Lissie Releases Cover of The Pretenders' "2000 Miles" as Free Download

DOWNLOAD: Lissie - "2000 Miles" (Live - not on Live at Shepard's Bush Empire CD/DVD)

Happy holidays!

I wanted to share my version of the Pretenders' '2,000 Miles' from a show I did last year in London! I hope it's a nice complement to your holiday season and helps ya to feel festive! I also hope you all have a very happy holiday surrounded by loved ones and delicious food!

Love, Lissie

Links:
Lissie

Lissie - "Covered Up With Flowers" CD Review (Fat Possum)

After generating a buzz with the her full-length debut, Catching a Tiger (2010), and a sold-out CMJ show at Hiro Ballroom, Lissie's back with a five-track / 25 minute EP of covers, "Covered Up With Flowers". The disc includes covers of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", Kid Cudi's "Pursuit Of Happiness" and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" (which are well familiar to fans through Lissie's YouTube videos) in addition to previously unheard covers of Joe South's "Games People Play" and a haunting version of Nick Cave's "The Ship Song".



Coincidently, prior to playing this disc, I had pulled Nick Cave's Kicking Against the Pricks off the shelf and given it a spin. There are a lot of similarities between Kicking Against the Pricks and "Covered Up With Flowers" as Lissie, like Cave, picks an eclectic mix of cover songs and "owns" her version and reinterpretation of these songs. The key to a good cover song is to pick something unexpected and then either present a unique take on the song or completely deconstruct the song (like Devo's "Satisfaction" or Meat Puppets' "I've Got a Right"). By this mark, Lissie succeeds on both fronts and gives recognizable but unique takes on each of these five songs.

The disc starts with a live version of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness", which appears to be from the video embedded above. After this, Lissie shaves off the pop gloss from Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and delivers a dark and somber but spirited reinterpretation of the song. From there, Lissie goes into a sun-baked cover of Joe South's "Games People Play" before returning back to the somber side of life with faithful-to-the-original covers of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and Nick Cave's "The Ship Song".



While most covers albums are stop-gap measures, "Covered Up With Flowers" is a solid addition to Lissie's catalog as it collects (almost all of) the previously unreleased songs that have helped defined Lissie's career to-date.

Links:
Lissie

Lissie Announces an EP of Covers, "Covered Up With Flowers", Due out Nov. 1st (Fat Possum)

Lissie will release a new EP, "Covered Up With Flowers", on November 8th, 2011 via Fat Possum. The EP is a collection of five cover songs, featuring her fan-favorite versions of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", Kid Cudi's "Pursuit Of Happiness", and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" - live videos of which have garnered more than five million combined views on YouTube. Highlighting both her artistic versatility and the range of her extraordinary, sun-and-whiskey-soaked voice, "Covered Up With Flowers" also includes two new covers: Lissie's soulful, rootsy take on Joe South's "Games People Play" and a haunting version of Nick Cave's "The Ship Song". The EP will be available exclusively on iTunes a week prior to release, beginning November 1st.

Lissie, also a VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist, is now confirmed to support Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on October 29th at the Benefit Concert for Public Radio Station 88.5 FM KCSN/Los Angeles. The show will be held at the Plaza del Sol Performance Hall on the California State University, Northridge campus. Tickets will be sold during a membership Pledge Drive from October 14th through October 23rd; details are available at www.kcsn.org and by listening to 88.5 FM KCSN.



Covered Up With Flowers track listing:
- "Pursuit Of Happiness" (Kid Cudi cover)
- "Bad Romance" (Lady Gaga cover)
- "Games People Play" (Joe South cover)
- "Nothing Else Matters" (Metallica cover)
- "The Ship Song" (Nick Cave cover)



Links:
Lissie

Lissie Posts Live Videos for "Bad Romance" and "When I'm Alone" from VH1 "You Oughta Know" Session

Lissie |Free Music Videos |Live Performances |New Artists

Lissie |Live Performances |New Artists |When I'm Alone

Lissie just wrapped up a tour in Australia and will play a few US shows this summer: 7/8 in Minneapolis, MN, at the Cities97 Basilica Block Party; the weekend of 8/5-7 in Chicago, IL, at Lollapalooza; and 8/8 at the Blue Moose Tap House in Iowa City, IA.

Links:
Lissie

BrooklynRocks Top 10 List for 2010

There were a lot of great releases this year so it was tough to pick only ten albums. After spending more time than I would have thought narrowing down the list, below is my 2010 Top-10 list (in no particular order):

01) The Art of Shooting – Traveling Show

02) Tim Kasher – The Game of Monogamy

03) Automatic Children – New Is Beautiful

04) Earth - A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra Capsular Extractions

05) The Canon Logic – FM Arcade

06) King Crimson – Islands (40th Anniversary Edition)

07) School of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire

08) Lissie – Catching A Tiger

09) J. Roddy Walston and the Business – Self-Titled

10) Early Graves – Goner

Happy New Year Everyone!

