Please check out the video, and if you’re so inclined copy and paste the link below to any of your social places and help spread it around like real butter all over the social network toast! I’ll be posting a new free download as a big ol Thank you!
http://www.balconytv.com/v/lisa-marshall or embed it (<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/A_pdWmuOMvQ” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>)

Thank you to Joe Lynch. Sound Engineers – Nick Smith and Doug Dewey, Barbara Rappaport and NANCY ANDERSON LaBARBIERA

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothas!! Bring Mama by to Uncle Billy’s this Sunday, 4-6pm. A cool artist you’ll enjoy, joAnna Lee plays at 2pm. (Barton Springs Rd)

So, here is a little look at what happened since the last time we were here….

Almost Austin House Concert was amazing!! Kenny Pipes who runs the thing and the people there to listen to the music, what a great time!! Sue Pierce on Keys (of Ultrasuede) was lighting up the place. Jason McCullom was laying it down on Bass and I was having the time of my life! I hope to do an Austin show with them soon (and New Orleans)

Rusty’s is always a good night. Cami Joy-Rocha sat in on some saxaphone.
Playing after Susan Gibson was very memorable. She is wonderful! Now yall know you can catch me there about twice a month, and ya always going to be treated good.

Solaro Winery feels like a different country. Delicious wine and scenery to match.

Vino 100. The twins’ Birthday was out of control…can you imagine?

Now for a strange and sad weekend. On our way to Fort Worth to play Mayfest. The a/c in my car goes out. Dude at Jiffy Lube says no way we’ll make it to Ft. Worth. Enter our Friend Shawna, who works in Temple, where we just so happen to be stranded. She gives us her car! I know right!! Talk about having good friends!
So, I let the promoter know I am running late and will probably get there just in time to get on stage and go. I have the one and only parking pass they give per band. So, 8:20 we arrive. I call again to let the powers that be know I am there. I give Nate (playing B3) the parking pass so he can take all the gear in. Now, to get to the park, we are parked about one mile away. We wait 20 minutes for a cart to cart our happy asses to the stage. We commence walking. We get there in time to see the sound guy breaking down the stage. Apparently his stage manager told him to. We sort it out so we can still perform….more time goes by, and more. Where’s Nate? Oh…the park security sent him all over Ft. Worth telling him he couldn’t enter the grounds here nor there. So, 9:30pm he finally gets in. Sigh! By the time we set up, we may be ready to go by 9:40pm if we’re lucky. Also, we have a strict 10pm. quitting time. At this point, I am very frustrated, perplexed and tired. The person behind the curtain says “no play, no pay”. Well, to add the last push of us huffing and puffing to get there on time with constantly being “musician blocked” by the festival powers that be, now we have to hurry up, play and hurry up and tear down. Oy ve!
Robert Smith has been so kind to drive in from Beaumont. He’s the drummer (also from Ultrasuede). So, we get up and do a reverse White Stripes version of about 3 songs, and say our “Goodnight Cleveland’s” and this time get on a cart and are once again “musician blocked” to any direct route back to our parked cars. The woman driving us is very friendly and funny. So that was nice.

Back on the road.

We’re driving home right in to a very spectacular all be it, at times, a little nerve racking lightening storm. We nap for an hour at a shell station. We drop off Shawna’s car and pray mine makes it home. Yes! it does. We unload and I begin to call for our little Titchy Kitty…Titch! Nothing. Our little sweet kitty is missing She still is. What a sad country song of a weekend!! Wah!
I think she’ll come back. I miss her something awful.

Come Home!

Well, time to get happy and play some music! Off to see the you know who!

And, if you know who I am talking about, tell me at a show and get a free copy of Simple

Quote of the blog:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God (our whatever you believe). Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -Marianne Williamson

”The last bits of SXSW 2012” I have much gratitude for the people and venues who host local “unofficial” showcases.
Melissa Martin & Chase Martin of OUTlander http://www.facebook.com/theoutlanderproject?ref=ts,
Killer Bramer of Killer Artists Agency http://www.killerartistsagency.com/
Hector Ward www.hwbigtime.com
Rusty’s www.rustysaustin.com/, Oil Can Harry’s www.oilcanharrys.com  
Uncle Billy’s (barton springs) www.unclebillys.com/bs-landing/
Austin Java (barton springs) www.austinjava.com , Molotov www.molotovlounge.com

Here’s the last video to capture a little bit of the last day. Catch a snip of one of my all time favorite songs ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ originally performed by Gladys Knight and The Pips www.gladysknight.com. Written by Jim Weatherly, whom I saw at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN. Remind me to tell you that story. What a good time! If you have not seen her live, I simply say GO!!
Also, learn about “parking magic”. Didn’t think it would be educational too did ya?

