Meanwhile, here's a little something from the May 11 session at Studio 521 in Canton to whet yer appetites. Brian Lisik and Steve Norgrove tracking "Beaten Up Blue" with engineer Ben Payne behind the boards and drummer Joe Waller about to lay down some fonk...cheers kiddies!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Recording begins on new Brian Lisik and the Unfortunates disc, Hacksaws and Duct Tape
Meanwhile, here's a little something from the May 11 session at Studio 521 in Canton to whet yer appetites. Brian Lisik and Steve Norgrove tracking "Beaten Up Blue" with engineer Ben Payne behind the boards and drummer Joe Waller about to lay down some fonk...cheers kiddies!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR REVIEWS "THE MESS THAT MONEY COULD BUY"/TOUR HEADS TO MAHONING COUNTY
Stay tuned for the summer 2013 release of a new line of Lisik T-shirts and the Brian Lisik and the Unfortunates live concert film Save Me From My Life...(live).
Thursday, April 25, 2013
LISIK FEATURE IN THE WARREN TRIBUNE CHRONICLE - 4/25/13
Monday, April 22, 2013
LATEST LISIK NEWS: NEW RECORDING SET TO START, AND AKRON, YOUNGSTOWN, CLEVELAND - HERE WE COME
EXCESS BAGGAGE: VOL. 10 ISSUE 1
THIS WEEKEND, I will be making my debut at a couple clubs - the Ohio Brewing Company in Akron April 26, and the Lemon Grove (thank you very much Alexis Antes!) in Youngstown (promise I won't sing the Bruce Springsteen song...too obvious...) April 27. Then, on May 3, I will return to Brother's Lounge in Cleveland, followed shortly afterward that night by the legendary rosavelt, which will be performing in the Brother's main hall. Check out brianlisik.com for details, and pick up copies of the Youngstown Vindicator and Warren Tribune Chronicle this week for coverage of the shows and the latest CD, The Mess That Money Could Buy. And hope to see ya all out at the shows.
MEANWHILE, THE UNFORTUNATES and I will be heading back to the studio in May with engineer/co-producer Benjamin Payne (Tracey Thomas, Yankee Bravo) to begin work on the follow-up to The Mess That Money Could Buy. With around 20 songs ready to roll tape on, this is officially the most new material we've ever had at our disposal at any one given time; it's also (in my humble opinion) the best we've ever had in one place at one time. So stay tuned for updates throughout the recording.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, Henry J. Productions, in association with Cherokee Queen Records, will be releasing the Brian Lisik and the Unfortunates concert film Save Me From My Life (Live) this summer, featuring a full set recorded at Buzzbin Records in July 2012 along with on-the-road footage and the official music video for the song "Five Other Rooms."
TILL NEXT TIME, see ya at the shows kids!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
We're coming out, we're coming out..and other overt Replacement references
THE BRIAN LISIK MESSY SPRING TOUR COMING TO WILLIAMSPORT, PA. AND NEW YORK CITY
Brian Lisik to perform at Kimball’s
March 7, 2013
, Williamsport Sun-Gazette
The dichotomy of seeking recognition and fame, while simultaneously running from it as fast as possible, has permeated Akron, Ohio, rocker Brian Lisik's work since his days as founder and front man of the self-proclaimed "slop rock" band The Giants of Science in the late 1990s.
A psychologist would likely have a field day dissecting what fears, insecurities or simple dissatisfaction with life that may mask, but all we have as sure evidence is two blistering Giants of Science EPs ("Hang Ups and All" and "A Minor Disturbance"); two more albums of the solo variety (2004's "Baggage" and 2006's "Happiness Is Boring"); and now Lisik's new offering, "The Mess That Money Could Buy" (released September 2012 via Lisik's own Cherokee Queen Records).
It would be tempting to chalk up the cheeky title of Lisik's latest disc, and the six-year span between it and its predecessor, to that aforementioned artistic dichotomy. But the singer himself disagrees.
"No, I actually wasn't trying to take nearly a decade to make a record," Lisik said. "We actually had 90 percent of it done in about six months.
"Then we began the process of trying to make it sound good, which was probably a mistake. In the end though, it does sound really good. It just took us forever to finish and annoyed quite a few studio engineers along the way."
While "Mess" is alternately balls-out rocking ("Small Town Royal Family" "Five Other Rooms," "A Mess"), surprisingly tender ("Nights In Shining Amore," "Last Words") and mightily frustrating to pop music perfectionists (check the botched count-off on "I'm Satisfied"), it is ultimately real which is all Lisik was looking for.
