Bandera’s Own, Art and Lisa, Nominated Vocal Duo of the Year by Texas Music Awards…AGAIN!

Bandera’s Own, Art and Lisa, Nominated Vocal Duo of the Year by Texas Music Awards…AGAIN!

 

Bandera based singer/songwriter/recording artists Art and Lisa have once again been nominated vocal duo of the year by the Texas Music Awards, and sanctioned by The Academy of Texas Music, Inc.

 You may remember that Art and Lisa were also nominated for the same distinction back in 2010 for their work on their debut CD “Learning To Breathe Again“. Well it seems the couple have done it again, with the release of the second album “Healin’ Time“, which was released in January 2011 and debuted on Cashbox Magazines roots charts at # 23  in March of 2011.  “Healin’ Time” was produced and mixed by John Inmon, who also played almost every instrument on the CD, (excluding the fiddle which was played by Austin favorite Richard Bowden).  John Inmon is nominated for producer of the year and studio musician of the year as well, and Art and Lisa will be voting for him in those categories and invite you to do the same.

The 10th annual Texas Music Awards will take place on Saturday March 24th at:
The Texas Music Barn
inside the World Headquarters of the Academy of Texas Music, Inc.
301 E. Houston St.
Linden, Texas 75563

This year, there were more than 28,000 nomination suggestions. Narrowing the field to just five nominees in each category is a difficult and tedious process. Members of the Crew spend weeks with music, nominations, criteria, and information about each qualifying artist to determine the five finalists. Every song on every eligible album is reviewed carefully by the Nominating Crew.

Here is what you can do to help Art and Lisa become the Texas Music Awards “Vocal Duo of the year”  VOTE  at: http://www.texasmusicawards.org

The public voting began Jan 17th and will end at midnight on January 31st, 2012. Anyone with an internet connection, anywhere in the world, can vote in this process.

The Academy of Texas Music, Inc. which operates as a 501(c)3 public charity with a large membership base. Nomination suggestions were submitted by artists, the public, industry professionals, disc jockeys, and record producers.

Please visit Art and Lisa’s website at http://www.artandlisa.com

 

Art and Lisa Release “Healin Time”

Art and Lisa has just released their latest album “Healin Time” for the world. They just took time off from the recording studio and concerts to be interviewed. The interview was conducted by E Mail.

 

1. What was the purpose behind “Healin Time”?

 This CD was such a wonderful way for us to express things that we might

not ever say out loud to someone without the use of the music. . The CD

in general is about relationships, reconciliation, forgiveness,

acceptance, moving forward, and learning to forgive yourself.

2. How long did it take for you to record “Healin Time”?

 We started recording back in April, and just really took our time. We

would go to the studio and do maybe two songs. Work on those two songs

til they were almost complete and then a month or so later we would come

back and do another couple of songs. Several of the songs were actually

written in the months we were working on the CD. One song that Art wrote

was even partially written outside the studio while I was inside

recording my vocals.

 

3. What are some of the songs in “Healin Time” and their significance?

 Art and I have been through some really rough times this past year, both

together and seperately. The song “Healin’ Time” was written from me to

Art, to let him know I’m here for the long haul, no matter what goes on

in our lives and around us, just like I know he is for me.

“Broken Without You (Briana’s Song)” I wrote to my daughter, who is 24 and

just moved 1400 miles away to start a new life of her own, it just broke

my heart. So I sat down and wrote what I felt. If we have done our jobs as

parents, our children will desire to move out on their own, and have their

own lives, but that doesn’t change how hard it is for us as parents to let

go.

 Sands of Lubbock is a song that I wrote sort of  not really knowing why I

was writing it. It just flowed out of me.  I was born in Lubbock, Texas

but moved away when I was pretty young. I have very few memories of the

place, and yet have always felt this draw to go back there and get to

know my real home town. The line in the song “you can’t run from who you

are and what you’re always gonna be, and the sands of Lubbock, Texas are

still blowin’ straight through me”, well I guess that’s just how I feel.

