Karen Mansfield

Shoreworld: Karen Mansfield – On Her Way To A Sunny Day Destiny

—by John Pfeiffer, September 24, 2014

OK, I’m going to come out and say it: I am glad summer is over. I can now rejoice, safe in the knowledge that I will get a welcome break from Facebook posts crowing about how wonderful it feels to have unlimited free time to lounge on the beach as working class stiffs like yours truly simmer in stop-and-go traffic. I can kick back and breathe easy, delighted that the tourists have lost interest and scurried back to their overcrowded and noisy abodes in the Oranges, Rockaways and Palisades. Good riddance to the never-ending procession of lemmings that clog local waterholes and drive around in Escalades and CL550s, blasting rap and techno as I roll up my windows and fight my way down the block for the very last cup of available coffee.

Fall is the time I love. The air is filled with excitement and hope, and the convergence of life returns to the core community theme. And that settled sense of focus opens a new door on local music and the artists that make our area the most intriguing in the nation.

This week’s Shoreworld hails the return of Monmouth County singer-songwriter Karen Mansfield. Karen has been part of the scene ever since I can remember. Starting back in the ’80s, Mansfield kicked things off in the schlock and shock all-girl group, The Bleeding Knees.

The Bleeding Knees were a local punk outfit that sang outrageous songs about the beautiful act of sexual gratification. From the hilarious description of appendages to stories of oral and acrobatic antics, no stone was left unturned in their quest to get the dance floor packed with amorous boys and girls.

Mansfield was the one original member that would rise from the ashes of this entertaining foursome to continue in the business of music. Recording and performing with numerous artists, Mansfield is associated with names such as Jewel, Concrete Blonde, Johnny Thunders, Willie Nile, Bobby Bandiera, Shawn Pelton (Saturday Night Live Band), Mikael Jorgensen (Wilco), Erik Paparazzi (Cat Power), John Conte (Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes), Whirling Dervishes, John Eddie and Vance Gilbert.

Karen rings in the fall season with her brand new eponymous EP, Karen Mansfield. Written over the last few years, the EP captures the life experience of an artist who has weathered many personal and professional changes in life, and unabashedly details them on this compact thumbnail sketch of life and love. The EP was produced by Rob Tanico (Mr. Reality, Highway 9) and marks his first effort as a producer. As a writer and player, he has shared time with artists such as the Jonas Brothers, Val Emmich and Alex Brumel. Mansfield has also enlisted some key scene players on this disc, and musicians such as P.K. Lavengood, Dave Halpern, Bob Butkowski and Billy Siegel are all featured on various selections.

The record steps in with the gritty, 1960s flavoring of “I Know You Know.” Lavengood grinds out chimey, tube-fueled chords in the vein of Billy Harrison (Them) as Halpern slams his “Mystery Achievement” drum theme straight up the middle. Mansfield’s voice is both melodic and fun, delivering passionate pop-based moxie from the very first note. Maris Krauss and Nadia Chanel harmonize seamlessly with Mansfield, making it impossible not to tap a toe when you’re listening to this easy, breezy look into the never-ending act of chasing down desire. Lavengood’s middle-eight guitar work reverberates with Chris Isaak-like class and ties the bridge back into the songs driving and catchy chorus.

“No More Suffering” is immediately one of my favorites. Utilizing the combination of Lavengood’s cowboy riffs and Robert Butkowski’s lonely truck stop pedal steel bends, it’s the perfect setup for Mansfield to shine. Smooth and beautifully toned, Mansfield projects the emotional angst and visual melancholy of unrequited love. Drums and bass roll smooth under the middle-eight organ work of Tanico as Lavengood and Butkowski weave melodic tapestries of steel and wood.

“Your Lies” is an elegant roll into 1970s songwriter gold. Mansfield reminds me of Nicolette Larson as she swings and sways the listener with the addictive magic of her sugarcoated vocal skills. Simple and sound, this is a song that utilizes traditional soft rock rhythms and themes and thrives in a simple delivery. The triple threat backing vocals of Maris Krauss, Nadia Chanel and Quaniesha Crankfield wrap perfectly around Mansfield’s lyrical solace as she surrenders to the fact that sometimes the illusion of love is better than the reality that it never existed. The desolate bridge work of Butkowski and Lavengood frame this picturesque saga of heartbreak exquisitely. This is the song that radio will love to play.

“Just A Man” kicks out of the speakers in pure road tavern rock style. Country guitars bend and cry over the top of orbital key work in the vein of the Rolling Stones and John Mellencamp. The middle-eight is a little standard fare, splitting the bridge and taking turns with guitar and piano solos, but saved overall by the passionate delivery of Mansfield’s confessional swooning.

