House Of Stairs

The band includes vocalist and loop artist Holly Pyle, Garrison Jones on keys and keyboard bass, Stephen Avalos on drums and Shea Marshall on a collection of instruments including bass clarinet, saxophone, harmonica, accordion and synth for added textures. Garrison and Stephen initially met in a jazz combo at Scottsdale Community College. Two years later they found Holly at a few local jazz shows; immediately they started composing music together at a driven pace and haven’t stopped since. Shea, Holly’s partner, instantly added additional elements and arrangement ideas when not performing with his regular project, The Sugar Thieves.

Initially the group rearranged compositions already completed by Holly, but since early on the compositional approach has been more collaborative and synesthetic, building upon blocks of improvisation and layering soundscapes with additional layers of visual poetry. Holly’s vocals range from an ethereal choral soundscaping to a soulful timbre reminiscent of Erykah Badu to an occasional grit inspired by Etta James. Most distinctive to the group is use of live-layered vocals alongside polyrhythmic textures and Dilla-inspired backbeats.