Thought is: TIM ALLEN.electricguitar. PJ BOECKEL.electricbass LYNN LIGAMMARI. voice.altosax JARED SCHONIG. drums.sticks MICHAEL WILLIAMS.voice.basstrumpet.guitar also seen with Conor "The Outlaw-Dutchson" Elmes and Brad "Little Apple" Maestas
"A Salt 'n Sugar Dance Party!'
IN their 10th year as a band, "They are continuing to bring the street credibility back to pop music." One thing that is obvious the first time you see this group of people together, onstage and off, is that this is a BAND. The members of this band are constantly feeding off of each other. They live together, work together, and play together. The most striking quality this young group possesses, is how the five distinct personalities shine through at all times, tempering and balancing each other. As bassist PJ says, " You can't make that s@#* up!" Their draw comes from their provocative male/female intertwined vocals, and the unique combination of bass trumpet and alto sax fronting the band. The rhythm section brings life to the term "Power-Trio." The members of Thought don't want their music pigeon-holed into genres or catagories (who does?), but they understand that this is the way the worlds' mind works. Therefore, they would like to call their creations, Multiple-Personality Music, or Sex-Punk. Really, they just want you to listen to it, enjoy it.... and dance till it hurts!
After 10 years of sharpening their skills playing together as a band , Thought has played to thousands of people throughout the USA, Canada, and in the last Five years focused heavily on the New York City scene including regular engagements at Nublu, Santos Party House, Bitter End, Southpaw, Piano's and many more. The members of Thought have both collectively and individually shared the stage with such notables as; Mike Gordon, Brazilian Girls, MMW, Dresden Dolls, Chico Mann, Charlie Hunter, El-P, Red Baraat, Nublu Orchestra, Antibalas, Kenny Wollesen, Zozo Afrobeat, Jerseyband, Beyondo, Pela, Eliott Sharp, and many, many more. Aside from their numerous live shows Thought has recorded two studio EPs, and their most recent LP- POLITICS FOR KIDS available here.
thought: our story
*PJ - Electric Bass Guitar
My full name is Peter James Boeckel (the “o” is silent). I hail from Buffalo N.Y. and was born on April 6, 1981. Fostering my musical growth, whom I have to thank for their encouragement, energy and patience, are such great teachers like Dr. Joseph Baudo, Rodney Appleby, Jack Kulp, John Currey and Miwi 3000.
My social beliefs consist of being anti-war, against corporate colonialism, its subsequent destruction to the environment, and fully believe in the power of creative force as a device to combat those converging on the tip of the triangle. My inspirations are the folks in Thought (all full of luv and passion), Meshell, Bklyn, winter, spring, summer, fall and all those self-proclaimed artists out there staying true to their guns. Of course I have to mention the peeps on our links page
Michael R. Williams a.k.a. MiWi La Lupa la Lupa - voice/horn/2nd Guitar
MiWi La Lupa - voice/bass trumpet/songwriter
Mike plays and does: songwriter, Voice, Bass trumpet, Trombone, Bass Guitar. He is an Eastman School of Music graduate (’03), and he loves wolves. That's because he is a wolf. He also loves to learn languages.
Mike also plays/has played/recorded with: Findlay Brown (Letterman Show), Charlie Hunter, Knights on Earth, Red Baraat, Michael Leonhart and the Avramina 7, Beyondo, Mocean Worker, Antibalas, Nublu Orchestra conducted by Butch Morris, Kenny Wollesen/Himalayas, El-P, Brazilian Girls (New York City), Ike Sturm Ensemble, Bat For Lashes, Pela, Mike Gordon, Slide Hampton, Joey Barron, MMW, Assylum Street Spankers, Slavic Soul Party, Donny McCaslin, and the Eastman Trombone Choir. MiWi has also played a very cold roll in a film called Living Wake which Premiered on June 8th 2007 at the Cinevegas film festival.
Current favorite music is; Meshelle Ndgeocello - Devil's Halo, Auktyon, Real Live Show, Smoota
Mike now lives in Brooklyn (Bushwick) and loves the beautiful struggle. Current inspirations (besides night time): Sunny Jain, doing something to write home to mom about, G-d, FELA! the musical
Jared Schonig - Drums
Jared Schonig was born in 1983 in Los Angeles, CA. Influenced by his parents who are both professional musicians, he began playing the piano at age 5 and the drums at age 14. Attending an arts high school, he had numerous opportunities to perform professionally and with various 'all-star bands.' He also won 4 Downbeat Student Music Awards, including a best soloist award his senior year.
