Lisa Cerbone

Interview

Musical Discoveries: We Were All Together is identified as a significant development from your earlier work. What can you say about your first two albums?

Lisa Cerbone: My first two releases, Close Your Eyes and Mercy, were band-oriented and had fuller sounds which sometimes went against my musical intentions. It wasn't anyone else's fault but my own though. I should have been firmer and steadfast in my beliefs, but sometimes I think, when you are just starting out, figuring that all out and then communicating it is difficult. Even though many of the songs on those two records are songs I still like and perform live, I wish my approach when recording them was different and more spared-down. With that said, many people to this day, love those recordings, and it is very nice to hear. I have also sold out of all my Mercy CDs, which amazes me.

So how did you progress your work from that point?

My last two recordings show where my head and heart are artistically. Ordinary Days and We Were All Together experiment more with mood, space, and I think, beauty. On Ordinary Days, I worked with Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and the Red House Painters. I was always a fan of his music and approach and still am.

He is also a terrific writer and guitarist, so I felt he would be understanding of who I was as a songwriter. We had many conversations about how to protect artistic vision when dealing with the business side of things, a necessary evil. He was the very first person who encouraged me to be myself musically and not allow outside influences to get me down. We never talked about the need to have up-tempo songs or songs that sounded like singles. I really appreciated that. So the songs worked on with Mark were allowed to be slow, languid; they were allowed to breathe. We let the songs dictate and tried to create a mood as organically as possible. It was liberating and so much fun.

You took the personal approach to a new level on We Were All Together, didn't you?

photo © Nyree Watts 2008

When working on my last recording, I wanted to take what I learned from Mark and try to do it myself. I guess I needed to challenge myself that way, and I feel I met the challenge and learned a lot. I played almost all of my own guitar leads and added some other instruments, some I didn't even know I knew how to play.

It was definitely a bi-polar life though, spending most of my days working out leads, writing, or recording, then spending the second half of my day helping with homework when my children came home from school, then running off to cub scouts or brownies and whatever else we had going on. Working with Frank Marchand and Jonesy on upright bass--which I absolutely love--and David Durst on keyboards was great. Jonesy and David were such respectful musicians and never had any problems trying all kinds of things Frank or I would suggest.

So, the last two recordings, I feel, come a lot closer to my initial vision, and I hope to work with all these great artists again.

How have your incorporated your instrumental playing talents into your music?

I have no formal training, unless you count playing oboe in my school band for a while, so I don't consider myself much of a musician. But I do believe, I can sometimes approach an instrument from a different angle. I'm definitely not a musical elitist, someone who is all about rules. Rock and roll, which is what this essentially is, is about breaking rules. If you need to double check rules, you can always look in a book or ask someone, which I do sometimes. If when using my voice, guitar, keyboard, etc. work on an emotional level and sound good, that is all that matters.

What led a beautiful young woman to locate in Maryland?

I grew up in New Jersey and moved to Maryland for school, then I fell in love and got married, so I stayed here.

Who do you work with on your album projects and how has that evolved over the recordings and your "live" performances?

I have worked with musicians here in Baltimore, Atlanta, San Francisco, but lately I prefer performing alone. I like the solitariness of one voice and one guitar. It feels good to me and works well with the pensive nature of the songs. For the longest time, I was nervous about playing alone, but now I feel quite comfortable with it. I get nervous talking to the cashier at the check-out line in the supermarket, so I've made my peace with my shyness I guess. It's who I am.

It would be nice to perform with Mark live. The guitars would sound so beautiful together. Eventually it would be nice to get the upright bass in the mix sometime too. It would also be fun to play with Robert Deeble again. He is a musician/songwriter from Seattle who sat in with me once when we were touring together. His guitar playing is lovely.

How has being a mother impacted the development of your music and your craft?

Being a mom affects everything I do. I don't think I understood the true meaning of rock and roll until I became a mom. Just in practical terms, time is always of the essence. When I have time to work, I know how valuable each moment is and try not to waste it.

I like seeing how my music affects my children. Having someone trying to be creative at home on a daily basis impacts their own thoughts and creativity. It opens their minds. When I practice or write, they tend to draw or write more themselves. To me, that is a beautiful thing.

Many moms I know can see beyond themselves, so I am hoping that compassion and empathy come through in my work as well.

