Lisa Biales

The folk music vocals of Prairie Orchid, aka Lisa Biales and Sarah Reed, had the first-graders of Knox County clapping, stomping and learning lots during their annual Youth Enrichment Series assembly. “There are several components of the state’s learning standards built into this performance and the children love Sarah and Lisa,” said John Jurkowitz.
Biales and Reed have been performing together for the last 15 years and for at least eight years as part of the YES! series.
The 700 excited first-graders who filled the Memorial Theater became all eyes and ears when Prairie Orchid took the stage with their opening number, “Hello, Hello, Hello” teaching greetings in many foreign languages. Next, the theater was turned into a big whale-watching vessel as students learned hand motions to song and repeat patterns. There were also lessons on patience, “You can’t make a turtle come out of his shell”; respect, “Don’t hang on your mom, she’s not a rope”; and rhythm and rhyme as students joined in the chorus of the song with hand motions. Students were also introduced to the bass, dobro and acoustic guitars, violin, accordion and banjo.
Future critic Austin Stone of Fredericktown summed the performance up best when he said, “It wasn’t great — it was awesome!” - Mount Vernon News

"Reminds me of a young, higher voiced Bonnie Raitt in sound."

"Top shelf, lyrically emotional, a pure hybrid."

. . . this level of imagery and the subject of your colorful lyric is fresh"

" . . . soulful bluesy voice, and the songs to match."



- Various

Coming from a family of musicians, Lisa Biales is comfortable with her success. Biales' fifth album, "Chasing Away the Blues," has received international attention in folk radio.

Recently, her single, "Where the Buckwheat Blooms," was ranked number 32 on the International Folk Radio Play list.

Biales' parents, both of whom are musicians, were a great influence on her musical development.

"I've been singing forever — I was probably born singing," she said.

Biales, a Fairfield native now living in Oxford, cannot remember a time when she wasn't singing. Ever since she was around 13 years old, a year after she gained interest in learning to play the guitar, she has been performing. Biales' brother, a drummer, introduced her to the guitar. Biales wanted to play an instrument that would allow her to sing along.

Once I learned to play the guitar I was hooked, Biales said. She is also skilled at the bass guitar, banjo and the accordion.

Prior to producing albums, Biales performed in various clubs, weddings and private house parties/events. Biales practices daily by playing and singing as much as she can and recording her songs in her home and previewing them before going to the studio.

This independent artist utilizes her life experiences and those of her loved ones to initiate her creativity in the songs she writes.

"As an independent artist I have to wear many hats and one of them is marketing. I sent my music to radio stations all over the world," Biales said.

She mixes a variety of music genres, such as R&B, folk and blues to create her sound.

The hit-single "Where the Buckwheat Blooms" is about he mother's and grandmother's childhoods and their experiences growing up. The single "Chasing Away the Blues" was written for a friend of Biales who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Biales has also written about her husband and children.

Biales has two children in college, which has allowed her to focus more on her music career. Her sons are ages 19 and 21. Biales also wrote a love song for her husband.

"I think she likes to tune into a situation and put it into words," said Marc Biales.

Biales has a guitar with her at all times. "I love traveling and I love working for myself; being creative is what feels the best for me," she said.

Short-term goals include traveling to Europe and playing her music and having her music be used in a film.

Being internationally recognized makes Biales feel excited, she said.

"It makes me very happy. It makes me feel like all the work I've done is paying off. Although folk isn't a huge commercial market, it inspires me to do more," Biales said.

"I am really proud of her. She's a great lady — even without the fame she'd be a wonderful lady," said Marc Biales.

Biales is currently working on a new album, "Come to me." She is working with WMUB's News Director Gary Scott on this project.

Biales performs at the Alexander House, "A-List," every first Wednesday of every month from 9 to 11 p.m.

On her Web site, www.LisaBiales.com, there are links to her songs and more information about this internationally known singer.
- By Christen Claytor

Oxford singer Lisa Biales performs great show
By Raymond Devine, Contributing Writer

Friday, July 27, 2007

With more than 200 people in the audience, Oxford artist Lisa Biales didn't miss a beat; the release concert for Biales' third album, "Come to Me" was a hit July 21.

Numerous attendees walked out of the Oxford Community Arts Center ballroom with CDs in hand after two sets and an encore of stellar music. Accompanied by Bike Wise owner Doug Hamilton on violin and bassist Noah Cope, Biales delivered a night of entertainment complete with humor, soul and personality.

