"We had a big Grunge scene in Tacoma; everyone over a certain age was in a band," Lipp remembers with a laugh. "Even after Grunge kind of faded and before the big raves started, there were still a lot of shows in Tacoma. People were still really into the music. We had 16 and 17 year old kids promoting and bringing in DJs from the dance music scene. Even so, there's not a lot of history in electronic music in the Northwest. People were into drum-n-bass and progressive house, but there's not a strong influence up there."
When he was eighteen, Lipp turned in his long-sleeve plaid shirt and flannel Henleys for the rollicking hills of San Francisco. He soon tired of the astronomical cost of living and set out in search of cheaper pastures. . . in Chicago???
"Well compared to San Francisco, it was affordable and I wanted to be in a big city. Plus," Lipp adds, "I was interested in the Thrill Jockey stuff and the IDM stuff coming out of there. Chicago is such a good place for music. People there are still excited about it; they go out; they support the music scene. Although, many artists think it's a glass ceiling in Chicago. Like you gotta move away from there to be big there. Once people leave, they go to New York or L.A. and they make it. When you're in Chicago, as a local artist, promoters will book you as like an opening act. Record stores don't push your product as much. But if you leave and come back, you're playing to sold out shows. It's like it's more special when you're not there all the time."
True to form, Lipp moved to L.A. and now plays sold out shows in Chicago. Los Angeles brought a new sense of focus for Lipp. He wanted to focus on music full-time to move his art to the next level. Though he worked a day job at a coffee shop for a short time, he put most of his energy into creating song sketches that would be the basis for "Tacoma Mockingbird." During a trip back to Chicago, Ray Rodriguez from Hefty Records showed up at one of Lipp's shows. Lipp passed Rodriguez a CD; Rodriguez passed it to John Hughes at the label and the rest is history.
"I was pleasantly surprised that Hefty was interested," Lipp says of his new label home. "I'd shopped the CD around to a few labels, but didn't think to send it to Hefty. It's a great label and they've got a good mix of eclectic stuff, party stuff and the minimal sound represented. They are a very forward-thinking label."
Lipp will be touring in Europe in addition to performing several dates in the U.S. including appearances at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas and the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Florida. He is also scheduled to perform at Hefty's tenth anniversary party in Berlin, Germany. For his live shows, you can expect to Lipp gettin' down with a couple of analog synths, a drum machine and a laptop. He hopes to add more musicians to the live mix as his shows become bigger. "I've opened up to the audience much more," he says. "At first, I was scared of them, but now, I'm a lot more comfortable. I'm looking forward to collaborating more with musicians as opposed to being on stage alone.
