Jess Lamb

"Those unexpected moments are always the performance highlights of any awards show and this year's CEA lineup and production provided loads of highlights...The same can be said for singer Jess Lamb, the soulful vocalist who wowed the crowd with a few hypnotic songs, joined by her guitarist and bassist (who doubled on throbbing kick-drum). The sparse set-up belied the soaring sounds conjured, guided by Lamb's remarkable voice. Lamb was nominated for a CEA in the R&B/Funk/Soul category, a testament to her unique sound, which comes closer to resembling Florence and the Machine than, say, Usher. We may need to create an "Alternative/Soul/Rock" category to accommodate Lamb next year." - CityBeat

Cincinnati Entertainment Awards' Lineup Announced

Potentially making new, lasting memories at this year’s CEA show will be...soulful vocalist Jess Lamb... - CityBeat

Jess Lamb: Nominated for Cincinnati Entertainment Award (CEA) in the "R&B/Soul/Funk" category

The 16th annual CEA ceremony will be held at Covington’s Madison Theater on Jan. 27, featuring more live performances than ever.. - CityBeat

Who they are
Jess Lamb (Band).
Jess Lamb: Vocals & Keys, Kenny Lamb: Guitar, Kasey Williams: Bass & Kick

What they play
Staggeringly unique modern folk band with a rock & roll soul. This “3 1/2 piece” band features Jess’s haunting vocals that flat out mesmerize & hypnotize listeners. Brother Kenny’s impressive guitar work ranges from silky & subtle to savage & searing. Kasey’s magnificent bass / kick drum combo is not only singular in style, it’s pure musical genius. Together the three create originals that should steal top spots on every college radio (NKU) play list. They also twist a few covers here and there into something more interesting and emotional than the original artist ever intended, or possibly even imagined. A must see for all indie music fans, jazz fans & soul searchers. Think “jazz/folk fusion gone radio”. Marvelous musicianship coupled with powerful feminine vocals soaring with such soul they would make the late Janis Joplin either weep with joy, or cry in envy.

Why to see them
The talent in this trio strangleholds their crowds. High praise from press, musicians and fans will no doubt slowly push this band to a national level (with enough exposure). See them while you can at a local Cincy show because that’s where their performance shines brightest. Much like great jam bands, Jess Lamb Band’s dynamite dynamics are best savored live, up close and personal.

Web info
reverbnation.com/jesslamb
facebook.com/jesslambband - Cincy Vibe

A 6-year-old girl reluctantly sits through a piano lesson in Southwest Ohio, dirty blonde hair pulled back out of her face so she can see the keys, despite her green eyes roaming the room for more interesting things than the music book in front of her. Jessica Lamb is not amused.

A metronome mockingly keeps time to Jess’ torturous hour-long lesson. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock …Fast-forward 18 years and Jess is still sitting on a piano bench, but now by choice, not because her mother is forcing her.
No longer is Jess accompanied by a derisive metronome, or overbearing piano instructor, but instead by her band mates — bassist Kasey Williams, drummer Corey Carter and guitarist/younger brother Kenny Lamb — the three musicians that, along with Jessica, form Ohio’s next greatest gift to music, Jess Lamb.

From the piano lesson to the bathroom

Though Jess never took to the rigid piano lessons, she did take to the piano. Her innate talent was evident every time her fingertips took to the keys, accompanied by her soulful vocals. Like his sister, Kenny had a natural knack for music, his instrument of choice being the guitar.

Kathy and Gene, the Lamb siblings’ parents, recognized their children’s inclination at a young age, recalling that it all started with their participation in worship music services.

“They would watch and listen to music in church, and then gradually began participating as they picked things up on their own,” Gene Lamb said. “I taught Kenny the basic guitar chords when he was about seven. After that, he taught himself everything.”

Hearing them play today, lack of professional training is not evident. Jess’ hypnotic vocals are similar to Mahalia Jackson (considered by some the first Queen of Gospel and one of Jess’ greatest inspirations) and her fingers flying seamlessly across the keys of her piano. Kenny’s guitar playing has been likened to Stevie Ray Vaughan (an American guitar legend whose riffs have influenced
Kenny since his first chord).

“Some kids play soccer or baseball or what not,” Kathy Lamb said. “My kids just always sat around playing music. It was also something they were made to do, and we really encouraged them to do that. Music is just a natural part of their life — it’s a huge part of who they are and their identity.”

Wanting to further his son’s said musical identity, Gene bought Kenny an 8-track recorder when he was 13 (Jess was 15). Kenny and Jess recorded their first song on that little 8-track, locked in the bathroom and surrounded by half-empty shampoo bottles and dirty towels.

Jess and Kenny encountered their share of struggles growing up, though. It was their music, and each other, that got them through.“The heartbeat of our work is that we originally started doing our own music to get through what we were going through, what was going on in our home life and in relationships,” Jess said. “We were so close to each other and we had the music, and that really pulled us
through.”

