Howard Lawrence

Howard Lawrence is a true original. A native and lifelong resident of the Washington, DC Metro area, Howard is a songwriter, musician, artist and conceptualist who calls his unique brand of music Alternative Rock Theatre. By blending influences from classic rock, progressive rock, art rock and psychedelia with those of experimental contemporary acts, Howard creates music that is quite novel and simply doesn't fit neatly into any existing genre. He relies heavily on mood and textures to create a jazzy, rocking sound that propels his darkly humorous, edgy lyrics deep into the listener's consciousness. One of Howard's creations is Black River Sanction, a band of misfit musicians that ostensibly performs his music. Black River Sanction is an experimental band whose members come from various walks of life (and various countries). Sage, Skeezer, Crash, Echo, Cleo, Andromeda and Tatanya pour heart and soul into performing Howard's music, while they continue to challenge him as their producer. With two full-length concept albums under their collective belts (The Enemy Inside, Running After Midnight), these artists continue to break new ground with compelling narratives and imaginative music. Never one to shy away from complexity, Black River Sanction eschew superficial themes and storylines in favor of a more profound examination of the human psyche and the challenges of modern life. They are artists who have made it their mission to produce complex, theatrical concept albums that challenge the music listener while also entertaining them. To date, Howard and Black River Sanction have collaborated with director, Christopher Mauldin, to produce five short musical films using the band's music as the films' soundtracks. These shorts are Far from Heaven (2013), Hypnosis for Theatre (2014), Water Over Wine (2015), The Enemy Inside (2016) and Tachycardia (2017). Howard is a lifelong cinephile and insomniac. The combination enables him to watch movies of varying quality on a daily basis. He's read numerous books relating to film history and film criticism, and is known in his own circles as quite the movie buff. In addition to his music and film activities, Howard is also a successful computer software entrepreneur, a caricaturist and humorist.