Saturday, December 22, 2012

LATEST LISIK NEWS: BYE BYE 2012, NICE TO MEET YA NEXT YEAR...

Excess Baggage Vol. 9 issue 6

Hey kids - welcome back to the ol' Lisik newsletter, and Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that stuff.  It's been quite the busy past few months around here, and I'd just like to send out a very special thank you to all the club owners, studios, DJs, radio show hosts, photographers, engineers, videographers, gas station attendants, bartenders, waitresses, drunks, graphic artists, writers, editors, city and township officials, priests, pirates, poets and pests who have in one way or another supported our music over the past year.  It’s been one of the best ever, with the release of our new CD The Mess That Money Could Buy and a plethora of great shows – made possible by even greater fans - intermingled in there.  Special thanks to all at Cherokee Queen and the team we’ve worked hand in hand with all year - particularly Gerard Dominick, Mike Farley, Clint Holley, Eddie Tomecko, Kim Price, and Michael Papatonis – and of course, the boys and girls who made me sound so good in the studio and on stage – Joe Waller, Steve Norgrove, Craig Lisik, Ben Evans, Jen O’Neal, and Christian Lisik.  

WRAPPING UP 2012 AND LOOKING TO 2013, I had a great time at Brother’s Lounge Dec. 19 for Brent Kirby’s year-ending 10X3 show.  Quite the packed house/impromptu holiday party with old friends like Tim Johnson, Ray and Sarah Webb, Eric from WJCU, Peanuts, and great performances from Jordan Genovese, Kevin Gibson, Ken Metz, Scott Stuewe, Becca & Red, Nate (damn whatta voice!) Jones, Larry Trupo, Ray (He’ll always be a Cool Rancher to me) Flanagan, Rachel Brown, and – of course – Mr. Kirby himself.  Look for a 2013 releases from Jordan – and about a thousand 2013 releases from Brent, including CDs from the Jack Fords, The New Soft Shoe, Brent Kirby and the Lost Fortunes and the Ohio City Singers.  And just for kicks, the long-awaited Lisik documentary film by Eddie Tomecko, On the Wrong Side of the Canal, along with the live Brian Lisik and the Unfortunates concert DVD by Henry J. Konczak, Save Me From My Life, and the book I am co-writing with former Northfield, Oh. mayor and Michael Stanley Band photographer Victor Milani are all set to be released in 2013 – while the Unfortunates and I head back into the studio with the incredible Mr. Benjamin Payne behind the boards, to record with a CD of all new material.

MEANWHILE, DON’T FORGET TO PICK UP A COPY OF MESS for all the fans of really cool, sorta nasty, somewhat sloppy, but ever-endearing rock bands on yer list.  Oh, and we’re all really good looking and humble too.  Forgot to mention that.  Mess and all our other records are available on-line at brianlisik.com, cdbaby.com/all/lisik, and amazon.com.  Or better yet, support yer local CD store by picking ‘em up at Time Traveler in Cuyahoga Falls, Square Records in Akron, and the all new Frankenstein Records in Canton.

Lisik’s not reaching for any sort of artistic legacy here. His approach springs from the most pure conceptualizations of rock and roll: It’s great music that’s kind of fucked up at its heart”The Telescope 10/18/12

AND WE HOPE TO SEE YA AT THE SHOWS remaining in 2012, including a full-band appearance at 9 p.m. Dec. 27 at Stone Tavern in Kent with Bocoma (featuring my old buddy/guitar fixer/  and smoking guitar player Robb Myers); a duo show with Joe at 9 p.m. Dec. 28 at Amvets in Canton; and our big New Years Eve show, starting at 9 p.m., at Jimmy’s in North Canton.

Cheers babies!
Brian

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

JUST ANNOUNCED: Full band show in Kent Dec. 27

The full Brian Lisik and the Unfortunates line-up will be appearing at the Stone Tavern in Kent Dec. 27 as The Mess That Money Could Buy tour rolls on.  Stay tuned for appearances near you in 2013!  Visit the Brian Lisik store at brianlisik.com to pick up the new cd - and the entire Lisik catalog if yer so inclined!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Seattle Post-Intelligencer reviews "The Mess That Money Could Buy"

"A rough and tumble garage-y sound blasts from the first strains of the opening track, "Small Town Royal Family," with singer-songwriter Brian Lisik's hoarse, heartland-rocking voice soaked deep in an ocean of chunky guitars." - Jon Sobel

LATEST LISIK NEWS: "Five Other Rooms" video released 12/7/12


JUST RELEASED!!


