Strange Lights

Debra Irizarry's life might seem like it was pulled from a pulpy soap opera — the kind with the heroine who, after so many seasons, has passed through so many too-strange-to-be-true story lines.

As she strolls the streets around her home in Crestone, she knows everybody and everything about the small Colorado town. She used to be married to the owner of the new cafe down the street. She's on a first-name basis with the guy who owns the grocery store. She's in a relationship of sorts with the owner of the rock shop around the corner.

But do those folks know the rest of the story? That she's a free spirit who adheres to certain Buddhist philosophies and American Indian traditions. That she's a single mother of two

Irizarry, also a plastic surgeon, performs a face enhancement in the eye area on a patient with Dr. David Broadway. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)— her daughter, Jade, is 17, and her son, Leaf, is 15. That she's a multiple sclerosis survivor, having been diagnosed nearly 15 years ago.

A double life? Or triple? These days, she's also emerged as something of a fixture in the Colorado music community. Irizarry is the bassist/vocalist of Colorado psych-rock band Strange Lights, which has seen more than 500,000 downloads from its website, strangelights.net. And she's the owner of Wunderground Studio, a new recording space in her arty hometown nestled against the Sangre de Cristos.

OK, let's go for a quad. Irizarry, who is slight, by all accounts attractive, a year shy of 50 and known for her no-nonsense Bronx accent, is also a board-certified plastic surgeon who practices in Lone Tree several days a month. She's an honors grad from New York Medical College and did her residencies at some of New York City's best clinics.

"Yeah, people don't know what to think about me," Irizarry said, sipping a glass of red wine before seeing a recent sold-out concert by the band National at the Fillmore Auditorium.

"Some of the people in Crestone think I'm too serious. When my daughter was 13 and was given beer by a

Plastic surgeon Debra Irizarry, a.k.a. Deb Zazzo from the band Strange Lights, at her medical clinic in Lone Tree. ( Photos by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post )21-year-old, I called the cops. But the people in Lone Tree probably think I'm a hippie. I go to drum circles. I own a hand drum. I dance around the fire — not naked, though."

Irizarry's journey has been full of turns, starting in the Jewish home in the bustling Bronx of her childhood to the quiet, two-story house where she now hangs her hats in Crestone, a town that is considered an international spiritual hub. From a grueling slate of intense medical residencies that created a world of stress to all-night, stress-relieving peyote ceremonies in the Baca Grande.

"What I love about Debby is that she's so many things at once," said Brad Smalling, the co-owner and head engineer at Evergroove Studios in Evergreen.

"She can be motherly, very stern and giving, yet she doesn't hesitate to tell you what's on her mind, and it should never be taken negatively. If you're a friend and she disagrees with you, she'll say, 'I think you're wrong.' She's gentle but a little gruff, and it's a little bit of that New York attitude that makes her great.

"She's worked very hard to be where she is."

Irizarry has lived a life. And while her current quixotic approach to life is unusual, the memories that haunt her the most are also among her greatest inspirations.

When Irizarry was 24, her brother was shot and killed in the Bronx — a blow that set her back and made her question life in the big city she still loves. She persevered through medical school and eventually opened up her own practice in upstate New York.

"That was back when things were going as planned," Irizarry said.

When she was 35, she was diagnosed with MS, which brought an immediate end to her career and, seemingly, her life. "I'd lost my brother, lost my career and been diagnosed with a severe illness," Irizarry said. "I didn't know where I was going, but I moved to Santa Fe with my kids and then ex-husband. I wasn't running away. But when my kids got older, I had more fear about them running around. When I grew up in New York, it was 2,000 murders a year and the AIDS plague and lots of crime and people dropping like flies from HIV."

Moved to Crestone

They were in Santa Fe for five years before Irizarry and her then-husband discovered tiny Crestone on a camping trip. In 2001 they made the move north, and Irizarry hasn't looked back since. It's quite a move for a New York girl — one that was drawn to the medical profession early on.

