Over the past decade, Madison musician Kyle Rightley has been on quite a musical workout.
As a member of various bands, the singer/songwriter and guitarist dabbled in country, folk, pop and jazz. He played classic-leaning country with Driveway Thriftdwellers and charismatic jazz and soul with The Big Payback. He played acoustic shows as a solo artist, too.
He kept his love for heavier rock music to himself until recently. Rightley’s newest band, Lonelyproof, is a supergroup of Wisconsin musicians: bassist Jeff Weiss (The Big Payback, No Name String Band), drummer Max Morkri (Wurk, Brahmulus), and guitarist/vocalist Lo Marie (The Furious Bongos).
The band’s debut performance on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Gamma Ray in downtown Madison will feature originals as well as covers.
“When I was younger, I listened to a whole bunch of rock and metal,” Rightley said. “I realized, ‘Oh man, for all the bands that I play in, I don’t really get a chance to turn the distortion way up and hit a power chord … just have some of that primal rock energy.”
Rightley began to write music that “needed to have that more distorted guitar sound,” drawing inspiration from progressive, psychedelic and hard rock music. He eventually found himself with a significant pile of these songs.
While listening back to them, he realized they fit a common pattern sonically. He started talking to musician friends, and gave his new band a name that implies being “immune to loneliness.”
“Maybe that would involve being part of a community and having friends and family around,” Rightley said. “It also could mean someone who (feels) fulfilled in life and doesn’t….feel lonely just because they’re alone.”
Come along for the ride
The band quickly developed dynamic chemistry with each other during practice. The rhythm section, Weiss and Morkri, are top of their game, which gives Lonelyproof flexibility, Rightley said.
“We can play simple, driving, heavy-hitting music,” he said. “We can play complex, odd rhythms and weird type signatures.”
The band’s songs include the 11-minute-long “The Bell-Casters Must Dig Too,” which was one of the first Rightley wrote. He said it was a “beast” for them to arrange as a band.
“We’ve had to tackle it piece by piece,” he said. “It’s fun to do complicated music with a band that can actually do it justice.”
Lo Marie provides a complementary element to Rightley, who said their voices have a unique chemistry. Marie sings lead on some songs and provides harmonies and backing vocals on others, which puts less pressure on Rightley to “fill all of the sonic space.”
Rightley asked her to put more emphasis on her guitar playing, compared to her previous bands.
“I think we’re both cast against type in this band,” he said. “I haven’t really been a lead singer in a rock kind of format. Lo has worked with a bunch of different musicians … she’s more accustomed to being the lead singer.”
For Lonelyproof, Rightley hopes the Gamma Ray show is just the beginning. He looks forward to writing music specially for the band and getting into the studio to record an album.
He wouldn’t be surprised if the band’s sound expanded into other areas like pop and got more collaborative. He hopes they can build a communal sound.
“It feels like I’ve got this gleeful secret I’ve been holding near my heart,” he said. “I’m going to now release it out into the world and hope that people want to come along for the ride.”