"Five Other Rooms" - the first official video from Brian Lisik's new CD The Mess That Money Could Buy.  Available now at brianlisik.com, Amazon, iTune, and Spotify.

Meanwhile, the Messy Tour 2012-2013 rolls on, with scheduled stops in Akron, Oh.; Canton, Oh.; Cleveland, Oh.; Kent, Oh.; Youngstown, Oh,; Cincinnati, Oh,; Newport, Ky.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Williamsport, Pa.; Plattsburgh, Ny.; and New York City.

Enjoy kiddies!



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Latest Lisik News:

First official video from the new album, "The Mess That Money Could Buy" drops Dec. 7.

"catchy phrasing, jangly guitar riffs and great pop hooks" - No Depression
 

"drives hard and dirty with great lyrical punch" - Maverick Magazine (UK) 

"a rough and tumble garage-y sound...soaked deep in an ocean of chunky guitars" - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Latest Lisik News: The Mess and all the rest...


Excess Baggage Vol. 9 Issue 5

 

Hey kids,

                       Very long time no talk to – but as you will soon see, it’s been a very eventful month or two.  And things are cranking up to get even busier in the coming months.

 

Of course, the big news is that the long-awaited new cd The Mess That Money Could Buy was released by Cherokee Queen Records Sept. 18.  We have had a wonderful outpouring in response to the disc, both in person and in the press – special thanks to our amazing publicist Mike Farley from Michael J. Media http://www.michaeljmedia.com/. Be on the lookout for upcoming reviews in Pure Grain Audio, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Youngstown Vindicator, and the Kent Record Courier.  In the meantime, here are a couple recent reviews ya mighta missed.




 

Special thanks to all our fans who have come out to the shows – please keep that up! The Mess Tour continues with upcoming shows in New York City at ZirZamin http://zirzaminnyc.com/ Nov. 8 with Scott Stein http://scottsteinmusic.com/ , The Barrel Room in North Canton Nov. 9 http://www.barrelroomwinebar.com/ , and Uncorked Wine Bar in Akron Nov. 10  http://www.uncorkedwinegallery.com/rental.html. Shows are currently being booked in Plattsburgh, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Columbus, and Youngstown, Oh.; Altoona and Williamsport, Pa.; and Madison, Wi., as well as shows back home in Canton, Akron, Cleveland, and Kent. Stay tuned to brianlisik.com for updates.

 

Speaking of the tour (in a sense) the band and I shot some raw footage for a music video to the song “Five Other Rooms” on our way to and from a show at Howler’s in Pittsburgh Oct. 5, where we played with the incredible Chet Vincent and the Big Bend and Grand Piano – to an even more incredible crowd in a claustrophobically jam-packed club.  Most of the “road footage” (it’s a song about the road, so we are going all “Wanted Dead or Alive” on it..) was shot by the mighty Mr. Joe Waller…except for the upside down shots when I was manning the iPhone.  And Steve Norgrove curses a lot on it, but you probably won’t hear that above the music when the video is done. We’ll be working on the more controlled “studio” footage (i.e., I can stop the filming and fix my hair more often) with the wonderful Mr. Henry J. soon and we are hoping to have the video out by mid-November.  Along with that, we are also hoping to release a live-show video shot by Henry back in July at Buzzbin Art & Music Shop in Canton, tentatively titled Save Me From My Life.  All goes as planned, that will be out by the end of the year as well.

 

You might have caught part of part one of Eddie Tomecko’s stunning Brian Lisik documentary On the Wrong Side of the Canal when it went up on YouTube last month (check it out here if not  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-_1BcZQUkg)A great film, in spite of its sometimes boring subject, that still has lots more footage that never made it into “Part one” (which, incidentally, was screened at First Night Akron in 2010, but never released to the public).  We are hoping to get at least the completed parts – and perhaps the entire film - on the street by early next year.  So stay tuned.