"Surgery is like arts and crafts on people," she said with a smile. "My daughter was just asking me why I liked surgery, and she's very arts and craftsy like me. I like that fussy, beautiful work. I like making people very pretty. It's a very particular thing."

But why plastic surgery?

"When I was a general surgeon, I did beautiful operations — a gorgeous gall bladder operation — and it made me sad, because then you'd have to close up the abdomen. All your best work, nobody would ever see it."

But after her diagnosis of MS in 1996, she couldn't practice anymore. The disease's fatigue had crippled her body, and the psychological damage was also intense. The doctor was suddenly a patient, and her move west was a much- needed healing journey.

What started in Santa Fe was carried through in Crestone. More than 10 years after giving up her practice, she regained the courage to re-enter the medical profession, regaining her drive via American Indian rituals. To this day, Irizarry attributes her drive and confidence to the meditation and prayer that took place at the all-night peyote ceremonies she attended.

As a medical doctor, Irizarry knows what some in the profession — and out of it — would think about that treatment route.

"People who have not been to a peyote ceremony say it's a bunch of hippies staying up all night getting stoned, but really it's a prayer vigil for the world," Irizarry said. "It's not like you're sitting there and spacing out. I know psychedelic drugs have a lot of medical uses, including psychotherapy, drug treatments and post- traumatic stress syndrome. When I got diagnosed in New York, I was exhausted. I was falling apart. But being a part of this group with intense meditation and peyote, I was able to let go of a lot of fears — fears about going back to work and getting sick again."

The other great healer in her life has been music. Irizarry has been playing various instruments since she was 8, but until recently her music has been about creating something for other people. She still views her music as "good medicine for the world," but now she's writing music with her bandmate/boyfriend Lonnie Roth for her own benefit.

"More and more, I don't make music with other people in mind," Irizarry said. "I make it because I think it's a good thing to make. It's always helped me cope. Being a songwriter in the '80s, I didn't have the right way to externalize or process certain things except through an art form. That used to be painting for me. And now it's music."

Gothic folk/psychedelic rock

Strange Lights' music walks the line between the Gothic folk and the psychedelic rock. Irizarry and Roth have grown together in their 11 years of collaboration, and their chemistry is apparent.

With her mind reset, her music taking sail and her Colorado board certifications behind her, she searched for the right surgeon to work alongside — someone who would work with her unusual circumstances. Because of her illness, she needed to be supervised for a certain number of procedures. Dr. David Broadway, one of two senior partners at Bod:Evolve in Lone Tree, appreciated Irizarry's wit and personality and volunteered.

"From our first conversation, I knew she was an intelligent person," said Broadway. "Her health history took her away from being a physician, and you could tell she loved it and wanted to get back. The only way she could do it was under my supervision, because the state required that for her. It was awkward for me supervising another board-certified plastic surgeon, but we both realized what needed to be done. "

Busy schedule

Irizarry works six days per month at Bod:Evolve, and she also works one day a week in Crestone — in an office she shares with a local dentist. ("It's basically the same chair and light that I need for what I do," she said.) People drive from Alamosa and Salida to see Irizarry in Crestone, and she also has a regular customer base in her hometown.

"It's mostly Botox and injectables, but about 40 percent of my Crestone clients need skin-cancer excisions," Irizarry said. "It's actual surgery — small pieces of skin have to be cut out and sutured up. And it's good for them because I'm highly qualified, compared to other people down there."

Irizarry is no stranger to plastic surgery herself. She's learned a lot from injecting herself with Botox, and she's also had other surgeons help with the tip of her nose, some liposuction on her hips and an upper eyelid tuck. She's scheduled with her colleague, Dr. John A. Millard, to have some lipo on her arms. A face lift is likely on the horizon — but not yet. Life is good for the time being.

At home, her daughter is applying for a Boettcher Scholarship, which requires an essay on the person she most admires. (Jade is writing it about her mom, she informed her, but she won't let her read it — yet.) Irizarry has shared custody of her kids with her ex, who lives down the street, enabling her to come to Lone Tree for a few days, where she rents a room, or locks herself in the recording studio in Evergreen.

