Thursday June 21st- A lovely trip to Portland, Maine to play at the Maine Songwriters Association. The show was at t great new venue in Portland-the North Star Café.
August 16th- the past two days I’ve
been bonding with my new electric guitar. I posted some very very rough demos…..
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August 4th I played at a showcase at
Lyrix in Nashville tN. Nashville is way too much fun!!
July 31st-Tonight I played a show for the Rhode Island Songwriter’s Association at the most lovely venue called the Towers in Narragansett. It was a great night despite the fact that I got really, really lost trying to get there. I will never get directions from Mapquest again since they literally almost led me off the end of the earth and into the ocean.
June 28th-Lots of really fun shows this
past week!
Last night at the Rain Desert in Danielson, CT! What a great place to play!
The nicest people!
Saturday-June 23rd-Women of RISA in Warren Rhode Island. It
was a really great night. The performers were Jan Luby , Donna Defresne, Carminda
Rocha, Allysen Callery and myself. We laughed a lot and performed our songs
in the round and I volunteered to be Miss July in RISA calendar..d’oh.
Thursday June 21st- A lovely trip to Portland, Maine to play
at the Maine Songwriters Association. The show was at t great new venue in Portland-the
North Star Café.
Sunday, June 10th AS220 Sound writers in the Round This is my first RISa wong writers in the round show. Basically, there are four artists and we play our songs one at time in the round. During the third round of songs we each have to play our new song about a topic we were emailed about 4 weeks prior to the show. The topic for my show was “20 years ago today.” I will soon post my song which I called “1987” and it is all my memories of the summer of 1987. For now, here is a clip of “Please Don’t Go” ( there’s no PA)
Friday May 11, 2007
Today I was on the way to play on the North Shore and got stuck in the most
insane traffic. About an hour into my journey and only 8 miles later, I pulled
into a gas station and got an ice cream sandwich. As I stood in line I realized
that despite these moments of frustration (traffic on the mass pike and a 95
civic with no AC) I am pretty lucky that the moments of joy I experience in
this crazy world of music making, far outweigh the other moments.
Here are some of those moments in random order:
1. April 16th:I returned to the Sully’s open mic and
saw many familiar faces. David
James showed up and wasn’t going to play but I said please play and
play my guitar. So, he did and he is the best.
2. April 6th The Vanilla Bean Cafe:
I love a crowd that talks back to me in the midst of my rambling. Thank you
to the guy who was heckling me about Mark
Bellhorn and I can’t believe I admitted to liking him because he is
cute…seriously though he hit some important home runs. Anyways, you guys
at the bean are a lot of fun!!
3. March 31st- CD release party in Willimantic
CT. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t just a little bit anxious
and I was all hopped up on coffee and ginger ale too. However, I was so incredibly
happy to see everyone there. It’s nice to look out and see familiar faces
of people you know are on your side.
4. The Lucky Dog-I signed up to play and didn’t realize that my friend Ted Painter was playing that night too! I was thrilled to see him and watch him play. He has a band and they are fantastic.
Ted Painter and the South County Band
5. April 21st and 22nd Two shows with Ed Deluca and Bill Gilniecki– I played at Ed’s open mic at the PACC Club which is a cool place to play. Ed is the ultimate PR man and apparently had talked me up quite a bit. I felt like a super star. Then to add icing to the cake, sitting in the corner of the room is a Star Wars Pin ball machine from 1983. I took pictures, I couldn’t resist. I put my quarter in and then realized I don’t know how to play pin ball…sad, so sad. But I am adding that to my imaginary rider “one star wars pin ball machine backstage.”
are
you kidding me!
April 22nd The next night we shared a show at the The Desert Café in
Danielson CT. This guy Rick took pictures and it was videotaped and all kinds
of crazy stuff. They have the coolest bar I’ve ever seen…it’s
a collection of ticket stubs and album covers from the 60’s and 70’s.
Thank you Ed and Bill!