Lissie Announces Winter Tour Dates // Show at Webster Hall on Jan. 28th

Lissie played to a sold-out crowd at Hiro Ballroom during CMJ and she is now coming back through Canada and the States on a Dec/Jan Winter tour. The local tour stop is at Webster Hall on January 28th and tickets are $18 in advance and $22 (DOS).

At the Hiro Ballroom show, Lissie played the entirety of her "Why You Runnin'" EP and six tracks from Catching A Tiger. While Lissie has been getting a lot of publicity for her cover tunes (which include songs by Lady Ga Ga, Led Zeppelin, Metallica), Lissie included only two covers in her set. The first was a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waiting Around to Die" on which she duetted with opening act Dylan LeBlanc. (If you look closely at the photos below, you can see LeBlanc reading the lyrics off his iPod). The second was a cover of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness". The full set list is below.



Set List:
- Wedding Bells
- Worried About
- Here Before
- When I'm Alone
- Waiting Around to Die (w/ Dylan LeBlanc)
- Bully
- Cuckoo
- Record Collector
- Everywhere I Go
- In Sleep
- Little Lovin'

Encore:
- Oh Mississippi
- Pursuit of Happiness

Lissie North American headlining tour dates:
DEC. 29 -- VANCOUVER, BC, THE BILTMORE CABARET
DEC. 30 -- PORTLAND, OR, DOUG FIR LOUNGE
DEC. 31 -- SEATTLE, WA, SNOQUALIMIE CASINO
JAN. 15 -- LOS ANGELES, CA, THE MUSIC BOX
JAN. 17 -- DENVER, CO, BLUEBIRD THEATER
JAN. 19 -- DAVENPORT, IA, REDSTONE ROOM
JAN. 20 -- MINNEAPOLIS, MN, CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER
JAN. 22 -- CHICAGO, IL, LINCOLN HALL
JAN. 24 -- TORONTO, ON, THE OPERA HOUSE
JAN. 26 -- PHILADELPHIA, PA, FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH-SANCTUARY
JAN. 28 -- NEW YORK, NY, WEBSTER HALL
JAN. 29 -- BOSTON, MA, PARADISE ROCK CLUB
JAN. 30 -- WASHINGTON, DC, 9:30 CLUB
FEB. 01 -- CARRBORO, NC, CAT'S CRADLE
FEB. 02 -- ASHEVILLE, NC, THE ORANGE PEEL
FEB. 03 -- NASHVILLE, TN, MERCY LOUNGE
FEB. 05 -- ATLANTA, GA, THE LOFT
FEB. 07 -- BIRMINGHAM, AL, THE BOTTLETREE
FEB. 08 -- NEW ORLEANS, LA, THE PARISH AT HOUSE OF BLUES
FEB. 10 -- AUSTIN, TX, ANTONE'S NIGHTCLUB

Links:
Lissie

Lissie: Live Photos & Set List from Hiro Ballroom, NYC 10-22-10

At last night's sold-out show at Hiro Ballroom, Lissie came off like a veteran performer. Lissie and her two-piece band delivered a high-energy show and there was no sign of the vocal problems that plagued her over the past week. The two things that I immediately noticed about Lissie's live performance is her big voice (which doesn't come across as such a focal point on her two discs) and her relaxed stage presence. Lissie was completely at ease with the standing-room-only crowd and her stories and narrative seemed to be things that everyone could relate to.



Lissie played the entirety of her "Why You Runnin'" EP and six tracks from Catching A Tiger. While Lissie has been getting a lot of publicity for her cover tunes (which include songs by Lady Ga Ga, Led Zeppelin, Metallica), Lissie included only two covers in her set. The first was a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waiting Around to Die" on which she duetted with opening act Dylan LeBlanc. (If you look closely at the photos above, you can see LeBlanc reading the lyrics off his iPod). The second was a cover of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness".

Set List:
- Wedding Bells
- Worried About
- Here Before
- When I'm Alone
- Waiting Around to Die (w/ Dylan LeBlanc)
- Bully
- Cuckoo
- Record Collector
- Everywhere I Go
- In Sleep
- Little Lovin'

Encore:
- Oh Mississippi
- Pursuit of Happiness

Lissie kicks off a UK tour next week which will keep her in Europe until the end of the year. Here is a link to her complete set of tour dates.