In October, she and Roth did just that — and after five days in the studio with Smalling, who is the resident engineer at Wunderground, they came out with a near-finished EP — to be titled "Short Bus" — and a fun cover of the Shins' indie hit "New Slang."

"They've focused on creating a sound with this EP, and it's stripped back — just Lonnie's guitar, Deb's bass and both of them singing," said Smalling. "They knew exactly what they wanted, and each of the songs have a little hook that gets stuck in your head. They seem fresh and like they're progressing."

It certainly feels right to Irizarry, especially since she's in a comfortable place for the creation of music, the forging of a community, the running of multiple businesses — and the living of a life she's now able to enjoy.

"I do drive to Denver a couple times a month, but when I'm down here, I just walk everywhere," Irizarry said. "I get to have intimate relationships with people. It's really slow. I'm really happy. And it's been great for my health. I like it, and that's likely why I've gotten so much better."



Read more: Split time: Singer, mom, plastic surgeon, and more - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_16711173#ixzz1Ceaof6jF
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse - The Denver Post

As time goes by, local Crestone
band Strange Lights is, it seems, edging
up on the Denver, national, and
international scene. Their 2009 album
Light Bright has earned impressive
reviews in both Colorado’s Music
Buzz magazine and Gulf Coast Music
Review website. The most interesting
recent news is possibly the huge
number of songs downloaded from
their website, www.strangelights.net, having easily topped 300,000 songs.
Deb reports that they have averaged about 25,000 tunes downloaded per
month in the early part of 2010.
Lonny Roth says tentative upcoming venues for Strange Lights shows
include; Crestone’s own 4th of July and Music Festival, the Tenderfoot Tavern
in Salida, the THC festival in Alma, Colorado, as well as others yet
to be announced. Strange Lights’ music style has recently been described
as “Post-modern Moody Blues meets Glee/Psychedelic Furs”. In their own
words they describe the band’s sound as a cross of the genres of melodic
rock, indie, pop and psycho-folk. Robert Edsel, the semi-recent addition to
Strange Lights, is adding a welcome jazz infl uence on drums. Visitors to
the Strange Lights website can enjoy recent band news articles and blogs;
purchase the newest music and merchandise; listen to and download many
free podcasts, songs and videos; connect with their facebook and twitter,
and much more! - The Crestone Eagle

Strange Lights
Strange Lights is a folk,
pop, rock, and psychedelic
trio with drums, bass,
guitar and dual vocals
comprised of Lonny
Roth, Deb Zazzo
and Robert Edsel.
Colorado Music
Buzz magazine
says Strange
Lights’ “melodic
alt-rock, indie,
pop and folk
styles” are “well
worth your time of
day.” Over a quarter
million songs downloaded
from their website,
www.strangelights.net,
so far, is proof that people all over
the world agree! - The Crestone Eagle

It's not every day in Denver you run into a hippie chick, plastic surgeon, mountain mom, rocker girl who's also dealing with a serious disease.
By Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music Critic
Posted: 11/26/2010 10:22:13 PM MSTUpdated: 11/26/2010 10:22:24 PM MST

Strange Lights bassist/vocalist Debra Irizarry at her Crestone home and recording studio with band member Lonnie Roth. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
Debra Irizarry's life might seem like it was pulled from a pulpy soap opera — the kind with the heroine who, after so many seasons, has passed through so many too-strange-to-be-true story lines.

As she strolls the streets around her home in Crestone, she knows everybody and everything about the small Colorado town. She used to be married to the owner of the new cafe down the street. She's on a first-name basis with the guy who owns the grocery store. She's in a relationship of sorts with the owner of the rock shop around the corner.

But do those folks know the rest of the story? That she's a free spirit who adheres to certain Buddhist philosophies and American Indian traditions. That she's a single mother of two

Irizarry, also a plastic surgeon, performs a face enhancement in the eye area on a patient with Dr. David Broadway. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)— her daughter, Jade, is 17, and her son, Leaf, is 15. That she's a multiple sclerosis survivor, having been diagnosed nearly 15 years ago.