Me
and Ed
6. Last weekend: Friday May 4th I went to Jewett city Ct to
see the 10 Foot Reach Records
show. They are part of Sling Slang records
and they are the metal bands. David
James opened and once again he is great. Then this band called Little
Hands played and they are like Dio’s
illegitimate children…I mean that as a major compliment. Then Flu
played. I have made it NO secret that they are one of my favorite bands. When
they are onstage they become the poster children for ADHD, I mean that in a
good way. They tear it up live and freakin rock. Lastly, is Six
Sided Die. First off, what a kick ass name. Then they get mad props for
improvising lyrics about people that are in the audience as part of their song
(myself included). Things I learned that night: 1. Neither Matt nor myself know
sign language but apparently we know enough to communicate. 2. Aron is a fabulous
dancer. 3.David James and I really, really want to be in a metal band.
Flu
April 29th CD release party at the Burren in Somerville MA! Here is a clip of Seven O's:
March 11th- Radio Play! I am receiving radio play at buffalotrax.com. Please visit the website and vote for me and Sling Slang Artists David James and Dharma Brown!
Feb. 22nd 2007 My new CD “Yours to Break” is now available at www.slingslang.com! Last week I drove to the studio in Bristol Ct to sing back up on George’s Cd and to pick up 800 Cd’s. There is nothing like picking up boxes of 800 Cd’s. I know Justin Timberlake probably sells 800 CD’s a minute but for me it is a lot of CD’s. They will be available at all my shows. I will even have extras in my coat pockets, being used as coasters at my house or in the trunk of my car so feel free to ask me about them. What I like about this CD was that it was just so much fun to make! Scott at Aliehn Productions is awesome and George at Sling Slang is awesome too!
album cover photo by Ivy Lynn -Ivyphotos@yahoo.com
Jan. 25th Show at Ralph’s in Worcester, MA thanks to Jake (who is also a huge Black Crowes fan) I have a live recording of our show at Ralph’s Diner! Here is a link to them. Enjoy:
:
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Jan. 20th Big News!
My new CD for Sling Slang records is at the printers which means it will be
in my hands and your hands very very soon! I am lining up some shows for the
CD release parties!
Bigger News!
Yes it is true! I am not playing out alone. Keith Lewandowski is an amazing
bass player and we have already played quite a few shows together. Keith is
the former bass player of the Amherst Ma band “Breakaway Sol.” He
is from Worcester, MA. Here is a clip of our recent performance at Greendale’s
Pub in Worcester, MA
.
Yes Ladies and Gentleman I have posted myself on youtube…wow I said it and I feel so much better. I guess it’s the next step after myspace
Jan. 1st 2007 Happy New Year everyone!!
My new CD will be released in Feb. 2007 on Sling
Slang Records. It is called “Yours to Break” which is a line
in my song “Please don’t Go.” I had a blast making the CD
and I can’t wait for you to hear it!
Dec. 30th 2006-
I just got back from playing a wonderful show in Willimantic CT at Wrench in
the Works (formerly Ooba’s Deli). I really want to thank the audience
for being so warm and friendly. I wish I could pack you all up and take you
to every single one of my shows! People even danced to my song “Better
and Better” after I told the long version of how it was inspired by Justin
Timberlake. Thank you!
November 10th What a super fun music
week! Thank you to everyone who came out to see David
James and myself at Sully’s last Thursday!! It was so great to be
back to my favorite bar. Thank you to HCAM-TV in Hopkinton for inviting me to
be on their show Studio Session Live. I filmed it last Wednesday and it will
be on TV in the next few months. The stories of my Mark Bellhorn and Justin
Timberlake inspired songs have been forever captured on video tape (oh shit).
Now I’m just left trying to ponder why itunes classifies the song “When
I’m with you” by Sheriff as metal. (Not to mention why “When
I’m with you” by Sheriff is on my computer.)
Oct. 20th Thank you Quinsigamond Community College! I had a fun time playing at the student center. It is great to play for a crowd that can relate to my recent quest to find Coney Island hot dogs…now if I could only stop finding Coney Island hot dogs!
Sept. 2006 Recording Part 2-Aliehn Productions
I am very happy and a little sad that I have finished my new recording. It is
going to be released in Jan. 2007. I am happy because I love how it came out.
Going into the studio I knew that I didn't want it to be just me and my guitar.
Scott Genereau at Aliehn Productions is a genius sound engineer but also a brilliant
musician. It was so exciting to hear him fill my songs out with amazing guitar
solos, bass guitar and his friend Craig Malone from the band "i",
kindly came in the studio to play drums! I feel very fortunate to be supported
by Sling Slang Records and to have the opportunity to make the record I have
always wanted.
