  Lisa Kane stumbled upon Pine Ridge lodge in Maiden Rock, Wis., on a snowy, winter evening. She crashed at the secluded bed and breakfast that night after performing a gig at The Point a nearby coffee shop. Since that fateful encounter, she hasn't really left the town of less than 500 people Kane recently gave up skyscrapers, but freeways and a Powderhorn Park apartment in Minneapolis for a quiet room at the Lodge. The 30-year-old musician temporarily stayed at the cozy and secluded bed and breakfast for the past two years. She made the move permanent in April. "The feeling I get here is amazing," the singer-songwriter said about the large wooden house that is surrounded by 80 acres of pine trees and sits on Lake Pepin. "I get culture, landscape and peacefulness here."' Pine Ridge Lodge, the 7-year-old A-frame owned by Judith Atlee, can room up to six visitors. Three people, two cats and a dog call the environment-friendly dwelling their home. The lodge is located between Maiden Rock and Stockholm, Wis., midst snaking gravel roads, hills and valleys. Kane was compelled to convert the attic of the lodge into a "bedroom-recording studio-jam space" because the tranquil location is ideal for her booming career. The room has a joint purpose - for living and recording. "This is where I need to come to create music," she said of the Lodge. "I can't create music when I'm constantly on the move. I need the structure that I have here." Although she says she was born a musician and owned her first guitar by age 16, she has taken her music to a new level in the past 10 years. A decade ago, she dropped out of a business college and moved Minneapolis from her hometown North Branch in northern Minnesota. |
She
independently studied music and worked with a private
instructor. Her first CD, "Old Strings and
All," hit shelves last month. It can be found
locally at The Point, Joan of Art in Stockholm, Welch
Village General Store and at large chain stores, such as
Sam Goody. Although the "all-out rock and roll" album was produced with a band, Kane usually performs her funky folksy acts solo. Her two hour long shows include a diverse array of tunes, including "Fine With Me," an upbeat, groovy song, pop , angel-oriented "Wings" and rhythm and blues "In Return." Her music benefits from the 'quiet time" she spends at the Lodge, she said. While sitting on an over-stuffed leather sofa sipping on tea and humming to her -idols, Greg Brown and Dar Williams, Kane explained the simplicity of her creating music. Like a snap, songs pop into her head, she said. Whatever she's doing, whether it biking or just hanging out, she stops - and writes a song. The groove, melody and words work together and How naturally for Kane, who is also a poet. "Music is innate in me. I feel like I'm a natural musician," Kane said. "Sometimes it takes the 3-and-ahalf minutes of the song to write it - it all happens overwhelmingly fast. Writing music has always been like that for me; it's a gift." The arts based community that sits between the great Mississippi and giant bluffs benefits her needs more than bright lights of the big city. "I don't see convenience as an additive to my life," she said. "Everything makes sense to me here. There's a pace to my life, where in the city, there's a rush to everything." However, Kane stresses that music needs the city. She regularly performs in Minneapolis coffee shops and the University of Minnesota student center, but the hour long commute to work does not bother her. In addition to performing in the city, she also flaunts her talent at The Point, Rhythm and Brew in Lake City, A Summer's Place in Pepin and Eagle's Nest in Wabasha. "I feel very welcomed here, there are a lot of artists and musicians to hang around with," she said of her new community. "Everyone is very supportive. I'll always keep this as a home base." - Jenny Murphy |