The strong tie between Kenny and Jess formed a solid foundation for
their blossoming music career, which soon outgrew the 8-track recorder.
Their first band, Elijah’s fountain, won a talent contest at 93.7 WFCJ, a Christian radio station in Dayton. They completed a full-length, original album and had it mastered and reproduced at Queen City Albums, which was then sold at church shows they did in the area. These instances and others opened their eyes to what they could do with their music.“The realization that we could actually become something and that others thought we could become something, too, was when music went from being something we enjoyed to something we enjoyed and could
make a career out of,” Kenny said. “When we were given the chance to expand ourselves, we did. It’s what we’ve been aiming for and working toward.”

One such chance was a showcase put on by INO Records, a Christian music label based out of Nashville, Tenn. Elijah’s fountain had disbanded, leaving Jess and Kenny a two-man sibling act ready to wow audiences around the world. But instead of wowing the INO crowd, the young musicians learned a tough lesson about the music industry — namely that sometimes the industry part comes before
the music.

“It exposed us to the business,” Jess said. “By the time the showcase was over, we realized we wanted to own our music, that we could be powerful enough to make decisions about whether we should develop this way or that way and that we knew best. Ever since then, we’ve been developing in a
different direction.”

From the bathroom to the studio

Before starting to record, the Lambs needed a full band. Kenny and Jess found bassist Trenton Manning, who introduced them to drummer Corey Carter and the quartet reported to Rick Brantley Studios in Forest Park, Ohio, to record a five-track EP (extended play — not enough tracks to be an album, but more than enough tracks to be considered a demo).

That was January 2009.“We’ve really been waiting for this end product to be what we studied and cried about and what we wanted it to be,” Jess said of their stint in the studio.A primary reason for their extended stay in a soundproof room was
the unexpected passing of Trenton not a month into the recording process. The tragic car accident that took Trenton struck the band hard, especially Corey, who described Trenton as his musical soul mate.

“I didn’t think I was ever going to play with them again,” Corey said. “But Jess and Kenny told me we were going to continue working together, that that’s what Trenton would have wanted.”

Persevering in the face of adversity, the Lambs began “writing like crazy,” as Jess puts it, inspired by Trenton’s talent and love of music, and it wasn’t long before that five-track EP became a 12-track album. The influx of new material brought about an influx in hours, days, weeks spent recording, not to mention they still didn’t have a bass player.

“We tried to find a new bassist to replace Trenton for pretty much the whole process of recording the album,” Kenny said. “Until then, we were just finding whoever we could. It was a different person every gig, it felt like.”
It was while playing bassist roulette that Kenny took a job traveling across the United States and Canada, reducing his time in Ohio from 30 days a month
to none.

Jess, already frustrated with making a permanent address of the studio, felt the band sink even lower.“When Kenny took that job, I felt like things weren’t going to be held together, like maybe he didn’t want to do it anymore,” Jess said. “We’ve always had this connection since we were little; we’ve always said we wouldn’t do this without the other. I thought his taking the job changed that.”

But quitting was the last thing on Kenny’s mind.“To me, it wasn’t like I was choosing the job over the music,” Kenny said. “I was making good money so we could have some capital to do what we really love, which is music.”
After what seemed like decades to Jess (it was 10 months), Kenny returned to Ohio for good, and the recording process was priority on his agenda — after finding a new bassist, that is.And it didn’t take long.

In January, the band was introduced to Kasey Williams, a co-worker of Corey’s at Moeller Music. Kenny, Jess and Corey finally found what had been lacking in the other bassists they had worked with, and Kasey, too, found what he had been looking for.

“I’ve been in a few bands, but this one is so unique in that the people actually like each other,” Kasey said. “They’re all there for the music and because they care about each other.” Jess said Kasey has been a perfect fit for the band. Kenny agrees, and said Kasey completes their sound. “I don’t know if we’ve ever done better as a band — we do better every day,” Kenny said. “The crappy things that happen, like things that made the recording process so long, those are just stepping stones to where we are now.”

From the Studio to … ?

Currently the band is in post-production of recording, spending most of their time polishing and mastering their tracks to be featured on their album (full-length album release date TBA). The band is anxious to get their music out to a
wider audience.“I’m looking forward to having the album done, but I’m more looking forward to getting on the road and playing for people,” Corey said.
There’s nothing like a live show to get your music out there.”

Jess is also adamant in getting their music out to as many people as possible.
“I want to reach people,” Jess said. “I want my music to touch someone, somewhere, who has gone through the same things we’ve gone through and can relate to our music. I love that our music can be a voice for people at a low point.”The band’s genre is a combination of everything from classic rock to bluegrass, and can’t easily be defined. Lawton Lovely, a Miami
University sophomore theatre major, was just recently exposed to
Jess Lamb’s ambiguous genre.
“I’d say blues-rock is the best way to define it, but there’s
definitely some soul in there,” Lovely said.

Kenny also includes jazz, pop and country in their unique sound. The
hybridism of multiple genres results in something that is strictly
Jess Lamb — something that started with a boring piano lesson and
grew into a musical sensation. - The Miami Student