 

I am also continuing to work on my seemingly endless writing projects including my co-write of My Town Let Me Down, the uproarious – and utterly irreverent – memoir from former Northfield Village, Ohio mayor and sports and entertainment photographer Victor Milani; and a collection of my previously published Sun News columns that I am trying to somehow merge together with some of my weirder on-the-road-playing-music recollections from over the years.  I’m calling it Don’t Shoot Me Till Deadline, or Cool Rockin’ Daddy, or This Book Sucks But You Should Buy It Anyway…or something.  At any rate, both these titillating tomes are due out next year as well.

 

That oughtta do it for now.  See ya at the shows kiddies!

Lisik




 

 

 

 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Relate Magazine reviews "The Mess That Money Could Buy"



Lisik Relates to young girls:

Another (very thoughtful, in fact) review of "The Mess That Money Could Buy" in the current issue of Relate Magazine. Be sure to pick up your own copy today online and in fine stores everywhere!
 


 
http://www.relatemag.com/2012/10/brian-lisik-the-mess-that-money-could-buy/

Thursday, September 27, 2012

MESSY HOUSE CONCERT WINNER(S) ANNOUNCED


AND THE WINNER(S) IS...

Due to the ovewhelming response to the "Mess That Money Could Buy - Messy House Concert" contest, we've decided to sort of break our own rules and award a special house concert to the top three contestants drawn from the official "Messy House Concert" baseball cap. You know, just like they do for Miss America.

So here goes. The official first place winner is, Ed DeStephen, of Canal Fulton!!

Ed's first runner up (and winner of her own house concert, whether or not Ed is able to fulfill his duties as Queen...) is Diana Davis-Loy of Massillon!!

Third runner up (and winner of the you-too-can-be-part-of-the-house-concert-band-because-you-play-kick-ass-guitar special bonus prize) is Robb Myers of Cuyahoga Falls!!

Congratulations to the winners - our attorneys will be in contact to work out all the detais. And thanks so much for all who participated. Truth be told, we can probably work something out for each of you if ya REALLY wanted me to come over to your house and play guitar for a couple hours.
See More

Monday, September 24, 2012

"Messy House Concert" contest ends Sept. 25

Only one day left in the Brian Lisik "The Mess That Money Could Buy Messy House Concert" contest! Sign up today to win a free Lisik concert - at the hacienda of yer choice - by e-mailing brian@brianlisik.com and putting "can Brian come over to my house and play?" in the subject line. Simple as that. The randomly chosen winner will be announed Sept. 26.
 
And don't forget to pick up yer copy of the new CD, "The Mess That Money Could Buy" - available online at www.brianlisik.com, cdbaby.com/all/lisik, amazon.com, Time Traveler CDs in Cuyhoga Falls, Square Records and Uncorked Wine Bar in Akron, and other fine stores.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

New "Mess" review from the Sept. 18 Pittsburgh Daily News.

   ‘The Mess That Money Could Buy’
Brian Lisik
(Cherokee Queen)


It’s been six long years since we last heard from Ohio-based singer/songwriter Brian Lisik, who cut his teeth fronting Giants of Science in the late 1990s and later went on to record a pair of rock-solid solo albums. “The Mess That Money Could Buy” is in the run-ning for best album title of the year and the 11-track collection of guitar-centric tunes makes for an equally enjoyable listen.

Opener “Small Town Royal Family” sets the tone, and after treading water for a little while with the so-so “Change on Your Own” and “To California,” Lisik hits his stride with keepers “Longest Day of the Year,” “Nights in Shining Amore,” “Five Other Rooms” and “I Want to Go Home.”

Here’s hoping Lisik won’t take six more years for his next album.

Jeffrey Sisk

And look out Pittsburgh, Lisik and band will be appearing Oct. 5 at Howler's with Chet Vincent and the Big Bend and Grand Piano! 

 http://howlerscoyotecafe.com/

http://thebigbend.net/

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

"The Mess That Money Could Buy" in stores today; house concert contest till Sept. 25

"The Mess That Money Could Buy" - available today in stores and online at brianlisik.com, cdbaby, amazon, itunes, spotify, and lastfm. 

Sign up now at brian@brianlisik.com to enter our "Messy House Concert" contest for a chance to win a Lisik show for you and yer friends! Just put "Can Brian come over to my house and play?" in the subject line - and good luck! 