“Destiny” is a frolicsome formula in the vein of Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go’s. Bass and drums shimmy and pop with new wave panache as Lavengood does his best Peter Buck jangle. I loved the melodic, circus-like organ work in the middle-eight. A little bit ? And The Mysterians and a little bit Elvis Costello. Mansfield continues her thematic quest on the quandary of love and loss as background vocals echo their layered affirmations perfectly.

“Keep On” (For the sunny days) Mansfield proselytizes to the masses here. Powering through all the tribulations of family, relationships and disappointments they leave behind, Karen fills the listener with the hope for a better day around the next corner and a happier future upon the very next sunrise. Mansfield has a powerful voice, and I would love to hear her open up a little more in the choruses, but she’s overall tuned and toned quite well. Mansfield’s lyrics tell me this isn’t just some made up content to put on a record, and the intimacy comes through in her delivery. Special guest Billy Siegel (Whirling Dervishes) brings that Tennessee backcountry tone to the track as he whirls across the spectrum of the song on organ. Lavengood grinds and bends those low E strings till the cows come home while Halpern and Tanico hold down the bottom end, putting this country-tinged smoker deep in the pocket. Mansfield offers up a memorable foray into the world of bluesy rock and roll salvation and should turn quite a few industry heads.

Karen Mansfield has a strong and memorable sound. Her communicative style leaves you singing along and rooting for her after each additional listen. She is a veteran artist that has developed the ability to let go of the past and release her musical truth in the now, creating organic and believable compositions and performances. I would be curious to see what she comes up with on her next disc. Vulnerable, emotional and delivered in unhurried style, Karen Mansfield is a record that’s on an affable pathway to a successful destiny.

Karen Mansfield is scheduled to be released Nov. 16, 2014, at The Saint in Asbury Park, after which the disc will be available at karenmansfield.com, CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon. For more information and sneak peeks into the disc, check her out over at karenmansfield.com.


Tags: john pfeiffer, karen mansfield, shoreworld - The Aquarian Weekly

Karen Mansfield used to get a little wild as the frontperson for the Bleeding Knees.

"We were out of control" said Mansfield, in between laughs, of the late 80's and ahead of their time Jersey Shore outfit. "It was easy to be funny and shocking. All I had to do was keep my guitar in tune to be entertaining. We were young, cute and obnoxious."

Since those days, Mansfield has been in and out of the spotlight. Now, its time a center stage. The Oceanport resident is about to release a new, self titled EP. She brings a feathery vibrato and luscious phrasing to songs that explore a '60s rock and country mood. This of it as uptempo Jimmy Webb with great vocals, and its a treat for those who partake.

"Rob Tanico (Mr. Reality/Highway 9) produced it and he said, 'Karen, I hear the influences of the '60's in your songs', and it was nice that he confirmed that." Mansfield said. "You want someone to produce you who gets you as an artist."

Mansfield is a full time music and vocal teacher.

"I have a lot of student who are 7 and when I was 7 my aunt took me to the Garden State Arts Center (in Holmdel) and we saw the Carpenters." Mansfield said. "Karen Carpenter sand so great and she was beautiful and then she went off stage and put pants on and went behind a drum set. I knew then I wanted to be a singer and I wanted to be a drummer."

Mansfield reports she'll be getting a drum set soon. Before then, there will be a record release show at 2p.m. Sunday Nov. 16, at the Saint in Asbury Park.

Champagne and lemonade will be provided at the "affair". A Bleeding Knees song will be performed as well. She's keeping which one a secret, except for "its the one that doesn't have bad words." - Asbury Park Press

Karen Mansfield has been part of the New Jersey music scene for decades, yet this is her first official release. Guided by experience, it's clear that Karen does things her own way and in her own time. Surrounding herself with the area's top musical talent, her self-titled debut is being distributed on her own label, Willow Bella Music. Recently marking 25 years of sobriety, Karen's confessional songwriting style celebrates the possibilities of the future while still acknowledging the temptations of a weathered past.

The six-song EP kicks off solidly with of the disc's one true rocker, "I Know You Know." This is the radio track (if there is such a thing anymore), piloted by the driving beat of drummer Dave Halpern (Highway 9, Love in Reverse), and featuring a toe-tapping refrain with capable vocals that send the song soaring. In contrast, the country-flavored "No More Suffering" dials it back, slowing the pace when I thought I was in for a full-ahead rock collection. But I was coaxed back in with the delightfully twangy lap steel work by talented session player and Middletown native Robert Butkowski, accented by a jaunty keyboard solo by EP producer Rob Tanico (Mr. Reality, Highway 9). The multitalented Tanico also handles all the EP's bass lines alongside his Highway 9 comrade Halpern, kicking in on acoustic guitars, keys, and even percussion.