He moved east in 2001 to Rochester, NY to attend the Eastman School of Music and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in 2005. Jared was fortunate enough to share the stage with jazz musicians Dave Liebman, Wycliffe Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, Charles Pillow, and Bob Brookmeyer. He also began to perform with vibraphonist Joe Locke and Dr. Lonnie Smith at numerous venues including the Rochester International Jazz Festival. Jared also received 3 more Downbeat Student Music Awards, one for 'Best Soloist' and another for a collaborative small group entitled 'The Very Tall Band,' which was named the top collegiate combo, and includes many musicians he continues to perform with today.
Jared moved to Brooklyn, NY in the fall of 2005 and has been there ever since. He enjoys a very busy performing and recording schedule, and is involved in many different music scenes, such as jazz, rock, pop, and Broadway. He has performed and/or recorded as a sideman with jazz artists Wynton Marsalis, Fred Hersch, Wycliffe Gordon, and many others. He has played in the Broadway and Off-Broadway orchestras of Grease, Everyday Rapture (Sherie Rene Scott) and The Marvelous Wonderettes. In the Summer of '09 Jared was asked to participate in a workshop of a new musical at New York Stage and Film Festival at Vassar College.
+Timothy J Allen - electric guitar/ songwriting
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Timothy J Allen hails from Buffalo, NY where he lived until his early twenties. During his formative years he discovered his passion for music and played a lot of guitar, taking lessons, and spending the better part of his teens locked in a room listening to the greats and forming the band that would become his strongest outlet as a musician, "Thought" with his friends, Michael Williams and PJ Boeckle, who he met during his senior year of high school. After a few years of music school he began to teach guitar lessons in a few different music stores in Buffalo, and became a fixture on the Buffalo music scene. Those years yielded many fruitful collaborations and friendships. By the time Allen was 18, "Thought" had acquired it's first residency at the local deadhead bar "Heenan's" (now "McGaretts"). No one in the band was old enough to even legally be in the bar yet, but Thought spent many nights playing 2 sets to energetic crowds of dancers and drinkers until all hours of the night. They were lucky to be given a place to experiment, get their bearings and become a band there, even playing 4 packed New Years Eve shows there. During those early years Allen also was fortunate to get the chance to play with UB ensemble "The Genkin Philharmonic" directed by trumpeter Jon Nelson. "The Genkin Philharmonic" played a lot of difficult music like Zappa, King Crimson, Prokofiev, and Ives, forcing Tim to conquer his "guitar-player" fear of reading music and learning to play with a large ensemble. During that time Tim also performed with Buffalo shock-rock kings "Anal Pudding", along with with other groups such as the improv-driven "Fred's Slacks", reggae-ska group "The Operatives", and many random nights of sitting in with bands like Buffalo stalwarts, "Rhubarb" and "Lazlo Hollyfeld".
In the early 2000's Allen moved to Brooklyn, NY , accompanied by his "Thought" band-mates, to further pursue music as a performer, writer, and teacher. In his first few years in NYC, Allen took full advantage of the opportunities that the broad musical landscape of NYC provided. He had the chance to play with many interesting bands like "Butch Morris' Orchestra Slang", "Zozo Afrobeat", and "The Himalayas". "Thought" continued to thrive and start its life as a NYC band playing as many clubs as they could in their first couple of years there. Allen also started a new project called "Hylofi" which began as an instrumental solo recording, but has morphed into a powerhouse of horns, organ, percussion, guitars, and even vocals. Currently, Allen is performing regularly in NYC with 3 groups, "Thought", "Hylofi", and "Beyondo", as well as teaching private music lessons in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and recording solo material for a new project. He can be contacted through www.thoughtmusic.com or www.myspace.com/hylofi
#Lynn Ligammari - Vocals/saxes/girl power
Lynn Ligammari, a native of Niagara Falls, NY, holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Specializing in both Jazz and Classical saxophone, she has studied under the direction of Walt Weiskopf, Dave Schiavone, Fred Sturm, David Demsey, Chienkwan Lin, Ramon Ricker and Chris Azzara.
In addition to THOUGHT, Lynn performs regularly with Mocean Worker, Knucklebean, HyLoFi, the Lynn Ligammari Quintet and the Bill Frisell Project. In addition, she has been fortunate to work and perform with Dick Oatts, Wycliffe Gordon, the Temptations, Clay Jenkins, Rich Thompson, Rufus Reid, Harold Jones, Reggie Thomas, Brad Lubman and Phish’s Mike Gordon.
While at Eastman, Lynn performed in a number of ensembles including The Eastman Jazz Ensemble, New Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Ossia, Chamber Ensemble and Jazz Performance Workshop. As a freelance musician in Rochester, she was a member of the Dave Rivello Ensemble, the Half Ton Horns, Uptown Groove, M6, and the New Energy Big Band.
As a music educator, Lynn has taught at the elementary through collegiate level and is currently employed as a Teaching Artist for the Lincoln Center Institute of the Arts in New York, NY.