Eliza Rickman
Los Angeles, California, United States
Music
Press
Eliza Rickman performs some of the most eerily wonderful songs in town. Regularly performing with just a toy piano and a voice seemingly ripped out of Snow White's larynx, she'll be backed on this night by a string quartet. This is going to be too good. - LA Underground
Though technically classified as a singer-songwriter, Eliza Rickman, who appears July 3rd at the Soda Bar, is hard to pigeonhole. Currently touring to promote her new record, "Gild the Lily," Rickman's winning stage presence and intricately arranged material is a perfect match for her powerful voice. Her music has pop elements, with intricate arrangements and an occasional dark tinge to her melodies, but there's a twist in the instrumentation: Rickman uses a toy piano. In the hands of a lesser musician, this would quickly become a tired gimmick. However, Rickman knows how to use the toy to construct songs that are compelling and bear repeated listening. - San Diego's North Park News- music editor Bart Mendoza
Psychedelic garage-rockers Ded Pigeons and poppy alt-country duo The Kris Special are all well and good, but it’s the other two acts that make Soda Bar the place to be tonight. The Dabbers have gone from merely a side project for Kill Me Tomorrow’s Zack Wentz and girlfriend Shelby Gubba (formerly of BRAAIINS), to one of the hardest-working, most enjoyable bands in town. And the L.A.-based Eliza Rickman is going places. The daughter of a Baptist preacher, she performs haunting, melancholy tunes on a toy piano and has a voice like PJ Harvey at her loveliest. Not sure how well you’ll be able to hear Rickman over the noise at Soda Bar, but get up close to hear the magic happen. - San Diego CityBeat
Last summer, Riverside folk/pop artist Crystal McKee put together a slate of some of the most talented female musicians from Southern California.
This weekend, McKee is doing it again, bringing the Female Acoustic Showcase to the amphitheater at the Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos on Saturday.
"It's going to be bigger and better," she said. ...
Another artist who can't be missed is Eliza Rickman.
Rickman performed in last year's installment, but now her music has a new twist- she just recorded an EP, "Gild the Lily", performed on a toy piano.
Rickman's older music was piano-driven, and as she started playing places where they didn't have a piano, she would have to lug her 90-pound weighted keyboard with her to shows.
"I hated it," she said.
So when she didn't feel like bringing her keyboard, she brought her antique toy piano instead and the crowds loved it.
"People were entranced by it," Rickman said.
The piano will be coming with her to Corona.
6 p.m. Saturday, The Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos, 2780 Cabot Drive, Corona. Free, all ages. - The Press-Enterprise (06/12/09)
Discography
'Gild the Lily' EP (2009) available for download on iTunes & Amazon mp3
Photos
Bio
ELIZA RICKMAN is a singer, songwriter and pianist living and performing in California. Her unique and haunting sound combines the lilting sweetness of popular vocalists like Feist or Annie Clark with the gritty sensibilities of PJ Harvey and the playfulness of Kurt Weill. The daughter of a Baptist preacher, Eliza discovered the piano at age eight. She innocently pounded away at a 120-year-old piano inherited from her grandfather while growing up in southern California. She went on to study classical piano, specializing in Ragtime at Azusa Pacific University. Eliza eventually changed her major to arranging and, at the urging of a teacher, began singing. Over the next few years, Eliza developed her original and unforgettable vocal style by listening to her voice on a four track recorder.
Shortly before graduating, Eliza began composing her own material, utilizing her talent for arranging string quartets and piano. When she began performing at Los Angeles venues, she purchased a toy piano out of necessity. The compact, antique, two-octave piano quickly became her trademark accompaniment. Its piercingly nostalgic sound created a lyrical dissonance with her deceptively powerful voice. While she still performs with a small chamber of musicians at venues like El Cid and Hotel Cafe, the toy piano is the central instrument on her new EP, Gild the Lily. Full of lovesick lullabies, Gild the Lily marries pure and sultry melodies with melancholy lyrics. The raven-haired, porcelain-skinned songstress serenades listeners into an unexpected vulnerability while leading them on a quest for love by a little girl lost.
Eliza is one of the hardest-working independent musicians in LA, where she is often spotted performing on the streets with one of her tiny pianos. And Eliza is also quickly becoming recognized as one of the best-dressed musicians in the LA area. She works with wardrobe stylist Shareen Mitchell (known for her brilliant work with rising starlets Katy Perry and Emily Wells). The result is a physical presence as intriguing and other-worldly as Eliza's music.
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