Contest ends Sept. 25.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Congrats to Debbie from Missouri - winner of The Trades "Mess That Money Could Buy" contest

Congratulations to Debbie Icebergsewell of Joplin, MO. - the winner of The Trades "The Mess That Money Could Buy" CD giveaway contest! Thanks to Debbie for participating - and for the rest of you, "Mess" will be in stores this Tuesday, Sept. 18. Stay tuned here and at www.brianlisik.com for updates.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Lisik on The Radio Sandbox, 91.3 FM The Summit in Akron - 11 p.m. Sept. 15

TONITE !! Tune in to 91.3 WAPS-FM the Summit (or http://www.913thesummit.com/audio/for
you out-of-towners) tonight at 11 p.m. when Brian Lisik appears as radio legend Jim Chenot's Radio Sandbox show. Always a good time...and frighteningly good radio...for the censors anyway.

Monday, September 10, 2012

"The Mess That Money Could Buy" CD giveaway and house concert contest!!

Only a couple days left - be the first kid on yer block with yer very own copy of "The Mess That Money Could Buy" before it hits the stores Sept. 18! Then, after you enter the free CD contest, email us at brian@brianlisik.com for a chance to win an exclusive house concert performance!


Friday, September 7, 2012

"The Mess That Money Could Buy" CD release show 9/7/12

Tonight's the big night! Join Brian Lisik and the Unfortunates at 7 p.m. at Buzzbin Art and Music Shop, 339 Cleveland Ave. in Canton for our CD release show (part of the 35 band Brewed Roots Festival) and a chance to be the coolest kid on your block by going home with yer very own copy of "The Mess That Money Could Buy" before anyone else can buy it! "The Mess" will be in stores and online Sept. 18.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Lisik reviewed in No Depression

Read the review of "The Mess That Money Could Buy" in the latest issue of No Depression. And remember to pick up yer very own copy of the new disc Sept. 18 - or at the Sept. 7 Brian Lisik and the Unfortunates appearance at the Buzzbin Music & Art Shop in Canton, as part of the Brewed Roots Festival.

http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs/the-neo-music-scene-has-major-league-talent

Friday, August 31, 2012

The Canton Rep reviews "The Mess That Money Could Buy"

 
 
Lisik waxes poetic with Dan Kane of the Canton Repository on recording in Collinwood ("Dodging bullets is the right atmosphere for recording a rock record"); releasing "Mess That Money Could Buy" ("I remember sitting in the driveway listening to the demos and saying 'should we put this thing out?'"); and The Giants of Science ("We played faster so we could get off stage quicker. The band was utterly fearless").
 
And it looks really cool in the print version of Ticket - thanks Dan!
 

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Brian Lisik - HUGE in Belgium!!


 

(photo from the Rock Werchter Festival - Belgium.  We can't pronounce it either, but I also don't know what a "CD-valve" is. What an (An)twerp I am...)


Tell Jean Claude Van Damme, David Hasselhoff and the Gert Jonnys to watch out - 'cause we are HUGE in Belgium!! Check out the new review of The Mess That Money Could Buy (wherin Steve Norgrove becomes a bigger star than me, and my son becomes my brother) courtesy of the Google translation below, then follow the link to see how cool I look in Flemish!  ...

http://www.rootstime.be/

Monday, August 27, 2012

"THE MESS THAT MONEY COULD BUY" IN MUSIC NEWS NASHVILLE

Dan Harr gives his take on the new Brian Lisik CD "The Mess That Money Could Buy" in this week's Music News Nashville.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

The very rare phenomenon known as Unfortunates band practice!

