Matthew Danger Lippman wanted to be famous as far back as he can remember. By around fifth grade, he’d zeroed in on what he wanted to be famous for: music. And by ninth grade, he’d formed a band: the Brimstone Blondes. Their first concert was the annual talent show at their high school in Buffalo, New York—and it was a hit.
“We were the only people playing our own music in that way,” said Lippman, the band’s frontman and songwriter. “And it was just like, ‘Whoa, that was your song?’ … And I think it just set us up for this cocky attitude very quickly of, like, ‘Are we the only band that matters?’ … And from there we were talking about the Grammys we were gonna get.”
That confidence only seemed to grow as the Brimstone Blondes quickly rose through Buffalo’s local music scene. Still in high school, they won music competitions, booked gigs at bar venues across the city, and earned a wave of local press attention…