Episode 33 - Kate Lorenz and Matt "The Suitcase Junket" Lorenz

Kate Lorenz and Matt "The Suitcase Junket" Lorenz APR 19 Kate Lorenz and Matt "The Suitcase Junket" Lorenz Matt and Kate Lorenz ... ... are siblings and artists who've taken divergent paths since Rusty Belle, the now legendary band they formed with friends in Amherst, MA, in 2006, more or less stopped playing together in 2014.

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Matt and Kate Lorenz ...

... are siblings and artists who’ve taken divergent paths since Rusty Belle, the now legendary band they formed with friends in Amherst, MA, in 2006, more or less stopped playing together in 2014.

Now, Matt, who makes music as “The Suitcase Junket” is releasing his fourth solo album. The Suitcase Junket is often called a “one-man band” but that old chestnut somehow belittles what he accomplishes musically, which can range from blues to rock to folk and pop, from fuzzy garage-iness of White Stripes to Led Zeppelin to the somewhat more melodic sound and sweet harmonies on the new record. It ain't your average one-man band, is all I'm sayin'.

Matt is also a visual artist, whose work adorns the covers of his albums. I have known the two of them as friends, through their music, as a fan, and as one of too many owners of a bar called the Rendezvous in Turners Falls, MA, where we’ve been lucky enough to host them in all of their musical incarnations and with a show of Matt’s large scrapwood-and-metal bird wall sculptures.

When Matt started making solo records, Kate hit the books, going to grad school in Education. Now, a few years later, she has the degree and has started a teaching career, but is also ready to return to the stage and studio. Her solo debut will be out this fall.

We talked in early March, at Matt’s house in rural Western Mass, amid his work on boiling down sap from his maples for syrup.

Interspersed with the conversation, you’ll hear three songs: one from Kate, “Slide tackle into your heart,” one from Rusty Belle, “I’m Alive,” and one from Matt’s new Suitcase Junket album, “Piledriver” called “Beta Star”

Kate’s album and related URLs will out later this year. Find Matt at thesuitcasejunket.com - All the albums are great, but, if you get the chance, catch Matt live sometime, what he does is amazing to witness. Rusty Belle, their former band can be found at rustybelle.com.

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