Hard Times, Bad Decisions – New Release Coming May 2016!
The latest in “Tough Girl Blues” from Blues Music Award winner Lisa Mann. Hard Times, Bad Decisions covers a wide range of styles, from swampy blues-rock to old school soul to classic jump swing, all tied together with Lisa’s signature bombastic delivery. The collection features eight of Lisa’s original compositions and four covers, including a vampy take on Dinah Washington’s classic “I Don’t Hurt Anymore.” Guest stars include Kirk Fletcher (of Joe Bonamassa’s Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks fame), Vinny Appice (formerly of Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio), Andy Stokes (formerly of Oregon Music Hall of Fame inductee Cool’R) Louis Pain (B-3 Hammond master) and International Blues Challenge finalist Ben Rice.
Lisa Mann hails from blues-soaked Portland, OR, where she has been inducted in the Cascade Blues Association’s Hall of Fame. In 2015 in Memphis TN she received the most coveted award in blues, a Blues Music Award, for her skills on bass guitar. Just last week in Memphis, Lisa won the 2016 BMA again in the same category!
Originally from West Virginia, Mann’s voice effortlessly straddles the line between the honey sweet warmth of the South, and the force-of-nature sound Mann has cultivated by mastering everything from rock to Memphis soul. Her clever blues balladry is complimented by her considerable prowess on bass, with grooves that touch on the hallowed soil of Soul greats James Jamerson and Bob Babbitt.
MORE >>Lisa Mann on the cover of Blues Blast Magazine
Terry Mullins interviews Blues Blast’s Sean Costello Rising Star award winner Lisa Mann in this Christmas edition of Blues Blast Magazine excerpt: The bass-playing dynamo took home the Sean Costello Rising Star Award at this year’s Blues Blast gala, after she had practically burned down the stage with her performance earlier in the evening at the annual shindig. And even more recently, Mann found her name on the list of nominees for Best Bass Player at the upcoming Blues Music Awards (BMAs) in Memphis.
“It’s been kind of a whirlwind and a lot of this has really taken me by surprise. A lot of the guys that were up for the Sean Costello Award have some history and labels and people behind them. And me, I’m an indie artist … but apparently I have more fans and friends than I knew were out there,” she said. “For one thing, (awards and nom inations) it means fan recognition. It’s kind of like getting a big round of applause. But it’s also getting recognition from my peers. I was so honored just to get the nomination for the Blues Blast award in the first place, because I know they (nominators for Blues Blast awards) are people who are in the industry and are people who listen to a lot of blues. There’s so much good music out there, for them to choose me was a big honor. That industry recognition is really special. And it’s the same way with the BMA nomination. Just to be put in the company of such great bass players is really an honor. It feels really good and I feel really humbled.”
Mann and The Really Good Band won a Muddy Waters Award – presented by the Cascade Blues Association – for Contemporary Blues Act of the Year this past November, while Mann was also named Bass Player of the Year and her latest album, Move On, took Recording of the Year honors that were handed out by the association.
MORE >>Lisa receives Blues Music Award Nomination
On December 10th, the Blues Foundation announced their nominations for the 36th Blues Music Awards. Among the nominations was Lisa Mann for Instrumentalist-Bass. This is Lisa’s first nomination for a BMA, the most prestigious award in blues music.
Here’s the full list of nominees:
Acoustic Album
Hard Luck Child: A Tribute to Skip James – Rory Block
Jericho Road – Eric Bibb
Jigsaw Heart – Eden Brent
Son & Moon: A Tribute to Son House – John Mooney
Timeless – John Hammond
Acoustic Artist
Doug MacLeod
Eric Bibb
John Hammond
John Mooney
Rory Block
Album
Can’t Even Do Wrong Right – Elvin Bishop
Living Tear To Tear – Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
Memphis Grease – John Németh
Refuse to Lose – Jarekus Singleton
Wrapped Up and Ready – The Mannish Boys
B.B. King Entertainer
Bobby Rush
Elvin Bishop
John Németh
Rick Estrin
Sugaray Rayford
Band
Elvin Bishop Band
John Németh & the Bo-Keys
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
The Mannish Boys
Best New Artist Album
Chromaticism – Big Harp George
Don’t Call No Ambulance – Selwyn Birchwood
Heavy Water – Fo’ Reel
Making My Mark – Annika Chambers & the Houston All-Stars
One Heart Walkin‘ – Austin Walkin’ Cane
Contemporary Blues Album
Can’t Even Do Wrong Right – Elvin Bishop
Original – Janiva Magness
Refuse to Lose -Jarekus Singleton
Hornet’s Nest – Joe Louis Walker
BluesAmericana – Keb’ Mo’
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Beth Hart
Bettye LaVette
Janiva Magness
Marcia Ball
Shemekia Copeland
Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Elvin Bishop
Gary Clark Jr.