A double life? Or triple? These days, she's also emerged as something of a fixture in the Colorado music community. Irizarry is the bassist/vocalist of Colorado psych-rock band Strange Lights, which has seen more than 500,000 downloads from its website, strangelights.net. And she's the owner of Wunderground Studio, a new recording space in her arty hometown nestled against the Sangre de Cristos.

OK, let's go for a quad. Irizarry, who is slight, by all accounts attractive, a year shy of 50 and known for her no-nonsense Bronx accent, is also a board-certified plastic surgeon who practices in Lone Tree several days a month. She's an honors grad from New York Medical College and did her residencies at some of New York City's best clinics.

"Yeah, people don't know what to think about me," Irizarry said, sipping a glass of red wine before seeing a recent sold-out concert by the band National at the Fillmore Auditorium.

"Some of the people in Crestone think I'm too serious. When my daughter was 13 and was given beer by a

Plastic surgeon Debra Irizarry, a.k.a. Deb Zazzo from the band Strange Lights, at her medical clinic in Lone Tree. ( Photos by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post )21-year-old, I called the cops. But the people in Lone Tree probably think I'm a hippie. I go to drum circles. I own a hand drum. I dance around the fire — not naked, though."

Irizarry's journey has been full of turns, starting in the Jewish home in the bustling Bronx of her childhood to the quiet, two-story house where she now hangs her hats in Crestone, a town that is considered an international spiritual hub. From a grueling slate of intense medical residencies that created a world of stress to all-night, stress-relieving peyote ceremonies in the Baca Grande.

"What I love about Debby is that she's so many things at once," said Brad Smalling, the co-owner and head engineer at Evergroove Studios in Evergreen.

"She can be motherly, very stern and giving, yet she doesn't hesitate to tell you what's on her mind, and it should never be taken negatively. If you're a friend and she disagrees with you, she'll say, 'I think you're wrong.' She's gentle but a little gruff, and it's a little bit of that New York attitude that makes her great.

"She's worked very hard to be where she is."

Irizarry has lived a life. And while her current quixotic approach to life is unusual, the memories that haunt her the most are also among her greatest inspirations.

When Irizarry was 24, her brother was shot and killed in the Bronx — a blow that set her back and made her question life in the big city she still loves. She persevered through medical school and eventually opened up her own practice in upstate New York.

"That was back when things were going as planned," Irizarry said.

When she was 35, she was diagnosed with MS, which brought an immediate end to her career and, seemingly, her life. "I'd lost my brother, lost my career and been diagnosed with a severe illness," Irizarry said. "I didn't know where I was going, but I moved to Santa Fe with my kids and then ex-husband. I wasn't running away. But when my kids got older, I had more fear about them running around. When I grew up in New York, it was 2,000 murders a year and the AIDS plague and lots of crime and people dropping like flies from HIV."

Moved to Crestone

They were in Santa Fe for five years before Irizarry and her then-husband discovered tiny Crestone on a camping trip. In 2001 they made the move north, and Irizarry hasn't looked back since. It's quite a move for a New York girl — one that was drawn to the medical profession early on.

"Surgery is like arts and crafts on people," she said with a smile. "My daughter was just asking me why I liked surgery, and she's very arts and craftsy like me. I like that fussy, beautiful work. I like making people very pretty. It's a very particular thing."

But why plastic surgery?

"When I was a general surgeon, I did beautiful operations — a gorgeous gall bladder operation — and it made me sad, because then you'd have to close up the abdomen. All your best work, nobody would ever see it."

But after her diagnosis of MS in 1996, she couldn't practice anymore. The disease's fatigue had crippled her body, and the psychological damage was also intense. The doctor was suddenly a patient, and her move west was a much- needed healing journey.

What started in Santa Fe was carried through in Crestone. More than 10 years after giving up her practice, she regained the courage to re-enter the medical profession, regaining her drive via American Indian rituals. To this day, Irizarry attributes her drive and confidence to the meditation and prayer that took place at the all-night peyote ceremonies she attended.

