Remember my blog entry where I met up
with hip hop producer and artist, Solitair, to speak about Rated Z – T. Dot’s
hottest new drink mixer? Well, during
that interview I was introduced to Lisa Michelle – a soulful, R&b
songstress.
She sat in on our interview and also joined
in on our “off the record” discussions. I
knew from then that she deserved an actual sit down interview. She had a cool way about her and I severely
girl crushed on her awesome hair! (Her
beautiful dreads NEED mention in this interview!) I also wanted to blog about her music and
expose her soulful voice to you.
Who
is Lisa Michelle?
Lisa Michelle is a singer, songwriter
and stage performer who quit her day job in advertising 4 years ago to pursue
her love of singing. #YOLO. She has
performed in the musical Godspell, among other stage plays and most recently
performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
I was fortunate enough to score a sit
down with her after she returned from her luxurious vacay in Hawaii. Do you, girl!
Here’s a bit of our convo.
Did
you always know that you wanted to be a singer?
Probably at 13 or 14 years old, my class
went to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on a class trip. That was the first musical I’ve ever
seen. Performers were dancing
hard…singing hard. I was like, “This is a job?” It’s incredible. From then on I knew I wanted to be on
stage. Didn’t know necessarily that I
wanted to sing or act. I just knew I wanted to do that!
When
did you start singing?
My first memory was singing in
church. My friend’s dad was an
evangelist at the church we went to and he was a singer. He always wanted me and his daughter to sing
back up for him. I was like, “I’m not a
singer!” My friend begged me so I
started singing with her, and then to my surprise I was like,
“I’m really good!” I really didn’t know
that I could sing. It’s not something
that I did. How I learned was listening
to gospel. Gospel had the best vocals.
Those singers can sang! Musical
theatre was the next step.
What
artists influenced you?
For gospel- everyone in Kirk Franklin’s
choir and Fred Hammond. For musical
theatre- Joseph starring Donny Osmond was the first
musical I ever saw and it’s what made me want to be a stage performer. Playing Nala in The Lion King is still my
dream role—until I create my own role in my own musical. Also definitely Jill Scott. She is
where I found my own voice. She is the
apex of all …She’s everything I want to be in a performer and songwriter. If you’ve seen Jill Scott perform live….it’s
sooo real. You feel like one of her
friends.
Do
you write all your songs?
I co-write all my songs. With This Moment (latest album), when I met
Solitair aka Silver, we started working together. He is so multi-talented. A lot of the times
he’ll give me a beat, I come with the melody and lyrics, and he’d make it
better. He’d make minor changes and it’s
like wow! There’s a reason why you’ve been doing this for many years. This Moment is truly a collaborative work.
What
was it like performing at the Montreal Jazz Festival this summer?
Crazy!
They made me feel like a star! We
had the best sound system, awesome stage and crazy promotion. There was around 3000 people outside.That
city comes out to support the Jazz Festival. Best experience I’ve had so far as
an artist. There’s something about singing on stage in front of a live
audience…I feed off the live energy.
Who
are you listening to right now?
I love Beyonce’s album “4.” It’s such a
good album to warm up to. It’s my
favourite Beyonce album. I still go back to older things. Still very much into
Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun album. Neo-soul
is what really keeps me in the game. I like to listen to and dance to pop
music, but it doesn’t inspire me to create new work.
Love
your vibe and esthetic. Do you have a
stylist or did you create your own look?
Once in a while I use a stylist…she’s
actually my friend –Arianne Young. I’m
one of those rare human beings that doesn’t like to shop. The only thing I like to buy is makeup and
jewelry.
What’s
next for Lisa Michelle?
Doing Godspell in the fall. I’m really
excited to do it because they picked up the exact same cast we had last
year. Right after that, I have another
musical opportunity that I can’t discuss yet!
Also, I’ll be coming up in an episode of
the comedy Satisfaction on CTV. It
should be airing in a couple of weeks. I
did an NBC pilot called Horizons – you’ll get to see it if it gets picked up. Jason Priestly directed it.
That
was the end of our recorded conversation – I foolishly took off my digital recorder
when I should have kept it on. I did ask all of my questions, but all the juicy
convos happen when the voice recorder comes off! Lol. Oh wells! I had a great time meeting Lisa
Michelle. Don’t forget me when you blow up!
Fave
Lisa Michelle quote: “If you know what you want to
do in life you have to do it. It’s
almost unfair to anyone else who doesn’t know.
Want more info on Lisa Michelle?
http://www.youtube.com/lisamichellemusic
Michelle
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