....so check this out.  Probably won't happen again for months
 


Friday, August 17, 2012

Lisik heads to Pittsburgh - for a very...large...show

Back on the road behind The Mess That Money Could Buy


Hey kids,
                           Just a quick update update for all our fans east of the Ohio border - and heartfelt thank ya to Chet Vincent - http://www.facebook.com/chetvincentandthebigbend
                           The band and I will be headed back to Pittsburgh Oct. 5 where we will appear at Howler's 4509 Liberty Ave. (in the Bloomfield 'hood) www.howlerscoyotecafe.com with Chet Vincent and the Big Bend and Grand Piano.  Given that bill, kinda seems like I should come up with some synonym for "large" to describe the Unfortunates this time out.. Brian Lisik and the Largely Untuned Band or something.  At any rate, looking forward to seeing all our friends in the Steel City again!
                             And we'll be returning the favor to Chet and band soon as we bring them to wild and wonderful Northeast Ohio for a show or two.
                            In the meantime, stay tuned to www.brianlisik.com for show updates, web exclusive songs (including the new one Joe Waller and I recorded at Rubber City Studios entitled "Next Time Around" which is going to be the theme song for a new animated TV show called "818"), info about the new CD The Mess That Money Could Buy, which will officially be released Sept. 18, and updates on the Sept. 7 release party at Buzzbin Art & Music Shop, 339 Cleveland Ave. N.W. in Canton where we will play with 30 opening acts as part of the Buzzbin Brewed Roots Festival.www.buzzbinshop.com

Cheers!
Lisik



                        

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Latest Lisik News - Excess Baggage Vol. 9 Issue 4


EXCESS BAGGAGE VOL. 9 ISSUE 4


You Should Hear: Brian Lisik Band - Upcoming CD not too polished or too raw
Published: Friday, August 29, 2008, 8:58 AM Updated: Friday, August 29, 2008, 9:19 AM

Looking ahead, Akron-based singer-guitarist Brian Lisik is thinking about a new band album due out later by early 2009. Already receiving stage time are new songs "Change on Your Own" and "I'm Satisfied." "If we're known for anything, it's kind of the raggedy, Stonesy-meets-Replacements kind of sound," said Lisik, a Rubber City native. "Our 2004 album 'Baggage' was a more produced studio album, whereas our 2006 album 'Happiness is Boring' was just a get in there and turn on the tape recorder and go at it album, like a rock band record. This one sort of unintentionally splits the difference. It's almost my Led Zeppelin 'III' record." (Yeah. This was published four years ago…)

Hey kids,
                                Welcome to another exciting installment of Excess Baggage, with the big news remaining the upcoming release of The Mess That Money Could Buy, the long-awaited follow-up to Happiness Is Boring, due out Sept. 18.  And as we ramp up for the release and tour (including stops in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Williamsport Pa. New York City, Plattsburgh NY., Burlington VT., and Madison, WI), the band and I are keeping busy around town.
JOE WALLER AND I just laid down a version of our co-write, “Next Time Around” at Rubber City Studios in Akron for use in the pilot episode of a new animated TV series called “818” (Hollywood area code…and I hope I get an animated part…that’s all I know now).  The tune turned out really well (yeah, I know a two-man “band” recording a thumping punk-blues sounding thing in a studio in seedy South Akron… what copycats we are) and I think we’re gonna put it up on brianlisik.com as some kinda “fan club members only” exclusive download or something.

SPEAKING OF NEW MATERIAL, on the eve of the first official Brian Lisik release in six years,  Steve Norgrove and I continue to record some of the coolest songs we’ve ever written (“Beaten Up Blue,” “Born on Needles and Pins,” “Tattered and Broken,” “Nothing There,” “St. Patrick’s Day (Alex)”….ah the list goes on..).  So rest assured, whatever it ends up sounding like, the next  follow-up album should arrive after a much shorter gestation period.

FILMING FOR OPEN MIC: THE SERIES continues this month, although writer-director Henry J.  Konczak has decided to change my role from that of bitter ex-rocker Hans to Hans’s arch rival – currently hot rock star Billy James.  In hindsight, I am a better actor with a guitar in my hands.  Ask my band. 

ON THE LITERARY TIP, be on the lookout later this year for Life Isn’t Fair, Politics Is Worse – the fairly self-explanatory tome I am writing with Victor Milani - former Northfield Village, Ohio mayor and photographer for Belkin Productions and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

SO TILL NEXT TIME visit brianlisik.com for show updates, songs, videos and all sorts of fun.  And we’ll see ya at the shows kiddies.

