Penrose

LIVE AT 5:00 P.M. CDT



Penrose is Thomas Murphy, Patrick Murphy, and Daniel Murphy, three brothers from Philadelphia. The origins of the band probably date back to their grade school days taking piano lessons together, but in the Spring of 2009 they played their first show together in a warehouse in North Philadelphia.



Since then the brothers have worked to create an original, hard hitting sound that combines the hard rock of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath with the delta blues of John Lee Hooker and R.L. Burnside with the innovation of Radiohead and Pink Floyd flowing throughout.



The band has made its home in Philadelphia and New York venues such as The Mercury Lounge, The North Star Bar, The Khyber, and Arlene's Grocery.



With Tom on drums, Pat on bass, and Dan on guitar/keys/vocals, the band creates a sound almost too large for a simple three piece. As one reviewer describes the live show, "Dan's bluesy slide playing during the verse contrasts sharply with Pat's fuzz-laden bass . . . providing the prerequisite wall of rhythm that would drive the Penrose sound. With the rhythmic vehicle mobilized, the sound was poised to wail." - Fearless

For Tom, Pat and Dan Murphy, the brothers who make up Philadelphia blues-rock band Penrose, originality stems from the big sound of blended influences and genres that they listened to as kids: “We were raised on a strict regiment of Pink Floyd/Led Zeppelin, and this mixture between the stadium and the blues has been a part of us long before we picked up any instruments” says Tom, drummer for the band.

Penrose is the epitome of hard rock, modern blues revival with an alternative twist and a personal touch. The songwriting techniques this band uses, including shying away from any social/political issues and focusing on personal experiences, offer opportunity for different voices and perspectives from each member. One minute you’re detecting some Black Sabbath influences; the next, its Black Keys with a hint of R.L. Burnside. “Our big ambition was, can we take what we’ve learned from the old blues guys, mix that with what we love about the new stuff that we love and come up with something that might be interesting to fans of both?,” Tom says. If you’re looking for something that sounds like a true, old-school rock group but performs at today’s modern rocking pace, then Penrose is exactly that.

The family aspect of the band is a strong reason that it continues to grow and amplify, a sort-of commitment to the future of Penrose: “Being a band of three brothers is definitely something I haven’t seen in some time. The great thing about it is that we’re kind of blood-dedicated to it. We’re not allowed to break up. The Thanksgivings would be too awkward.” If you have a chance to catch Penrose live, don’t pass it up. For a band that favors live shows and touring over any other aspect of being in a group, there’s a guarantee that it can deliver entertainment and loud, dynamic music. “Our shows are loud as fuck, and we throw ourselves all over the stage,” Tom says. “Personally, my favorite part of the show is looking up every once in a while from my sweaty mess of a drum kit during a really fun groove in a song we play called ‘Fly.’ The crowd, every time without fail, combines into this seemingly choreographed jam. It’s a great feeling.” Penrose hits the road this summer in support of its full-length, Devil’s Grip, which was released back in December.

Tour Dates For Penrose:
07/23 – Belgrade Lakes, ME – Caravan 2011
08/06 – Philadelphia, PA – Danger Danger Gallery
08/11 – Richmond, VA – The Triple
08/12 – Greenville, SC – Karma
08/14 – Birmingham, AL – The Nick
08/15 – Atlanta, GA – Smith’s Olde Bar
08/16 – Nashville, TN – The Basement
08/19 – Atlantic City, NJ – The Boneyard
08/20 – Wilmington, DE – Mojo 13
09/03 – Philadelphia, PA – Danger Danger Gallery - CMJ

If there can be such a thing as a pop-blues trio, or a blues-pop trio, the gentlemen of Penrose have figured it out. That's not to say the Philly-born brothers Dan, Tom and Pat Murphy don't have the ages-old blues root in their bones or that their blood isn't boiling over with three-chord-blues angst. The mournful Delta swampiness of Hooker and Waters, the psychedelic edge of Cream, the skuzzy modern primitivism of Black Keys all exist within Penrose's crusty aesthetic. But whether you've caught them in a live setting or consider yourself a fan of their debut CD, late-2010's Devil's Grip, you know their melodies are sharp, their hooks are contagious and that no bros since Hanson are cuter. That's blues-pop, y'all. They'll start their first tour of the States at Kung Fu Necktie this week and will be gone for more than a month. Miss this one and you can always hitchhike to Maine's Caravan Music Festival (July 22-24) that Tom Murphy co-founded three years ago. - Philadelphia City Paper

