Alison Pipitone joined Rockabilly Greg In the Flamingo Lounge on July 11, 2024.
When it comes to rock ‘n’ roll, Alison Pipitone Band is gritty in all the right ways – spirited, purposeful and bold. Like the city it calls home, this Buffalo-based quintet is a gem to be discovered.
Guitar in hand, singer/songwriter Alison Pipitone has fanned the rock flame since the mid-1990s. Her devotion brought standing as “high priestess” of the Buffalo rock scene and membership in the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame.
Inspired by a diverse collection of artists including The Clash, Etta James, The Pretenders and Dolly Parton, Pipitone began playing guitar at the age of 18. She launched her professional career in Los Angeles in the 1980s with The Monas, a post-punk rock band featuring brother Damon Pipitone on drums and sisters Natalie Howes and Gabrielle Turri on keys and bass, respectively.
When the grunge movement took hold of the West Coast scene in the 1990s, Pipitone returned to Western New York and launched her career as a solo artist with 1995’s Life in the First Person.
In 1997, Pipitone wrote and performed the song “Dynamite” for the soundtrack to All Over Me, an award-winning film by Alex and Sylvia Sichel about the riot grrrl music scene. The soundtrack also included music from Ani DiFranco and Slater-Kinney.
Pipitone released five more solo albums over a decade, culminating with 2004’s Retrodyne, earning favorable comparisons to artists like Sheryl Crow and Joan Osborne along the way.
Since 2005, she has led Alison Pipitone Band – Ben Clarke (bass) Graham Howes (guitar), Natalie Pipitone Howes (backing vocals, percussion) and Patrick Shaughnessy (drums).
The band has twice claimed a Buffalo Music Award for Top Original Rock Act and has produced four full-length albums Tiger Babies (2006), Me and Miss Grimes (2009), Big Wide World (2013) and Best Things, which is slated for a May 2024 release.
Pipitone’s songs marry thought-provoking lyrics, catchy choruses and cleverly turned phrases with punchy power chords and melodic hooks. It’s rock ‘n’ roll in its most pure form.
In the words of ArtVoice music critic Geoff Kelly, “Pipitone knows how to write a hook like nobody’s business.”
As a live performer, Pipitone has supported Barenaked Ladies, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and appeared on the bill of many notable music festivals, including Lilith Fair, North by Northeast in Toronto, the Crossroads Music Conference in Cleveland and The Great Blue Heron Festival in Sherman, N.Y.
Writing for Best of WNY.com, Bob Silvestri may well have summarized things best:
“Alison Pipitone is the high priestess of the local rock scene. She has set the standard with her live performances, her ample recording oeuvre and as the winner of numerous Buffalo Music Awards. She has consistently released outstanding recordings.”
With the 2024 release of Best Things on Slice Records, Alison Pipitone Band builds on that legacy. The record release show took place Saturday, May 11 at 8 p.m. at Sportsmen’s Tavern, 326 Amherst St., Buffalo.
You can follow Alison on Facebook, Spotify, Youtube and at her website alisonpipitone.com