Inside scoop:
THE COMA LILIES NEW EP-SUMMER 2005 The Coma Lilies originated in 2001 with Michael Spector and a friend writing music in a class in high school. After a couple of months of doting, courting and wooing, Michael solidified the illustrious Gabriel Katz on drums and the indispensable Hunter Ellis on guitar. Hunter recommended a keyboard player who he had been friends with for much of his life, the notorious Asher Katz, who was a perfect fit. Brian Kincaid, bass player extraordinaire was next to join- and thank heavens for that. After winning their local high school’s Battle of the Bands, they went on to take first place in The Great American Music Hall’s Bay Area Battle of the Bands in May of 2003. Between then and now they have played numerous shows on numerous stages, often drawing upwards of 300 people at a local venue. In April of 2004 they orchestrated a tour to Southern California, only to return a month later for some repeat performances. Then, in September of 2004, they ventured north to Portland, OR. Most recently the band toured to Los Angeles for a couple weeks in February of 2005. The Coma Lilies come from a wide variety of musical backgrounds. Hunter Ellis began playing the violin at eight, guitar at twelve, and has played in many orchestras and ensembles since the fifth grade. He and Asher first started playing music together in seventh grade in another instrumental band that never had a name. Asher Katz has played piano since the age of 7. He is trained in classical and jazz piano, is an award-winning photographer, and an aspiring pyrotechnician. Gabe Katz started playing drums at age three. Now 19, he is mainly self-taught and can also play nearly every instrument set before him. He and Brian started playing music together in sixth grade in a band called The Mopsters. Michael Spector began playing guitar and composing music on his computer around the age of eleven. He met Gabe and Brian on a bench in Sebastopol when he was 12. Michael and Gabe’s first musical project together was a blues cover band that included Vince Welnik from The Tubes and the later Grateful Dead. Michael has no formal training. Brian Kincaid began playing the bass when he was thirteen at the behest of Gabe. He has taken improvisational jazz classes and has been involved in several musical projects, including all those previously mentioned with Gabe and a stint as bassist for the hip-hop/funk band Derivative. All the band members live and play in Sonoma County, California. You can buy their cd at www.cdbaby.com/cd/comalilies or on amazon.com. Also, e-mail them at thecomalilies@hotmail.com.