Jarekus Singleton
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Louis Walker
Historical
From His Head to His Heart to His Hands – Michael Bloomfield (Columbia/Legacy)
Live at the Avant Garde – Magic Sam (Delmark)
Soul & Swagger: The Complete “5” Royales 1951-1967 – The “5” Royales (Rock Beat)
The Modern Music Sessions 1948-1951 – Pee Wee Crayton (Ace)
The Roots of it All-Acoustic Blues – Various Artists (Bear Family)
Instrumentalist-Bass
Bob Stroger
Lisa Mann
Michael “Mudcat” Ward
Patrick Rynn
Willie J. Campbell
Instrumentalist-Drums
Jimi Bott
June Core
Kenny Smith
Tom Hambridge
Tony Braunagel
Instrumentalist-Guitar
Anson Funderburgh
Joe Bonamassa
Johnny Winter
Kid Andersen
Ronnie Earl
Instrumentalist-Harmonica
Charlie Musselwhite
Kim Wilson
Mark Hummel
Rick Estrin
Sugar Ray Norcia
Instrumentalist-Horn
Al Basile
Deanna Bogart
Jimmy Carpenter
Sax Gordon
Terry Hanck
Koko Taylor Award
Alexis P Suter
Diunna Greenleaf
EG Kight
Ruthie Foster
Trudy Lynn
Pinetop Perkins Piano Player
Barrelhouse Chuck
Bruce Katz
David Maxwell
Eden Brent
Marcia Ball
Rock Blues Album
Step Back – Johnny Winter
Goin’ Home – Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
Time Ain’t Free – Nick Moss Band
heartsoulblood – Royal Southern Brotherhood
The Blues Came Callin’ – Walter Trout
Song
“Another Murder in New Orleans” written by Carl Gustafson & Donald Markowitz, performed by Bobby Rush and Dr. John with Blinddog Smokin’
“Bad Luck Is My Name” written and performed by John Németh
“Can’t Even Do Wrong Right” written and performed by Elvin Bishop
“Let Me Breathe” written by|Janiva Magness & Dave Darling, performed by Janiva Magness
“Things Could Be Worse” written by Ray Norcia, performed by Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
Soul Blues Album
Blues for My Father – Vaneese Thomas
Decisions – Bobby Rush with Blinddog Smokin’
In My Soul – The Robert Cray Band
Memphis Grease – John Németh
Soul Brothers – Otis Clay & Johnny Rawls
Soul Blues Female Artist
Candi Staton
Missy Andersen
Sharon Jones
Sista Monica
Vaneese Thomas
Soul Blues Male Artist
Bobby Rush
Curtis Salgado
John Németh
Johnny Rawls
Otis Clay
Traditional Blues Album
Common Ground: Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy – Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin
For Pops (A Tribute to Muddy Waters) – Mud Morganfield & Kim Wilson
Livin’ it Up – Andy T-Nick Nixon Band
Living Tear To Tear – Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
The Hustle is Really On – Mark Hummel
Wrapped Up and Ready – The Mannish Boys
Traditional Blues Male Artist
Billy Boy Arnold
John Primer
Lurrie Bell
Sugar Ray Norcia
Sugaray Rayford
Lisa Mann wins three Muddy Waters Awards
In November of 2014, Lisa Mann and her aptly named Really Good Band received three Muddy Waters Awards from the Cascade Blues Association in her hometown of Portland, OR. Her band won Contemporary Blues Act of the Year, Lisa won Bass Player of the Year, and her latest release, “Move On,” won NW Recording of the Year.
Named in honor of one of blues music’s most influential forces —McKinley Morganfield, or Muddy Waters — the Cascade Blues Association’s annual Muddy Awards Celebration honors local, regional, national and international stars of the blues.
Every September, the Cascade Blues Association solicits award nominations from the CBA Membership. The top three nominations in each category are used to form the official Muddys Ballots. In October, the ballots are mailed out to the CBA Membership. The votes are tabulated in time for the November General Meeting, where the winners are announced. Over 1,000 CBA members participate in the Muddy Awards process, making it one of the most prestigious blues awards in the world.
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