James Brandon Lewis

Joe Lally was onstage, playing at full throttle, when he realized that his band had found a true
kindred spirit. It was the fall of 2021 and the Messthetics — the instrumental trio of Lally on
bass, his former Fugazi bandmate Brendan Canty on drums and guitarist Anthony Pirog —
were at Brooklyn venue the Bell House, digging into their uptempo riff workout “Serpent
Tongue.” Joining them for the piece was a special guest, acclaimed jazz saxophonist James
Brandon Lewis, making only his second cameo with the group after a drop-in at another New
York show back in 2019. That first meeting had been a success, but this time, Lewis’ presence
sparked something new.