"I've been at this a while, both as a performer and someone who has analyzed and written a lot about performers," he said. "And in the end, forming some sort of bond or communion with an audience is really what it's all about. Minus that, it doesn't really matter how much time or money you spent or didn't spend on your piece of art. All those things help when it comes to getting people to know you exist, but if it isn't genuine, your piece of art is basically a piece of something else."
In a recent Facebook post of a video filmed at a Canton, Ohio, venue more resembling a loading dock than a nightclub, Lisik commented about his performance, saying, "'Passenger Side' [is a] A Wilco classic about being drunk. I messed up most of the chords. I was sober."
The irony of the posting is that the largely unappreciative crowd is treated to one of the most appropriately fragile-yet-defiant versions of the song this side of Jeff Tweedy himself.
"I don't really set out to be a screw-up," Lisik said. "It just seems very natural for me sometimes."
That supreme, yet genuinely self-deprecating confidence is rare in artists. "I basically live with creative people, but I find most 'artists' to be insufferably boorish and self centered," said Lisik. "I am too, mind you, but I don't have to talk to myself if I don't want to."
Brian Lisik will perform at 8 p.m. March 22 at Kimball's Pub, 972 Second St.
For more information, visit www.brianlisik.com.
A psychologist would likely have a field day dissecting what fears, insecurities or simple dissatisfaction with life that may mask, but all we have as sure evidence is two blistering Giants of Science EPs ("Hang Ups and All" and "A Minor Disturbance"); two more albums of the solo variety (2004's "Baggage" and 2006's "Happiness Is Boring"); and now Lisik's new offering, "The Mess That Money Could Buy" (released September 2012 via Lisik's own Cherokee Queen Records).
It would be tempting to chalk up the cheeky title of Lisik's latest disc, and the six-year span between it and its predecessor, to that aforementioned artistic dichotomy. But the singer himself disagrees.
Article Photos
PHOTO PROVIDED
Brian Lisik will perform at 8 p.m. March 22 at Kimball’s Pub, 972 Second St. For more information about Lisik, visit www.brianlisik.com.
Brian Lisik will perform at 8 p.m. March 22 at Kimball’s Pub, 972 Second St. For more information about Lisik, visit www.brianlisik.com.
"Then we began the process of trying to make it sound good, which was probably a mistake. In the end though, it does sound really good. It just took us forever to finish and annoyed quite a few studio engineers along the way."
While "Mess" is alternately balls-out rocking ("Small Town Royal Family" "Five Other Rooms," "A Mess"), surprisingly tender ("Nights In Shining Amore," "Last Words") and mightily frustrating to pop music perfectionists (check the botched count-off on "I'm Satisfied"), it is ultimately real which is all Lisik was looking for.
"I've been at this a while, both as a performer and someone who has analyzed and written a lot about performers," he said. "And in the end, forming some sort of bond or communion with an audience is really what it's all about. Minus that, it doesn't really matter how much time or money you spent or didn't spend on your piece of art. All those things help when it comes to getting people to know you exist, but if it isn't genuine, your piece of art is basically a piece of something else."
In a recent Facebook post of a video filmed at a Canton, Ohio, venue more resembling a loading dock than a nightclub, Lisik commented about his performance, saying, "'Passenger Side' [is a] A Wilco classic about being drunk. I messed up most of the chords. I was sober."
The irony of the posting is that the largely unappreciative crowd is treated to one of the most appropriately fragile-yet-defiant versions of the song this side of Jeff Tweedy himself.
"I don't really set out to be a screw-up," Lisik said. "It just seems very natural for me sometimes."
That supreme, yet genuinely self-deprecating confidence is rare in artists. "I basically live with creative people, but I find most 'artists' to be insufferably boorish and self centered," said Lisik. "I am too, mind you, but I don't have to talk to myself if I don't want to."
Brian Lisik will perform at 8 p.m. March 22 at Kimball's Pub, 972 Second St.
For more information, visit www.brianlisik.com.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Four guys walk into a TV studio....
The Brian Lisik "Messy Spring Tour 2013" rolls on Mar. 5 at Brother's Lounge in Cleveland; Mar. 22 at Kimball's in Williamsport, Pa.; Mar. 23 at PATH Cafe in New York City; and Mar. 29 at Amvets Post 555 in Canton, Oh.
Lisik's latest release, The Mess That Money Could Buy is available now from Cherokeee Queen Records at www.brianlisik.com , amazon.com , itunes, spotify , and at fine retailers everywhere.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Brian Lisik and the Unfortunates on Fox 8 Mar. 4
Don't forget to set your digital VD recorders.
Brian Lisik and The
Unfortunates will be on the Fox 8 morning show in Cleveland on Monday between
7:45 and 9:00 a.m.
And don't forget to pick your copy of The Mess That Money
Could Buy. It makes a great St. Patty's Day gift (especially when combined with
numerous pints of Guinness).
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