By the third track, "Your Lies," Karen's range of styles is evident. Here, you'll sense an LA sound circa 1976 in "Your Lies" (think Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt), which glides onward thanks to Butkowski's lilting, lyrical lap steel. The Heartbreakers-ish Americana vibe of "Just a Man" tells of a wistful, torn woman who's continually confronted with the lure of her former lover. As so many of us can attest, there's something undeniable that still draws her in. It's an irresistible urge, and she should know better ("God knows that I want him. Maybe he's the ghost that leaves me haunted"). Karen's vocals are bolstered here with a trio of ladies whose harmonies add a very real, layered dimension to the "voices in my head" appeal behind the song (Should I? or Shouldn't I?). Karen does reach for some vocal heights at the climax of this tune, bolstering my theory that she has more to offer vocally…if she would just let it out.

An upbeat little pop ditty that picks up where "Just a Man" left off, "Destiny" features a fabulous Farfisa-flavored keyboard solo by Tanico. In spite of her battles and demons, the singer presses on forward, and this time, she is firm in her resolve to abandon the temptation pulling her back, as better things are ahead. Karen sends the disc home with the optimistic "Keep On (For The Sunny Days)," elevated by the band to places it might not have otherwise gone. Guest keyboardist on this track is man-of-a-thousand-bands Billy Siegel, keyboardist for Dramarama and founding member of Union County's Whirling Dervishes. The track also features a nicely plucked solo by guitarist P.K. Lavengood, whom many will recognize from New Jersey native John Eddie's band.

Having seen Karen live twice before, I really wanted to love Karen Mansfield. She is gifted with a lovely voice, has written a collection of gritty, honest, relatable lyrics, and has backed herself with a crew of the area's most talented musicians. But given this impressive range of styles, I do wish Karen had harnessed the full vocal power I believe she has to more sincerely communicate the mood shifts and emotion from one song to the next.


NOTE: Karen Mansfeld will celebrate the release of her new cd at The Saint (601 Main Street) in Asbury Park on Sunday, November 16 at 2pm. Admission is $10 in advance or $14 at the door and comes with a free copy of the CD. Click here to purchase tickets online. - New Jersey Stage

Despite being well known inside
the New Jersey music scene for
decades, Karen Mansfield had
never released a record of her
own until a few months ago.
Once a punk rocker with The
Bleeding Knees, she has recorded,
performed, and shared stages
with artists such as Jewel, the
Whirling Dervishes, Willie Nile,
Mikeal Jorgensen of Wilco, and
Erik Paparazzi of Cat Power.
Through the years, the Rutgers
University graduate has recorded
several albums that were
never released for one reason
or another. Her self-titled debut
contains six songs which run
through a myriad of influences
and sounds like radio stations of
the sixties and seventies when
the charts weren’t so homogenized.
It’s also well worth the
wait.

An interview with
Karen Mansfield

New Jersey Stage January 2015 pg 42
New Jersey Stage recently spoke
with Mansfield about the new
release and what took her so
long to finally have a record of
her own, a record that was expertly
produced by Rob Tanico,
a long-time member of the Jersey
Shore music scene with such
bands as Mr. Reality and Highway
9.

NJS: The record starts off with a distinctive
sixties vibe that reminds
me of The Yardbirds.

KM: Rob (Tanico) picked up on that
vibe in my music. It’s not in every
song, but in quite a lot of
them. I’ve never said I have a
sixties vibe, but I had one record
when I was little. It was a
K-Tel record of the British Invasion
and it contained The Yardbirds,
Cream, and a lot of songs
and artists who had that whole
sound. I didn’t have a lot of records,
so I listened to that thing
a hundred million times. And
when I first started playing gui-
tar, the first songs I wanted to
learn were songs like “Bus Stop.”
It’s funny how you don’t realize
everything that you’re putting
in can be an influence. I didn’t
set out for that to be what my
sound is, but Rob obviously isn’t
the only one who hears it. I’ve
worked with a lot of people and
wanted someone to speak for
me and pull stuff out of me as
far as what the songs needed
and Rob was definitely the guy.
There are a lot of people I’ve
made records with that were
never released and the records
were more of their ego than the
art. If Rob wanted to change
certain parts and I said I wasn’t
into that, he totally honored
that; when I had worked with
somebody else they wanted full
control. It didn’t seem like as
an artist I was being acknowledged
with some of the people
I’ve worked with. With Rob, he’s
a very sensitive guy and he’s an
artist, he’s not just a button push-
er, and I think that’s why the record
came out so great.
Rob definitely heard the second
song as Glen Campbell and
it goes back to the sixties thing
again; the era wasn’t all about
the British Invasion, it was about
artists like Glen Campbell too.
He heard Linda Ronstadt and the
Stone Poneys on “Just a Man”. I
think he looked at each song as
an individual thing. He was a
little bit worried that the record
wouldn’t be cohesive all the way
through, but I think it works.

