Lisa Gentile

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay. My, oh my what a wonderful day. These were the words that came to mind to describe the upbeat and cleansing feeling that quelled within after listening to the folk rock tales of Syracuse native, Lisa Gentile. Of the limited selections of her repertoire available online, I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard.

Lisa's music is quite heterogeneous as she shakes up the rhythms and tempos throughout to always keep us guessing. This young singer/songwriter writes beautiful lyrics that are poetic and swift with a packed punch. Her words dance in front of us from the cast of her sweet and heavenly divine voice like flames on candles through a gust of wind.

Lisa gives her music life through this brilliant orchestration. Her music is a form of storytelling following a similar artistic technique used by Billy Joel throughout his body of work. Hearing stories in this controlled medium was an extraordinary aural experience that was like a cup of chicken noodle soup that soothed the soul. Lisa's talents are equally matched by a superb auxiliary behind her to whisk us away.

One thing to admire about Lisa is her active stance and participation in charity events. Using her music for the common good, is there anything else more selfless and stunning? I have to say, playing folk rock in an urban environment from a self proclaimed cowgirl is pretty gutsy. I think her stellar body of work and heartfelt passion embedded into every note and word in her graceful music is a strong indication that Lisa is a fresh musician on the rise.


- John Berkowitz - The Celebrity Cafe

Backed by a great band, singer Lisa Gentile showed why one year ago she walked away with the Sammy for best country CD.

On the very stage on which she accepted that Sammy, Gentile displayed that she's the proud owner of fine original songs that sound as great live as they do on CD. "Sweet on You" is as catcjy a love ballad as most of the stuff on contemporary country radio these days. And live, Gentile's got plenty of it-factor. She charmed the fans who were crowding into the shade in front of the stage with an easy way.

And with Jake Cappozolo on bass, Robbie Spagnoletti on drums, Bill Barry on keyboards and Joe Beccheria on guitar, Gentile also showcased a rocking side with covers "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" and "Let Your Love Flow." - The Post Standard Syracuse NY

If you’re a musician or avid music listener, especially if you’ve been at it for awhile, you’ve heard so much crap out there that you’ve come to genuinely appreciate a well-crafted song when you hear one. Good songs tug at the heartstrings and can temporarily transport us from this sometimes dreary brick-and-mortar world into a calmer, dreamier version. Or the songwriter expounds so well on the realities that surround us, you find yourself relating on a level you didn’t know was possible. Or hell, maybe the tune’s just got a really catchy riff.
At this year’s Words and Music Songwriter Showcase Series, coming at you once a month now through April, some of Central New York’s award-winning songwriters are on display, and will perform the songs that put them on the map.
“I’ve always wanted to celebrate the stylistic diversity in the music scene here,” says series host Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, contributor to National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine, author, teacher and John Lennon Songwriting Award winner. “And the headliners in the upcoming months are great examples.”
The first of those examples is Syracusan and Syracuse New Times Syracuse Area Music Award (Sammy) winner Lisa Gentile, who kicks off the showcase on Saturday, Jan. 23. Her Sammy was in 2007 in the Best Country category. The girl’s got Motown in her blood (her dad worked at the Detroit record label) and singing in her heart (her mom was a Motown and Decca recording vocalist), and she writes in a pop-country vein.
Gentile’s folks carted her off to New York City when she was a kid, where she got into showbiz full time. Since then she has put out two full-length, independently released albums, Becoming and A Very Country Compilation, and an EP, Three. Gentile’s fourth recording, This Crickety Old House, is in the works. You might have caught her around town hosting the Wednesday open mike at Opus Lounge, 218 Walton St., or at one of her many area gigs, but if not, this is your chance to see her perform live when she headlines the first night.
Saturday, Feb. 20, will see Joe Driscoll, a one-man band/folk/hip-hop artist who was discovered and signed by Buttercuts Records, a label out of London, when he toured Great Britain and turned heads with lyrics, instrumentation and hard-hitting performances of his own design.
Sammy Hall of Fame member Isreal Hagan is known for his rhythm’n’blues-based songs, as well as his 25-year-old local history fronting the local band Stroke. Hagan plays Thursday, March 25. And closing out the series is acoustic artist Ryan Fitzsimmons, also from Syracuse, who has toured the United States and is making a name for himself at gigs from New England to Montana. Fitzsimmons plays on Thursday, April 22.
Each of the Words and Music shows involves more than a single, straight-up performance. In keeping with the often collaborative nature of music, a “Songwriters in the Round” session will open each night, during which musicians, armed with their pipes and other instruments, trade off songs and sometimes accompany each other in what host Rodgers calls “a very interactive and spontaneous format.” The session is followed by a full set by the evening’s featured performer in the intimate Jazz Central venue. - Syracuse New Times

The beautiful Lisa Gentile has come up with 3 songs that are decidedly crossover country, on the same trail that Shania blazed, with at least as lovely a voice.

