Music
Press
Karissa song 'Happy Place' was a featured pick on the station for the week of 8/4/08 profiling local artists.
http://www.lightning100.com/local_lightning_spotlight.php - www.lightning100.com
Karissa has a record pool pick of the week for 'Moved by the Music' on FMQB dance chart. - http://www.fmqbproductions.com/dance/
Karissa - Shades of Green.
One heck of a Pop Star. Karissa has that sultry voice sorely lacking in today's Popular Music. You would not expect this from someone who grew up in rural Wyoming but I'm sure the folks there are proud of her. Karissa has that unique voice, and here I go again with my age but I thought I may have heard a hint of Spanky McFarland from Spanky and Our Gang fame. She just has that style and her songwriting is superb. I certainly hope this EP develops into a full album. Produced by Bread co-founder Robb Royer, Karissa is in perfect pitch on songs like "Hope" and "Happy Place" but the gem is a stunningly beautiful "Shades of Green". Karissa, Hang In There.
- J.D.
Radio and airplay, potential: What would keep listeners listening? Most definitely Karissa. I mean one of the reviewers said 'We're always looking for something new, something different but not so different that it's going to put people off' and she's got that balance absolutely spot on. What a wonderful voice, a great song (Happy Place). I would definitely say to any radio station, you know, play this, and you're going to get your ears sort of pricking up and (you'll be) turning up the knob because it is delightful. I thought it was great.
- Sid Olivera, DJ
June 5, 2008
Karissa: American Girl
Wyoming native Karissa la Cour credits her music career to an "epiphany" at a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert in 2003. "I came out of that show and thought, 'I'd love to do this,' but I never really felt I could," the singer-songwriter reveals in her bio.
A few years later, Karissa dropped out of the University of Wyoming and headed for Nashville, where she connected with industry veteran Robb Royer, co-founder of '70s band Bread. Their soon-to-be-released collaboration - Shades of Green - features accessible pop that draws inspiration from K.T. Tunstall, Norah Jones and Fiona Apple, although Karissa does list Petty and The White Stripes as influences on her MySpace page. When Karissa performs in Scranton on June 7, perhaps the "next Karissa" will an epiphany inspired by la Cour's music.
http://the570.com/Race/Story/47003/Scranton_Pocono_500_Fanfest_Entertainment - Times-Shamrock Newspapers
August 2008
MASSPOOL
Gary Canavo – Pool Director
Revere, MA
"After giving this one a few listens I simply cannot put it down, A true must play for any club, radio or Mixshow"
PHILLY SPINNERS ASSOC
Fred Kolet – Pool Director
Cherry Hill, NJ
"PLEASANT VOCAL , GOOD TRACK ; Our FAVORITE Version Is The "DANCE MIX" ; Currently Found In Our "NOW SPINNING" Section
[Comparable To BILLBOARD MAG's "BUBBLING UNDER" Section ] & Will Move Onto Our TOP 50 DANCE Chart As A NEW ENTRY For The Charts Dated JULY 1 - 15, 2008 ; This Is Projected To Go TOP 15 For Us !!"
LONG ISLAND RECORD POOL
Jackie McCloy
Levittown, NY
"Thanks for the service on Karissa "Moved By the Music". This song has all the elements to be a hit here. Very good vocals, captivating sound and danceable rhythm. I would be very surprised if this did not rise to the upper levels of our chart. Almost all of our DJs should be working this into their programs... It's a natural to do well and PLEASE send us more music like this!!! It's REALLY good!"
RICKETTS RECORD POOL
Bill Rickett
Saddle Brook, NJ
"powerful debut from a new label that i'm not familiar with yet"
LETS DANCE IRS RECORD POOL
Mike Macharello - Pool Director
Chicago, IL
"The DJ's really liked the vocal tone of this track as well as the lyrics."
CENTRAL OHIO RECORD POOL
Fred Dowdy - Pool Director
Columbus, OH
"Love it, just want to emphasize the need for a remix on Karissa."
OUR MID ATLANTIC POOL (OMAP)
Bill Keart & Alan Chasan - Pool Directors
Washington, DC
"The whole theme of being "Moved By The Music" screams summer anthem!"
HAWAII DJ ASSOCIATION
Kevin Okada – Pool Director
Honolulu, HI
"The music has an infectious 90’s beat, I just hope this doesn’t get lost is the shuffle."