Following in the footsteps of Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Lloyd Price, and Mississippi John Hurt, the Philadelphia-based blues-rock trio Penrose has taken a stab at setting the most famous bar fight of all time to music. Easily the standout on its 2010 debut Devil’s Grip, “Suite For Stack” tells the legend of Stack O’Lee, a slice of American folklore favored by blues musicians, hippies, and punks alike. The Penrose version is a 10-minute, three-movement opus that delivers the story from different points of view before honing in on Stack’s first person account in the brutal coda. The band dropped this song early on in their recent Key Studio Session—an ambitious move, considering the number it’s got to do on singer-guitarist Dan Murphy’s voice, which reaches a gnarly Cobain-esque howl by the end. His brothers Tom on drums and Pat on bass match him in an energy and intensity that carried over to Penrose’s other songs, the live staples “Fly” and “Crooked Teeth,” the brand new track “Underground.”

Download the session below, and tune in tomorrow at 10 p.m. when it airs on the XPN2 Philly Local Second Shift. You’ll hear a bonus track (their cover of “I Got Mine” by The Black Keys), along with our interview about piecing together the suite and evolving as a band of brothers. You’ll also get the scoop on the No Excuses summer showcase they curate at Danger Danger Gallery; the second installment happens this Saturday, July 2, and features XPN2 Local faves The Warhawks, along with El Fuego and Bonethrower. Penrose is sitting this show out, presumably allowing Dan to rest his voice so “Suite For Stack” kills when they play Kungfu Necktie on July 7. - 88.5 WXPN Philadelphia

UPCOMING: Penrose at Dobbs, Thursday the 17th

* February 13th, 2011 5:12 pm ET

Penrose has been gaining a lot of steam in the last few months. The three brothers, Pat, Dan, and Tom Murphy, have been playing shows here in Phlly and up in New York, and they recently self-released their first full-length, Devil's Grip. All this hard work is starting to pay off for them; Penrose won this year's Reader's Choice award for Emerging Artist of the Year from The Deli Magazine. Sonically, the Murphy brothers drink from the same deep well of heavy blues as the Black Keys, but unlike recent work by the Akron duo, Penrose's sound stays simple and stripped down. Devil's Grip leans heavily on the guitar skills and vocals of lead brother Dan. He's no poet, but his axework, in true Delta Blues style, stomps when it needs to stomp, slides when it needs to slide, and shreds when it needs to shred.

Their next Philly show is lined up for this Thursday, February 17th at Dobbs on South Street, $8, 21+. Tickets are available here.

Penrose: Official Website, Facebook, Myspace

Devil's Grip on Amazon MP3, BandCamp

Continue reading on Examiner.com: UPCOMING: Penrose at Dobbs, Thursday the 17th - Philadelphia Music | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/music-in-philadelphia/upcoming-penrose-at-dobbs-thursday-the-17th#ixzz1E2b6tjI1
- Examiner.com

Since winning The Deli’s Best Of Philly Emerging Artist Of 2010 title, Penrose has lined up a busy spring. The three brothers—Dan Murphy on vocals and guitar, Pat Murphy on bass, Tom Murphy on drums—are bringing their blistery blues overdrive down to Texas for South By Southwest next month, bookended by a spate of regional shows (including The Red Door and Arlene’s Grocery in New York and the Hard Rock and The Ox here in Philly). The madness begins this Thursday, February 17, with a show at Dobbs. To get you keyed up, today’s Philly Phile spotlights “Look Past The Sky” from the band’s self-released full-length Devil’s Grip. - The Key @ WXPN

This Friday January 28th, Penrose returns to the Studio At Webster Hall for their “Devil’s Grip” album release show! The NYC rock trio played our CMJ showcase with RethinkPopMusic and slayed us with their soulful twist on classic rock. These guys are NOT to be missed!

