The Lights Out
Encyclopedia
Biography
The Lights Out started when Rishava Green and Matt King met in the Model Café in Allston, Massachusetts, where they formed a band before ever playing a note together. Green had recently written and recorded eleven tracks that were later named Douglas Sessions ’05Douglas Sessions ’05
Douglas Sessions '05 is an album by Boston-based rock group The Lights Out. It was self-released in 2005.-Track listing:# "Pride and Shame"# "Cant"# "Sorry for Saying I'm Sorry"# "Western Pariah"# "Hostile Takeover"# "If I Had a Hi Fi"...
with the purpose of attracting the right band members. In October 2006, Jesse James joined on drums. Adam Ritchie joined on guitar in June 2007. Both James and Ritchie attend Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
the same time, never meeting before joining the band. In October the band released a self-titled EP, The Lights Out (EP). Late-2007 saw the band blitzing Boston with a string of shows supporting the record.
The band released their follow-up five-song EP ¡Heist!
¡Heist!
¡Heist! is an EP by Boston-based rock group The Lights Out . It was self-released in 2008 . All songs were later used to create The Lights Out first LP Color Machine.-Track listing:# "Money Or Time"# "Liquid"# "Never Going Back"# "Get Up Get Up"...
in June 2008.
By September 2009 the band had taken the songs from their previous EPs and put them together with a new batch of compositions to create their first LP, Color Machine
Color Machine
Color Machine is an album by Boston-based rock group The Lights Out inspired from the tracks on their ep's The Lights Out and ¡Heist!...
. That year, the band was a semifinalist in the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
The WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble, begun in 1979, is a Greater Boston "battle of the bands" competition co-sponsored by WBCN-FM and its local music show Boston Emissions....
and headlined a showcase at CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival is put on by CMJ Network. CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2010 is scheduled for October 19–23 and will be headquartered at New York University and other downtown NYC venues.- History :...
. In May they played Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 21 miles southwest of downtown Boston and from downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution...
to open the The Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
season.
In 2010 the band's song "Gottagetouttahere," from Color Machine
Color Machine
Color Machine is an album by Boston-based rock group The Lights Out inspired from the tracks on their ep's The Lights Out and ¡Heist!...
, was featured in an Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Skåne, in southern Sweden. Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard who bought V&S Group from the Swedish government....
ad along with Vh1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
’s Tough Love Couples
Tough Love Couples
Tough Love Couples is the third season of the American reality television series Tough Love, which first aired on VH1. The show features six couples seeking relationship advice from the host and matchmaker, Steven Ward, and his mother JoAnn Ward, both of the Philadelphia based Master...
. The music video for the song was produced by Boston Music Award Video Of The Year director, Mike Gill and released in October. That fall the band released their third EP, Rock Pony
Rock Pony
Rock Pony is an EP by Boston-based rock group The Lights Out. Self-released in 2010, it contains four previously unreleased fixtures of the band’s live repertoire, and was recorded at the BU Center for Digital Imaging Arts in Waltham, MA, by Graeme Hall, Serge Espitia and Ryan Meyer. The album’s...
. The album’s cover caused a stir. For Halloween, the band dressed and performed as Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
.
The band released their second LP Primetime on 1/1/11. The album is a theme record about what it is like to be in a band. To promote the second full length the band held a mock auction for their tour van, Tim.
Members
- Rishava Green - lead vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Jesse James - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals - Matt King - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Adam Ritchie - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals
Further reading
- CD Review in Boston Metro
- Color Machine and Show Listing in Boston Globe
- CD Release Show Listing in Boston Globe
- MP3 of the Week in The Boston Phoenix
- Song Review in The Music Slut
- Heist Review on Absolute Punk
- MP3 Download in Boston Band Crush
- Interview in BostonNOW
- Interview in Boston Magazine