Biography
Loto Ball is best known for his work singing and performing for San Francisco Bay Area death-punk band The Phantom Limbs. During his time with The Phantom Limbs (in which he was sometimes known as Hopeless), Loto Ball's visceral expression of existential distress laced with black comedy, along with the hyper-charged and unusual compositions of keyboardist Stevenson Sedgwick helped earn his band the honor of No. 1 Indie Rock Band in San Francisco (S.F. Bay Guardian Best of the Bay awards 2003) and the chance to record two albums with Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles record label. After 5 years and 220 performances with The Phantom Limbs, including 3 U.S. tours and 2 European tours, Loto Ball left the band in 2005 to move to Chicago and pursue other ventures. Loto Ball has spent his time in Chicago working with local artists on various projects, including founding an art gallery/music venue (Reversible Eye), collaborating on a 800 foot public mural (Bloomingdale Trail), working as personal masseuse for Mayor Daley, performing with puppets (Scary Toesies), working for as an activist for disability rights and quality of life issues, as well playing trumpet for a 30-person marching band (Mucca Pazza). Loto Ball created the Loto Ball Show in 2005. It has taken on many forms, such as incorporating absurdist puppet shows, hosting variety shows, and recording the soundtrack for a horror-comedy underground TV series. The Loto Ball Show has now evolved into an energetic rock band that screams out much of the same ferocity as The Phantom Limbs but brings in more variety in mood, more shifts in volume and pace, and more eclectic sounds. It is a driving key-board driven form of No-Wave post-punk with hints of jazz syncopation and Middle-Eastern scales. - LotoBallShow.com
