Lisa J. Carman’s music is intensely personal. She has an ability to lure you into her world with stories and above all, with passionate singing. Just when you think you know Lisa Carman, she surprises you.
Her varied styles of music, the clarity and range of her vocals, and the pitch-perfect voice make you ask: where will she go next? Her song Count Me In is featured on the new Violet Femmes Volume 2 CD, due out in late 2008.
Lisa's new album, Treasures & Trash (2007), is a break-through album for Carman. “I had the most invested [in this album] emotionally and musically,” says Carman. It is her fifth album, and contains deep strains of American style, with lovingly produced songs.
Here is a video montage from her CD Release concert, back to back segments of the songs found on Treasures and Trash.
The extremely talented musicians backing her on this album give her a new confidence that she sails upon. She is joined by her veteran collaborators Caitlin Thomas on violin and viola, Adrienne Bellis on close harmony vocals, and Dave Devlin on dobro and mandolin. With class-act studio musicians Jeff Nelson on bass, New Mexico’s Kevin Zoernig on keyboards,
Mark Clark on drums, and Daniel Ward on guitars, Carman has assembled a solid core of sound for this production.
Listen for the accompaniments of cello and electric guitar. Arranged by Carman, the music is both simple and energetic; directed by Carman, the band has a great time with her music.
“How to Treat a Woman”, a signature song by Carman, is a beautiful waltz that you could dance to all night long. The plaintive sound of the early Americana fiddle that opens the song, and the crystal clear, soft voice invite you into the intimate world of Carman’s stories of love and tenderness in a tough world.
Echoing harmonies and good deep chords trace her themes -- treat a woman with some understanding and she’ll “give back many more times with love.” Carman’s
characters let you know exactly how to open the heart of a woman. They create forthright and sensual portraits in sound; directions for a deeper appreciation of love and life.
Carman is at her best in this album. Her songs encourage you to be grateful for the love you have, but to reach always for the freedom and the power to dream for what you don’t have. Her characters have no regrets.
Here are love songs and odes to the western spaces of America, where a sky full of stars and the coyotes “far and near” are as full of romance as a lover’s tender touch.
Lisa J. Carman. If you like rootsy country and folk, jazzy layers of harmony, and some comfortable rock and roll, you will love this singer-songwriter for her personal music and stories.