"Wow, you all showed up, thank you," said Biales, after finishing "Connected" from her 2006 album, "Chasing Away the Blues."

The show was a pleasure to attend as Biales played superior versions of nearly every song on "Come to Me." At the show, Biales gave each song the attention it deserved in an atmosphere that can't be replicated. "Come to Me" is a great album, but it can't compete with the live performance.

Not only does Biales perform her songs better live, but she also knows how to keep them interesting. Biales took this opportunity to preview songs for her next CD, a "standard" album she plans on recording over the next year. I'll be buying it based on "You Can't Do That" and "Hey There," Biales originals, alone.

Fans also can look forward to a Biales spin on "Angel From Montgomery," by John Prine (1971); "At Last," by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren (1942); and "Summertime," by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin (1935), which were all used for her three part encore after a standing ovation.

With some help from Hamilton and Cope, Biales earned every clap of the night. Cope provided deep tones throughout the night with a playful solo during the second set on "Woo Woo" from "Chasing Away the Blues." Meanwhile, Hamilton infused the night with some high-energy violin work culminating in a near jazz experience during "Where the Buckwheat Blooms," Biales' hit song that broke the top 40 of the International Folk Playlist at No. 32 last August.

"Her voice reminds me of a fine violin; it's sweet but it's strong," said Hamilton. "It's inspiring to play with her."

The highlight of the concert came at the end of the first set. Biales introduced new never-before-heard lyrics to "Chop Wood," from "Come to Me" with an apologetic tone, explaining that "this has never happened before ... I thought it was done!"
- Cox Publishing Company

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

A small-town dream turned into a worldwide hit for musician Lisa Biales of Oxford this month when a song from her latest CD, "Chasing Away the Blues" cracked the Top 40 on International Folk Radio.

The Fairfield native started performing at age 15 at Lesourdesville Lake in Monroe, but the song "Where the Buckwheat Blooms" on her third solo album has transported her from wide-open spaces to exotic places.

"My music is being played in New Zealand," said Biales. "It makes me feel like the world is not such a big place."

While growing up, Biales' father's band and her mother's singing strengthened her admiration for music.

To Biales, it is her smooth voice and unique guitar playing that create her signature sound by combining different musical genres.

"My intention (with singing) is to make people feel good," said Biales. "It's my gift that I feel I'm supposed to share with people."

Biales has performed as Prairie Orchid with Sarah Goslee Reed; as a founding member of Tre Lunas, a blues-rock trio with Laurie Traveline and Bonnie Allyn; and done voiceover work, jungles and more.

In 2006, she released "Chasing Away the Blues," her fifth CD.

Although Biales had slowed her career for her family in years past, with her sons in college and her husband, the owner of Wild Berry in Oxford, in full support, Biales is renewing her musical ambitions.

"I feel that now that I have the time (to further my career), now is the time," said Biales.

Although Biales has always been an independent artist, with her recent success she expects to be picked up by a record label soon. Until then, she's still coping with success.

"To find out people are listening to my music, it validates me as an artist," said Biales. "To start out independent and make these little steps, it's wonderful to see where my music is going."
- Dayton Daily News

When Lisa Biales was a child, they couldn't get her to quit singing.

"My parents were both musical," she said. "My dad played upright bass and my mom sang and acted in community theater.

"I started writing music and plays as a child, casting and directing my playmates in our garage that I turned into a theater for the day."

When she was about 12, a student at Sacred Heart School in Fairfield, Ohio, she approached her older brother to teach her to play a song on the guitar that she could sing to.

"He taught me the chords to 'I'm So Glad,'" she said.

She soon started performing at the Sacred Heart Church's guitar mass and filling in the breaks of her father's Dixieland band when he would play at LeSourdesville Lake, where she first started performing her own compositions. By high school, she was in a band, Paragon, playing gigs at Waterworks Park, school dances and parties almost every weekend.

Her latest album, "Chasing Away the Blues," has earned a bit of acclaim with one of its songs, "Where the Buckwheat Blooms," climbing to the Top 40 at the On-Line Folk Festival, an Internet-based radio station.

"That was a song written about my mom when she was a little girl," she said. "Her family moved around a lot after the war. Her father had a hard time finding a job therefore, he drank a lot, but she would remember riding in a truck in the middle of nowhere with the buckwheat in bloom. It was a favorite time in her life, but it was also bittersweet because they moved often.�

While she said she didn't particularly intend to make a blues album, the bluesy tone seemed to emerge.