Do yourself a favor and pick up your tickets here for only $10 now before the show sells out! You really want to be at this show as this will be one of the band’s final shows before it heads out to Austin for SXSW!

Read more: http://theaudioperv.com/2011/01/26/penrose-to-play-album-release-show-friday-128-at-studio-at-webster-hall/#ixzz1DfWhuUCm
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
- The Audio Perv

YRock on WXPN Philadelphia features Penrose - Suite for Stack - YRock on WXPN Philadelphia

Penrose Album Release Party @ The Studio, This Fri the 28th!
DateJan 25, 2011 at 10:48 AM

"Composed of three brothers, Thomas, Patrick and Daniel Murphy, the origin of Penrose dates back to their childhood years taking music lessons together but they really upped the ante when they played their first show in the spring of 2009. Since then the trio has taken Philadelphia and New York City by storm, playing to large audiences at North Star Bar, The Khyber, The Mercury Lounge and Arlene’s Grocery. They have had the priviledge of opening for MGMT at Fordham University, participated in two CMJ showcases and made the trek to Austin this past year for SXSW. The group’s sound encompasses a little bit of many big names in rock – Led Zeppelin, The Doors (especially with organ in the mix), Radiohead, The Clash and Delta Blues man John Lee Hooker. Dan’s haunting, bluesy voice is the perfect complement to the gritty guitar licks, thumping bass lines and roaring rhythm section that is the heart and soul of Penrose." ~The Studio at Webster Hall

$10 at the door for a long night of new rock-and-roll featuring Hollis Brown, local faves The Yes Way and New Madrid. Doors at 8, 19+.

The Studio is located at 125 East 11th Street, Manhattan. - Knocks from the Underground

Studio Session: Penrose & Co. Play Webster Hall
February 02, 2011 | by: Dania McDermott

Penrose, a band of brothers. Literally.

Offering New Yorkers its brand of bluesy, psychedelic funk rock, the Philadelphia-based band of brothers better known as Penrose hit The Studio at Webster Hall last week.

Touted as the band’s album release show, Penrose was the last to appear before an onslaught of eager headbangers, showering the space with unpretentious and deftly handled instrumentations that brimmed with Led Zeppelin-like zeal.

Of the three distinct opening acts, Hollis Brown also channeled the spirits of both blues and 70's hard rock with several cover songs and an underlying hillbilly vibe that makes their New York lineage surprising. Image aside, Hollis dove expertly into their set, playing with the verve of a band who knows their stuff.

New Madrid, by contrast, offered a novel marriage of Latin meets alternative, an undoubtedly unique and relatively unchartered musical territory amidst the larger segment of U.S. indie bands. Though the components to their sound have clear roots, it’s the fusion of the two (Latin and rock, English and Spanish) which make this band worth paying heed to.

The Yes Way

But it’s The Yes Way who seemed most primed for stardom during their set last Friday. With a sound that borders on the intimate and retrospective elements of Radiohead, to the easily digested guitar riffs and smooth vocals, The Yes Way appeared nearly radio ready in a venue rife with nods to the past or grabs at the future. The cute lead singer also didn’t hurt. - EMC Blue

Congrats to Penrose, who won the fans' section of our Best of Philly Emerging Aritsts Poll 2010. The bluesy classic rock trio was followed by glam-punk arena rockers Univox, and experimental keyboard army The Synth Sircus. We embedded the top 10 at the bottom of this blurb. Check out all the bands - this year we have some great variety!