WHAT’S NEW?
Well, we continue to video, so more to come. This Saturday April14th, I get to play a very popular House Concert called Almost Austin House Concert in Pasadena, TX. www.facebook.com/groups/50882604441/ Joining me will be Sue Pierce on keys, Jason McCollum on bass, both from Barbara Lynn’s backing band in Beaumont.
I share the stage with Susan Gibson at Rusty’s.
Tomorrow I record the grammy award winning saxaphone player, Joe Morales, on my song ‘I Give Myself Away’, for the new CD. This is going to be amazing!              Lastly, I just met with Nathan & Robert of The Music Bus Rocks! Yep, a school bus that comes to your home to teach your kids or you how to play an instrument, sing, and more! They’re also beginning to take the bus to schools to teach entire classrooms. I hope to have the priveledge of working with them by  exposing the kids to women in music especially early Soul/R&B, and share my love for the fine craft of harmony singing. ‘Cuz we all know, or should know what bad a’s the Sweet Inspirations were! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Inspirations

APRIL Shows:
Thur. April 12th-Vino 100 (Round Rock), 7pm  newly added!
Fri. April 13th- Zed’s (Parmer & I-35), 6pm.
Fri. April 20th- Rusty’s, 10pm with the fabulous  Susan Gibson playing 7-9pm.!   www.susangibson.com  (she wrote Wide Open Spaces recorded by The Dixie Chicks!)
Sat. April 21st- Vino 100, 7pm. (Round Rock)
Sat. April 28th- Solaro Estate Winery, 3:30pm. (Dripping Springs) It’s early, and it’s wine! It’s also quite beautiful in Dripping Springs

Well, you know who I’m off to see..don’t ya? Come to a show and tell me who, and I’ll give you a free copy of  my CD ‘Simple’. xoxo

This was my first year going. The highlight for me, personally was Ruthie Foster and her amazing band with Carolyn Wonderland on the stage together singing Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry”! It was sheer awesomeness!! Bruce Springsteen joined Alejandro Escavedo on stage and our friend Joe Morales was playing sax! Our friend Adrian Connor of Adrian and The Sickness won Best Punk band in Austin…yes! ( She also plays in Hells Bells. Check it…http://www.hellsbelles.info/adrian.htm)

Jen and mine’s intention was to go home right after, but no….we decided it would be fun to take to the streets with a video camera and interview a few peeps. We talked to a couple of people and then decided just turning the camera on each other was thing to do. Well, let’s just say we enjoyed our South by this year.

Ok, come back soon ‘cuz there’s more. I got a little behind. Yesterday was SXSCouch. I was very tired from all the festivities AND I had 3 shows on Saturday. Hope you all are well and please come by a new venue this Wednesday March 21st at Varsity Bar, 8-10:30pm.! No cover above Austin’s Pizza on the drag!

Stay tuned more video ready to go. Jen and I do the Austin Music Awards and nab a few people off the street to talk about SXSW!

Please come back to Rusty’s April 6th, 7pm and April 20th, 10pm. I’ll be playing there solo.

Other artist in the video Julie Nolen www.tellingstoriesmusic.com, Jenni Dale Lord www.jennilord.com, The 7s www.facebook.com/the7sband

Off to see the wizard….. xo

Tonight, Tuesday March 13th, I’ll be heading over to Rusty’s to do a solo set at 10pm. for OUTlander’s showcase. The music starts at 5pm., and it’s a Great line up, so come by early if you can. I am certain I will get to work on a new tune, just not sure what show I’ll be unveiling it. So, check out my schedule on the front and shows pages. I’ll be back with more video! Happy SXSW! xo- Lisa

Mary Harsh-Bass, Chris Trafton- Drums

In other news, we lost Don Cornelius from Soul Train. I LOVED this show when I was a kid! I hope we celebrate such a breakthrough show by turning up some of the jams made famous by it. Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin comes to mind.

Then, we lost Whitney Houston Now, I am not a “super fan” I don’t have all of her records. I think I own ‘All the Man I Need’ on a cassette single from the days when I used to sing to backing tracks in gay bars in Orange County, CA. That was a blast! I had just moved to California from Virginia. So much to learn and see…loved it! BUT, her death really affected me. Every time I would hear clips of her singing, the tears would well up. Maybe it’s because she has a voice of an angel. Maybe it’s because she was so young. Maybe it’s because it seemed perhaps preventable. But, it’s not for me to say.    I wasn’t one day in her life or one step in her shoes. I just know it makes me sad. We all have our paths, and purpose.

