2019, Rhymes & Sharp Pencils
Hello all–
The day has come and the new record is finished! This one was over a year in the making and was produced by the fabulous Mr. Tim Lyes. We discussed early on who would be the right engineer for the project and pinpointed Randy Gildersleeve at Gildersound. The three of us spent nearly every Friday from November 2017 through January of 2019. Slowly but surely, we made it happen and I could not be happier with the results.
This is the first project I’ve cowritten with another person. I’m finding cowriting to be an absolute joy and really like having someone else’s perspective.
I’m extremely proud of this new recording. It’s the record I’ve always wanted to make. Always! I had a sound in mind, but couldn’t quite articulate it. Tim, being Tim knew what it was and how to achieve it.
Mark Keating, Aubrey Weber and Ken Wilson made special appearances. All three brought the magic and tied things together quite nicely.
2018, The Long Goodbye
The Long Goodbye (aka the country album)
The Long Goodbye was an absolute blast to make. Rich Mattson and Keely Lane brought the magic and its a record I feel very proud of – which is great since making it has been on my mind most of my musical career. My love of Lucinda Willams and Cowboy Junkies definitely came through.
Another favorite part of this record for me is the artwork. Larry May completely understood this project. He’s a good friend and knew I wrote the majority of songs while living in Duluth. He also knew my eight years up north were the loneliest of my entire musical career — making the artwork match the feeling.
All and all, I’m very excited to share this record with you.
1994-2005
In 2005, Lisa released Armstrong Avenue.
It was a self produced recording she engineered on a Roland VS880. Local talents like Gabriella Sweet, Charlie Van Stee, Crystalline Ruby, Dan Rumsey and Karen Mueller made special appearances. The result was a well received compilation of songs still played on community radio and internet stations today.
In 2002, Lisa released Surroundings.
Tracks from this compilation stayed on KFAI’s rotation for 15 consecutive weeks. One, Mother Nature’s Pace, was featured on MPR’s Living on Earth. This album was nominated for Acoustic Album of the year with The Minnesota Music Academy as well. Randy Gildersleeve at GilderSound Studios engineered and co-produced Surroundings. Thea Ennen, Tim Lyles and Crystalline Ruby are a few of the many talented musicians who accompanied her.
In 2001 Lisa released Sooner than Later… This project was engineered by Terry Eason. It was the first and only time Lisa released a compilation of songs where she played solo. One woman, one voice, one guitar.
Lisa’s debut album Old Strings & All was released in 1999. It was engineered and coproduced by Randy Gildersleeve at GilderSound. Kari Larson, Jay Cook and Tim Lyles accompanied her on this project. This album received a lot of attention on KFAI’s WomenFolk, KTNA (Telkeetna, AK) and KAXE. A few songs made their way to Twin Cities compilation CDs as well. Most notable are: Minnesota Homegrown and Voices in the Wilderness.
Lisa emerged on the Twin Cities scene in 1995 as a co-lead guitarist in the all female metal quartet (hair band) Zelpha Trippe. ZT recorded several cassette tapes with Brian Bart at Logic Studios.
There is no doubt Lisa’s time with Zelpha Trippe impacted her playing. ZT, was often referred to as the all girl version of RUSH.
The early years influenced Lisa’s live performances as well. ZT often shared stages with No Man’s Land and Hester Mofet.
Playing with other women influenced Lisa’s wardrobe as well. Here she can be seen wearing an outfit given to her by ZT’s bass player, Wendy. Wendy also helped with hair and make up.
Before ZT, Lisa played in a high school rock band called Fair Warning.
Writing Endeavors
This year is off to an amazing start. We’re less than two weeks in and I’ve had the honor, pleasure, and privilege of cowriting with Thea Ennen and Tim Lyles.
Both Tim and Thea have been extremely influential on my musical style, writing, all around approach to guitar playing, and life. I feel blessed–to say the least.
The songs are different from what I’d normally write, which is such a gift. And the point. Collaboration is truly an amazing process. I’m stretching and reaching new places on guitar, vocals, and with song structures/formulas.
With Thea, I’m learning to sing harmonies while accompanying her piano playing and catchy melodies.
With Tim, we take song structures and chordal movements to a whole new level. In fact, my fingers and hands ache after sessions with him. Aches and all, Tim Lyles is one of my greatest teachers, a lifelong musical companion, and incredible friend.
My goal over the next few months is to record demos of the songs Tim and I create and make them available on SoundCloud.
Random Promo Pics