"Some of the premier musicians in their genre."
-UNOTES (LIFTED)
"A musical catharsis... the best new act in New England today!"
-Monster March at Boston City Hall Plaza (LIFTED)
"You played beautifully."
-Oprah Winfrey (Ari Lesser)
Voted #1 out of 1400 bands in Virgin's nationwide semifinals, LIFTED is a complete original. It's award-winning members have studied under luminaries like Dave DiCenso of Duran Duran and played at events for Oprah Winfrey and Martin Short.
It's about Originality. Too many bands have songs with one structure. LIFTED has a dynamic range spanning rock, funk, jam, reggae, and jazz. That's why they have such broad appeal to all types of music fan. Their songs are melodic and catchy, but fully textured, adding saxophone and flute for extra dimension.
A group that met at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, LIFTED is less than a year old but has already shot from the local stage, performing to venues as large as the Monster March, a charity event of 4,000 people on Boston City Hall plaza. Contact LIFTED to ask about adding your venue to their nationwide tour in 2011!
Ari Lesser
Guitar, Vocals
Oprah's comment? "You played beautifully." Lead guitarist Ari Lesser was selected three years in a row to perform at a charity event hosted by Oprah, Martin Short, and Brad Garrett of "Everybody Loves Raymond". And that was just high school.
Ari was soon accepted into the Peabody Conversatory program at Johns Hopkins University, one of the top 5 music schools in the world, studying under J. Scott Matejicka. Then he met fellow bandmates when arriving at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, to study classical guitar under Christopher Ladd and jazz guitar under Rich Goldstein.
Whether playing rock, classical, or jazz, Lesser infuses his music with learned technique and raw passion. He brings a fusion of styles with rich, complex harmonies to his songwriting and performance in LIFTED.
Gear:
Gretsch 1962 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman
Gibson Les Paul Studio
Squire Strat
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
Alex Petropulos
Drums, Vocals
Alex began playing shows at 9 and hasn't stopped since, studying under Dave DiCenso (Duran Duran) and Jeff Harrington (The Snow Leopards). Alex is known for expressing a mood without overplaying, remaining "in the pocket". When the time is right, he switches into blazing, unique fills to benefit the music. While still in high school he became a local Finalist in the nationwide 2009 Guitar Center Drum Off.
He's taken on funk, blues, jazz, and many other genres of music, and having performed with his brother for more than 10 years, their tightness in working together is one of the core strengths of LIFTED.
Gear:
Yamaha Maple Stage
Custom Drums
Gretsch Catalina Club Jazz Series Drums
Pacific Drum Company Piccolo Snare
Remo and Evans Drum Heads
Yamaha, Gibraltar, DW Hardware
DW 7000 Bass Pedals
Soultone and Zildjian Cymbals
Chris Petropulos
Bass, Vocals
Chris and his brother have been playing bars for as long as he can remember. Once when he was 11 they were introduced on stage with, "We've gotta let this young band on first -- they've gotta go home and go to bed!" But they ended up creating such a following that Chris was talent-scouted at 17 into Pink Voyd, the acclaimed Pink Floyd tribute band that owns the original Pink Floyd 40-foot pig. There are no secondary roles in the group of four performers, where Chris plays bass and sings vocal lead on a number of songs.
Chris met his fellow bandmates at LIFTED going to the Hartt School of Music to study bass guitar and he has trained under jazz legend and Berklee School of Music professor David Buda.
Gear:
ESP LTD C-304 Bass
OLP MM5 Bass
Fender Precision Bass
Fender Jazz Bass
Roland GT-6B Processor
Hartke 3500A Head
2 Hartke 4x10 Cabinets
Jared Charette
Saxophone, Flute
Saxophone virtuoso Jared Charrette began his career in high school, making California All-State Jazz Band and Southern California's "All-Stars" Jazz Band two years running. Then, in the United States Marine Corps, when he wasn't doing his two seven-month tours in Iraq, Charrette was the section leader in the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band, performing jazz, rock, classical, and marches worldwide. Then he came to the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, where he met the other members of the LIFTED. Jared has studied under Renee McLean (son of jazz legend Jackie McLean) and Nat Reeves (who's performed with Kenny Garrett, Pharoah Sanders, and Hank Jones). His saxophone sound adds a hint of jazz to LIFTED's music, adding a new dimension that makes it even more distinctive.
Gear:
Selmer Super Action 80 Series I Tenor Sax
Metal Ottolink Mouthpiece
Rico Jazz Select Reeds
Gemeinhardt M2 Flute
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