As a medical doctor, Irizarry knows what some in the profession — and out of it — would think about that treatment route.

"People who have not been to a peyote ceremony say it's a bunch of hippies staying up all night getting stoned, but really it's a prayer vigil for the world," Irizarry said. "It's not like you're sitting there and spacing out. I know psychedelic drugs have a lot of medical uses, including psychotherapy, drug treatments and post- traumatic stress syndrome. When I got diagnosed in New York, I was exhausted. I was falling apart. But being a part of this group with intense meditation and peyote, I was able to let go of a lot of fears — fears about going back to work and getting sick again."

The other great healer in her life has been music. Irizarry has been playing various instruments since she was 8, but until recently her music has been about creating something for other people. She still views her music as "good medicine for the world," but now she's writing music with her bandmate/boyfriend Lonnie Roth for her own benefit.

"More and more, I don't make music with other people in mind," Irizarry said. "I make it because I think it's a good thing to make. It's always helped me cope. Being a songwriter in the '80s, I didn't have the right way to externalize or process certain things except through an art form. That used to be painting for me. And now it's music."

Gothic folk/psychedelic rock

Strange Lights' music walks the line between the Gothic folk and the psychedelic rock. Irizarry and Roth have grown together in their 11 years of collaboration, and their chemistry is apparent.

With her mind reset, her music taking sail and her Colorado board certifications behind her, she searched for the right surgeon to work alongside — someone who would work with her unusual circumstances. Because of her illness, she needed to be supervised for a certain number of procedures. Dr. David Broadway, one of two senior partners at Bod:Evolve in Lone Tree, appreciated Irizarry's wit and personality and volunteered.

"From our first conversation, I knew she was an intelligent person," said Broadway. "Her health history took her away from being a physician, and you could tell she loved it and wanted to get back. The only way she could do it was under my supervision, because the state required that for her. It was awkward for me supervising another board-certified plastic surgeon, but we both realized what needed to be done. "

Busy schedule

Irizarry works six days per month at Bod:Evolve, and she also works one day a week in Crestone — in an office she shares with a local dentist. ("It's basically the same chair and light that I need for what I do," she said.) People drive from Alamosa and Salida to see Irizarry in Crestone, and she also has a regular customer base in her hometown.

"It's mostly Botox and injectables, but about 40 percent of my Crestone clients need skin-cancer excisions," Irizarry said. "It's actual surgery — small pieces of skin have to be cut out and sutured up. And it's good for them because I'm highly qualified, compared to other people down there."

Irizarry is no stranger to plastic surgery herself. She's learned a lot from injecting herself with Botox, and she's also had other surgeons help with the tip of her nose, some liposuction on her hips and an upper eyelid tuck. She's scheduled with her colleague, Dr. John A. Millard, to have some lipo on her arms. A face lift is likely on the horizon — but not yet. Life is good for the time being.

At home, her daughter is applying for a Boettcher Scholarship, which requires an essay on the person she most admires. (Jade is writing it about her mom, she informed her, but she won't let her read it — yet.) Irizarry has shared custody of her kids with her ex, who lives down the street, enabling her to come to Lone Tree for a few days, where she rents a room, or locks herself in the recording studio in Evergreen.

In October, she and Roth did just that — and after five days in the studio with Smalling, who is the resident engineer at Wunderground, they came out with a near-finished EP — to be titled "Short Bus" — and a fun cover of the Shins' indie hit "New Slang."

"They've focused on creating a sound with this EP, and it's stripped back — just Lonnie's guitar, Deb's bass and both of them singing," said Smalling. "They knew exactly what they wanted, and each of the songs have a little hook that gets stuck in your head. They seem fresh and like they're progressing."

It certainly feels right to Irizarry, especially since she's in a comfortable place for the creation of music, the forging of a community, the running of multiple businesses — and the living of a life she's now able to enjoy.

"I do drive to Denver a couple times a month, but when I'm down here, I just walk everywhere," Irizarry said. "I get to have intimate relationships with people. It's really slow. I'm really happy. And it's been great for my health. I like it, and that's likely why I've gotten so much better."

