Biography
Portland, OR based artist Lisa Mann is the 2008 recipient of the Cascade Blues Association's Muddy Waters Award for Bass Player of the Year, an award she also took home in 2001. She has also been nominated for vocalist of the year, joining such greats as Rae Gordon and Duffy Bishop. In 2007 she and "Her Really Good Band" flew to Austin, TX to take second place in the "Famecast" video competition out of 162 bands nationwide.
www.famecast.com/lisamann
In the summer of 2009, Lisa's signature song "Little Sister" was chosen runner-up in the open category in Mike Pinder's Song Wars competition. Pinder, keyboardist of Moody Blues fame, wrote, "Lisa - Excellent storytelling and well crafted composition.
Memorable hook and melody. Good dynamics and great energy. Nice arrangement and
outstanding vocal performance. By the time I heard the middle eight I was singing the
hook, 'you never suffered…' Solid songwriting! ~ Mike"
Lisa's songwriting influences run the gamut- from gritty blues to hard rock, from modern pop to southern rock, ultimately reflecting an all-American style.
It's part of her musical philosophy to use the human voice as an instrument like any other. She'll change her vocals to fit each song, from a strong growl to a sweet lilt.
Lisa Mann says, "I like to let a song come out the way it wants to. When an idea for a song comes on, I don't argue with it, I just commit it to the back of whatever envelope or dirty placemat happens to be in front of me, and later work it out on my bass or acoustic guitar.
Making a CD is a wonderful creative process, but I much prefer the stage to the studio. I have been on stages of every size, from coffee houses to the Waterfront Blues Fest in front of 10,000+ people. What a rush! Something takes over when I am performing live, a sense of the present moment and the excitement it holds."
Instrumentation
Lisa Mann- Bass guitar and vocals
Jeff Knudsen- guitar
Michael Ballash- drums
Brain Harris- keyboards
Lisa is also available to do solo, duo and trio performances as well
Discography
Self Material is her first, and features many of Portland's finest artists, including Dave Melyan and Alex Shakeri of the Insomniacs, Sonny "Smokin'" Hess, piano man David Vest and internationally acclaimed violinist Eddie "Skip" Parente.
Her second CD, Chop Water, featuring amazing performances from "Her Really Good Band" (Jeff Knudsen, Alex Shakeri and Dave Melyan), was released in the summer of 2008, and has received airplay on KINK, KMHD and KPSU radio.
She has also performed on other artist's CDs, including guitar goddess Sonny "Smokin'" Hess, blues belter Karen DuMont, singer/songwriter Jeff Johnson, and Texas roots rocker Jeff Boortz.
Links
| http://www.myspace.com/lisamannmusic |