Quiet Evening with the Nite Lights

The Nite Lights are a Philadelphia based four-piece original rock band. Fronted by a well respected artist in the Philadelphia community who goes by the name of Joe B. The Nite Lights actually started out as a trio with Stevie Burkitt on guitar and backups, Paul Sopher on drums and Joe B. playing guitar, organ, and vocal styling's. While recording an early demo an earstwhile fan by the name of Swifty Morgan managed to coax the band into letting him play bass on one track. Two month's later he was in the band. Since that beginning in the summer of 2002 they have increased their local following with a stylistically diverse sound and cabaret inspired performances. Drawing on influences ranging from traditional rock and roll to vaudevillesque Americana inspired folk, their growing reputation for creating psychological narratives coupled with solid grooves, unconventional composition, and classic guitar work has secured them frequent billing with popular national acts at the area's top rock venues (The Tin Angel, The North Star, The Khyber, The Trocadero, The Fire, and World Cafe' Live). In 2003, the band released their first CD 'I was Born A Man' and received solid reviews from Rockpile magazine, The Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia City Paper, while at the same time artistic tension in the group eventually led to the exit of the drummer . A phone call to TTR Studios where the CD was recorded put the band in touch with drummer Neil Simpkins. In addition to a soda commercial with Patty Smyth and producing Patsy Foster, Simpkins has toured with Chubby Checker and has played locally with Kenn Kweder, Cross Town Traffic and many others. Also at this time the band began collaborating with other Philadelphia artists like Devin Greenwood, and Birdie and playing more unconventional venues. The Nite Lights exposed themselves to a broader and more varied audience. This expanded audience eventually included Pittsburgh, New York, New Jersey, and Washington D.C. forcing a 3rd pressing of the debut. The Nite Lights took Simpkins and the renewed momentum back into the studio to record a follow up. The band also enlisted the help of some of it's new found friends to perform. Devin Greenwood played Hammond A organ on the track 'Big River', an extended six minute blues romp, and Birdie performs a duet with Joe on the CD's final track 'One More Time'. The second CD entitled 'a Quiet Evening with the Nite Lights' is set to be released on Tuesday March 29th, 2005.