NORTHWEST DANCE MUSIC ASSOCIATION
John England - Pool Director
Seattle, WA
"`I definitely need a remix of this, want to hear more of the vocalist!"
SOUNDWORKS
Sam Labelle
San Francisco, CA
“I liked what I heard in there, good vocals and classic lyrics.”
- Dan Miller - Dixie Dance Kings, DJTimes
Aug 28, 2008 07:28 PM CDT NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A young Nashville-based artist is burning up dance clubs across the country.
Her name is Karissa la Cour. The singer/songwriter moved to Nashville from Wyoming about a year a half ago, she said, to find her niche in music.
A chance meeting landed her big-time Nashville help. She met music industry veteran Robb Royer, a co-founder of the 1970s group Bread and an Academy Award-winning songwriter.
Royer is producing Karissa and her music.
"She has three or four things going that really took me," he said. "One is the voice. Certainly one is the writing. And one is she has a really unique way of phrasing things that is just her."
"I was just like oh my goodness this is who I'm working with and he's very talented," she said. "I've been very blessed."
Robb admits when they first met he was not looking to work with a new artist. But he said hearing her changed his mind.
"I just went, well what would I do if Joni Mitchell walked in and said, ‘Hey, here I am?'" he said. "Somebody real hits you and you've got to go, you know."
Robb described Karissa as an eclectic, original pop artist, but said sometimes her sound reminds him of Annie Lennox or Kate Bush.
Robb and Karissa are working on setting up more live shows similar to a recent showcase at Rocketown, a Nashville nonprofit entertainment facility. It consists of an indoor skatepark, a coffee bar and three stages.
They are trying to get her name out in front of as many people as possible. Her success in dance clubs has attracted interest from record labels in Europe.
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?s=8918297 - NewsChannel 5
Discography
'Shades of Green' EP
Photos
Bio
The first thing that hits you when meeting Karissa la Cour is the question 'Where does it come from?' Hailing from a cloistered world in rural Wyoming, home schooled, and looking young and wide eyed, you don't expect to hear the eclectic, edgy, slightly off-the-wall artist that you eventually realize indeed she is.
Things started emerging for Karissa when at 18, she experienced an epiphany at her first concert, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in Rapids City, SD and was overwhelmed with the notion of doing the same thing for a living. Karissa explains, "I came out of that show and thought, I'd love to do this but I never really felt I could. After a few gigs singing in coffee shops and the odd college event Karissa still lacked the confidence to go for it. But in her junior year at University of Wyoming, she heard that one of her friends headed to Nashville in an attempt to launch a musical career and realized that she might have the same option. After strong sup port from family and friends, Karissa left college as a junior with friend Bob Proffitt, who steered his Jeep in a beeline for Music City USA."
Karissa continues, "we crashed at Bob's parents home in Nashville and surprisingly, through his father's business association with music industry veteran Robb Royer, I was offered a meeting. Little did I know at the time that he was the co-founder of the renowned 70's super-group Bread and a Academy Award Winning songwriter," she laughs. Unbeknownst to Royer, Karissa was more intent on singing, writing and seeking artist advice than talking about the business side of music. She sang three songs before he stopped her saying, "well, there's no doubt you can sing."
"Robb said that he'd be willing to go in the studio and see what happened," Karissa continues, "so, I went back to Wyoming to regroup, earn some additional money, and bought a return trip flight to Nashville in December 2006, just in time for a very lonely first Christmas in Nashville. When I arrived back on Music Row we sat down at NashFilms Records studio and I played "Shades of Green" and the rest is kind of a blur," she laughs.
"I think I had tears in my eyes when she played it (Shades of Green), and said something like, 'okay, you're the real thing' and took her into the studio the first of the year (2007) and we start to write songs outrageously fast. She accelerated me to her pace and we enjoyed a cross generational writing relationship where I had all the experience and she had the floodgates open. It was hard enough for her to walk into the studio on this level for the first time, yet she exceeded all my expectations. I recall telling her, 'Now look, if we’re going to do this, we'll need to write and cut for one full year.' I thought that implied a languid pace. It didn't end up that way. I wanted to experiment, try several styles, and every time I gave her a challenge she'd knock it out of the park!"
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