A pool of 50+ artists were selected in December 2010 mostly by local scene makers (concert promoters, bloggers, DJs, etc., full list here) and part of them through an open submission process. We let the fans vote and these are the results as far as the top 15 positions. We will publish our final results soon including the jurors’ top 10 list and the full composite chart which will include jurors’, Deli writers’, and fans’ votes as well as the open submission phase. Thank you to all who participated this year! - The Deli Magazine

Penrose in-studio session with WKDU 91.7FM Philadelphia on 1/27/2011. - WKDU 91.7

The Murphy boys of Penrose are gearing up to play their Devil’s Grip Album Release (or the “Best Christmas Eve Eve Party You’ve Ever God Damn Well Been To”). Penrose have been keeping it tight playing pretty regularly between here and NY while doing the final knob twisting on Devil’s Grip. Tonight they will officially unleash their raucous batch of tunes that harkens back to blues like Sonny Boy Williamson mixed with Led Zeppelin. The similarity to modern blues brawlers like The Black Keys isn’t a bad thing either. These fun-loving dudes are doing everything they can to deliver on their shows promise by filling the bill with headline worthy openers like TJ Kong & the Atomic Bomb and NYC’s Hollis Brown. Additionally, The Great Vibrations, who I think I saw in some basement that is now a bedroom over the summer, is going to croon and swoon their way into audiences’ hearts. There is also an after party at Murph’s bar with sets by Flamingo and El Fuego and possibly…Cliff Lee? Be there. - The Deli Magazine

If anything’s been suddenly discovered amongst Philly’s alt-band minions, it’s that sort of mussed-up, fuzz-toned shambling blues that John Lee Hooker started, R.L. Burnside picked up on and cats from Tom Waits to Black Keys made skuzzy and pungent. TJ Kong does it here, and The Great Vibration toy with it fondly. But Penrose cleans out the gutters and adds the blousy psychedelic kink of Pink Floyd to the proceedings for an epic romp on their debut CD, Devil’s Grip. The Brothers Murphy open up and say “arg” while stretching the blues to stadium-size disgust on tracks like “Suite for Stack” and “Snowstorm.” Rocking bosses with hot sauces, Penrose is. – A.D. Amorosi - City Paper

Siblings, when they’re not busy beating the shit out of each other (see: the Kinks, Oasis, etc.), often make excellent bandmates: Nothing like sharing the same gene pool to forge the kind of chemistry necessary to making great music. Philadelphia’s brothers Murphy—vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Dan, bassist Pat, and drummer Tom, the three of them operating under the name Penrose—display that sort of preternatural connection and musicianship as they wring the stomping, bluesy rock from Zeppelin and the Black Keys, and the trippy, spacey atmospherics from Floyd and Radiohead, for the songs that comprise their new LP Devil’s Grip. . . – Michael Alan Goldberg - Philadelphia Weekly

Philly-based band Penrose will rock out Kung Fu Necktie on December 23rd to celebrate the release of their debut album Devil’s Grip. They will share a bill with TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb, Hollis Brown, and The Great Vibration.

Composed of three brothers, Thomas, Patrick and Daniel Murphy, the origin of Penrose dates back to their childhood years taking music lessons together, but they really started to up the ante when they played their first show in the spring of 2009. Since then the trio has taken Philadelphia and New York City by storm, playing to large audiences at North Star Bar, The Khyber, The Mercury Lounge, and Arlene’s Grocery. They have had the privilege of opening for MGMT at Fordham University, participated in two CMJ showcases, and made the trek to Austin this past year for the SXSW Festival.

The group’s sound encompasses a little bit of many big names in rock – Led Zeppelin, The Doors (especially with organ in the mix), Radiohead, The Clash, and Delta Blues man John Lee Hooker. Dan’s haunting, bluesy voice is the perfect complement to the gritty guitar licks, thumping bass lines and roaring rhythm section that is the heart and soul of Penrose.

The title track of the album is fueled by rock but fairly fluent in blues, driven by dynamic drum and guitar riffs. The laid-back “Look Past the Sky” evokes the rhythmic mellowness of Pink Floyd. “Crooked Teeth”, about the attractiveness of evil, generally proves to be a crowd-pleaser live, and lets Dan show off his ability to play guitar and organ at the same time. The trio really generates a monumental sound in the final track of the album, Suite for Stack – a three-movement piece comprised of wild musical breakdowns, pounding percussion, and some real Mississippi blues in the organ and vocal melodies.

