Our Story
Call it Cosmic Roots Rock, Americana, Alt-Country, Folk--it doesn’t matter. NLMS is a Rock n’ Roll outfit from Philadelphia, PA; denim desperadoes armed only with dusty guitars and torn tweed amplifiers. The ghosts of Sun Studios live within the music of NLMS, channeling "whiskey-and-cigarette-shaped vocals from a punk heart merging with rockabilly backbeats, country guitar twang and a healthy dose of classic R&B soul." They’re a “well-oiled harmonizing machine” “baked in sun, soaked in bourbon” purveying “shambling country-folk goodness culled from the oldest of schools." NLMS forges a sound that comfortably leaps between the austerity of early Elvis to the passion of Roy Orbison to the rebellion of Bob Dylan and Gram Parsons to the alt- leanings of The Jayhawks, Uncle Tupelo and The Replacements.
With their first two albums garnering critical praise for being one of the Top 10 Local Albums of 2008 and 2010 by The Philly Weekly and The Philadelphia Inquirer, NLMS remains unable to sit still. New songs are being mined from the fertile brain of Jamie Olson as we speak—raw, unpredictable gems tinged with crystalline sadness and bright glimmers of hope—pure anodyne for the soul. It only gets better…and louder!
But even so, NLMS is simply here to help Friends, Neighbors, Brothers and Sisters...and those Beyond, get loose on Saturday Night, leave their worries at the door, and Dance!
NLMS Mission Statement
We were born just before Midnight, into Einstein’s chaotic jumble of time and space, where a lifetime lasts the course of one long day. Fortunate were we to spend many, many glorious times around the greatest of hours, the worries of the world slipped out of mind and people with good hearts shared their spirits and practiced the language of imitation and revelry. But, more importantly, it was the music that brought us all together and it was the music that allowed our bodies to loosen up and freed our legs to dance. These were the kind of celebratory times that all who share are thankful for their good fortune, knowing that not all of God’s creatures get to experience a time where their mind is set free to dream, so much so that it can inspire them for a lifetime. But the Singers, given no exception to the unwavering hands of time, stealing away minutes, and often hours, can’t help to think back with a little sadness and longing, to a time when the world was pure. And in our thoughts, we wonder about the next Midnight on the very distant horizon. In the meantime, we’ll still sing, under the Sun or the Moon!
NLMS History
EARLY DAYS ("And that Old Time Living Room Sound") North Lawrence Midnight Singers (NLMS) began just where the band’s name suggests; in the humble 3rd story bedroom of lead singer, Jamie Olson (ex-Cordalene), on North Lawrence Street in Philadelphia. Together in 2007 with lead guitarist, Todd Zamostien, and bassist, Timothy Meacham, the trio inked out the band’s first songs. After months of artistic toil (and a few days off in between), the band officially formed under its first incarnation, adding drummer, Joseph Boyle, also a prior member of local indie darling, Cordalene, psych-rock outfit, Elevator Parade, and presently, Weird Hot. Mike "Keyz" Milach was later added on keyboards.
Before NLMS ever played their first show, they entered the studio with Bill Moriarty (Dr. Dog, Man Man, Josh Ritter) at American Diamond Studios to record their debut LP, “And That Old Time Living Room Sound,” a release that garnered the band critical praise regionally, including being named as one of the Top 10 Local Releases of 2008 by The Philly Weekly. With their first release safely lodged under their belt, NLMS began touring the region in earnest, earning the band a reputation as an one of the area’s most exciting live shows. As critical acclaim grew for NLMS, local radio station, WXPN 88-5 FM and their web-counterpart, Y-ROCK, provided the band modest support and radio airplay, lending the band a solid local base and the opportunity to play some of the city’s most revered rock venues (Johnny Brenda’s, World Café, North Star Bar and The Khyber) and many of its largest summer festivals (Northern Liberties Fest, Trenton Art’s Fest). Additional radio and web airplay in Europe of “And That Old Time Living Room Sound” set the stage for NLMS to begin work on their next album.
"LAST GREAT SATURDAY NIGHT" Recording began in earnest for NLMS’ second album in 2009. It quickly became clear that the band’s sound was headed in another direction. Boyle and Milach left the band in search of other pursuits to be replaced by Cornelius Simpkins (Kenn Kweeder, Chubby Checkers, Birdie Busch) on drums and Joseph Arnold on fiddle. Searching for a bigger sound, NLMS was joined in the studio by some of the most talented and creative musicians in Philadelphia, including: Mike “Slo-mo” Brenner on lap steel; Brian Christinzio (BC Camplight) on grand piano; Mike Sneeringer (The Loved Ones, Purling Hiss) on drums, Steph Hayes (Stargazer Lily, Steph Hayes and the Good Problems) on backing vocals and Mike Kiley on ukulele (Mural and The Mint, Cordalene).
NLMS’ second album, “Last Great Saturday Night” was recorded and engineered in South Philly at The Opera House by Paul Atkinson (Brand New Heavies). The record, edited and arranged by Jonathan Lowe of Miner Street Recordings, was again mixed by Bill Moriarty at American Diamond Studios.
Released on November 19, 2010, the band’s sophmore effort, opening with the Link Wray style ‘rumble’ of “Under the Lights” adheres to classic story-telling, albeit in a modern context. Much the same way that West Side Story mirrored Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “Last Great Saturday Night” encompasses a personal journey; from tunes of young love and adventure played out in lost toe-tappin’ daydreams through darker visions of warning that caution the soul not to stray too far from who and what you hold dear. It sings of humbling redemption and realization but concludes on a hopeful note with the title track, “Last Great Saturday Night,” an anthem of perseverance--where love and dreams meet real heartbreak and shared, personal struggle.
The Album Release Show was held to a packed crowd at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia and featured a bill with local cohorts, Josh Olmstead Band (now Archives of Oblivion), as well as The Swimmers (Mad Dragon Records). Critical praise soon followed. The album was named by Dan DeLuca of The Philadelphia Inquirer as one of the Top 10 Best Local Albums of 2010, as the #1 Local Album of 2010 by the readers of The Key (WXPN’s local music website) and favorably reviewed by The Philly Weekly as well as gaining radio airplay on WXPN 88.5 FM. The album, now for sale locally, internationally and on-line with Itunes, CDBaby, Amazon and other internet retail outlets, has already sold steadily regionally and abroad.
The future is quickly approaching NLMS. We just finished collaborating on our second music video project with artist, Scott Colon (on the title track, "Last Great Saturday Night"). And, work has now begun on the third album--all new songs and a new sound. It will still sound like NLMS, just an NLMS you've never heard before! Bigger, louder, more raw...yet still comfortable in its own skin. Looking ahead, NLMS plans to tour regionally in support of “Last Great Saturday Night.” But, expect more and more new material to creep into our set as we get closer to the start of recording on our third album!