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King of the World

I am still in the process of updating and organizing all the music stuff, so consider this a sneak peek of our newest tune: “King of the World.” This song has a funny genesis in that the hook of it and part of the verse are things that have been stuck in my head for decades that I’d never done anything with. Recently the self-generated ear worm got worse and worse (have I ever discussed my ear worm issues? Remind me to share the time that Christy Gerhart and I recorded the backing “karaoke” track for the film Undercover Brother. The song was “Ebony and Ivory.” Trust me when I tell you that you do NOT want to have “Ebony and Ivory” playing in your head incessantly for nearly a month). ANYway, I decided I’d better just turn it into a song if it was going to be in such constant rotation in my personal Brain Radio. Thankfully Tony Mandracchia and Todd Tatum were available!

I am still not good at all at the whole home recording thing and have realized that the less I do to the tracks, the better. For my own vocals, that means no presets, no EQ, just some appropriate reverb. For Tony and Todd’s wonderful tracks, leave ’em alone! (if you’re in LA and need some drums recorded, may I recommend David Hunt? I think they sound fantastic!)

I’m so pleased with the way it came out! I think of it as sorta psychedelic Steely Dan (who once did a very different song called “King of the World” — it’s on one of the first albums I ever bought, COUNTDOWN TO ECSTASY).

Hope you enjoy!

“The Mask Goes Over Your Nose (a**hole)”

 

Okay, this isn’t done. But I feel the need to share. In part, in celebration of Gavin Newsom’s landslide victory in this stupid California recall. It was a landslide in part because the majority of Californians support his sensible mask mandates. As do I. And I am so very tired of people who refuse to follow simple health guidelines because it’s become some kind of bizarre badge of cultural identity.

Therefore…thanks once again to Tony Mandracchia for his awesome guitar work on this. EDIT: Now with drums by Todd Tatum, recorded by Tom Lee! (still needs mixing prolly)

 

 

Presenting “Elephant”…by THE PICKUPS!


Remember when I said that I’d have some news on drums soon? Okay, you may not, it was a while ago. But in fact I now DO have some news on drums! And I couldn’t be happier. The amazing Todd Tatum, who was the drummer for the Pickups back in the day, has recorded drum tracks for the tunes that Tony and I have been working on–huge thanks to his friend Tommy Lee (no, not that one!) for the recording engineering on these! Now if I can just get Dana on castanets for at least one tune, we will truly be complete.

I now have three, almost four of the seven songs more or less finished. I realize that “finished” is a relative state here—I mean, mixing is a huge black hole where you could completely spend a thousand years and not realize it, and I am still very much a novice. But I think the results thus far are good representations of the songs, and I am (relatively) content.

So! Presented for your enjoyment, here is “Elephant,” the first song on what will at some point be…an album? I guess? Which I’m calling PLAGUE SONGS, because hey! Why not?

(UPDATED TO LATEST MIX)

 

BLACK SWAN RISING is coming!

So…I have a new book coming out. Here is some info:

I am super-psyched and excited about this–to be working with the marvelous Terri Bischoff at Midnight Ink for one, and that the book is coming out on an expedited timeline, for another. “Black Swan Rising” is an explicitly political book — I’m not going to dance around this — and the fact that it will be published in advance of the Nov. 2018 midterm elections is incredibly appropriate. The book is about a lot of things–online harassment, misogyny, mass shootings, our polarized nation–and it all takes place in the context of a highly contentious political campaign.

(I swear I wrote the first chapter and pitch for this book in July 2014!)

Because all of this is happening so quickly (in publishing terms, this is light-speed, folks), I’ve already seen some cover comps, and they are awesome! As soon as the design is finalized, I’ll be back to show that off and to tell you more about the book.

Best,

Lisa

 

Back from the Big Easy…

I just returned from Bouchercon in New Orleans. I hadn’t been to New Orleans in years, not since I turned 30 and went on a cross-country train expedition with another friend named Lisa. We took skateboards with us and called it the “Old Boyfriends Tour” because one of the things we did was meet a couple guys who had been significant in our lives. That part didn’t work out well, but it was overall a grand adventure.
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And we had amazing luck. In New Orleans, we had a 24 hour layover. Being young, dumb and with not a lot of money, we decided we would stay up all night. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it really wasn’t. The crime rate in New Orleans was sky high at the time.

 

 

We hung out in the French Quarter, went img_7636to the Absinthe House, to Cafe DuMond for coffee and beignets, but there wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to keep us awake.

 
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So we foolishly decided we would sit on a park bench in Jackson Square facing the cathedral. We’d take turns staying awake.

This, not surprisingly, did not go well. While Lisa slept, I struggled to stay awake. Finally, a young Black security guard came over. I will never forget what he said and how kindly he said it: “Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure no one messes with you.”

 
And no one did.

 

 

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Thanks to all my friends and colleagues who made Bouchercon, and New Orleans, such a wonderful, memorable experience.

New Orleans, I’ll see you again, soon, I hope.

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