Let Me Introduce You to the End

Inter-continental musical project, Let Me Introduce You To The End, has garnered worldwide attention for giving the most emotional performances in Poland. With their unique story and highly sentimental songs, LMIYTTE is fast becoming known for attracting teary-eyed fans to some of the most prestigious museums, theaters and venues in Europe and America. LMIYTTE is an ensemble of musical artists all devoted to advancing the artistic endeavors of leader, Ryan Socash. The group constantly undergoes personal change rendering the term "band" inaccurate. However, the resulting experience can be credited to the versatility, growth and originality of the material. Socash, an honors graduate of Columbia Chicago's Photography program, gained much of his professional inspiration when working as the assistant to the late William Russo (Stan Kenton Orchestra, London Jazz Orchestra, Ellington orchestra). In an interview with Richard Steele on NPR Chicago, Socash revealed that the source of his seriousness towards music and sometimes overwhelming attention to detail was instilled by Russo. Additionally, Socash worked as the producing director of The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, overseeing production for many events at venues such as Bird Land, New York; The Field Museum, Chicago; and Pabst Theater, Milwaukee. Having coordinated guest talents such as John Faddis, Lennie Niehaus, joe lovano and Buddy Defranco, Socash felt closer to the world of big band jazz and began to utilize jazz musicians in his own music. Following the death of Russo, Socash parted with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. In the midst of transition, Socash considered furthering his education in the fine arts. After having been accepted to the renowned School of the Art Institute of Chicago on academic scholarship, Socash made a very spontaneous and emotional decision to donate all of his belongings to a homeless shelter and relocate permanently to Krakow, Poland, a city in which he had no roots. The exact reason for this decision still remains unknown, but on a New York radio interview, Socash mentioned that his fascination with Polish culture started when he noticed that Polish people have "big sensitive eyes.” In that same interview he declared that "America is a sick country obsessed with consumption" and that he "couldn't manage his lifestyle in America.” On 12 November 2008, both Gazeta Krakowska and Dzinnek Polskie published articles testifying that Socash took part in an intimate government ceremony and was honored with Polish citizenship the previous day -The Polish independence day. When questioned on Chicago’s Polski Radio as to why he sought the citizenship, Socash declined to comment. Matthew Nelson, another participating musician, is a Chicago Jazz Pianist who resigned from a full scholarship to Columbia College Chicago in order to pursue his own artistic endeavors. Nelson co-wrote songs for hip hop artist, Lupe Fiasco; toured America's biggest venues; and recorded with the Grammy nominated Matthew Santos Band. Guitarist Wojtek Szupelak is a Jagiellonian Universit philologist of both the English and Polish languages. Drummer, Matt Nischan, is an occasional theater actor who primarily works both as a studio engineer and producer at Chicago’s Fullerton Studio. Web master and graphic designer, Travis Anderson is the editor of OPi8.com. He also co-edited Autopsyrotica by video director, Chad Michael Ward, and was the executive editor of Socash's photography book Times of Growing Grimmer. Initiating the group’s foray into the artistic world was 2000's experimental recording, The Hands Of Hope (Super-D, AMC) Composed in Chicago and Portsmouth England and originally intended to be a personal audio journal, The Hands Of Hope was extremely focused on the theme of societal hierarchy and the void of spirituality in modern globalized culture. A critical jump start for the albums success occurred in 2001 when Audio Galaxy described the record as "embodying the ideal of beautiful darkness." Such strong endorsement quickly generated interest but the direct links from some of Audio Galaxy’s celebrity profiles, such as Nick Cave, are what put the record into the respected underground American music scene. Within the first two years of its release, The Hands of Hope was downloaded thousands of times resulting in a CD release with major American distributors. Despite low media interest and the group’s anti-commercial approach to marketing, by 2004 LMIYTTE was invited to key venues across America. Highlights of the group’s 2004 performance resume include: New York City's Pianos; The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas -a venue which has hosted countless well known bands; and The Historic Madison Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio. Having also completed successful concerts and photo exhibitions in Chicago, Milwaukee, Tucson, Albuquerque, St. Louis, Denver, and Salt Lake City, the prerequisites were in place for a follow up record. Published in 2005, A Love of The Sea (AMC, Super D, Universal Music, Music Corner Records, Beatus) presented the group’s musically matured sound -necessary to attract a wider audience. The authoring of the record as a whole was approached with cinematic principles, with every song having a faithful relevance to the next. Listeners avowed that the work painted the bleak reality of one’s struggle for life and individuality when existing in a world of negativity. Having established global distribution agreements with multiple record labels in three countries and a fresh European line up, LMIYTTE made the jump to an international touring act. Socash’s sudden move to Poland caused the media to take interest, resulting in more extensive touring then previously imagined. Over the eighty-five performances in both The United States and Poland, LMIYTTE visited Krakow's legendary Klub Pod Jaszczurami, Alchemia, Sanok City Market Square, The Museum of Sopot, The Polish Maritime Museum in Gdansk, Radio PIK Bydgoszcz, The Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, The Philadelphia Magic Gardens, University Settlement in New York City, Copernicus Foundation Theater in Chicago, The Blue Note in Poznan, The Double Door in Chicago, as well as two charity performances for Lanowa, a hospital for the mentally ill in Krakow. Promotional touring for A Love of the Sea concluded on Sunday, the 21of June, 2009 in Wroclaw to a grand audience. Fans from every region of Poland and even Germany attended, as well as some unexpected celebrities. This auspicious ending bodes good things to come. In a blog on entry on letmeend.com Socash declared a temporary hibernation of LMIYTTE to organize a fresh lineup, fresh multimedia show and completion of the new record, Of Ghost. In September 2008, Radio RYTM aired several demo recordings from Of Ghost and listeners on lastfm.com remarked on how the new songs resembled true growth and a new extreme musical maturity. On a Radio program in Poznan, Socash vowed that the premier of Of Ghost would happen in Poland first as a thank you for the country’s support. Moreover, he hinted at the possibility a non-commercial release method on the internet so that the art may be spread without limitation. However, the group will likely put out a collector CD version of the record on a major label. Place formed: Krakow, Poland Year formed: 2000 Official site: http://letmeend.com Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.