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Lotus - The Band Members
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The following is the "Band Bios According to John"...
"Hi Im John. When I came to Vancouver from Austin
[Texas USA] in 1999, I needed a new band. Heres our story ... " |
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Feona Lim [aka Fe]
Vocals, Guitar, Drums
"I found Feona at an open mic at the X-Site Grill on East Hastings. She
was so obviously the real thing ... I gave her my number on a packet of
sugar. She had three songs, all upbeat originals. Smart songs. And the
voice. Ive come to know it over the past twelve years; its the beat of
a birds wing, the quick underside of a leaf tilted by a breeze. Her
writing is frankly superior -- iambic pentameter (the rhythm of
Shakespeare), pathetic fallacy (Emily Dickinson), chiasmus (William Tyndale)
these and other sophisticated poetic techniques appear throughout her
lyrics. Her music similarly shows natural elegance: often her 4 chord is a
major seventh, a revelation to me, for it so clearly and consistently evokes
wistfulness. These things are characteristics of an exceptionally tender
ear, and an especially bright mind. Feona is our best musician." |
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Elizabeth Grant [aka Liz]
Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
"Within a few months, Fe and I found Liz at Myles of Beans in
Burnaby. She was living above the coffee shop and studying constantly
in her pursuit of a medical career. She was studying when we first saw
her. It was open mic night, and we made her go get her keyboard and
play with us. She literally had no extra time in her life at all, but
she never stopped playing with us. I told Feona at the time, and we say
it today, Elizabeth made us a band. Liz writes
some of our favorite songs; she coordinates vocals and is a key agent
in our song arrangements. A veteran of the Royal Conservatory, she has
the complete technical palette. Her notes dance like snowflakes and
lightning strikes. Liz grabs life by its cute bunny ears and shakes it till
candy eggs come out. Elizabeth is our best musician."
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Rachael Monteith
Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Flute
"I worked on Rachael for over a year to get her to join us. She
was managing Deep Cove Music, not playing, when she should so
clearly have been playing. So one night we kind of lied to her so she
would bring a djembe to one of our gigs, and shes never stopped
playing with us. A music grad from Capilano University, with
specialties in flute, piano, and percussion, Rachael took over kit
drums for us. She also provides hand percussion with djembe and cajon,
and is a feature lead player for us on flute. She absolutely has that
amazing knack for finding the perfect beat; she is literally never
wrong. Rache is originally from the Caribbean you see equatorial
fire in her eyes, and feel ocean calm in her comportment. Rachael is
our best musician."
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Phyllis Ho [Philly]
Violin
"Philly dropped right out of the sky. I think I sort of
inadvertently stole her, but I didnt mean to. Im *really* glad I
did though. Screw all those other bands. Pure white light thats
what Phyllis is musically. Another Royal Conservatory kid, Phyllis is a
master violinist. When she joined, she immediately became our primary
lead instrumentalist. It always kicks me how fulsomely sweet her tones
are; she flat-out makes that violin a living creature. She also plays
Chinese violin (on our new CD!) piano, guitar, mandolin, and some other
stuff I dont even know about yet. Hotshot actress too. If you think
you see her somewhere, maybe you do. Philly lifts this whole band on the
powerful and joyous wings of real virtuosity. Phyllis is our best
musician."
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Terri Breeze
Bass
"We had to look for Terri, and for a really long time. But now
were fixed, cause shes got bass covered, and I never have to
think about it again. Terri forged her Terri-fyingly keen playing
skills in the superhot fires of progressive rock. She can play anything
you can, and twice as fast. She has more licks than fingers, and more
instruments than the rest of us combined. She plays [bass,] guitar, mandolin,
piano, drums, and most recently, Chapman Stick. Terri also made this
cool website; she went through twelve years of recordings, pics, and
videos; she has re-organized and revitalized us.
She is the chief engineer and co-producer of our current CD project,
tentatively titled
Sea to Sky.
Terri has her own website devoted to basses: http://bass-aholic.com. Terri is our best musician."
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John Texas Haynes
Guitars, Mandolin, Vocals, Bass, Drums, Pedal Steel
"So here I am with this new band that Ive had for twelve
years now. I play some mandolin with us, lotsa guitar. I plan to
start bringing my pedal steel to gigs. Anticipating a seriously
good CD from these guys. We have a number of new instrument voices
were introducing, including sitar, ukulele, and didgeridoo. Im
the porter on this crazy train. Carry your amp, maam?"
John of course is way too modest. And, really is our best
musician. John adds all the spice to Lotus music.
Filling a guitar solo here, some background banjo there. Many
of the arrangements are the way they are just because John came up
with the ideas. John really can play faster than me, but also
while staying in time and while adding melody and harmony.
Without John there would be no Lotus. He carries the gear,
but he also carries the whole band with his honesty, creativity,
generosity and constant love for his band, his music and his girls.
The luckiest guy to ever form a band. -- Terri
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