Midnight Lamp

Live at BB King's

The Midnight Lamp shine forth with a message of love, life, hope, and get up and dance.  Comprised of a diverse group of characters hailing from varied musical backgrounds, the Lamp offer a colorful spectrum of sound that is hard to place.  Their eclectic mix embodies elements of soul, funk, power blues, jam, R&B, and reggae.

Front man and song writer, Jason Flentye, provides a youthful influence on the band, keeping the music on it’s toes and appealing to new audiences.  He’s inherited an inate abliltiy to embillish his father’s fat, rich lead guitar chops with thick, blues-based rhythm.  Flentye Senior, “Brother Fred”, posesses a natural Stevie Ray Vaughn, Hendrix-esque virtuosity when it comes to making his guitar an extension of his body and soul, while also occasionally abusing his instrument as he pushes it past it’s limits.  Fred is known to check out and enter some esoteric, intangible void where guitar gods dwell amongst mortal men.  Ed Lugo keeps the bottom deep, funky, and genuine while he finger picks and slaps his bass strings into submission.   Steve Arnold is one of those irritating institutionalized musical genuises who passes on  band practice, but always shows up to blow a seductive layer of saxophone and horns.  Drummer, Jeff Blackman, keeps the unit tight and precise, but not without an open mind for innovation or improvisation.  With an additonal interest and ability to slap around precussive instrments as well, he’s even been known to apply a Latin American flavor – whistle and all.  Lead and backup vocalist, Joyce Isles, has a tendency to whip your face away from your beer or conversation, demand your attention to her bellowing sermon, and fill you with an aching compulsion to beat your breasts and obey her commands.  Together, the Midnight Lamp beckon you to be up on your dancing, happy feet; which was apparent when they “tore the joint down” during one of the final performances of the famous Universal City Walk BB King’s venue, before it closed it’s doors for good.

Midnight Lamp guides their audience through the ups and downs of the human experience, in search of experiential affirmations guided by spiritual faith.  Their expressions of love, trial, travel, and hope make you want to live a fuller life.   When they want to ‘take you back,’ they push it forward really hard: paying homage to a musical predecessor, the Lamp has an incredible abitlity to transform a covered piece into an original masterpiece.  Sly Stone would be  delighted and no doubt anxious to add keyboards to their soaring extended treatment of his ‘If You Want Me To Stay.’  No matter what they are laying down the Lamp always lift up their audience, get them out of their seats, and take them on a pumping journey while shedding light on the gloomier realities of life and inspring the embrace of life’s happier moments.   ~Dirty Jeff

The Midnight Lamp continually support numerous charitable causes including the National Lymphoma Organization, the National Association of Cancer Survivors, the March of Dimes, and the National Association for the Prevention of Autism.

“More so, The Midnight Lamp stands as a beacon of hope that constantly burns for those traveling through the night.”   ~Jason Flentye, Midnight Lamp