- The Denver Post

Welcome to the wonderful world of the indie band Strange Lights. The two member band creates wonderful music together that fans will enjoy listening to when they hear Strange Lights for the first time. Our Webzine recently had the pleasure to speak to the band members about their music and discovered many cool things about them. Here is what developed from our online conversation.

Isaac: I just listened to one of your songs from your CD. What was the Inspiration for making your new album?

Strange Lights: Whatever is happening now as well as the various things we grew up with makes for some serious inspiration. Happiness, sadness, life’s many unique qualities, angst, love, disappointment, alienation both personal and in society, crossed wires, belief in life being okay, let’s see, what else…………? Beside this, writing new songs and bringing them to completion is a great inspiration in its own right. When there’s enough material, crafting an album is the next, natural step.

Isaac: Who were your influences?

Strange Lights: Deb’s influences range from classical, (she played flute with school orchestras), to pop/folk, (Jim Croce, Simon & Garfunkel), Black pop//R&B, (Jackson 5, Diana Ross), Johnny Cash, Beatles, Television, Patti Smith, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, The Shins…& Edgar Allen Poe’s poetry.

Lonny would agree and add most of the great rock from the late sixties and early 70’s, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Jefferson Airplane etc, a few of the eighties new wave bands and some Flaming Lips, and Dandy Warhols.

Isaac: What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?

Strange Lights: Our highlights are; creating great music, and, connecting with an audience, and optimally both of these at the same time! Creating something that seems to be alive in its own right is sometimes its own reward.

Low points are times when the creation process just isn’t happening, and has less to do with external validation. Having to keep a day job has been a low point as well and the fact that we are only still musicians after this many years because the obsession will not desist.

Isaac: Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play.

Strange Lights: Deb comes from the middle class Bronx and lived in and loved Manhattan, played in Pop and Punk bands in places like Max’s Kansas City, CBGB’s, and then headed for the wide open spaces of New Mexico and Colorado. “I find that I can “hear myself”, (as an artist), a bit better in the quiet mountain town that I live in, and I like not having to fear for my life…( my only sibling, a younger brother, was killed in a robbery in NYC at the age of 22)”.

The style of music we play is psychedelic/folk/goth/pop. It is an original sound that I am so happy we have been gifted with, as I think the only thing we really have to “give” is something new… if it is not new, and then it’s already been “given”.

Lonny is a native of Colorado mountain towns. He lived in Boulder for quite a while and then landed in Crestone. The style of music Lonny plays is based on pop, psychedelic influences and dotted with little bits of subtle sub-rhythms almost everywhere trying to leave something for those who actually are paying attention.


Strange Lights

Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist? What is the live music scene like in your area?

Strange Lights: It is generally easy to get cattle call gigs at bars that are about a 4 hour drive from where we live, pay little to nothing, and have sparse audiences…(!), and the “live music” scene in our area is mostly populated by gray pony-tailed 70’s/80’s cover bands. We used to like “Brown-Eyed Girl”, so it’s been a real tragedy though we still manage a few festival gig opportunities in a year. The Internet has really been a savior for us to get our music out in a mutually rewarding fashion with as many as 25,000+ songs downloaded in a month. Gig opportunities that are worthwhile are looking better slowly but surely however as our press are becoming more significant. Learning to find a niche in the modern music scene is a real brain tweaker. Lately, we are more and more committed to doing only gigs that we feel good about, for example one that pays decently or is a clear benefit to a good cause.

Isaac: What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment? Do you listen to radio much at all? Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?

Strange Lights: Indie music is so diverse, that it’s “state” is maybe a bit of an oxymoron …the way different influences are able to be recombined is exciting, but there is so much music out there that it gets random at times, as well as repetitive at others. It seems tougher to grab “traction” in the public without corporate power behind you…. which is why if McDonald’s calls… This is in direct contradiction to the ideals we grew up with but still possibly the only chance a small band has these days. We do listen to radio. We have given thought to the fact that radio is dead but it still seems to play its part and is really no more repetitive than satellite radio. We also listen to a lot of music on albums.