I am also a little sad! I had so much fun. I know people say that making a new
record is a lot of work, and don't get me wrong, we all worked very hard. I
just had so much fun. I didn't really want it to end. Scott and George are great
guys and there was a very comfortable atmosphere which helped me relax and record
well. They also stretched me beyond my comfort zone which is awesome! There
are some surprises on this new CD, so watch out! I even played some electric
guitar. I just can't thank Scott and George enough!! So THANK YOU Scott at Aliehn
Productions and THANK YOU George at Sling Slang Records!
please visit Scott Genereau's website at www.Aliehn.com
and Sling Slang records at www.Slingslang.com
Recording-August 15h 2006- Last week
I finished making my CD for Sling Slang records!! From start finish I had sooo
much fun! The songs are my favorites and I was so nervous about how it would
all turn out but I would not change a thing. I went to Aliehn Productions and
Scott the sound engineer is amazing. My favorite part of the whole process was
watching him work and watching the wheels turn in his head as he thought of
what to do with my songs. I don’t have a band, it’s just me and
my guitar but I didn’t want to record an album that way. I wanted to record
an album that I would listen to. I know that sounds kinda weird. So it’s
a little bit of blues, pop, country and folk all in one. I will be starting
to post the lyrics and some of the stories behind each song. It will be awhile
before it comes out. I am getting a second job to pay for the duplication costs
but it will be ready soon!
Trees Don't Move-Mountain Bike Brew Festival-August 14th- this weekend I played at the Mountain bike festival at Back Country Excursions in Parsonsfield, Me. It was awesome! There is nothing like playing the guitar and singing around a campfire! It was great to see some familiar faces from last year too! I went for another crazy bike ride and learned that I have a serious issue riding my bike between two trees. I kept hitting trees but I was smart enough to aim for the smaller ones. So I have trees in my backyard and my neighbors will think I’m crazy as they watch me practice riding around trees.
Potential album titles: August 13th:
So I started thinking of album titles:
Lisa’s Album of Doom (the cover would have 80’s metal written all
over it and I’d have really big hair)
Folk this
Vintage Education (way too smart sounding for me)
Lisa Lisa and the Folk Jam
Lisa covers only Dio (since that is a lie it is no good)
Lisa covers all ACDC (again…lies)
Lisa’s album of Death and Destruction (again, the metal theme)
Well, we came up with a title..and it was not one of the above. I think you
will have to wait until I come up with the cash to duplicate this CD until you
find out.
Album
cover for "Lisa Covers all ACDC"
If I see you on the Appalachian Trail I will make you a sandwich- July
20th – So I was camping in Northern NH and I went over to Grafton
Notch to hike and found part of the Appalachian Trail. So I did this crazy hike,
the kind where you have to climb up using metal bars and ropes that the AT has
been kind enough to install. Halfway through I thought I might die and wanted
to turn around. The view was worth it and it was great. The best part is meeting
the people who are hiking the trail from start to finish. When I finished my
hike I immediately went to my car and made a peanut butter sandwich. Then I
saw this guy who looked pretty beat up. I offered him a sandwich and water and
he was psyched. He started the trail in Georgia and was close to the end. He
was from MA and looked really familiar but I think I’m at that age where
everyone looks like someone I used to know. It was a really great day.
I can’t keep a secret- July 14th- I am very excited about this new recording. I had too much fun in the studio! I like this recording project because I’ve done a few things on it that I never would have expected to do. Today we used a Public Enemy sample for one of the songs. That’s pretty crazy for me. There is also an all acoustic song which Scott, the sound engineer, recorded beautifully
Some Places Never Change-June 24th- Tonight I crashed my friend Brett
Talbert’s gig at the Blue Plate Lounge in Holden MA. He was kind enough
to let me play some tunes. What a cool place the Blue Plate is…in a world
where everything is beginning to look like Starbucks it’s nice to see
that some places never change.
Cell Phones and Digital Cameras Can’t Swim-June 18th-I know I just vowed to take more pictures but my digital camera and cell phone just went for a little swim…..
