“Employing Empathy, Shooting for Artistry, Talking Truth”
Mass media creates music stars whose talent and vision varies and is at times altogether absent. But alongside these commercialized voices are original talents who shine brightly spreading their gifts throughout the world. I would like to take the opportunity to highlight one such artist who I was lucky enough to meet during my last Italian sojourn. Lisa Marie Simmons is a Colorado born singer, song writer, and poet who had made a home in Italy travelling around that country and indeed to different countries with her band NoteSpeak. She has performed her work in France, South America, India, and yes, the United States. She has made Italy her home for the last several years. The title of this interview is taken from the lyrics of one of her songs and succinctly describes what Lisa Marie Simmons is about. (As you read this interview, I encourage you to take music breaks and use the links to see this artist in action. Her performances are an exquisite blend of song, poetry and music.)
dm: I know you had some arts training as a young adult in New York, but it seems as if you were relatively young when you toured much of the world on the wings of your talent. How did your varied international sojourns effect your development as an artist?
Lisa Marie: That’s such a great question, devorah. There is that old cliche that traveling broadens the mind; for me, it certainly has. I’ve been restless and curious and have tried to immerse myself in the culture of each country I’ve resided in. The opportunity to learn French in France, Italian in Italy, and Spanish in South America has allowed me to dive in comprehensively. Linguistically it has broadened my ability to play with language. Idiomatic expressions, proverbs, and the like vary wildly between languages and cultures and is a fantastic window into each country’s traditions. It’s such fun to doodle with the differences and similarities. Then, of course, observing and participating in cultures so far removed from my own has intrigued and inspired me. Working with musicians outside of the American music business has allowed me to stay free of whatever the trend of the moment is in the States and, conversely, make our music stand out in that market. In addition, new experiences challenge me consistently to incorporate and learn different musical and performance techniques.
dm: What are the challenges and rewards of being an African American singer and poet based in Italy?
Lisa Marie: Rewards? I’m a bigger fish in a smaller pond here in Italy. Also, the elements I mentioned in my previous answer. As far as challenges go, the largest is probably the micro-aggressions and overt racism that are pervasive here. That’s true of every predominantly white space I’ve frequented, though, so not endemic to Italy. When I first arrived, I was often pigeonholed as the kind of powerhouse acrobatic soul singer I am decidedly not. It was very much – this is what a Black singer should sound like. It took work on my part to resist that narrative and develop my own voice.
Music break- Cozmic Confusion
dm: Are there ways that you find audiences different in Italy, India and the USA?
Lisa Marie: Every country has its own vibe, and then within that – every venue or festival as well. I recently debuted a few pieces from our upcoming album NoteSpeak 12 at The Loophole of Retreat in Venice. That space of 700 Black feminists was so enveloping. The wonder of that crowd was how easy it was to submerge myself totally in the work. With some audiences, a bit of the subtext needs clarifying, so I’m watching the audience with a small part of my brain trying to gauge their needs. In Venice, that was unnecessary, freeing. Mostly though, people who come to hear us in any country are open, warm, and engaged. Overall, it’s our job to create a space where there is synergy between the stage and the audience, and the listeners can take their own meaning from the show.
dm: Your website is very interesting, and your own story is quite compelling and would, as I told you once, make a great movie. Do you think that there is any of your personal story that people need to know to access your music on a deeper or more nuanced level?
Lisa Marie: Thank you, devorah, for spending time on my website. Not necessarily, it’s there in the work for those who care to delve in. I always say that I am a storyteller. Whether I’m writing an essay, a poem, or performing, I’m looking for some fundamental truth and trying to build empathy. Using intimate details from my life in my work is an effort to use the micro to address the macro. Every listener will take from it what resonates for them, and it may be unexpected what plucks that string. I hope each poem, song, or piece of writing can stand on its own and be effective without knowledge of my background. But sure, if one wants to take a broader view of my work, knowing something of my path might illuminate and allow for a deeper comprehension of what is at the heart of each offering.
dm: While your music seems to be grounded in jazz you do seem to cross genres. How would you describe your sound?
