From: owner-sycophant-digest@smoe.org (sycophant-digest) To: sycophant-digest@smoe.org Subject: sycophant-digest V12 #1 Reply-To: sycophant@smoe.org Sender: owner-sycophant-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-sycophant-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk sycophant-digest Saturday, January 27 2007 Volume 12 : Number 001 Today's Subjects: ----------------- sycophant Lisa: phone interview with Montreal Gazette ["Kathryn Case" Subject: sycophant Lisa: phone interview with Montreal Gazette Germano upbeat about dark subject matter By Jordan Zivitz, Montreal Gazette Published: Friday, January 26, 2007 http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=10f9fc11-41c4-44bd-bb6 f-5a31ed54d096 &k=0 MONTREAL - Lisa Germano knows her fans - and she knows she won't find them at a kegger. She's more likely to find them alone at 3 a.m., seeking solace in intensely intimate music that a lucky few stumble upon - music that finds hope in the darkness, and the darkness in hope. "You don't put (my music) on at a party," Germano said from her Los Angeles home recently, before beginning preparations for her third tour in four months. "If something reaches you personally, sometimes you're a little embarrassed. You don't go tell your buddy, 'Hey, dude, listen to that Lisa Germano record, man. It really rocks. It made me cry, man.' (Many people) are not going to say that. They'll just pretend they didn't hear it." Those who are on Germano's wavelength, on the other hand, can't forget a voice with the power to sound fearful, playful, vengeful, sarcastic and submissive - sometimes all at once. Her pleas and warnings are half-whispered over shimmering piano and guitar melodies that often drift in and out of focus, resulting in eerie lullabies that both soothe and sting. It ain't sunshine and lollipops, in other words, although Germano can alchemize gorgeous music from dark subject matter. Her latest album, In the Maybe World, confronts mortality while keeping morbidity at bay; songs about the deaths of Jeff Buckley (Except for the Ghosts) and Germano's cat (Golden Cities) are notably short on grief. "(The album is) about situations of loss and looking at life differently," Germano said. "I used to think it was about death, but it's really about life." Like its predecessor, 2003's hallucinatory Lullaby for Liquid Pig, In the Maybe World has been seen as a gift by Germano's fans, by virtue of its mere existence. After her 1998 album Slide, Germano was dropped by the prestigious indie label 4AD. Word quickly spread that she was retiring from music - a rumour given the appearance of fact by her job at an L.A. bookstore. "I think there was one article that said that (I was retiring), and then everybody read that article and wrote about that article," Germano said, laughing. "Now everybody thinks it was this big deal. But no, it was just a matter of stop and reassess and go do something else for a while. "Right now, I could tell you that I'll never make another record. I'd like to, but I don't have any particular ideas. But I'm a little older now, and I think I know that doesn't mean I won't ever make another record. It just means I need time to make one." Along with her seven studio albums, Germano's resume includes a staggering list of session work for everyone from Iggy Pop to the Indigo Girls. She cites former Crowded House leader Neil Finn as her favourite collaborator ("an amazing, spiritual, beautiful man"), but it's her contributions to John Mellencamp's heartland-rock glory days that most casual observers remember. (Paper in Fire's blazing violin? Her.) "I don't know what I learned musically with John, except to always put 100 per cent into it. . He said, 'I don't care if it's the wrong note, but I want to hear it done with 100 per cent everything. None of this wimpy little I'm-afraid-to-play shit.'" The haunting ambience of Germano's songs has more in common with soundtrack composer and producer Michael Brook than it does with her highest-profile commissions. Brook - whose own resume includes work with Brian Eno and U2's the Edge - worked with Germano on music for the HBO western Deadwood, and asked her to sing on a track from his richly textured 2006 album RockPaperScissors. Following her extensive headlining tours of the eastern U.S. and Europe in the fall, Germano is now back on the road as Brook's opening act and a member of his band. "I talked to him last night, and I was (saying), 'Oh my God, what are we going to do?' He goes, 'I don't know! But we'll figure it out,' " Germano said, with more amusement than fear. "It is comforting, actually, because it's his show . He will make the decisions, and I'll do the best I can." jzivitz@thegazette.canwest.com SIDEBAR: The best of Lisa Germano's albums . Geek the Girl (1994). Germano's music is often described as harrowing. That's certainly the correct adjective for her best-known disc, filled with songs of spiritual and sexual confusion, and featuring allusions to her experience with a stalker. . Lullaby for Liquid Pig (2003). Awash with ghostly sounds wafting just within earshot, Germano's first album in five years was perhaps the finest example of her ability to be simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. Out of print, but scheduled for an expanded re-release this year. . In the Maybe World (2006). Despite being inspired by the loss of cherished souls, Germano's latest and most skeletal work is remarkably comforting. - - Jordan Zivitz - ------- The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ - ------- To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: unsubscribe sycophant If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before unsubbing. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:11:32 -0600 From: "Rob Schiferl, Jr." Subject: Re: sycophant Lisa: phone interview with Montreal Gazette Thanks for that article. Last night I was listening to the Lisa Live at Schuba's (in Chicago) show from... not sure what year it was from, really. I love that concert because I still haven't seen her live, and it's great to hear her chatting before and after songs. Interviews are cool for the same dialog reasons. I hijacked that concert years ago from some Web site (19MB real audio file with decent audio quality - it was a sanctioned soundboard recording) and have always been thankful that I did. The lyrics strike me more listening to that concert than when listening to the studio recordings of the same songs. More edgy and more profane. On Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:17:55 -0600 "Kathryn Case" wrote: Germano upbeat about dark subject matter By Jordan Zivitz, Montreal Gazette Published: Friday, January 26, 2007 http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=10f9fc11-41c4-44bd-bb6 f-5a31ed54d096 &k=0 MONTREAL - Lisa Germano knows her fans - and she knows she won't find them at a kegger. She's more likely to find them alone at 3 a.m., seeking solace in intensely intimate music that a lucky few stumble upon - music that finds hope in the darkness, and the darkness in hope. "You don't put (my music) on at a party," Germano said from her Los Angeles home recently, before beginning preparations for her third tour in four months. "If something reaches you personally, sometimes you're a little embarrassed. You don't go tell your buddy, 'Hey, dude, listen to that Lisa Germano record, man. It really rocks. It made me cry, man.' (Many people) are not going to say that. They'll just pretend they didn't hear it." Those who are on Germano's wavelength, on the other hand, can't forget a voice with the power to sound fearful, playful, vengeful, sarcastic and submissive - sometimes all at once. Her pleas and warnings are half-whispered over shimmering piano and guitar melodies that often drift in and out of focus, resulting in eerie lullabies that both soothe and sting. It ain't sunshine and lollipops, in other words, although Germano can alchemize gorgeous music from dark subject matter. Her latest album, In the Maybe World, confronts mortality while keeping morbidity at bay; songs about the deaths of Jeff Buckley (Except for the Ghosts) and Germano's cat (Golden Cities) are notably short on grief. "(The album is) about situations of loss and looking at life differently," Germano said. "I used to think it was about death, but it's really about life." Like its predecessor, 2003's hallucinatory Lullaby for Liquid Pig, In the Maybe World has been seen as a gift by Germano's fans, by virtue of its mere existence. After her 1998 album Slide, Germano was dropped by the prestigious indie label 4AD. Word quickly spread that she was retiring from music - a rumour given the appearance of fact by her job at an L.A. bookstore. "I think there was one article that said that (I was retiring), and then everybody read that article and wrote about that article," Germano said, laughing. "Now everybody thinks it was this big deal. But no, it was just a matter of stop and reassess and go do something else for a while. "Right now, I could tell you that I'll never make another record. I'd like to, but I don't have any particular ideas. But I'm a little older now, and I think I know that doesn't mean I won't ever make another record. It just means I need time to make one." Along with her seven studio albums, Germano's resume includes a staggering list of session work for everyone from Iggy Pop to the Indigo Girls. She cites former Crowded House leader Neil Finn as her favourite collaborator ("an amazing, spiritual, beautiful man"), but it's her contributions to John Mellencamp's heartland-rock glory days that most casual observers remember. (Paper in Fire's blazing violin? Her.) "I don't know what I learned musically with John, except to always put 100 per cent into it. . He said, 'I don't care if it's the wrong note, but I want to hear it done with 100 per cent everything. None of this wimpy little I'm-afraid-to-play shit.'" The haunting ambience of Germano's songs has more in common with soundtrack composer and producer Michael Brook than it does with her highest-profile commissions. Brook - whose own resume includes work with Brian Eno and U2's the Edge - worked with Germano on music for the HBO western Deadwood, and asked her to sing on a track from his richly textured 2006 album RockPaperScissors. Following her extensive headlining tours of the eastern U.S. and Europe in the fall, Germano is now back on the road as Brook's opening act and a member of his band. "I talked to him last night, and I was (saying), 'Oh my God, what are we going to do?' He goes, 'I don't know! But we'll figure it out,' " Germano said, with more amusement than fear. "It is comforting, actually, because it's his show . He will make the decisions, and I'll do the best I can." jzivitz@thegazette.canwest.com SIDEBAR: The best of Lisa Germano's albums . Geek the Girl (1994). Germano's music is often described as harrowing. That's certainly the correct adjective for her best-known disc, filled with songs of spiritual and sexual confusion, and featuring allusions to her experience with a stalker. . Lullaby for Liquid Pig (2003). Awash with ghostly sounds wafting just within earshot, Germano's first album in five years was perhaps the finest example of her ability to be simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. Out of print, but scheduled for an expanded re-release this year. . In the Maybe World (2006). Despite being inspired by the loss of cherished souls, Germano's latest and most skeletal work is remarkably comforting. - - Jordan Zivitz - ------- The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ - ------- To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: unsubscribe sycophant If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before unsubbing. - ------- The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ - ------- To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: unsubscribe sycophant If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before unsubbing. ------------------------------ End of sycophant-digest V12 #1 ****************************** ======================================================================== Please send any questions or comments about the list to sycophant-owner@smoe.org