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OXFORD, OH – Singer/songwriter Lisa Biales (pronounced “Be-Alice”) announces an April 16 release date for her new CD, Singing in My Soul,
coming from Big Song Music. Lisa is backed on the new CD by
Cincinnati-based pianist Ricky Nye (who also produced the album) and the
Paris Blues Band (and yes, they really are from France), which includes
Thibaut Chopin on upright bass, Anthony Stelmaszack on guitar and Simon
“Shuffle” Boyer on drums.
Lisa
Biales, with Ricky Nye and The Paris Blues Band will celebrate the new
CD release with a series of special promotion events in her native Ohio
and Kentucky. Dates include shows at the WNKU – Studio 89 Concert Series
at Northern Kentucky University on April 22; the Oxford Community Arts
Center in Oxford, Ohio on April 25; and Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza and
Concert House in Worthington, Ohio on April 26.
The 10 cuts on Singing in My Soul reflect
Lisa’s diverse musical tastes, as she covers everything from gospel
(Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Strange Things Happening Every Day” and the
title track); blues (Mississippi John Hurt’s “Let the Mermaids Flirt
with Me,” Sippie Wallace’s “You Got to Know How” and W. C. Handy’s
“Careless Love”); old time pop (Blu Lu Barker’s “A Little Bird Told Me,”
Peggy Lee’s “Waiting for the Train to Come In”); and even a beautiful
slow ballad version of the doo-wop classic, “I Only Have Eyes for You”.
Lisa’s lone original song on the album, “Magic Garden,” a tune she wrote
in a playful finger-style guitar framework, fits in perfectly amongst
the rest of the repertoire. Of special note is her wondrous take of
“Write Me in Care of the Blues,” a song she found doing research for the
play “Always, Patsy Cline,” in which Biales was cast in the leading
role for the local production.
“The
director approached me to see if I was interested in playing the part
of Patsy Cline for our community theatre group OxAct,” Biales said.
“Well, I loved Patsy Cline and all the songs that were in the show. I
thought about it for about three years. Finally, I said yes and blocked
off my schedule a year in advance. We hired a fantastic band, and the
two-woman show, with Nora Ellen Bowers playing the part of Patsy’s
friend Louise, sold out every night for three weeks in Oxford, Ohio. We
had a ball and I LOVED singing those wonderful songs and stepping into
Patsy Cline's shoes every night. My favorite scene from the play was in
the kitchen, sitting at the table, with a cigarette in hand, singing
‘Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray.’”
The
organic chemistry of Lisa’s work in the studio with Ricky Nye and The
Paris Blues Band translates on disc to a beautifully comfortable
listening experience, creating a house concert ambience throughout.
“I
like the feeling we got on this recording over all,” Lisa recalled.
“Everyone was in a good mood, cracking on each other. I loved hearing
Simon count off a tune ‘un deux trois’ in French. We recorded together
in one room; and the vocals are the original ‘scratch’ vocals from the
session. We captured something special and I didn’t want to change a
thing. When you work with people who like playing together, you get
something magical.
“One
of my favorite parts of this recording session was watching Ricky,
Thibaut, Simon and Anthony sing on the song, ‘A Little Bird Told Me’.
They all stood around one mic and got a real old school
call-and-response feel to this song. They were hesitant at first about
singing; I told them I loved this kind of singing and wanted their
voices on my record. This song makes me very happy.”
Ohio-based
Lisa Biales has spent a lifetime making music. Her diverse musical
influences drive her to continue to evolve as an artist, singer and
guitarist. Singing in My Soul showcases her amazing gift
for making cover songs all her own. She sings with a crystal pure voice
and writes music about the simple things in life. Lisa grew up in a
musical family and began her career as a performing songwriter at an
early age. She’s independently released seven albums of music under her
own Big Song Music label, and is heard on radio stations around the
world. Her song “Playing with Angels” went to #1 in Australia and “Where
the Buckwheat Blooms” hit #32 on the folk radio charts in the U.S.
Her 2012 release, Just Like Honey, was produced by EG Kight and the legendary Paul Hornsby and garnered universal acclaim for Lisa’s music. Just Like Honey was also named as one of the top 100 Blues Albums of 2012 by the Roots Music Report. Lisa
has been called “The Belle of the Blues” and critics rave about her
powerful, sultry, crystal pure voice. “She can stretch out a note to
the kind of length that makes you forget that you are holding your
breath,” said Alternate Root Magazine. “Lisa’s soul-stirring voice and unique guitar has created her signature sound,” wrote The Cincinnati Enquirer.
ITINERARY
4/22 WNKU-Studio 89 (Griffin Hall, N. KY University - free) Highland Hts., KY
4/25 Oxford Community Arts Center 8pm (CD Release Show) Oxford, OH
4/26 Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza & Concert House (CD Release Show) Worthington, OH
5/18 Oxford Wine & Art Festival (Lisa Biales Trio 6:30-8:00pm) Oxford, OH