Cheers,
Lisik




Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Lisik in Nashville Music News

Check out some cool coverage today in Nashville Music News.  Special thanks to the Michael J. Media team!

http://www.musicnewsnashville.com/brian-lisik-returns-with-the-mess-that-money-could-buy?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=brian-lisik-returns-with-the-mess-that-money-could-buy

Also stay tuned for details on the release of the live DVD concert film, "Save Me From My Life," featuring Brian Lisik, Steve Norgrove and Joe Waller - recorded July 6 at Buzzbin Music and Art Shop by Henry J. Konzcak of Random Acts of Music

Friday, July 6, 2012

EXCESS BAGGAGE VOL. 9 ISSUE 3

EXCESS BAGGAGE VOL. 9 ISSUE 3




Hey kids,

Welcome back to the Excess Baggage newsletter, which I’ve been very lax in updating of late – but hey, we’ve also been quite busy. As you’ll soon see/read. If you get that far. And don’t get bored first. Anyway. Here you go…



TONIGHT, TONIGHT TONIGHT!! that would be July 6, Steve Norgrove, Joe Waller and I will be tearing up the Buzzbin stage (339 Cleveland Ave. N.W.) in Canton as Canton First Friday celebrates its (I think) 5th birthday and we celebrate about the fifth time in the past two years that we’ve plugged in and played loudly. So we are really looking forward to this increasingly rare “powerless trio” show. Plus, our friend and filmmaker (well, not really our filmmaker, but you know what I mean..) Henry J. will be shooting footage from the show for the first video from our soon-to-be-released new CD. (more on both those things later, so hang in there). Show starts at 8 and also on the bill are Good Hours and my friend James Couts and his band, Toy Pianos. James interviewed me on his radio show in about 2008 about the new album I was about to release and…



WELL FOLKS, THAT ALBUM IS COMING OUT THIS FALL! I know, I had to resist the urge to call it Lisik Democracy – as Mr. Norgrove suggested before we realized that Axl Rose probably has nothing better to do these days than kick our asses for making fun of him. But after a loooong stretch of time, The Mess That Money Can Buy will be released Sept. 18, with the press and radio campaign kicking off in a couple weeks (thanks Mr. Farley!), the brand new brianlisik.com going live at the same time (thanks Ms. Price!), and your chance to preorder the disc and get it months before the rest of the world can (’cause we like you better…xoxo…). Oh, this is really cool too, as part of the pre-release promo, we will also be re-releasing part one of On the Wrong Side of the Canal, the Brian Lisik documentary film by Eddie Tomecko, as several Youtube vignettes. So, once again, a project that was screened several years ago (and still, technically in production…) will, at least to some degree, see the light of day this year as well – yay!



SPEAKING OF FILMS AND SUCH I have been cast in an online series being filmed by the aforementioned Henry J. called Open Mic. The film – to be released in a series of “webisodes” revolves around a group of musicians vying for a record contract. In my first onscreen speaking role I play a former big shot lead singer of a German metal band who is now a bitter has-been sponging off his girlfriend …yeah, big stretch, huh? Filming began last week; we will keep ya posted on the progress, and/or visit http://www.openmictheseries.com/ for more.



IN OTHER NEWS, the band has begun demoing material for our next release – which we are tentatively “promising” to have out by 2013; after another wonderful, and wonderfully off-the-cuff, rendition of “Dancing In the Dark” at a benefit for RandomActs.org at Time Traveler CDs last month, Tracey Thomas and I are kicking around the idea of a whole album’s worth of Bruce Springsteen covers…mainly because of the audience member at the show who suggested we call it A Load of B.S. – which I think would be a great album title. Work also continues on former Northfield Village Mayor and Belkin-Maduri photographer Vic Milani’s memoir – tentatively titled Life Isn’t Fair, Politics Is Worse which I am co-writing with the venerable Mr. Milani. And somewhere along the line I think I wanna publish some of my Sun News Loose Ends columns in some book form – including the legendary piece about my son learning to fart under his armpit that won me a Suburban Newspapers of America award.



OUR WEEKEND LIVE SHOW EXTRAVAGANA CONTINUES at 8 p.m. July 7 at Michael D’s (1411 Whipple Ave., Canton) and 6 p.m. July 8 at Nathan’s Patio Bar (725 30th St. N.E. Canton). For the full schedule, visit www.sonicbids.com/brianlisik


TILL NEXT TIME, see ya at the shows kiddies!

Lisik







Friday, March 2, 2012

LATEST LISIK NEWS: RECORDINGS AND SHOWS ROUND THE WORLD AND AROUND THE BLOCK



EXCESS BAGGAGE VOL. 9 ISSUE 2

Hey kids,

So here is the deal. I’m not what you would call an astrology expert, but with Whitney Houston dying the night before the Grammys, my phone deciding to jump out of my jacket pocket and take a suicide swim in the Brunswick Police Department toilet, several car repairs taking all my money, and about 4 total inches of snow falling in Northeast Ohio in the middle of February, something definitely must have been in some serious state of retrograde over the past two weeks.


