|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEWS
Listeners enjoy the smooth vocals
and acoustic guitar of Lisa Perry
 |
||
Perry is the author of hundreds of songs, some of which are showcased on her albums - Canyon Rose, Fractal Rose, Angel Rose and Tropical Rose. Although it is difficult to categorize the type of music that she writes, it would best be placed in the adult contemporary section. “I’ve been influenced by so many different types of music. I believe people enjoy the fact that it is unusual and that it draws from a variety of styles,” says Perry. She has also released a Christmas album that features a few original songs, but it is mostly composed of traditional Christmas music that she has written arrangements for.
She has just released her newest work, Tropical Rose. This collection of original songs was produced while she lived in central Florida and features tropical sounds like steel drums and percussion as well as Lisa’s signature vocal harmonies. Angel Rose was the precursor to the tropical CD.. “Angel Rose is a group of spiritual songs,” she says. “I’m hoping it will be the kind of music that will cause people to pause and reflect, and be a comfort or an inspiration.” In between Angel and Tropical came Nostalgia Rose. A project that was a dream come true for Lisa. She had always wanted to record her favorite jazz tunes from the 1940s era, and that’s just what she did. For more details about these and other recorded works, click the CD tab above.
Lisa has been doing a variety of performances in Central Florida and the midwest for years. She is very much at home in a garden setting and enjoys outside venues like festivals, art fairs, and garden fairs. “I love to be out in nature,” says Perry. “I am an avid gardener and a flower addict. So many of my songs are inspired by nature and I think they sound best when played in its presence.” However, she is just as well suited to intimate settings where people are interested in hearing her original material. She has been compared to artists such as Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, and Julia Fordham. The spiritual aspect of her music also makes her an appropriate choice for holistic or “new age” gatherings and ceremonies.
Lisa loves listening to old jazz, or nostalgia songs from the 30’s and 40’s. As a big fan of Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, she performs songs from that era. This aspect of her repertoire makes her a good choice for weddings, receptions, or background music for romantic dining and intimate restaurants.
Lisa is equally comfortable in large concert situations. Her voice and her message are both powerful, meaningful, and thought provoking. “I hope the music has a healing quality,” she says reflectively. “Music has the power to touch peoples hearts, or to carry them off into esoteric landscapes. It has the power to move blockages that we human beings accumulate and store without realizing what we are doing. Music, at its best, can help to dissipate those blockages and refresh our energies.”
Her versatility and unusual style make Lisa Perry an outstanding choice for a variety of settings. She is currently booking engagements for the remainder of the year. For information on available dates, contact Jim Perry at the above address.
Leesburg songbird wants music to heal, inspire
By CHET CALLERO
Columnist
The Daily Commercial
Leesburg, Florida
Singer Lisa Perry is in touch with the abode of God. How can anyone tell? A good measure is the heavenly way she performs a song.
The Leesburg mother of three boys describes her musical performances as "vocal acrobatics." That's really too simple an explanation for what happens when she's on center stage. Perry is a versatile and inspirational songbird. She is also a songwriter, musician and entertainer. She started to sing professionally when she was 16. She worked for years in the Midwest, playing concerts in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Colorado.
She has opened for such stars as Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet, and Willie Nelson. She has shared stages with Bonnie Raitt, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Hartford, Vassar Clements and Asleep at the Wheel.
Perry is the author of hundreds of songs, some of which are showcased on her albums Canyon Rose, Fractal Rose and Angel Rose. She loves to listen to old jazz or nostalgic songs form the 30's and 40's. As a big fan of Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn, she performs songs from that era. This aspect of her repertoire makes her a good choice to provide entertainment for weddings, receptions or background music for romantic restaurant dining.
She says, "I have been influenced by so many different types of music. I believe people enjoy the fact that what I do is unusual and that it draws from a variety of styles."
Her style has been described: Lisa Perry's music is rich in melody, harmony, message and inspiration. Her original songs represent a blend of influence from nature, angels, her garden, mountains, Native American symbolism and ritual, nature spirits and fairies. The songs, whether in live performance or recordings, are full of healing and peacefulness, joy and motivation."
"Angel Rose is a group of spiritual songs," she says of her latest CD recording. "I'm hoping it will be the kind of music that will cause people to pause and reflect, and be a comfort or an inspiration."
Perry also has a Christmas album that features a few original songs, but is mostly composed of traditional music.
A review on Perry's style states: "Lisa Perry has taken on serious topics in her music, but she doesn't preach at you. The songs have hauntingly beautiful melodies and are filled with harmonies and strong instrumentation."
"Sound is a powerful tool," Perry said. "It can move blockages and align or balance our fields and chakras as well as enhance our sense of well being. That intention goes into every performance I give. I also incorporate what I have learned in Reiki about the transference of energy when I sing. I want everyone who hears the music to receive some kind of healing or enrichment or awakening. Music is a perfect mode for that kind of energy transference. The music rises up and moves through me. It really has a life and energy all its own. I am the channel, the resonant field."
For Perry that means an almost unlimited commitment She says that in most of her recordings she does synchronized multi-voice harmony. On many recordings she performs three different voices. On others, she sings as many as eight voices.
Her renditions of nostalgic songs are enchanting to hear. It's especially delightful when she sings such favorites as "On a Clear Day," "As Time Goes By" and "Till There Was You."
Perry has been doing a variety of performances in Central Florida. She has appeared in Orlando at Barnes and Nobles and Borders book stores and at the Lake Eola Band Shell. She has performed concerts at Clermont's Mulberry Inn and Arbors and Eyebrows in Mount Dora. For the past few years she has played Christmas music at Venetian Gardens during the holiday season.
