Ethan Lipton/ Balthrop Alabama

Show Description

Back in the day, one of the most popular acts on the Vaudeville circuit was the Chalk Talk, a live cartoon performed by a storyteller who drew on a large chalk board. illustrating the jokes and pacing the patter.  These early performances were the birthplace of the animated cartoon, the theatre events that inspired Disney and his contemporaries.  Brooklyn neighbors and frequent collaborators Balthrop Alabama, Andrew Vladeck and Michael Arthur are bringing the tradition back to Joe's Pub and adding music.  It's a Chalk Talk for the 21st Century, great tunes and a live drawing display that, when combined, will dazzle and amaze . . . We're leaving Carroll Gardens for the night and coming to Joe's Pub to sing the scenery . . .

Ethan Lipton and his Orchestra play a brand of jazz folk country blues that's been compared to the music of Leon Redbone, Randy Newman and Tom Waits.  With sharp wit and a hilariously cockeyed view of the world, singer-songwriter Lipton and his bandmates (Eben Levy, Ian Riggs and Vito Dieterle) deliver their uniquely American music with mixed-message sincerity and soul. The band has released three albums, including 2007's critically acclaimed MR. SOFTY. They have appeared at Celebrate Brooklyn, MASS MOCA, the Camden Opera House and all over New York, and have been featured on NPR and radio stations throughout the country