"The blues has crept in periodically throughout my career," she said. "Those are the songs that the great singers sing — something to sink your teeth into — and my vocals and the songs lend themselves to that soulful bluesy feeling."

Lisa performs the first Wednesday of the month at Alexander House Wine and Martini Bar. Treat yourself to a drive to Oxford, Ohio to hear Lisa sing. You'll be glad you did! - Cox Publishing

Lisa Biales getting known worldwide

BY KATIE WEDELL ~ ENQUIRER CONTRIBUTOR

Local performer Lisa Biales has been "Chasing Away the Blues" with song for as long as she can remember.

So it's just an added bonus that her album by that name has earned the Oxford resident international recognition.

Not only is her music getting airplay from Tennessee to New Zealand, but the song "Where the Buckwheat Blooms" made the Top 40 on International Folk Radio.

It reached No. 32 in August, just behind a song by Cat Stevens, who has changed his name to Yusuf Islam

After such a successful album, Biales is relaxing by doing what she loves the most - writing another album.

Her third solo CD will be complete in July. Biales will debut the new songs at a release concert July 28 at Miami University's Peabody Hall.

The concert will feature three other local musicians; WMUB's news director Gary Scott on drums, BikeWise owner Doug Hamilton on violin and Noah Cope on bass.

"The talent is right here in Oxford," Biales said of her adopted hometown.
In addition to her CD release concert, Lisa Biales will be performing all over Ohio this summer, including a June 28 appearance at the Oxford Music Festival.

A native of Fairfield, Biales spent 23 years in Athens, Ohio, working in administration at Ohio University and raising two sons. Now she makes Oxford her home with husband Marc.

"He's my biggest fan," Biales said.
Her husband owns the Wild Berry store in Oxford and sells Biales' CDs there.

Biales describes her sound as vocal driven and folksy, but she uses elements from many kinds of music, including the blues and even show tunes.

She has been producing original work since 1991, first as a member of Prairie Orchid with Sarah Goslee Reid, and now as a solo artist.

Her best advice for aspiring song writers: practice.

"Write every day. Write everything down," she said.

For more information about Biales, and to hear samples of her music, visit www.lisabiales.com
- Cincinnati Enquirer

This January, Lisa Hill Biales performed her endearing "Yellow Shoes" at "Barrow Street Fortnight,"? a two week festival celebrating the very best in spoken word, music, short plays, sketch comedy, and other genres. More than 30 shows played over 12 days at the Barrow Street Theatre, a 200-seater that I operate in New York's West Village . We scheduled Yellow Shoes at 11am on the first Saturday and Sunday as our only real family or kid's show, and audience reaction, including my own, was both overwhelming and enlightening. I say enlightening because, having never presented family entertainment, I learned a couple of very valuable lessons.

Perhaps most interesting was the fact that I learned that the show needn't be pegged solely as a kid's show, primarily because Lisa's musical vocabulary and talent are exceptional and varied enough to entertain any age group; and though some of her show was tailored specifically to the younger members of our audience, I sensed, and later found it to be true, that she can adapt as she goes, and to me that translates into a show for any time of day and any type of audience. Revelations aside, the show that I attended mixed music, with storytelling, sing-alongs, and other participatory moments, that converged into a really lovely 60 minutes for all involved. We invited Lisa to return to New York this spring to develop our relationship with her as performing artist, and to further our new-found commitment to family-oriented programming.

Lisa displayed an incredible range of material that was gentle and accessible, surprisingly mature yet never condescending. As a producer of so-called serious dramatic works, and having no kids of my own, I can happily report that I did play the kazoo, I did sing-a-long (when asked), and I had fun. I was also beyond charmed when a few of the youngsters joined her on stage, one of whom proved that she could, indeed, play the harmonica and perform an entire song (as duo) without prior experience. She then bowed, nervously. (And returned after the show to pose on-stage with Lisa, for a photo opp -- a keepsake that is, no doubt, destined for the refrigerator, and perhaps one day for a photo album or diary.)

As an aside, I ran out for a moment because there was a construction crew rambling around in the lobby, and I went to find out what the commotion was about. As it turns out, they heard Lisa singing and were trying to figure out a way to sneak a peek and so, I grabbed them and led them to my secret re-entry up in the mezzanine, and there they sat, transfixed with me, for the last 25 minutes of the show. It was one of the great moments of our fortnight, and, along with what is mentioned above, should demonstrate why there is little wonder that Lisa will join us in New York this season.

Sincerely yours,

Scott Morfee - Scott Morfee, Barrow Street Theatre