Lisa Mann backs up Boston’s Diane Blue in whirlwind NW tour
Soul stirring vocalist and harmonica player Diane Blue will be touring the Pacific Northwest, backed up by Lisa Mann and Her Really Good Band, Sonny Hess’ NW Womens Rhythm and Blues Revue, and Hank Shreve’s Blues Showcase. Diane is a strong vocalist, skillful harmonica player and a crowd-pleasing entertainer. Voted “Outstanding Female Singer” in The Blues Audience 2011 Readers’ Poll, Ms. Blue is a soulful and sassy performer with a strong, confident attack and energetic delivery, serving up her own spin on soul, blues and R&B. She won the2010 Massachusetts Blues Challenge, earning the honor of competing at the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. She was nominated “Best Blues/R&B Act” and “Best Female Vocalist in 2007 by the Providence Phoenixand also nominated “Best Local Blues Act” by Motif Magazine in 2007. Diane has played harmonica and/or sung with guitarist extraordinaire Ronnie Earl, as well as international performers Luther Guitar Jr. Johnson (former sideman for Muddy Waters), Big Jack Johnson (of Clarksdale, Mississippi) and Irma Thomas (the Soul Queen of New Orleans).
Catch one of these shows in your area of the NW!
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HANK SHREVE’S BLUES SHOWCASE at WHISKEY RIVER RANCH
Lisa Mann & Boston’s Diane Blue are featured in this special Valentine’s edition of the Showcase
Thursday, Feb 14th, 8pm
4740 Main Street in Springfield, OR
http://www.wrsaloon.com/index.html
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HIGHWAY 99 BLUES CLUB:
NW Womens Rhythm & Blues SWEETHEART BLUES BASH
featuring Sonny Hess, Vicki Stevens, Lisa Mann & Boston’s Diane Blue
don’t miss this one of a kind show!
Friday February 15th, 8pm, $15
http://highway99blues.com/
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WINTER BLUES
Diane Blue, backed up by Lisa Mann & Her Really Good Band!
All the way from Boston, MA, Diane’s gonna strut her stuff!
Saturday February 16th, 4:15pm-5:15pm
Bobwhite Theater, 6423 SE Foster Rd in Portland, OR
www.winterbluesfest.net
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JIMMY MAK’S
Lisa Mann & Her Really Good Band featuring Diane Blue
We met Diane in Memphis during the 2011 International Blues Challenge and she blew us AWAY!
She’s come from Boston to sing her heart out for us, and play some killer harmonica too.
Let’s show her a real Portland welcome!
Saturday February 16th, 8pm, $10
221 NW 10th Ave in Portland, OR
call (503) 295-6542 to make reservations
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IMMANUEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: BLUES VESPERS
Join Lisa Mann, Diane Blue, Jeff Knudson and Dave Melyan for an inspirational set of blues!
Sunday February 17th, 5pm-6:30pm
909 North J Street in Tacoma, WA
www.ipctacoma.org
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REC ROOM
Diane Blue, Lisa Mann, Jeff Knudson and Dave Melyan team up again for a northside show!
Monday, February 18th, 8pm
1905 Hewitt Ave in Everett, WA
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MORE >>Lisa Mann & Her Really Good Band win three Muddy Waters Awards
The Cascade Blues Association, the largest in the nation, held their annual Muddy Waters Awards in Portland OR on the evening of Nov 1st, 2012. Lisa Mann and Her Really Good Band were nominated for four awards, and walked away with Female Vocalist of the Year, Bass Player of the Year, and Contemporary Blues Act of the Year. Her CD “Satisfied” was also nominated for Northwest Recording of the Year, but that prize was garnered by Curtis Salgado’s “Soul Shot.”
Lisa also shared in Kevin Selfe’s win for Performance of the Year, as she participated in Kevin’s Big Band set at the Waterfront Blues Festival on the July Fourth weekend.