Strange Lights

The Internet has definitely helped music grow artistically, but without significant monetary benefit to each artist individually, the www is a big place indeed, with space for all kinds of stuff for better and worse.

Isaac: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?

Strange Lights: Tom Verlaine, John Mercer, the Dandy Warhol’s keyboardist, and our own drummer Robert Edsel. Great melodic songs are our sweet spot!

Isaac: What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?

Strange Lights: Our newest CD is “Light Bright”, and is available on iTunes and CD Baby, as well as our 2003 album, (recorded in Lonny’s laundry room), “Kaleidoscope”, and our 2007 DVD “Strange Matters”.

We do have A LOT of free music and videos on our website http://www.strangelights.net


Strange Lights

Isaac: Where can fans access your music, videos, blogs, and anything else about you online?

Strange Lights: Our own website is strangelights.net

It basically branches out into the whole Strange Lights universe, which at this point goes on almost forever, Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation, MySpace, blogs, videos, soundclick, CD’s and merchandise, lots of free downloads, news articles, press kits, photos, and much, much more. We try to keep a little something different on each of the places we have a web presence to keep it exciting.

Isaac: Message to your fans?

Strange Lights: We love you more…really! Seriously, we always strive to give something worth the time given to listen, and we hope it helps you …as it does us. Any artist worth their salt is giving something worthwhile to the people who are potentially getting off their couches to go to a show or buy a CD/download or give us your attention in the sea of music. Really we don’t have the appropriate words to thank you.





Strange Lights' Official Website

- Junior's Cave Magazine

With pervasive folk, psychedelic, pop and
rock influences, as well as totally different
but equally unusual personal backgrounds,
Strange Lights is coining the term “Short
Bus Pop” as their style — which they freely
admit dances on “the fine line between
genius and retardation.” Bassist Deb Zazzo
discovered bass as a therapeutic tool in her
battle against M.S. Singer/songwriter/guitarist
Lonny Roth, on the other hand, uses
his music to exorcise the same demons that
landed him in the “happy hotel” in his midtwenties.
Despite their dysfunction, the band
is returning to their home turf of Denver with
their new album Light Bright in hand. - The Marquee

I guess some people would say this is some strange music, even weird, perhaps. At least that was my first impression. Than you begin to listen to it and start picking out the lyrics and it all starts to fall in place.

Light Bright begins to transport you into a dark and gloomy fantasy world befitting Edgar Allan Poe.

Deb Zazzo’s voice is a perfect match for this style of music and after a moment or two of listening, it becomes hauntingly beautiful. While her lyrics may be a bit scary and unsettling at times, her voice still seems to offer the reassurance that no harm will come to you.

I’m a huge Jimi Hendrix fan so whenever “psychedelic” is mentioned I immediately gravitate toward it. While I wouldn’t quite put Strange Lights on the same level as Hendrix they are more on the order of the Pink Floyd psychedelic music.

I have to admit, though, the video I have included here is pretty far out! Of course, this is from one who was around when Cream and Hendrix were flourishing!

I do regret that I only have these few tracks to use in this review. I visited Strange Lights web site and heard some of their other songs and they are quite good and not quite as dark as the selections here, so by all means, please visit Strange Lights web site and listen to some of their other tracks.

So, while Strange Lights doesn’t produce the hard driving, really far out psychedelic music of Jimi Hendrix, I still feel they produce a unique, still psychedelic, blend of folk and rock music they can call their own. I can envision sitting around smokin’ and listen to Strange Lights music!

Lonny and Deb, I feel overall, you have a good start on your careers. I would like to see a little more Hendrix influence in your music.

Maybe not quite as much Goth influence. Of course that is my own opinion. Just remember the old Chinese proverb: “If you try to trim yourself to fit everyone; pretty soon you’ll whittle yourself away.”

To my readers, if you enjoy something on the “dark” side and want something unique please give Strange Lights a chance. They’ll grow on you!