Links:
Lissie

Lissie Postpones Most Dates on Current East Coast Tour // Video Available from Last Call with Carson Daly

DOWNLOAD: Lissie - "In Sleep" (Live)

Neo-folkie Lissie (Maurus) released her debut full length Catching A Tiger in August and she followed this with a series of headlining dates.

Unfortunately, Lissie is on medically prescribed vocal rest and this current run of East Coast dates, sans the NYC CMJ appearance on Oct. 22nd, have been postponed. Lissie said, "I'm incredibly disappointed that I had to postpone these dates. I saw a vocal doctor who said I needed to temporarily go on complete vocal rest, so of course I'm taking his advice. I sincerely apologize to those of you that had tickets and were excited. Believe me, I was excited too! I will be back as soon as possible, healthy and energized. Please know how much I appreciate your support and your patience with me in this time. Much love and peace, Lissie."

Earlier this month, Lissie made her network television debut with an appearance on Last Call with Carson Daly where she performed "In Sleep"



Links:
Lissie

Lissie - Catching a Tiger CD Review (Fat Possum) // Show at Hiro Ballroom on Oct. 22nd

DOWNLOAD: Lissie - "In Sleep" (Live)

Neo-folkie Lissie (Maurus) released her debut full length Catching A Tiger earlier this month and this is her great leap forward toward headlining large halls. Last year's 5-track EP, Why You Runnin', fell pretty squarely in the alt-country genre and I made comparisons to Roseanne Cash and Nanci Griffith in a review of the disc. This time out Lissie expands her reach to include tastes of radio-pop, 60's girl group swing, California freeway rock and delta blues. Lissie puts her stamp across all of the songs with her clear, soulful voice and makes each of these genres her own.

Catching a Tiger consists of eleven new tracks and three hold-overs from last year’s EP. Lissie wrote or co-wrote all of the songs and the new, predominately electric guitar-based, songs show the influences of producer/engineer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon) and co-writers Craig Dodds (Sugababes, Amy Winehouse), Julian Emery (who wrote for British pop-rockers McFly) and Jim Irvin (who fronted the Brit-Pop band Furniture)

The disc starts with the syncopated pots n’ pans percussion of “Record Collector” and moves from there into the 80’s style rockers “When I’m Alone” and “In Sleep”. “Bully” is a piano ballad that starts heading back down into alt-county territory and this track is followed by Why You Runnin’ holdover “Little Lovin’”. “Stranger” is pure 60’s girl group swing and “Loosen the Knot” is B-52s style power pop. “Cuckoo” is a little too ‘Sheryl Crow’ for my taste but still not a bad song. Getting a little schizo with the stylistic jumps, the disc moves from here to the majestically soaring “Everywhere I Go” and then jumps back to the present for the funky “Worried About”. “Look Away” is the disc’s only throwaway track but this is followed by the brilliantly soaring “Oh Mississippi”.



Lissie is headlining a show at Hiro Ballroom on October 22nd as part of CMJ Music Marathon. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 DOS.

Lissie's US Tour Dates
Oct 06, 2010 -- Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
Oct 07, 2010 -- Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA
Oct 09, 2010 -- ACL Music Festival, Austin, TX
Oct 09, 2010 -- Emo's (Official ACL Aftershow w/ Dawes), Austin, TX
Oct 10, 2010 -- House Of Blues Bronze Peacock, Houston, TX
Oct 11, 2010 -- Granada Theatre, Dallas, TX
Oct 13, 2010 -- Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO
Oct 15, 2010 -- Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN
Oct 16, 2010 -- Redstone Room @ River Music, Davenport, IA
Oct 17, 2010 -- Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
Oct 19, 2010 -- El Mocambo Club, Toronto, ONT, Canada
Oct 20, 2010 -- 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Oct 21, 2010 -- Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
Oct 22, 2010 -- Hiro Ballroom, New York, NY
Oct 23, 2010 -- T.T. the Bear's, Cambridge, MA

Links:
Lissie

Lissie Plays an Early Show At Mercury Lounge on November 9th (Fat Possum)

DOWNLOAD: Lissie - Little Lovin' (MP3)

Lissie Maurus is a singer/songwriter in the old-school tradition of Rosanne Cash and Nanci Griffth. Similar to these artists, Lissie's songs are fully developed narrative stories of love, loss and heartbreak.

Lissie's debut EP, "Why You Runnin'", is out Tuesday (on Fat Possum) and she is taking a break from the Ray LaMontagne tour to play an early show at the Mercury Lounge this Monday. Doors are at 7PM and supposedly the opening act, Aerial East, is going on at 7PM as well (which probably means 7:30PM). Lissie is listed on the Merc's website as taking the stage at 8PM. Tickets are $10.

Links:
Lissie's MySpace Profile