativity” and Premier Guitar Magazine declared it “builds on the long history of the organ-trio tradition…all while embracing the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll abandon.”
One Of Us is the band’s first studio outing since their self-titled debut, released during 2020, and follow’s last year’s double-dose Live At Nectar’s, which was sourced from two nights at the storied Burlington, VT institution where the band was born in 2018. Following their Nectar’s set, the band was hungry to return to the studio to coax to life a fresh batch of tracks. To do so, they decamped to Ben Collette’s Tank Recording Studio in Burlington for a three-day session.
“The album is called One Of Us, but if there is a theme to this record, it might be ‘three of us,'” Paczkowski says. “We’re all writers in the sense of courting some kind of inspiration, a melody, a rhythm, a vibe; feeling some kind of spark and bringing it to the band. The goal was to get a fire going.”
“LaMP defiantly started with a sound right from the first show and it continues to grow as we write new songs,” Lawton continues. “Someone will come in with a song — or I’ll pass along a rhythmic concept — and we’ll build from there. Recording is like therapy for us. Everyone is always writing and we’d built up a new batch of songs that we wanted to get down.”
“Most of these tunes started from beats Russ sent around, and Ray or I would put down a harmonic or melodic idea we thought captured the mood of the groove,” Metzger adds.
With One Of Us, the trio delivers their cleanest distillation of the LaMP sound yet, a mission statement of improvisational groupthink and compositional chops. Opener “Cosmo,” — the longest cut here, at six minutes — sets the stage with a slow, smoky build which sounds like the guys warming up their gear in a shuttered club, before dropping into a propulsive groove. Paczkowski and Metzger try to out-riff each other while Lawton pushes the band deeper with a crackling beat. The title track “One Of Us” continues to ride this long, cresting wave of funk before a Lawton drum solo signals a spiraling entry into a psychedelic wormhole. “Nice Girl (Walks Loud)” and “Jasper’s World” showcase a muscular Zeppelin stomp, steamed into a humid shuffle that will undoubtedly rattle dance floors in the live setting.
The backend of the record settles into a stately, groove, highlighted by the blue-hour strut of “Ulterior Motives” and the closer “Clipse-O,” where Metzger’s fluid lines skitter and dance alongside Paczkowski’s vibrant keys and Lawton’s inexhaustible groove.
“This record has more of a gritty, edgy sound to it compared to our first one,” Metzger says “The first album felt clean and smooth. One of Us has a more attitude. It still emphasizes melody, groove, and accessibility like the first record, but this one feels like we’ve got some more miles under our belt, which makes sense since 2024 was a big year for our little band.”
Throughout its run-time, One Of Us acts as a showcase for the myriad flavors LaMP brings to the table, delivering a listen which works both as deep headphone immersion or a packable-party custom-tailored to deliver the jams to upcoming 2025 tour dates.
“It’s the next sounds of three musicians who are playing what they feel, and feeling it as one,” Paczkowski concludes.
Where:
Third Room
46 Wall Street
Asheville, NC 28801
When:
Wednesday, September 17
Doors: 7pm | Show: 8pm
Ages: 21+
TICKETS & MORE INFO HERE
LaMP
ft. Russ Lawton, Scott Metzger & Ray Paczkowski
2025 Tour Dates
8/29 – Manteno, IL – Shoe Fest
8/30 – Marshfield, MA – Levitate Backyard
8/31 – Lake George, NY – Adirondack Independence Music Festival
9/17 – Asheville, NC – Third Room
9/18 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
9/19- Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall
9/20 – Annapolis, MD – Annapolis Baygrass Festival
10/9 – Petaluma, CA – Mystic Theatre
10/10 – Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone
10/11 – Felton, CA – Felton Music Hall
10/13 – Bend, OR – Volcanic Pub Theater
10/16 – Portland, OR – Polaris
10/17 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
10/18 – Seattle, WA – Hidden Hall
10/20 – Denver, CO – Cervantes’ Other Side
10/21 – Denver, CO – Cervantes’ Other Side
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