So, to Light Bright, by Strange Lights I give 9 stars and a thumbs up! Keep up the good work!
- Bill Dwyer: Gulf Coast music review

Were you to climb through the looking glass, you just might find a Crestone, Colorado, band flying “under the radar” – for now anyway – and they might be peddling, almost as an afterthought it seems, their own brand of melodic Alt-Rock, Indie, Pop, and Folk styles. At first listen, Strange Lights comes off primarily as Psychedelic Pop with nice Gothic undertones, lead by outstanding female vocalist, Deb Zazzo, who also plays bass. Her partner in crime is Lonny Roth on guitar, who also serves as a vocalist. The band is rounded out by a rotating cast of drummers and various cats on keys, guitars, banjos and mandolins, but they end up nailing the post-modernist Moody-Blues-meets-Glee/Psychedelic-Furs sound, regardless. While they cite a number of interesting, and at times wide-ranging influences, including Smashmouth, Cowboy Junkies, R.E.M., The Flaming Lips, and the Psychedelic Furs, they do sound very much like a band unto themselves. You can’t say you’ve heard it all before. The CD can be a touch uneven – at times it is a little blaring – and I prefer Zazzo’s creamy vocals over Roth’s – but the CD, overall, is well worth your time of day.



Sounds like: Glee/Psychedelic Furs meets post-modern Moody Blues


- Colorado Music Buzz Magazine

Strange
Lights, rave
review
by Stacia Burton
I heart fully recommend
Strange Lights latest album, Light
Bright, to the community.
Granted, I’m biased, but honestly
I haven’t been this lit by an
album since Sarah McLachlan’s
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. “Carousel”
encourages perhaps an
even joyous surrender to the ups
& downs of emotionality. “Liturgy”
saves the day repeatedly with its
boldly optimistic lyrics & Deb Zazzo’s
naked voice.
I recently travelled with
Strange Lights to a gig at the
Larimer Lounge in Denver. I had
a blast. Strange Lights began at
11pm, warming up their vocals in
harmony. Shortly after, Lonnie’s
guitar amp blew, just before his
G-string broke. Yet, somehow, the
trio of Deb Zazzo (Irizarry) on bass,
Lonnie Roth, guitar, and Robert
Edsel on drums, managed the unexpected,
charging the midnight
air with two of their hottest songs
of the evening.
As described on their website,
www.strangelights.net, “Our mix
of genres includes elements of folk,
pyschedelic, pop, rock, alternative,
gothic, retro and more.” As per The
Marquee out of Denver, “Strange
Lights is coining the term ‘Short
Bus Pop’ as their style. To decipher
their meaning, read the article via
their website, where you can sample
the latest mp3s and order a CD.
Or find one of the band members in
person—they’re local to Crestone.
Additionally, you may consider exploring
Wunderground Studio in
association with Strange Lights, at
www.wundergroundstudio.com.
This season’s so still, sometimes
it scorches. Add some song to
soothe the sirens. - Crestone Eagle

"I think your music is fresh.I love the very western sound you have and since I'm a fan of grace slick Mazzy Star--Opal really, the Charlatans, West Coast Experimental...and Flying Burrito Brothers I really look fwd to hearing more from you. I hope you come east and play in our town. Keep it up--the whole world should hear you play." Stacy Fine, music editor, High Times Magazine
- Stacy Fine, music editor, High Times Magazine

"Sounds great,....really deep,serious and funny..." "you guy's are the new Doors.no kidding..with a hint of the warlocks and some patty smith for good measure..congradulations..your going to be famous in France" Jack Petruzzelli, guitarist, Joan Osborne Band, Rufus Wainwright, The Fab Faux - Strange Lights website

"Catamaran into Kmart" "Gives off feeling of Siddartha raping me slowly. I really like this vocal melody and the bass and how 'large' this thing sounds. This is really produced to a very effective aesthetic. The progression can just carry on forever. I really really like this. The main vox remind me of Roky Erickson." Review for Strange Lights song God bless the world --mrstrauss, garageband.com staff reviewer - Garageband.com Staff reviewer