How did you develop the range and depth of skill to create complex musical and vocal arrangements live and in real time this way?

I just write what I like or what I feel might be missing in the world. It seems to me that the world is constantly "in your face" and turned up very loud. I like to hold a moment a little longer and add some space. Not in a new-agey way, but in a realistic way. The world is quieter than it appears. And, there is a lot going on in the silence, where no one is telling you what you need and what you think and how you feel. Those are the corners of life that make sense to me and need to be explored.

photo © Nyree Watts 2008

What goes through your head when performing either in front of a camera or on stage?

I have found that just being myself, comfortable in my own skin, and true to the music is what works best when I perform. I used to worry that my performances weren't "entertaining" enough, even describing it to friends as "the opposite of American Idol."

I don't hit all kinds of crazy notes and hold them out for eons or add all kinds of musical embellishments. I just try to tell a story and sing from my heart without dictating how the audience should think or feel.

They're smart; if they open their minds to what I am doing, they figure it out. My job while performing in front of a camera or live is to stay emotionally in tune with the story and my singing. If I can't do that, the audience senses that emotional disconnect and then no one comes away with anything.

What feelings personally evoked during and following a live performance?

After a performance, it is safe to say I'm pretty emotionally drained. I'm ready to have a drink and stare into space for a while with a good friend or my family. I don't have too much to say. It's nice to listen to someone else for awhile.

In the course of your professional career, did you develop your vocal range, power and emotional delivery?

My voice seems to change with time. Ironically, the older I get, the more child-like and unadorned it has become. The older I get, the more importance I have put on preserving innocence, so I try to express that with my voice. Even when the lyrics and sound may be darker, I try to convey this kind of hope. Hopefully a bittersweet quality is communicated, which to me, seems to mirror life.

Were there any female singers that you listened to earlier or listen to now that particularly strike your fancy or drive you on?

I love so many vocalists and songwriters. The ones that I love the most are usually great writers and unique singers like Tom Waits, Suzanne Vega, Mark Kozelek, Neil Young, Iron & Wine. Their music has an enduring quality. I also just discovered Daniel Johnston through a documentary I saw. After watching it, I couldn't sleep all night just thinking about his songs and his life. I was just mesmerized.

What do you see as the major differences between recording in a studio performing live?

Recording can sometimes be tedious. But it is also extremely artistic and fun, especially when a song comes together in a way you would have never expected. "Tiny Patch of Earth" came together in such a way on We Were All Together. All the musicians did a great job of listening to each other, and letting the song unfold naturally. What ended up on tape was definitely the best version of that song and something that probably cannot be replicated. That version of that song had a mind of its own.

On Ordinary Days, Mark and I recorded guitars together on many songs. He was very interested in maintaining that live, organic "feel". Sometimes we would record three versions, then pick the one with the best feel, not worrying too much about picking the more perfect version.

When recording, I try not to polish away the character of the music. That's always a goal. Knowing how to not stand in your own way and over think though can be tricky. I think what helps is that emotional investment in the song and trying to maintain it, so every decision comes from an emotional place. It's the most honest approach, and the one people respond to the most.

photo © Nyree Watts 2008

How important is your own image to you as a recording artist?

My image isn't very important to me personally, however, I do understand its importance in attracting the "right" audience. I am interested in showing my image as a reflection of the work.

I don't feel compelled to have my face on the cover of every recording. I just like to choose photos that are poetic and meaningful, like Nyree Watts' photos used on my last two CDs. Her photos are beautiful and thought-provoking, suspending a moment in time. To me, they look like what I try to convey musically.

With the internet, you are just a mere click away, so you want that image to look like the music as much as possible since that's sometimes what someone will see before they even listen to the music.

It is the thing that helps them make the decision as to whether they want to invest their time into listening. There is so much information at our fingertips all the time, but only so much time.

What do you see as the benefits and curses of digital music delivery?

It's great that people now can find my music so easily. I hope most people pay for it legally though. It just makes sense that artists get paid for their work, so they can continue doing what they do best.

What does MySpace offer you?

I guess MySpace makes it easier to find artists and sample their music, but I don't personally use it much to find artists I like. I very rarely add people as friends unless I have had some kind of communication or connection with them that I would like to continue. But I do personally answer all my mail there and do my own updates. It can be time-consuming and not the easiest method I have ever used. Sometimes I would rather use that time working on music.

Album Reviews