Here’s a list of those who won during that gala evening:
Contemporary Blues Act:
Lisa Mann & Her Really Good Band
R&B Act:
Curtis Salgado
Traditional Blues Act:
Kevin Selfe & The Tornadoes
New Blues Act:
Hank Shreve Band
Regional Blues Act:
Karen Lovely Band
“Duffy Bishop” Female Vocalist:
Lisa Mann
“Curtis Salgado” Male Vocalist:
Suburban Slim
Electric Guitar:
Kevin Selfe
“Terry Robb” Acoustic Guitar:
Alan Hager
Bass:
Lisa Mann
Drums:
Jimi Bott
Harmonica:
Jim Wallace
Keyboards:
Steve Kerin
Horns:
Peter Moss
Venue:
Duff’s Garage
NW Recording:
Curtis Salgado – Soul Shot
National Recording:
Curtis Salgado – Soul Shot
Performance of the Year:
Kevin Selfe & The Tornadoes Big Band at the Waterfront Blues Festival
NW Blues Event:
Waterfront Blues Festival
Lifetime Achievement:
Bob Ancheta
Back What You Believe In:
Lynn Wymore
Lisa Mann interview in BluesWax
BluesWax
Sittin’ In With
Lisa Mann
By Robert Putignano
Oct 26, 2012
Lisa Mann resides in Portland, Oregon, and has been a mainstay of the Pacific Northwest music scene for several years. She was inducted into the Cascade Blues Association’s Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2011 she and her Really Good Band represented the CBA at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis where they were semifinalists. Mann plays bass, sings, contributed nine tracks and covered four tunes on her latest CD, Satisfied. Lisa also produced this fine (and diverse) disc. Her solid band is made up with Jeff Knudson’s guitar, Michael Ballash’s drumming, and Brian Harris’ keys. Fellow Northwesterner Lloyd Jones also makes an appearance adding his distinctive voice and guitar.
I caught up with Mann not long after she released her second CD.
Robert Putignano for BluesWax: Are you doing alright, Lisa?
Lisa Mann: I am.
BW: Satisfied is your second release?
LM: Yes, but I’ve done a few other releases before that were compilations. Plus I write stuff that’s all over the map that I’ve released locally here in the Northwest, too. I’ve recently decided to narrow things down and market to the blues and blues-rock. That’s when things started to change and took off for me.
BW: I’d say! Before hearing Satisfied I hadn’t heard of you, but one of our WFDU DJs [EB Fisher] mentioned you and I then saw your CD on the Blues Revue list for potential review and I got it from Art Tipaldi [Blues Revue editor]. I was pleasantly surprised. Chip Eagle [Blues Revue and BluesWax publisher] also had previously mentioned your name, so I asked him to put us in touch, and very quickly – you called me!
LM: I actually was at a diner in Jersey when Chip called me, can you believe it? I am originally from West Virginia, so I have some redneck roots. I was raised in a Jewish family, we had a bumper sticker in West Virginia that said: “Shalom You All.” There’s actually a pretty big Jewish community there. My folks broke up and I moved out here with my mom so I pretty much grew up in the Northwest. I now consider myself a “Webfoot.”
BW: A Webfoot?
LM: They call us “Webfoots,” like a duck, because it’s raining here all the time.
BW: Okay, but getting to your latest CD, it’s really a good one.
LM: Well, thank you!
BW: Has this band been together for a while?
LM: Yeah! We’ve been doing this for a while with this configuration, Brian Harris on keyboards, Michael Ballash on drums, and Jeff Knudson (who has been with me for the whole time) on guitar. Prior to this band we had a different keyboard player and drummer who ran off to run with the Insomniacs band for Delta Groove. I was tied down for a while taking care of my mom, but now I’m free to travel a bit more and get out to do some festival gigs around the country.
BW: But, like Lloyd Jones (who appears on your record), you keep pretty busy regionally?
LM: Exactly. Lloyd and I run into each other often. That’s how that duet song with Lloyd Jones, “Always Nobody,” unfolded. It’s based on some hilarious things I heard him say. He likes to tell stories like when he travels overseas where there he attracts larger audiences, but when he returns back home, no one shows up. So I thought that would make for a great song. So a year later I run into Lloyd again and he was telling me that he would tell people to come to his gigs because there’s plenty of parking! So with that comment I finished the song. If your WFDU radio listeners and readers at BluesWax go to www.CDBaby.com, they can download “Always Nobody” for free. But hurry as it will only be there for another month or so.
BW: And people can find out more about Lisa at www.LisaMannMusic.com, too.
(for the rest of the interview, please visit: http://bluesrevue.com/2012/10/the-ezine-lisa-mann-10-26-12/#)
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