But I’m an optimist – complete with an almost-fixed car, a really cool new LG Enlighten Smart Phone for only $35 after mail-in rebate, and some very exciting music-related items peering over the ol’ horizon this month. So here we go.

JOE WALLER AND I WILL BE PLAYING CANTON FIRST FRIDAY TONIGHT (3/2) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Lynda Tuttle’s Art Center, 209 6th St. S.W., behind the Palace Theater. A very special thanks to Lynda for having us at the gallery – not so incidentally one of my personal favorite downtown Canton spots on any night of the year.

ON MAR. 10, JOE AND I WILL MAKE OUR DEBUT at the Geisen Haus, 6955 Promway Drive, North Canton, at 9 p.m. Mar. 10. So dust off yer lederhosen (Joe will…), grab yer best fraulein (I will…) and join us, won’t you? And oh yeah, if you throw enough money, we just might throw some Scorpions and David Hasselhoff into the set!

CONTINUING OUR BIG EUROPEAN TOUR, Joe and I will next jet off to Flanagan’s Pub of Canton, 1316 Navarre Road, for (in bad Irish accent) St. Patty’s Day! That’s Mar. 17 for all you pagans, and Joe and I will be hitting the stage at 8 p.m. – probably around the time most of the patrons will be hitting the floor. But never fear, the whole thing will be getting streamed live via http://www.whatsupohio.com/ . And hopefully archived…so we can all laugh at you all online until next St. Patrick’s Day!

I WILL BE RETURNING TO ACOUSTIX CAFE IN AKRON, 662 Canton Road, at 7 p.m. Mar. 23 where I will share the stage once again with the amazing Mr. John Markovic. John and I used to play in a cool little combo together and our impromptu “reunion” at Acoustix earlier this year was a blast! Best line of the night, in fact, was when John (and the few beers he’d already had when his set began) said “When I last talked to Brian we both said ‘when’s the next practice? How about in 15 years?’” Which is closer to the truth than either one of us would like to admit. Either way, this one is sure to be another lovably loud, somewhat clumsy, rocking trip back down memory lane. Mallory opens the show at 6:30.

AND SPEAKING OF MANY HAPPY RETURNS, I’ll be traveling back to the Firehouse in Malvern Mar. 31 where Rick and the gang will play host to another night of, well, me at 8:30 p.m. Really looking forward to playing at one of my favorite spots – complete with great food, Newcastle beer, and the world’s smallest (but packed-est dance floor) once the liquor kicks in.

THINGS HAVE BEEN BUSYING UP OFFSTAGE AS WELL lately, including Steve Norgrove and my recording of a brand new song that is slated for possible inclusion in an upcoming Discovery Channel documentary on the life of Clarence Elkins. Turns out Clarence and his wife, Molly, are big fans and asked if I’d like to contribute music to the documentary. I, of course, was honored. We’ll keep ya posted as things develop, but in the meantime, Steve and my first trip into a recording studio in about a year has resulted in one of the best songs I’ve ever written and recorded, if I do say so myself….

IN OTHER STUDIO NEWS the long-awaited greatly anticipated (we hope) follow-up to Happiness Is Boring is slated for a summer 2012 release on Cherokee Queen Records. I’ve been back in the studio with Eddie Tomecko doing post production work this past month and it looks like The Mess That Money Could Buy is finally gonna see the light of day. Stay tuned for release show and tour info as we get closer to the release date. Eddie and I will also be poring over The Wrong Side of the Canal footage, with the hope of releasing the 2010 Lisik documentary, along with originally planned “Part II” material, on DVD in late 2012. Sort of depends on how much the label makes on Mess, but that’s all boring business stuff nobody wants to read about in a newsletter. In the meantime, check out a video of the previously unreleased song “Normalcy” recorded live in Eddie’s kitchen last month.

JOE AND STEVE AND I DON’T PLAN ON WASTING QUITE AS MUCH TIME with the follow-up to Mess, as plans are in the works to possibly record and release a Brian Lisik and The Unfortunates record this year. You know, a six-year wait between releases followed by a six-month wait between releases; we’re nothing if not reliably inconsistent.