June 10th So, we are almost halfway through 2006 and I decided to make a new year’s resolution-take more pictures. Over the weekend I played a fun little festival in Spencer Ma. It was pouring when I got there but the sky cleared up about 20 minutes before I went on stage and it was great!
April 28th Hamden CT-Thank you so everyone who came out to Books and Company. It was great to see so many familar faces! And thank you to David who took some pictures and sent them to me!
I love the Twilight Tea Lounge-October 27th-Thank you Brattleboro VT! I had an awesome time playing at Twilight Tea lounge. What a great city and what a fun audience! I will be back this spring I hope!
Oct. 21st- What a great evening at the Cool Café in Westport MA. I had never been to Westport so I had no idea what to expect . Although it was dark when I arrived it looks like a very quaint little town. It was great to share the evening with singer songwriter Wayne Saint Pierre and folk duo Whaling Town. Cool Café is a great new coffee shop with good acoustics.
Sept 10thThis weekend I played at the Maine Songwriters annual meeting. It was an awesome weekend. The event was at this really amazing place in West Wilton Maine called the Country Folk Theater owned by Larry “Buck” Bisbee. The weather was beautiful, we had an awesome fire pit and lots and lots of great music!
The directions say to "look for the black bear." no joke
August 14th-Parsonsfield Maine
I just got back from a great weekend up in Parsonsfield, ME. I went up to play at the Microbrew and Mountain Bike Festival. I got there on Friday night and set up camp. Then Saturday morning I went for this 3 hour mountain bike ride which kicked my butt. In the afternoon I got to go swimming in this pond, which had a beach that looked like the Caribbean. I played for hours on Saturday night around the campfire. What a great audience!! I loved it!
August 4th McNally’s Pub Westminster MA
I had a great time at tonight. As always, Heidi-Jo is the hostess with the mostest
and she always creates a great vibe wherever she goes! My ride there was very
interesting. I got a little lost and went to turn around at a correctional facility…a
little scary. Always an adventure!
June 22nd
Played again at The Lazy Dog open mic in Marlboro, Ma, I love this open mic.
June 11 and 12th
This weekend I played as part of the PA singer songwriter Festival at the Shangri-La
campground. I arrived on Saturday at around 4 PM and met singer songwriter Joel
Raphael and the sound engineer Dan Greak within minutes of getting out of my
car. Everyone there was so incredibly friendly. We all sat by the stage and
listened to music until about 10 PM. The next morning I woke up and went for
a swim before I got ready for my set. All the musicians playing were awesome.
I really want to thank Dave Blackledge and Dan Greak for all the hard work they
put into this event. I had the best time!! For more info check out Dave's website
at www.singersongwriter.ws
Playing on stage at the PA singer songwriter Festival
Making new friends: Lisa and Kat and Matt (from Oak and Ivy) and singer songwriter Ben Heathen
The beautiful Shangri-La campground
I took this picture while stuck in some pretty crazy traffic on the way home.
June 2th 2005
I'm playing on the streets of Providence RI. I’ve never played on the
streets before but can I just tell you it was so much fun!!! I LOVED it. First
of all, it was a great day! So many people can by and talked to me. One guy
promised to call Simon Cowell and insist I be on the next season of American
Idol and he took my flyer home to show his mother that he knew me before I become
famous. Another person listened to my whole set from his apartment window while
he ate lunch. I'll be playing the streets again soon and maybe a camp fire here
and there too!
April 22nd
The Starbucks in Marlboro hosts a music series every Friday night and tonight
was singer songwriter Terry Kitchen. He put on an incredible show! What a moving
performance. The place was packed and It was a great night.
March 19th
I am right in the middle of moving but I decided to drive out to Northampton
Ma to see the Black Crowes. They were playing secret shows under the name Mr.
Crowes Garden. The show was awesome! The venue, Pearl Street, is very small.
The vibe was great and they rocked. This show is in my top 3 of all time! 1.
Page and Plant reunion in 1999? 2. The Replacements at the Orpheum in 1990 3.
The Black Crowes 3/19/05 4. Woodstock 1969..just kidding..maybe in a past life!
Ha Ha!
December 14th
This section of my website used to be called "Miscellaneous ramblings",
then I changed it to “Stories” but I think I might change it again
to “Red Sox update" or “What the hell are they thinking signing
David Wells?” 2005 will be interesting.