The show is 21+, and tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Kung Fu Nectie is located at 1250 N. Front Street in Philadelphia. Don’t miss this band of brothers as they will definitely be playing to yet another packed house! Click here to purchase tickets.



--


By Michele Zipkin

Michele Zipkin is a Philadelphia-based music and general communications writer. She has written artist reviews, concert news, and currently does marketing for MilkBoy Recording. - Culture Mob

Experimental rock band Penrose will be joining us from Philadelphia for our Tuesday No Pulp Music CMJ Showcase. The band recently completed a residency at Arlene’s Grocery, and will be returning to the familiar stage for our show. You can visit http://mysp.ac/djXYzZ to see live footage from Arlene’s Grocery (and several other venues). While you are there, you can also listen to “The Devil’s Grip” and other cool tracks. Word on the street is that the band has some rocking new merch available for CMJ, so perhaps you can also get a stellar new tee at the show.

What to expect: A touch of blues rock show - No Pulp Music

Hot off the presses of a busy October that featured 2 shows during the CMJ Music Marathon and rockin’ peoples ghoulish faces off during TJ Kong’s Rock & Roll Costume Murdershow (which was a marathon in its own right), the Brothers Murphy of Penrose are ready to jumpstart the holiday season early with a set at Danger Danger Gallery tonight. And since they’ve been hard at work mixing a new album, it should be a warm up to their upcoming release show at KFN in December! - Bill McThrill - The Deli Magazine

Led Zeppelin meets blues meets Radiohead? And From Philly? Penrose. - Phillyist

Penrose is Thomas Murphy, Patrick Murphy, and Daniel Murphy, three brothers from Philadelphia. The origins of the band date back to their grade school days taking piano lessons together, but in the Spring of 2009 they played their first show in a warehouse in North Philadelphia. Since then the brothers have worked to create an original, hard hitting sound that combines the delta blues spirit of John Lee Hooker and R.L. Burnside with the hard rock of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, while allowing the innovation of Pink Floyd and Radiohead to flow throughout.

“From their amazing sound to their endless amount of energy, Penrose has created a great indie band that certainly knows how to Rock and entertain the masses.” -Isaac Davis Jr. (Juniorscave.com)

They have made their mark in Philadelphia, entertaining large crowds at the North Star Bar, Doc Watson’s, The Khyber, and more, and made their debut on the Trocadero Main stage in August. In New York they’ve played packed shows at Webster Hall, The Mercury Lounge, and Arlene’s Grocery, along with an epic show opening for MGMT at Fordham University. Their debut album, “Devil’s Grip”, will be released in December, followed by release parties in both Philadelphia and New York City.

Penrose is also preparing for its CMJ debut with two OFFICIAL CMJ SHOWCASES in New York with No Pulp Music and RethinkPopMusic/TheAudioPerv on October 19th and 22nd.

http://www.myspace.com/thepenrosemusic
http://www.facebook.com/PenroseMusic


Read more: http://theaudioperv.com/2010/10/13/cmj-spotlight-penrose/#ixzz12GBCraZb
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution - The Audio Perv

FM102x Presents - Song of the Day 8/25/2010 - Penrose - Devil's Grip - FM102x

While naming your band after a mathematician might not be very rock ‘n’ roll, Penrose’s Murphy Bros certainly have their ears tuned into classic rock ‘n’ roll history. We fired some interview questions at brother Tom Murphy. And while we might have inflicted a little mental damage conjuring up memories of watching cartoon porn with his mom, we think he’ll be ready to rock on the main stage at The Troc tomorrow evening. But first things last…

The Deli: How did Penrose start?

Tom Murphy: Well the band is the three Murphy brothers, consisting of myself, Pat, and Dan Murphy. Penrose unofficially started in a Philly suburb basement when the three of us would go downstairs after dinner when we were in high school and played spacey little instrumental jams until our parents told us to go to bed. Having three musically inclined (albeit not especially proficient) brothers with a bass, guitar and drum kit can be taxing on hard working parents. Of course, they were always very supportive. Later when we all went to New York for college, we started writing actual songs with lyrics and all that. We played our first gig in a North Philly warehouse venue called the White Room in May of '09 and have been playing at least twice a month in Philly or New York ever since.