NJS: Why did it take you so long to
finally put out a record?

KM:Mainly because I was taking care
of my daughter. I had made
a record with Bobby Bandiera
playing guitar on every track,
which was never completed and
never released. I made another
record with John Conte playing
bass, Shawn Pelton on drums,
and Jack Morer from Tall Stories.
Rob Tanico was on that record
too. It was an 11 or 12 song record,
but I don’t have the rights
to it so I could never release it.
A lot of this was me taking care
of my daughter. I’m a single
mom and just trying to get by. I
was trying to get the money together
so I could buy the rights
to those records and then ultimately
realizing I can’t get the
money, so just make another
one.
It’s a bummer because when
you’re an artist you get taken
advantage of, but what can you
do? All you can do is keep trying.
My daughter is 18 now and
getting ready to go to college,
so I’m able to get back and focus
on the music. I’m sure that fathers
have the same feeling, but
there is that mother guilt. I sold
all of my guitars, sold all of my
amps — you do what you have
to do to provide for your kid.
And then you hope you haven’t
missed a beat so you can jump
back in the game and hit the
ground running. I’m happy that I
have had about 20 years to think
of who are the cream of the crop
musicians in the local scene. We
have a lot of great musicians in
this area but not all of them are
ones that I wanted on this project.
These are the ones I wanted.
This is my dream team. I sang
with PK Lavengood 20 years
ago, and I was always palling
around with Rob (Tanico) and Mr.
Reality. David (Halpern) is the
only one I didn’t know very well,
but I knew he had worked with
Rob and PK so it was like these
guys are already in good with
each other. They’re great musicians
and they can deliver what I
need. And so we did it.
One night in March 2012, I was
thinking that I wanted to make
a record and I wanted Rob to
produce it. I had been working
late teaching, I was at home in
my pajamas and getting ready
for bed. I went on Facebook and
saw that PK was filling in a gig
with Rob and Dave at the Boathouse
in Belmar. I was like, “The
three of them are together!”
So I got dressed and went
down to the Boathouse. As soon
as I walked in they called me up
to do a couple of songs. I hadn’t
seen any of them in a long time.
While on break they’re like
“What are you doing?” I said,
‘I’m here to ask Rob to do a record
and hopefully you guys will
be the band!” And that was it.
When we were in the studio I
just knew — sometimes you’re
in the studio and it’s just a pain
and things can take all day to do
one simple part. This was different.
Pretty much everything was
done on the first take. One time
PK asked if we could go back
for "Your Lies” and he came
up with that solo and everybody
had goosebumps. It was like
something really spooky just
happened in the studio. It was
really cool.

NJS: Even though you’ve never left
the local scene, there are a lot
of people who remember you
from The Bleeding Knees days.
Did you worry about competing
against your past?

KM: Unfortunately, I have to worry
about it because many people
still want the original thing that
we did. I don’t know if you ever
saw The Bleeding Knees, but we
weren’t very good. The songs
were very simple. It was mostly
girls although we had a different
guy on bass for each gig. People
would say, “Karen, you’re like
Pebbles & Bamm Bamm.”
We were silly. Every song
made fun of something and
people loved it and laughed.
We were outrageous and people
want that again. I remember
when I began writing serious
songs that I knew wouldn’t work
with The Bleeding Knees. I tried
to weave some of the songs
into the Bleeding Knees set and
nobody was into it. They liked
us singing bad words and being
obnoxious. I think when you
start out as a comedian it’s hard
to be taken seriously.

NJS: It sounds like the band’s legend
grew over time.

KM: I think it’s because we were
young. People my age are not
coming out, they’re at home
with their kids. The Bleeding
Knees were around 1987-88 and
there was a bunch of people
that I went to high school with
who were all looking for something
fun to do, so it was really
outrageous to come and see
my band. It was like who has
enough guts to get up and do
what we did? It was out of control!
And we didn’t last that long.

NJS: What kept you interested in music
all of these years?
I love writing songs. I love when
they come to me and I love
working with people that can
build it into the song that it’s
meant to be, make it a recording,
and put it out. I teach voice,
guitar, and piano lessons and
have a part-time job as well. I
don’t have to be rich, I just want
to make music. It’s the greatest
feeling in the world for me.

--Gary Wien
For more on the artist visit www.KarenMansfield.com - New Jersey Stage