No matter where I have been I’ve always known just who I am and where I

come from, even though I don’t know the town well, In my mind,  it’s an

unpretentious place, where all are welcome and made to feel at home.  A

down home, nobody is a stranger kind of place. I feel a sense of pride to

be from Lubbock. My mom always used to tell me stories of her life in

Lubbock, and our family when I was younger. So, I guess, even though I

don’t know it well, it still feels like my home and my family.

The song “Mama’s Prayers” is a song I wrote in April of 2009 to sing at my

church for my mom on Mother’s Day. My mom was very sick with cancer, but

we had no idea that she would pass on just one month after Mother’s day. I

sang that song for her at church and at her funeral. I always knew my mom

prayed for me. I was somewhat of a wild child in my teens and early

twenties, and I know for certain, that without my mama’s prayers covering

me, I would not be who I am today. Who I am is someone she was proud of.

“Long Gone” is one that Art wrote after a fight we had. That’s all I’m

gonna say about that, except that, the fight was worth it since he got a

great song from it.

“Mother Of Pearl” written by Art, came about because Art and I were out

listening to one of our favorite local bands “Lloyd Bonham Band”, who are

all friends of ours and the bass player instead of cursing would say

“mother of pearl” every time he felt the need to swear, and about the

fourth time I turned to Art and said wow that’s a song “mother of pearl”.

I had intended to go home and write a song inspired by it, but went to bed

and Art stayed up and wrote the song. So I have to tell everyone how he

stole my idea for a song. It really is a great song though. We have very

different writing styles. So it’s nice to see what he comes up with in

contradiction to what I might have written.

 

4. Have you done any promotion tours for your new album?

 We have been doing some traveling. We recently played Poor David’s Pub in

Dallas and The Back Porch Bar down in Port Aransas. We still have stuck

pretty regularly to the Texas Hill Country. We have lots of work here and

a pretty good fan base. We are trying to stretch our wings a bit and just

enjoying what we do and the people we meet in this wonderful life.

We are planning a couple of CD release parties here in the Hill Country

and will be doing some local advertising. Since we are not with any label,

we have to do all of the promotions ourselves, and it’s expensive and time

consuming. We try to work the areas where people know us. It definately

helps when good folks like you do interviews that help us get the word out

that we have a new CD coming out and it’s something we are really proud

of. We really enjoyed taking our time with it.

 

5. What is your message for your audeince and music lovers around the

world about “Healin Time”?

Love each other and enjoy each other while you are here. Don’t sweat the

small stuff. Be forgiving of each other.

It has been a pleasure to interview you again. My best wishes to you in the success of your latest album which is one of the gems to have emerged in this time of year. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to you.

The Daily Bell On Hollywood

http://www.thedailybell.com/1370/What-Has-Happened-to-US-Movies.html

Art and Lisa Talk About Music

1. How did Art and Lisa start their musical journey?

1. Lisa: Art and I met at an open mic , and sang a couple of songs together.

Soon after we were invited to take over a different open mic and started

hosting it together every Thursday night. We’ve been hosting it now for

almost four years.  Shortly after we took over the open mic, we started

getting calls from people wanting us to come play at other venues. We

finally had to come to a decision as to wheather or not we were going to

do this full time or as a hobby. We’ve only been doing it full time since

this last spring. We started the CD in March, 2009, and released it on

July 31st, 2009

 

1. What were the musical idols of Art and Lisa and how was the duo able to form their own style?

 

2. For Me (Lisa) my music idols were people like Emmy Lou Harris, The

Everly Brothers, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Tammy Wynette, Loretta

Lynn, The Statler Bros., and so many more. I didn’t know there was such a

thing as “red dirt” or “americana” music growing up. It was either country

or western in our house. As I got older I went through a time of listening

to all rock and roll, but settled back into country within a few years. I

was also exposed to lots of gospel music growing up. My mom and her sister

were in an all girls quartet when they were in thier early teens in

Lubbock, TX. They would sing on the radio on Sunday mornings for thier

church. Naturally, thier love of music continued into thier adult lives

even though niether of them followed a career in music, they could have. I

remember at a very early age, listening to my mom and aunt sing some of

the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, even to this day, mostly gospel

and some silly kids songs. I wanted to learn to sing harmonies the way

they did. I would follow my mom all around the house and help her with

whatever chores she was doing as long as she would sing, and let me sing

with her. At the age of around 12 , someone gave me a Simon and Garfunkel

record. I would go into my parents room and put it on the record player

with the headphones and play it over and over again, singing along on the

harmony parts. Studying it in my mind and trying to listen to myself and

imitate the harmonies.