December 4th,
A huge thank you to everyone who was out at the Chit Chat tonight. The show
was a blast! Everyone who played rocked! Can’t wait to play there again.
November 21st
Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the show last night at the Daily
Grind. It was such a pleasure to open up for Perfect Silence! They are awesome!
Sarah Foley has the most beautiful voice! I can’t wait to be back on Jan.
8th with Pete opening and I will make good on my promise to play all those Led
Zeppelin covers!
October 23rd A huge thank to everyone who came out to the show at Daily Grind! What a great audience. Of course it was game 1 of the World Series and I hope many of you learned more about baseball as I rambled on between songs and wore my Johnny Damon T-shirt. It is always a pleasure to open a show for Pete Serge who brings so much energy to the stage!
Borrowing Pete's guitar
Sept. 13th It was so amazing to go back and play at Sully’s in Hartford and see so many friendly faces. Sully’s is by far my favorite place to play and I miss everyone there so much. There is just so much talent there! I can’t wait to go back.
July 5th
I don’t get enough adrenaline rushes with just performing so I go white
water rafting....actually now I would say "I used to go white water rafting."
The day started out as normal. A bus takes us up there and I sit next to a new
guide who tells me how much he loves to swim magic falls. Magic falls is the
biggest rapid on the river and "Swimming" in this context means you
have fallen out of your boat. Everything is going as usual and we are about
to raft magic falls. I’m not nervous like I was the first few times I
went rafting. There are 6 people in the boat plus our guide and we’re
just singing Tenacious D as we paddle into the rapid. All of sudden I see this
huge 10- foot wall of water and something just didn’t seem right. Next
thing I know, I’m under the boat in the water with 4 other people including
our guide. So I struggle to get back in the boat but it is speeding away as
my hand tries to grab the rope. I just swam the entire rapid. Yeah it was a
little scary and I swallowed a ton of water but it was fun. I was a little bummed
out because while I was under the boat I got kicked in the face and by the time
I got back to dry land I had a welt that read “Teva” on the side
of my face. Happy 4th of July Everyone!
June 6th 2004
What an awesome weekend of music. Friday night at Perks was great and I want
to thank everyone who came out to the show! Thank you to Nicole for bringing
my American Idol sign and to Kris for taking pictures!
Saturday night at the Nameless Coffeehouse was great. I shared the night with
fantastic musicians and had fun hanging out in the “green” room,
which was actually red. Check them out Mare Wakefield, John Gerald, Steve Hartmann,
Justine McDonald and Doug Hardy. The Nameless Coffeehouse is the oldest all
volunteer coffeehouse and everyone there is so incredibly nice!
June 1st 2004
Found a cool open mic in Cambridge at the All Asia Café. Wednesday nights,
sign up is at 7PM. Great Vibe and Pabst Blue ribbon on tap, can you go wrong?
I don’t think so! And I could find free parking despite my inability to
parallel park.
April 8th, 2004
Had a great night playing at Acoustic Coffee in Portland Me. (I got there just
in time to drive through the Patriots parade.) It was songwriters in the round
and I played with three fantastic musicians: Paul Curtis, Mark Rodrigue and
Alison Violette. We went song by song and told fun stories and there was some
great audience participation.
March 27th, 2004
Back to CT to open for Pete Serge! I got to hang out with some CT friends and
had pizza at Park lane in Hartford.Best pizza ever! Pete is great as always!
December 2003
So while you poor souls were digging your cars out of the snow I was in the
Caribbean pondering the ever-pressing philosophical question “Exactly
how early in the morning can one begin consuming Caribe” (it’s better
then Coronoa). Well, they kept giving and taking an hour. So it’s always
4:20 somewhere. (I met a DJ who plays Depeche Mode and The Cure). Next year
you can find me gigging on a cruise ship. You think I jest..dare me. I’m
brushing up on my Buffett covers. So it’s back to reality-new tunes, new
gigs.. new year!
Nov 22nd:
Gig at Jitters, Southington, CT opening for Pete Serge
This is one of my most favorite venues to play. It’s a living room with
better coffee. Although I apologize to the part of the audience that gets the
view of my butt, Admission is always free.
Anywho..Pete serge is an amazing performer who gives 200 percent every time
he steps on stage. He always inspires me. His fans rule too!
