Bass player extraordinaire Lisa Mann releases 2nd awesome CD, celebs cheer
by Steve Rodin
Lisa Mann is one of Portland’s most decorated and well-known bass players. She is also a dynamic songwriter who just released her second CD last month.
Mann opened a week of celebration by performing in-store at Music Millennium, Portland's most respected seller of CDs, new and used vinyl. Music Millennium is easy to find at 32nd Ave. and East Burnside Street.
A week later, Mann appeared at Mississippi Pizza at 3557 N. Mississippi Ave. To appreciate how respected Mann is in Portland, all one had to do was look around the room and note the local greats that attended her in-store release party. In attendance were Sonny Hess, Rae Gordon, Lady Kat, Reina G. Collins, Michael Ballish, Kevin Selfe and Allen Markel, just to name a few.
Mann was nominated for "Bass Player of the Year" numerous times and won the Cascade Blues Association Award in 2001. In 2007, she took second in a national competition on www.FameCast.com in Texas. Since they did not have a blues category, Mann found herself competing in the rock performer arena.
Mann's first CD Self Material was released to critical acclaim in 2006. The new CD Chop Water has a bit more variety in genres and style, but again represents Mann's talents very well. She is a great bass player and an outstanding vocalist. As if that wasn't enough, she has a pleasant and engaging stage persona and is one hell of a songwriter. That's the total package in this writer's opinion.
The liner notes look like there are 14 songs, but Mann is quick to note there are really only 11 songs, with 10 of them originals. The songs tell stories close to Mann's heart. Some are reflections of her past, her friends, life and the person she used to be, while three are dedicated to her Zen Buddhist worship or teacher.
Little Sister is a tune about life as a blues musician and the hardship she and friends have gone through to "earn the right" to sing the blues. That's followed by Felino, an ironic story about a woman who thinks a guy is watching her, but in reality she is stalking him. Someday is a humorous song that most people can relate to. It's about procrastination and making the decision to get it together and get things done... just not today. Tryin', Helping Hand and Koan are her tributes to her faith and master.
A sensitive person, Mann likes to write about victims, herself and others. Wake Me is dedicated to such people whether they be those lost in the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks or tragedy experience by her good friend and fellow blues legend Sonny Hess. It's a hard-hitting rock tune by design to emphasize the harsh reality of people victimized by others and life itself.
In the song Silver Cup, she speaks of a high-and-mighty woman who thinks she's in control, but is actually reckless. The last two songs on the CD are a reflection of what Mann sees as her former self. This Bitch is a funny look at women who are angry and in pain, but want to change. The last song on Chop Water is titled Broken Record. It's about someone making the same mistakes over and over and over again...like a broken record.
Born in West Virginia, Mann spent most of her youth growing up in Portland. She wanted to be a bass player long before ever holding one in her hand. A huge Gene Simmons fan, she had posters of him all over her walls. "Cooler than Fonzie," she wanted to be just like him. She saved her lunch money for a year to put it down on a copy of a Beatles-Hofner violin-style bass, her first at age 11. She has always looked up to women like Ann and Nancy Wilson and Joan Jett because they represented the "fearless images of what women can do in a male-dominated industry."
At Music Millennium, Mann was backed up by what she calls "The Really Good Band" which is producer guitarist Jeff Knudsen; keyboard player Alex Shikeri and drummer Dave Melyan of The Insomniacs. At Mississippi Pizza, her regular backups, known as "The Most Excellent Band" performed with her. That's Knudsen with Michael Ballish and Dan Barham.
Mann is constantly performing. Some key future events include Oct. 1 with Hess and the Northwest Women and Blues Review at McMenamin's St. Francis School in Bend; The Candlelight at S.W. 5th and Lincoln on Oct. 3; with Hess at Manila Express in Tigard on Oct. 11; and the Cascade Lounge on Mill Plain in Vancouver on Oct. 18.
Mann's new CD Chop Water is available at Music Millennium and numerous other local locations, as well as CD Baby and various internet sites such as Napster, iTunes and Rhapsody. For her full schedule, see Bandstand and ad this issue or check out her website www.LisaMannMusic.com.