TD: Where did the band name come from?

TM: We named the band after Roger Penrose. He's (was?) pretty famous...as far as mathematicians go…and created a lot of really cool art too. He was a big inspiration of M.C. Escher I believe. One drawing we were always attracted to was the Penrose Triangle which is this “impossible figure” which really just means you can draw it but you can't build it. The edges won't line up, but if you just glance at it, it looks pretty legit. We liked that imagery for the three of us - a triangle that isn't quite ordinary.

TD: What are your biggest musical influences?

TM: Luckily we grew up strong and we grew up right on some good Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin tunes along with other classic rock stuff. After we came to worship those bands, I'd say we developed a pretty deep love for modern rock from the 90s and 00s which revolved around bands like Radiohead and Modest Mouse and the White Stripes. Now we're really digging any Jack White project and the Black Keys specifically. I think it all really stems from some good down home Son House or R.L. Burnside or John Lee Hooker blues though, which we've been on a real kick with for some time now.

TD: What artists (local, national and/or international) are you currently listening to?

TM: Well like I said the Black Keys and the Jack White universe are really wearing our iPods into the ground, but locally we're really digging bands like Toy Soldiers, Flamingo, El Fuego, The Great Vibration, mountjoy. We also can't stop listening to TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb's "Idiots". What a badass record. Oh yeah, add Hollis Brown to that list - they're a sweet New York bare bones ROCK AND ROLL band.

TD: What's the first concert that you ever attended and first album that you ever bought?

TM: Our parents took the three of us to an Aerosmith concert in like 1999 at the E Center, and I've spent the past 11 years trying to figure out if I'm proud of it or not. All I really remember was this cartoon naked chick dancing all over the jumbotron screen thing and feeling very uncomfortable sitting next to my mom.

First album I bought was ...And Then There Was X by DMX and I'm positive I'm proud of that.

TD: What do you love about Philly?

TM: Obviously the music scene is great. The DIY scene has been really cool to be a part of. The city lost a real asset when the Carriage House closed down, but I'm sure somebody will step up. What makes me really proud about the city is the way the Caravan music festival went this year. There was a write up about it a few weeks ago on the Deli Philly before it went down. We just got back and pretty much what happened was 150 Philly musicians and fans drove a total of like 1000 miles up to Maine and back to participate in a badass DIY music festival in the woods. That's a committed local music scene.

TD: What do you hate about Philly?

TM: This has been a tough summer violence-wise, so that's an obvious dislike, especially when it touches the music scene. Other than that, the PPA makes me want to punt puppies off of the Ben Franklin Bridge most times.

TD: What are your plans for 2010?

TM: Well in like, immediate 2010, we're playing an all ages show at The Troc on August 6th on the main stage which is going to be really fun I think. We're also playing a residency at a club in New York called Arlene's Grocery which is a nice gig. Other than all that, we're planning to have a legit debut release by the end of the calendar year and have been working pretty hard in the studio to get it sounding nice. Look forward to that.

TD: What was your most memorable live show?

TM: Like I've been mentioning, the Caravan music festival is pretty close to the Penrose heart, and we just played a pretty fucking awesome set up there to the 150 or so troopers who made it up from Philly to Maine for it. The amps were literally smoking, the generator I think exploded a little bit, the lights all but died, and the cops came immediately after our last song, but the fire raged on and so did the party. We'll not forget that one any time soon.

TD: What's your favorite thing to get at the deli?

TM: Rat salad.

- The Deli Staff - The Deli Magazine

Dan, Pat, and Tom Murphy are all brothers performing in the band, Penrose. From their amazing sound to their endless amount of energy, Penrose has created a great indie band that certainly knows how to Rock and entertain the masses. After we spoke to the guys in this featured spotlight, we were delighted to learn some interesting and fun facts about Penrose. Here is what developed from this online conversation. Enjoy!!

Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music
?

Penrose: The three of us actually started playing music before middle school together. We were three brothers in the Philly suburbs who were basically forced by our parents to take piano lessons
. The tunes we were into at the time were the garbage that only evoke 90's nostalgic chuckles at parties - definitely not stuff that would inspire rigorous piano practicing in 11 year olds. We eventually quit (thanks Mom), only to start up playing again in high school. Dan got a guitar and took off. Pat grabbed a bass not long after, and the logical step for me seemed to be to get a drum kit and see what happened. We set up shop in our basement mini-studio around 2005.

Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?

Penrose: Right now we're definitely into the modern 1 - 2 punch of Jack White and Dan Auerbach, but in the past the tunes we've been really into have included the obvious Led Zeppelin + Pink Floyd mix of the classic rock era, and a bit of the Junior Kimbrough + R.L. Burnside + John Lee Hooker blues before that.

Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?

Penrose: We've only been playing out for a year, and honestly every month is a new high point. When we got our first gig in a warehouse in North Philly, we were on cloud 9. Later we played in a real live bar which we were pumped by. Soon enough we were playing in some pretty great clubs in NYC and Philly, and from there some highlights include being invited to SXSW, Caravan music festival, and a residency at Arlene's Grocery in August. To really answer your question though, we were picked to open for MGMT in May and played to almost 6,000 people which was pretty fucking epic.

Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?

Penrose: We played in a beach bar on Long Beach Island last summer when we were first starting out. I guess we thought there was going to be hundreds of people there and a green room and the whole rock and roll thing. There were like 7 people there when we started, and two when we finished. We didn't play GREAT, but we didn't play all that terribly either. Lesson learned was pick the right gigs and never get your hopes up too high for anything and don't ever get too disappointed by anything. Use your head and go with whatever happens. Some of our friends showed up and it was a fun night anyway.

Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?

Penrose: I guess a lot of what we liked about the classic rock tunes we were into - especially the Zeppelin stuff - was really digging towards the blues, but kind of making it their own. Jack White always says in interviews that if you look deep enough into rock and roll, you'll always find the blues. We don't necessarily want to play what everyone finds when they look deep, but we really like the idea of taking the core of rock and roll and fashioning our own style of it.

Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?

Penrose: I think it really takes an appreciation for the music that started it all and developed the rest. You can't stand on the shoulders of giants and never look down. All of our favorite tunes dig at something, so it'd be an oversight to not try and find out what it is. I guess the process of trying to find out what it is comes out in our music.

Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?

Penrose: There really is an aspect of our live show and our music in general that revolves around us being three brothers. Even when we started and didn't really know much about our instruments we were always in sync with each other in a way that I think we might not have been when playing with other people. Now that we've been doing it for years, one of us always knows where the other two are going and there is a lot of unspoken intuition. It probably comes from times where all through high school we would eat dinner and head to the basement. For years, most bands have to schedule practice times and run around four or five people’s schedules. We just had to finish dinner. All that builds towards a really solid and cohesive groove in which we play off of each other live in different ways each show.

Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?

Penrose: We just started covering Son House's Death Letter Blues which has been a lot of fun and really interesting. The song is probably like a hundred years old - maybe a little less, but still ancient. Tons of people have covered it down the line. They put their own spin on it. We're trying to mix a lot of different styles into our cover. It probably won't be 'finished' for a while, if ever, but it's fun playing it as an old blues song, a hard rock song, and a bunch of stuff in between - all in four or five minutes.

Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?

Penrose: Time. Not a lot of time to revise and rewrite and all that crap. I think you just need some time to yourself and solely to yourself. No bullshit getting in the way. If you're a songwriter, and you have a bunch of no-bullshit time, you'll be a good songwriter.

Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.

Penrose: The family aspect isn't so tough with us being brothers. Our parents come out to a lot of shows, even in other cities sometimes. Dan and Pat are still finishing up college, so we'll see how that goes. They'll be in NYC and I'll be in Philly for most of the school year. We're not too worried about it though. This past year it hasn't been too hard to juggle any of it. We all worked at the same bar in New York (which we even played at on occasion). Honestly, the band has become 'life in general' to some extent, so instead of juggling it all I feel like we just put it all in a bag and carry it.

Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?

Penrose: I think most of us don't really have an option of NOT being Indie artists. What's the alternative? The Jonas Brothers
? Indie I think is not so much a sound but a circumstance you find yourself in. To me, an Indie artist is just someone who didn't start out with a Disney record deal (or some other nonsense).

Isaac: Where can fans access your music online?

Penrose: The best place to listen is http://www.myspace.com/thepenrosemusic and the best place to talk to us is http://www.facebook.com/penrosemusic. We're cons

tantly putting new songs up and updating our show schedule and content, so check back often! Isaac: In five years…….

Penrose: It's not so much about a record deal or anything like that. We'd just really like to expand our fan base and our audience opportunities. Hopefully in five years we're playing to five thousand. Ten years, ten thousand. We just want to play for as many people as will listen. - Junior's Cave Magazine

"Penrose, a band made of the brothers Murphy, is one of those bands that has infinite respect for the hallowed names of the past, like Gilmour and Osbourne, while possessing the desire and musical wherewithal to create their own unique sound."

The Ram: What is Penrose’s music all about?
Penrose: Even though our music could be said to have its roots in bands such as Pink Floyd or Black Sabbath or even Radiohead, we try to build and construct something original and new and hopefully meaningful. When, or if, we actually pull that off, it seems to us that that’s a very rewarding experience. Since we all write the lyrics, the themes are broad, but ultimately we set out to make something original and meaningful.
TR: What is the history of this Philadelphia rock band, Penrose?
PR: A premature version of the band emerged just as the three of us were acquiring our instruments a few years ago and learning how to play them. We started covering Weezer songs in our basement, which then turned to writing instrumental songs, and that eventually gave way to us writing and singing the songs that we now have on our CD.
TR: From where does this band Penrose originally hail?
PR: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
TR: What are your plans for the future of the band?
PR: We’ve had some moderate success in the Philadelphia rock circuit, playing clubs and bars and other do-it-yourself venues, and our next goal is trying to recreate that in New York.
TR: What music does Penrose consider to be it’s musical roots?
PR: It’s probably true that we draw from everyone we listen to, from Bob Dylan to Grand Funk Railroad to DMX, but our prime influences revolve around Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Radiohead generally.
TR: Where does that awesome band name come from?
PR: We named the band after Roger Penrose, a mathematician, physicist and philosopher. One figure of his that struck us as particularly awesome is the Penrose Triangle that essentially is a triangle you can draw but if you ever tried to build it wouldn’t be physically possible. People make some constructions where if you look at it from a certain angle it looks like the impossible figure was created but you find later that the sides don’t connect. We like the symbolism in something that isn’t exactly what it appears to be, on top of the relationship between three brothers connected just like the corners of a triangle. And all that.
All in all, Penrose is truly the picture of cool and has a very unique sound. It is infinitely more exciting that a band of this quality exists at Fordham. It makes this music critic wonder what other great bands are hiding in the halls of Fordham’s campus in the Bronx
Try to catch this trio if you can. Be sure to check out Penrose’s pages on Facebook.com and Myspace.com for song clips and updates on impending shows in the city. The drummer, Tom, tells me that Oct. 4 at Tommy’s in Brooklyn is looking like a good bet for anyone interested in a night of moving rock music. You won’t regret it. - Peter Stecker - The Ram

MGMT, who recently performed at Coachella, are playing Fordham's Spring Weekend concert this Saturday, May 1st (12:30pm; 441 East Fordham Rd, Bronx) along with Average Girl and Penrose. The show is closed to non-students, but you can have a friend there (or a Craigslist creep) sign you in as a guest. - Brooklyn Vegan

"Tom and Pat moved with near-flawless precision, providing the prerequisite wall of rhythm that would drive the Penrose sound. With the rhythmic vehicle mobilized, the sound was poised to wail." - Pat Hazlett - Holding Out Hope for Creedence