AND THIS WILL ALL DOVETAIL NICELY with a complete overhaul of http://www.brianlisik.com/ which we hope to have completed within the next couple months. Meanwhile find us at the links listed at the end of this newsletter.


LASTLY, AND CERTAINLY NOT LEASTLY, the book project I am working on with a long-time former Cleveland-area elected official, rock photographer, and all-around interesting Italian guy continues and is getting more fun by the minute. Sorry again for being vague, but suffice it to say the book is a rollicking chronicle of the ups and downs of small town Midwest politics that I wanted to call “This Story Is So Good We’re All Sure to Get Sued” until my subject respectfully advised me against it. At any rate, the first draft (at least) should be wrapped up by late summer, so be on the lookout for updates and a website/blog devoted to the book coming soon.

SO TILL NEXT TIME, see ya at the shows boys and girls!


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Thursday, January 5, 2012

LATEST LISIK NEWS: KICKING OFF 2012 (ON THE RADIO NO LESS)



EXCESS BAGGAGE VOL. 9 ISSUE 1


Well happy new year, y’all! And welcome to the first Excess Baggage issue of 2012. I hope I remember how to write these things, considering that I think I only did two issues last year. In fact, you might want to print a copy of this one to hang on yer fridge. It might end up being kinda rare.

But first things first, mark yer calendars for a few shows and at least one radio interview coming up soon. Tune in to WHBC-AM 1480 at 6:15 p.m. Jan. 5 for a biting Lisik interview by resident rock jock David Selby’s “Local Buzz” show, wherein I become the coolest music on talk radio at 6:15 p.m. on a Thursday. Ya know, since Rush Limbaugh’s show is over and you can’t hear the Pretenders playing “My City Was Gone” again until noon Friday…oh never mind, just tune in to Dave’s show…

And learn about our upcoming live shows including appearances at the Barrel Room in North Canton at 8 p.m. Jan. 14 and Acoustix in Akron at 8 p.m. Jan. 21 – where I’ll be sharing the stage with my old guitar slingin’ partner, John Markovic.

In un-live news, work on new CD (entitled The Mess That Money Could Buy or, if we decide to quote engineer Clint Holley instead, we might call it Wasted Sundays) will be done and out by spring 2012, promise. But remember, we still define what “spring” means.

The Brian Lisik documentary film by Eddie Tomecko, On The Wrong Side Of The Canal - at least part-one of it - will be sorta re-released this year as well. You see, we screened it in Akron in late 2009, then its retail release stalled due to complications with our distributor that were beyond our control (psst…that means they never really had a distributor, but whatever)

A brand new brianlisik.com site will also be launched within months, and I will be completing at least an EP’s worth of brand new songs with the Unfortunates for 2012 fan consumption.

All that being said, I have been fortunate enough in the past few months to be presented with a boatload of other opportunities to work on a wide range of projects, each of which I’ll at least dipping my feet into the tub of. Please forgive the vagueness of the forthcoming (very long) sentence, but the lawyers, publishers and producers would probably appreciate if I did that at this point; and I digress.

I have begun work on a book project with a prominent former Northeast Ohio elected official who is no longer elected – which sorta forms the basis of the book; a documentary by a Canadian filmmaker recounting one of the most notorious cases of false accusation in American history; a web-based “TV” series due to begin shooting in March about a group of musicians trying to “make it” (I think the role I’m gonna read for is a German guy, and I’m not sure if “make it” means I’ll be playing a lot of music or having a lot of sex scenes. Either way, I better find all my old Scorpions records and start practicin’); and, oh yeah, Joe Waller and I are about to start writing theme music for a new cartoon - that being the most likely project of all to be completed since, as live-action cartoon characters ourselves, we’re halfway there.

In the meantime, please visit me/us on facebook and twitter and at the somewhat resurrected All The Revolutionaries Are Dead blog. And for those of you who would actually like to see what a semi-completed and highly imaginative project from a Lisik looks like, check out what started as my son Christian’s Christmas vacation homework assignment and actually turned into a really cool story. Maybe the fruit really don’t fall far from the tree.

See ya at the shows kiddies!

Lisik

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