Lisa Marie: That is the most complex question. Marco Cremaschini, my co-composer, is a jazz pianist, so you are absolutely right that we are grounded in jazz; everything is going to be touched by that. I come from a folk and pop background, which also informs our work. However, we are both constantly exploring other genres. I once wrote a song called Poppy Rock to answer the question often put to us after someone had seen a show. They’d watch an entire concert and then ask, “What genre is that?” I love that we can bend genre and not fit into one box. There is a great quote from an unknown source, “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” It is so subjective, isn’t it – what each listener hears.
dm: How do you collaborate with your fellow musicians?
Marco or I will have a musical phrase or an idea. Sometimes it’s Marco with the idea for a subject to tackle and my musical phrase, and sometimes it’s the other way around. We trade back and forth as we develop the idea. After we have fleshed it out, we invite the other band members in. We start from a defined structure with room to breathe so that each musician doesn’t feel confined and can express themselves creatively. Each musician creates a demo with Marco, who, in his role as our music arranger, then mixes. We listen, adjust, and practice the piece as a band adjust some more and eventually go into the studio to record it. We eat many meals together and tell a lot of jokes; we listen to one another and have a collaborative process in service to the music.
Music break- Presenting NoteSpeak
dm:
I find the breadth of subjects you address in your music quite inspiring. You move from issues of world conflict and humans in humanity to humans through racism, relationships and love rather than cliché ideals about romance, women’s issues, immigration and the idea of humans as an endangered species. What pulls you to write about one subject or another?
It’s that idea of storytelling and empathy again, I guess. I believe that the more we understand one another, the better our chance at a fruitful evolution. Inspiration is everywhere. I’m often struck by themes in books I read, the news, dreams, conversations with friends, and the people I meet as I go about my day. Humankind confounds and delights me. What pulls me is any idea I cannot let go of until I spend some time playing with it on the page. Looking to crystalize some elemental truth… Sometimes I am simply fascinated or moved by a subject and want to know more, so I research, and the more I learn, the more I am pulled in.
dm:
Do you ever feel that people would like to pigeonhole you, and have you narrow your songs’ content?
Yes, as mentioned above. As for content, I tend to be drawn to subject matter that may be controversial, but which feels at the same time to be essential to shed light on. I love throwing light into dark corners.
dm: I came grew up in the Arts during the Black Arts Movement where (Black) artists were given the responsibility of speaking in our own terms and styles to issues of Blackness, issues of oppression and freedom, and a certain praise-singing of our own history and culture. Do you feel that there are certain responsibilities which you have as an artist?
Lisa Marie: I’m such a fan of your writing. I share that sense of responsibility for rejecting the white gaze, speaking to current Black issues, celebrating Blackness and the diaspora, and rejecting oppression, patriarchal gaslighting, and authoritarianism. The most significant obligation I feel as an artist is to be authentic and speak to what resonates as primal truth, however uncomfortable that may be. To provoke thought, to soothe, to commiserate, and to celebrate. Another important factor with the complex topics I often am attracted to is not to wound. To write about trauma without traumatizing.
Music break- Every Generation’s War
dm: What are you working on now?
Lisa Marie: I’ve just completed our new album NoteSpeak 12, which will be out in February 2023 on Ropeadope, so I’m busy promoting and organizing the touring of that project. I’m collaborating with the fabulous Dionne Draper on an offshoot of her ingenious theatrical production Dawta. In between, I’m already working on the next album, more essays, and, in spare (ha!) moments, writing a fictionalized memoir.
dm: What are your plans for the future?
Lisa Marie: More songs! More poems! To continue to challenge myself as a writer and performer and to carry on throwing light.
Here are the music links again.
Music break- Every Generation’s War
Music break- Cozmic Confusion
Music break- Returning from Pluto (lockdown video)
Music break- Presenting NoteSpeak (A mini-7-minute documentary about the project)
Music Break: The Loophole of Retreat (NoteSpeak performance starts at 3:04:49)