Why does Perry sing? She says, "I think for a number of reasons. Probably the main one is that I can't not sing. It's very important to me, in terms of relief, in terms of expression of who I am. In terms of spiritual guidance and practice. In terms of just keeping myself open as a creative and artistic person. I have to sing."
Her voice and style have an ease and gentleness uncommon in today's roll call of entertainers. Her singing expresses a lilting layering of musical sounds.
Hearing her perform may help you to understand what she means when she says, "I have to sing."
And chances are, it will probably add joy to your life, because she does.
Beautiful El Malpais region inspires songwriter's work
Cibola County Beacon,
Grants, New Mexico
When Arkansas songwriter Lisa Perry visited the nation's newest national monument in New Mexico, a creative energy and inspiration engulfed her. She felt the wisdom and experience of the ancient Indians and was touched by the extraordinary beauty of the mesas and canyons. The result of this and other encounters with nature is a collection of songs she has written and released entitled "Canyon Rose."
"The creative moment is really an experience of unity. The creative act is an attempt to re-create that moment in order to re-experience it as well as to share it," Perry said.
The songs in Canyon Rose are a reflection of this idea of unity. She is a frequent visitor to the Mount Taylor area near Grants, New Mexico. This area includes La Ventana, a huge natural stone arch and the magnificent sandstone bluffs Southwest of Grants. The area has recently been set aside as a national monument called El Malpais. El Malpais is sacred Indian land that seems to possess a certain power and beauty all its own.
She credits this area as the inspiration for many of the songs on "Canyon Rose," her self-produced 60 minute CD of original songs.
"There is a special beauty about this part of the country, a kind of accumulation of all that has passed through it. I feel a real sense of the presence of ancient ceremony and thought forms as well as the power of the volcanic period. I always enjoy the scenic magnificence of the mountain, the sandstone bluffs and the canyons," Perry said.
The "Canyon Sunset Song" and the "Sacred Mountain Song" are reflective of that beauty.
"I was so glad when the decision was made to preserve El Malpais as a national monument. It should be protected and I'm glad it will be more accessible to the public," she said. "Old Ways" is a song that pays respect to the ancients and their impact on the land and us.
Two of the songs on the album, "Fast Lane Blues" and "Voices" are about slowing down and listening. "We have a tendency to think about the pauses in our lives as something extra, when we have time. Yet they are essential to balance in our daily lives." She said.
"We have so much noise and action going on around us that we miss a great deal when we're not taking the time to be still. Nature expresses that creative unity and it can be experienced by anyone who pauses long enough to recognizes presence," Perry said.
Perry believes there is a growing awareness of the spiritual value of nature and its power to help us focus on the more metaphysical aspects of life. There is urgency and a responsibility to preserve and protect the beauty in all parts of this country.
In Arkansas, there is an abundance of natural beauty and many spectacular state parks. "Down by the Pond" is a happy song that was written about the joy of being in the Arkansas hills. However, there is also massive clear cutting of trees going on in the Ouachita Mountains. In some areas they are bulldozing whole sides of mountains in the name of forest management. Unfortunately, this short-sided approach is not all that uncommon. It appears that abundance has bred a tendency towards waste and insensitivity to the whole ecology of the area. There are people trying to fight it, but it is still going on, Perry said.
"None of us can change the world alone, yet we can each have an effect on the part of it that is within our own scope of influence. How we personally recycle and deal with our own waste will have an effect. Each persons relationship to and awareness of nature and its subtle energy can make a difference."
"We can each contribute with action, art and music or through our thought forms. Thought is a powerful force and each of us has an effect. Whether aware or unaware, conscious or unconscious, the whole will be influenced by each individual," Perry said.
"Through my music I try to portray the need and the responsibility of each individual to make that subtle shift, she said. The songs "Turn" and "Million Planets Lullaby" deal with man's responsibility to the earth and even the universe.
Perry has taken on serious topics in her music but she doesn't preach to you. The songs have hauntingly beautiful melodies and are filled with harmonies and strong instrumentation. All of the songs are original compositions. She enlisted the help of her husband, Jim Perry, in producing the project. He also played the drums and percussion. Part of the album was recorded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, so the Perrys could utilize the talents of two old friends and top Tulsa musicians. Mark Carpenter and Jim Strader are featured on nearly all of the cuts playing guitar and bass, respectively.
The remainder of the recording and mastering was done at the couples' home recording studio in Hope, Arkansas. They did import Lisa's brother, Randy Crouch, to lend his considerable music talents to the project. Crouch fronts an Oklahoma band called "Flying Horse". He plays fiddle, pedal steel, and adds to the country feel of many of the tunes. Arkansas musicians, Bruce Webb and Brian Jefferies also played on the album.
Perry is very aware of how much science, religion, and philosophy are coming to a point of union. There is a lot of new scientific research being done on chaotic systems, turbulence and the exploration of fractals. This research is pointing to the unification concept and to the influence of the parts upon the whole.
Philosophy has always recognized the effects of thought forms and subtle energies on individuals and even entire civilizations. Einstein taught us that matter and energy are interchangeable. The word religion comes from a word that means "energy gathering". Theosophy points out that what religion, science and philosophy have in common (rather than their differences) is a key to understanding.
"First we must become aware," Perry said. "Secondly, we must take personal responsibility for our own focus of energy. Finally, we must recognize how each part fits into the structure of the whole.
"Land of Dreams" is a song about that recognition. The songwriter sings, "don't be afraid" and reassures us about upcoming changes and our responsibility to deal with them.
In describing her music, Perry calls it a cross between jazz and new country. "We try to play music that feels good and is alive. A lot of emphasis is on the vocals and harmonies but the back up musicians really pulled it all together. "They did a fantastic job," she said.
Although it might be a little difficult to categorize, the music by Lisa Perry is captivating and different. The 60-minute album is being sold by mail and on the internet.