'Jenny and Mickey' could be her best vocal work of the three. 'Jenny she was 16. It was 1964. She moved out to the city cause she wanted something more. All the boys said she was pretty and damn that girl could sing. Her mamma said "Hey Jennie, you can do just about anything." Jenny wanted to fly, so Jennie jumped up real high. She wanted to dance. She wanted to sing. She wanted to be freer than free.'

By the time you're through with that 2nd song, you'll seriously wonder why you've not heard of Lisa. Perhaps you have. You should. She's super - and luckily not just by voice. The recording of this single is crisp and professionally produced.

The full cd is finally out, so you should really check it. Especially if you're not wholly into country, but like just a Little fiddle in your 'Ready To Roll.' Because remember - all the best girls go country. - By Ben Ohmart Music Dish E-Journal

Hot as a description for music assumed a different denotation during the downright sweltering 2008 Syracuse New TimesSyracuse Area Music Awards, held June 6 during downtown’s Taste ofSyracuse event at the corner of West Washington and South Franklinstreets. Yet 90-degree-plus temperatures that would make Dante’s Infernofeel like a Baskin-Robbins didn’t stop new and veteran musicians fromcoming together and offering a smorgasbord comprising the best of thelocal scene.
This year’s SNT Sammys festivities included the 11th run of the annual music award show (the first of which was held in 1993 at the Landmark Theatre, 362 S. Salina St.), as well as eight hour-long sets of music that showcased the diversity of the Syracuse circuit held throughout the day. A headlining performance by alt-rockers Simplelife carried the good vibes of theparty into the more tepid evening.
Grupo Pagan, local Latin favorites andlast year’s winner of the Best Recording for Other Styles Award, kickedoff the sets, accompanied by rock diva Ashley Cox. The group prefaced the day’s high temperatures with a mixture of spicy tunes, including “Oye La Musica,” from the band’s self-released album Save the World. Percussionist Josh Dekaney weathered the heat especially well, shining with licks deserving of comparisons to Michael Shrieve, the drummer who stole the show during Santana’s 1969 Woodstock performance.

Roosevelt Dean brings cool blues guitar riffs to the hot Sammys stage as a Hall of Fame inductee. Michael Davis photo.

The soulful sounds of Five to Life then drew the audience toward its spiritual inclinations. The a capella gospel fivesome, which won the 1999 award for Best Inspirational or Gospel Act, praised the lord and inspired one audience member to stand in front of the stage and testify. It was likely due to the deeply moving sentiments in songs like “Jesus Left the Water At the Well” and“Love Lifted Me” that caused the band’s fan to throw his arms into the air and sing along with the lyrics.
On an entirely separate musical plane,local rapper Oxburg, who later received the honor of Best Hip-Hop or Rap recording artist, brought his sprawling posse on stage to represent. Of course, what would a Sammys award show be without an appearance by omnipresent rap guru DooWiTTle, who introduced the newcomer on stage. Likewise, C-Lite, a colleague of DooWiTTle and Oxburg, also introduced the artist, who then played a high-energy set that showcased “Ox” as the cooler, more suave component of DooWiTTle’s hip-hop coterie.
As the afternoon’s crowd started to trickle in to sample the Taste of Syracuse’s dollar dreams, Bobby Green performed a variety of funked-up blues tunes, including a cover of Maxwell’s 1996 hit “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder).” Green demonstrated his amazing ability to sit in a groove and jam until the cows come home, which is, apparently, on any given stage. Green, who has been known locally as a legendary guitarist for the past five decades, won the award for Best Soul or Rhythm’n’Blues Instrumentalist or Vocalist in 2001, and was inducted into the Sammys Hall of Fame in 2005.
Lisa Gentile, local pop-country afficionado and winner of 2007’s Best Country award, performed a genuine, heartfelt set that featured the airy “Sweet On You,” a tune from her EP 3 (Padre Music). Gentile’s performance also included an impulsive rendition of her tune “Tell Him How You Like It,”a feminine call to arms that describes the methodology women should use to instruct their man in sexual matters. - Syracuse Newtimes