Ok, I cannot end this sad. So, I will just say, exciting things are everywhere! I have so much to be thankful for! I am living my dream! It’s never too late!! I’d like to thank so many people who offer words of encouragement and enthusiasm. How am I so lucky? I hope to only be as good as you, and offer people the same! With much love….Me

Ps- Stickers are here!! Please come find me at some upcoming shows and get your sticker. Please check out my SXSW shows on the ‘shows’ page. Designed by the lovely Jennifer Stanaland. They look great!!

I’ve always admired those who can and have dedicated themselves to the well being of these creatures who cannot speak up for themselves. I have a special place in my heart for all animals as they rely on us whether domestically or in the wild.

When Melissa Martin (http://www.facebook.com/bmused.inc) asked me if I would be a part of Pets Alive’s www.austinpetsalive.org “SweetBarks”, I was pleased to say “absolutely”!

I hope you will join us this Saturday February 11th, at Noon on the corner of S. Congress & Gibson. Look for the little silver bullet trailer.

I play solo 12:30-2:20pm.

KP and The Boom Boom play at  2:30pm! http://www.facebook.com/kpandtheboomboom

Love and Happiness! ( in the lyrics of the fabulous Al Green!)

If you haven’t been to Zed’s before, it is off of I-35 at the Parmer exit. The food is delicious, the outside deck is huge, and the atmosphere is quite lovely. Plus, a new song! That’s all I’m saying. Oh, and no cover.

I’ll be in the bar or outside depending on the weather and the rain factor. Come early it gets busy in the bar, plus the Happy Hour menu is bound to make you grin if not damn happy

xo

Poor Chicago Mary….We had shown up early to The House of Blues to grab some dinner. We were upstairs finishing up when we heard the band start to warm up on the stage downstairs. Eager to get a good table below, we grabbed our things and began briskly toward the stairs. Richard Pryor was also upstairs having dinner with his family and friends. We had to walk right by him, carefully. You see his health was not good and he was in an electric scooter and was very close to the railing. Very gingerly we turned sideways and scooted by, only Chicago was wearing overalls. As she tried to slip by not disrupting his dinner, a handlebar inadvertently slipped inside the lower part of the bib of her overalls spinning Mr. Pryor around nose to nose with the very still, and incredibly red faced Chicago Mary. Now, I know the incident lacked any comical relief, but the look on poor Mary’s face was apparently very funny to the three of us because we were forced to abandon our friend. The chuckles that were starting to erupt we felt were quite rude and uncalled for, but still we couldn’t help ourselves.

The Show! – Etta howled, thrusted, pet herself and sang from the depths of her bigger than life Soul!. I saw her two more times before she departed this world. I’ve read that she was difficult to categorize because she crooned R&B, belted out Rock n’ Roll, and sang ( I mean SANG..did ya hear me?) the Blues. To that I say “amen”! Let music be music. Does it matter that an industry was sometimes confused on where to put her or what to do with her? Hell no. What mattered is that she reached in to the hearts of people and let them feel, breathe, cry, she empowered us and all around just gave us a reason to have a good time! There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing. There is an abundance of so much good, it’s up to us believe Thank you Etta “Miss Peaches” James! May we continue to make you proud. Sweet dreams!

I am so proud of what Mary Harsh, Russ Scanlon, Johnny Radelat, Chris Trafton (plus subs Vinnie Ambrosonie and John Duran) have accomplished. I moved to Austin just under 3 years ago. The band played its first show on October 20th, 2010 at The Carousel Lounge. We quickly became busy and played all around Austin, Houston, Dallas, Beaumont, etc. This was a hard decision to make, as I really enjoyed playing with them all. Unfortunately, the pace I was keeping left little time to do one of the things I love the most…write songs.

I have so much gratitude for the people who jumped in to pimp the mailing list (Marguerite Jones), sell CDs (Jennifer Stanaland, Sharon Hunt, Julie Gamboa, many of you have jumped in to move a CD or two), record the music live and in studio (John Harsh). I have been graced with some of the most beautiful friendships! You all have been so good to me, “and I thank you”.

For those of you that are wondering: the CD will get finished and released. All of you wonderful Kickstarter supporters, we will fulfill our promise to you. I cannot thank you enough for your faith in us!

We (the band) still care deeply about each other, and you never know when we may have opportunity to pop up on stage together.

I hope you all will continue to check in here on my website, and please come to some of my solo shows! I will have some regular stints at Rusty’s and Fion in Steiner Ranch. I hope you will also check in on some new tunes, and of course Mary, Russ, and the fabulous musicians who kept the music going with us.

It is with so much gratitude in my heart for all of you who came to the shows, spread the word about us, the bookers who booked us, and the venues who gave us a place to do our thang, that I embark on this new part of my of my journey. Without YOU, we could not have done any of it! I hope I may have the honor of your continued presence, and honor of playing music for YOU!

Love, peace, prosperity and all our dreams come true!

xo-Lisa Marshall