 

It wasn’t until I moved back to Texas that I found a local radio station

that was playing Texas artists. People I had never heard of, but they were

great. I remember thinking I bet this station would play my songs if I

recorded them. They were the first station to play our CD.

When I met Art he already knew of all these Texas artists, having lived in

Bandera for twelve years already at the time. He started taking me to

concerts of Jimmy Lafave, Kevin Welch, Patty Griffin, Terri Hendrix, etc.

 

 We frequented Gruene Hall, Luchenback and Flores Country Store to see the

Texas artists, some big names to Texas and some not. I loved it. It was

like nothing I had ever heard or seen. The music was so real and fresh. I

couldn’t understand why these people were not all famous and didn’t have

big record deals. Art taught me alot about the Texas music scene and I

soaked it up. I guess that is where our Style came from. It’s a mix of

old country , red dirt , americana, and southern gospel, all melded

together.

 

       Art:  I grew up in Oklahoma on country and gospel quartet music. Though

amazed by the harmonies

of groups like The Blackwood Brothers, I was drawn more to the stylings

and lyrical content of Woody Guthrie

and Bob Dylan. It wasn’t until my college days when I was introduced to

people like Jimmy Lafave and Bob

Childers that I realized the two could become one. Taking real life

writing and combining it with the conviction

of old time gospel and I guess you end up with what we now call “Red Dirt”

music.

 

3. What was the inspiration behind your album “Learning to Breathe

 Again”?

 

                Lisa: I always felt that music was my “calling”. So, after Art and I began

               playing together, people were constantly asking when we were going to

record this or that song that we had written. We started talking more

about it and began planning it in mid summer of 2008, not knowing which

songs would be on the album, except for one, “Learning to Breathe Again”.

I had written the song when I first moved to Bandera, after a

heartwrenching break-up. I felt it was a song that would touch so many

people in todays times. I often have grown men come up to me in tears

after hearing it, telling me how much they can relate to the story it

tells.

 

1. How long did it take you to produce and record your album?

Lisa: A lifetime. It seems both of us have wanted this our whole lives. The

actual time frame was about four months. The recording end of it actually

went very quickly. We set aside four days in the studio with the

musicians. In two days all of the music tracks were done for all twelve

songs on the album. The next two days we did all the vocal tracks for each

song, and the harmony tracks. We had to wait to for, photo shoots, artwork

to be approved and come back, mixing and mastering, and of course there

was about a six week wait for the press, before we actually got the CDs in

our hands. We started the CD in March, 2009, and released it on July 31st,

2009.

 

Art: A lIfetime

 

5. You usually do concerts in Texas. When will you do concerts in other

parts of the USA and the world?

 

Lisa: At first we never really thought about touring much. We are just doing

what we love and hoping to make a living at it. We have just recently

started to venture out some from the state of Texas. However, traveling is

not cheap these days, so the money is a big factor. In spite of the

financial constraints, we are hoping to do some touring next spring

 

Art:  We recently did a couple of things in Arkansas… there seems to be a

pretty cool music scene there. So, hopefully

we will be there again this summer.

Our fan base seems to growing overseas. We are getting a bit of radio play

in Holland and beyond, so we hope to

be there in person in the near future.

 

6 What are your recommendations to those who want to follow in your

 footsteps?

 

Art:  Be real In all your music. If it doesn’t move you, it probably won’t move anyone

Else With your fans. They are your family, treat them that way and they will

love you.With yourself.  Just do what you can to make your world a better place.

 

Lisa: First, you have to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in you,

why should anyone else? Set goals and do things to make them happen.

Be kind to the people around you. Put your heart into the songs you write. You have to be willing to expose your heart on paper when you write in order for your songs to

really touch people.That’s really hard to do sometimes, but it makes for some great songs

 

Thank you for accepting my invitation and best wishes from Miami

Florida

 

                                       

http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/art-and-lisa-life-music-and-tma