Lift Ticket (formerly known
as New Balance) is a modern-day dance band — as in "contradance"
— that weaves together traditional tunes and new compositions into
music that inspires and infuses dancers with a rare energy. Lift Ticket
is made up of :
REX
| SETH | BRIAN
Rex
Blazer (violin, mandolin) has long been astounding contra dancers
from coast to coast with his unique and powerful dance music. Known
for a spontaneous and wildly fun fiddling style, he delights dancers
with his jazz-inspired improvisations on dance tunes from the Northern,
Southern and Celtic fiddling traditions. Rex ascribes to the theory
that life should be a non-stop music and dance party, and is renowned
for his knack of matching music to fit each dance. Rex started playing
bluegrass fiddle in Montana in the 1970s, after which his love of traditional
music led him to study in Cape Breton in 1983. These days, Rex enjoys
blending Québécois, Scottish, old-time and Irish music
into his own uniquely improvisational style of "new-wave"
contra and square dance music. Rex been touring the U.S. for the past
twenty years. Says Fiddler magazine, "Rex is a wonderful fiddler
and an inspiring teacher." Rex also plays in Timezones (with David
Kaynor, Peter Siegel and Susan Songer). Find out more cool things about
Rex at www.rexblazer.com.
Seth
Houston, on piano, keyboard and guitar, is the perfect illustration
of "creative madness meets no-holds-barred driving groove."
While adept at traditional style of dance music accompaniment —
Irish, New England, and Québécois —Seth infuses his
playing with funk, pop, blues and swing. And the dancers go wild! Seth
also plays in Honk the Moose (with Nat Hewitt and Adam Broome), Crazy
Quilt (with Mary Lea, Anna Patton and Peter Siegel), and Firetruck (with
Ethan Hazzard-Watkins and Anna Patton). In between weekends, Seth teaches
music at the Monadnock Waldorf School in Keene, New Hampshire; directs
Big Sky, an independent teen chorus based in Brattleboro, Vermont; plays
jazz; and composes. His choral compositions and arrangements are widely
performed by Northern Harmony and other ensembles. Seth enjoys teaching
singing workshops, a big hit at dance camps and festivals.
Brian
Perkins, a.k.a. "Mr. Groove", plays mandolin, tenor
banjo, bouzouki and Quebecois percussive feet. Rooted in the Québécois,
Irish and Scottish traditions, Brian is also a great tunesmith, and
he jams with flair and flame. Brian founded and directs Celtic College,
a popular traditional music workshop series in Burlington, Vermont,
and plays in Atlantic
Crossing (with Viveka Fox, Peter Macfarlane, and Rick Klein).