Lisa Marie shakes things up

By Larry Claflin Jr.
Staff writer

May 01, 2008 04:07 am

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Lisa Marie likes to mix things up, as evidenced by her latest CD, "Wake Up, Baby," which includes all original music from the singer's favorite genres — funk, rockabilly, swing and blues. And her band — Lisa Marie and All Shook Up — is a mix of several musicians from around the region, many current and former members of Roomful of Blues, who recorded the CD with her and join her for shows around the region.

"This is real, this is kind of raw and gritty, and this is how we sound when you see us live," Lisa Marie said about "Wake Up, Baby," in which songs were recorded live in-studio in one or two takes.

"I like the imperfections; I like the realness of it," she said.

Lisa Marie wrote the 13 tracks on "Wake Up, Baby" and they all bristle with originality, especially "Won't Drink," a tongue-in-cheek song about abstaining from alcohol. Another tune — "My Bald-Headed Baby" — is a snappy salute to a man with a bald pate.

The singer said she tests some songs at shows to gauge audience response. She also said she writes in creative bursts.

"I get home from a gig and I'm really pumped, and I write 12 songs," said Lisa Marie, who added that she plans to put out another disk of songs that didn't make it on "Wake Up, Baby."

"Probably the hardest thing was taking this family of songs and having to decide what was going to be on the first CD," she said.

Lisa Marie said this CD is close to her heart.

"This is my first, my baby," she said. "All the songs are original — I wrote everything."

Lisa Marie is based in Hopkinton, but said she spends much of the time living out of her car while touring New England. She often plays on the North Shore, and hosts an open mike night at In a Pig's Eye restaurant in Salem monthly and plays the Rhumbline in Gloucester. Both rooms are fun and intimate, she said.

She also likes the people.

"I just fell in love with the people and the musicians from the (North Shore)," she said. "I get a warm reception and the feeling is mutual."

And she respects their musical knowledge.

"It's a well informed, educated audience (on the North Shore)," she said. "They know their blues, they know their music and they like to get up and dance. ... This is a little slice of New Orleans right here on the North Shore."

On Saturday night, May 4, Lisa Marie will play at the Inn on the Blues in York Beach, Maine. For more information, visit her Web site, www.allshookup.us.

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Features editor Larry Claflin Jr. writes his "Music Notes" column weekly. He can be reached at lclaflin@salemnews.com.

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