Interview: Lizzy Shaps on New Album LIZZY & THE TRIGGERMEN: LIVE AT JOE'S PUB

The 10-piece indie swing band Lizzy & the Triggermen played a show at Joe’s Pub last April that was so vibrant, they decided to turn the recording into an album. (The band’s first album, "Good Songs for Bad Times," was released in April 202 and hit #3 on iTunes' Jazz Charts, just under luminaries like Kamasi Washington and Miles Davis.)

Their new album features some of the top jazz musicians from both coasts. The 23-track album of "joyously subversive jazz" is a celebration of human artistry in defiance of AI, from the incredible arrangements (mostly done by former Benny Goodman trombonist, Dan Barrett) to the world-class musicianship. Even the album cover was hand-drawn and painted by LA artist, Ashley Urban, as opposed to being done digitally.

Lizzy "wanted every aspect of this album to feel human, organic and visceral. I wanted the listener to feel how fun and recharging to the spirit it is to be at one of our shows."

We spoke with bandleader Lizzy Shaps about the album, which came out on all platforms on August 14th.

How does it feel to be releasing this album of your Joe’s Pub concert?

Thrilling! I’ve wanted to record a live album for years, because the band really shines in that setting. As an indie jazz band, 99% of our success has been through word-of-mouth about our live shows. But every time we attempted to record a live album, something always went catastrophically wrong (like the recording accidentally stopping mid-show. True story).

It turns out the key to recording a great live album… is to have no idea you are actually recording one!

I had asked Joe’s Pub to record the show on a whim, thinking perhaps we would get some promo videos out of it since it is such an iconic venue. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would get an album. Of course, I knew I was working with a dream team [of] some of the best jazz musicians in LA & NYC. However, not only had we not had a rehearsal, half the band literally met the other half at soundcheck! Yet what resulted is the musical chemistry of bandleaders’ dreams.

Perhaps the fact that none of us felt the pressure of recording an album and could just focus on having fun is part of why the performances were so great. 

Still, live albums are notoriously difficult. They require all of the stars to align: great sound, Great Performances, great audience, and that ephemeral magic that makes a show catch fire. Something cosmic was surely brewing that weekend in April which saw a blizzard in Boston, an earthquake in NYC and a solar eclipse. 

And, thankfully, all of the musicians graciously agreed to let us turn the show into an album.

Can you tell us a little bit about what made you decide to turn this recording into an album when you weren’t originally planning to?

The simple answer is…finally getting around to listening to the recordings! It’s funny; as extroverted as I am on stage, I am incredibly shy and self-conscious when it comes to listening to recordings of my work. It’s easy for the perfectionist in me to overtake the artist. So, I generally procrastinate as long as possible. 

The first song I finally listened to was “La Vie en rose.” From the very first notes on the piano, exquisitely played by Chris Dawson, to John Allred’s transcendent trombone solo, I felt like I was transported to some Parisian club in the 1940s. The whole track sounded like some iconic old recording that had been lost in time.

But it was not just this isolated tune. Song after song floored me with how on fire everyone in the band sounded. They were simultaneously tightly in sync, yet super loose and swinging. (Shout out to our wonderful Musical Director, Nate Ketner.)

One reason I am so proud of this album is that it is a celebration of human artistry in a moment in time when the music industry seems increasingly dominated by the inhuman veneer of autotune, A.I., and synthesized samples replacing actual musicians.

It bewilders me how easily the tech sector dismisses how essential human creativity is. Music isn’t just the mechanics of producing notes - it is a profound expression of our very humanity, an expression that exists in that space in between words - and yet we somehow all immediately “get it.” 

Live performances add the element of ritual - an energy exchange that happens between the performers and the audience that can be nothing short of magical.

Great Performances aren’t just witnessed; they are tattooed onto our spirits. I’ve been lucky to collect quite a few over the years: Audra in “Gypsy,” Radiohead in a Roman amphitheater in Verona, Prince at the Forum. It certainly does not always happen. But, man, when it does, no robot can do that - no matter how much money billionaires invest.

While I would never dare put myself in that pantheon, I believe we captured something special that night at Joe’s Pub, and I cannot wait for people to hear it. 

Was there anything listening to the recordings that surprised you?

The first thing that surprised me was how great the sound capture was. And for that we owe a debt of gratitude to Jon Shriver at Joe’s Pub, who recorded the band better than anyone ever has live. Bands often lament that we are only ever as good as our sound engineer - and Jon knocked it out of the park. 

The second surprise was that we had not only an accidental album, but a 23-track accidental album! (I told you, the band was on fire that night). 

I loved how eclectic the set list was, from Broadway classics like “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” to Prohibition gems about getting high to Basie-esque takes on Britney Spears to trad jazz staples like “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue” to even operatic re-imaginings of “I Love to Sing-a.”

However, my favorite track on the album is the penultimate tune (before the audience kindly asked us to return for an encore). It’s a forgotten 1941 Irving Berlin song called “When That Man Is Dead and Gone” that he wrote about a certain dictator. It’s a powerful song of hope, promising someday that evil man will be dead and gone. Our arrangement of it - courtesy of Dan Barrett (who played in Benny Goodman’s last orchestra) - infuses the tune with the spirit of New Orleans trad jazz, which brings out the celebratory (and yet macabre) message of the song. At the end of the song, you hear the audience just erupt, which, of course, is a lovely feeling.

But perhaps what surprised me most about the album is how tricky the mixing process can be. It takes a whole lot of work to make the record sound like you are just sitting in the front row. To that I owe a gigantic thank you to our incredible mixing engineer, Keith Munson, who has the patience of a saint, and spent months mixing the album with me. That’s right: months. 

Aside from putting this album together, have you been working on anything else lately? Do you have any other projects coming up that you’d like to share?

We are actually in the studio working on our next studio album, which is going to be almost all original music - which I cannot wait for you to hear!

We will be doing some touring, as well, including upcoming shows in Sacramento 9/25 (Good Luck Lounge), San Francisco 9/26 (Great American Music Hall) and Tucson 10/30 (La Rosa). We will be offering swing dance lessons before the shows! 

The great thing about jazz is that no two shows are the same. So even though we really hope you check out our live album, we also hope you come check us out in person.