While hanging out at WFNM, I've seen Liza Light playing back-up for Megan Winsor and perhaps another singer or two. What I've noticed is the enthusiasm and joy that she has playing in a band. Looking at the WFNM schedule recently, I saw that she was playing a set as the front woman. I decided I had to circle the date. I was curious about what her sound was when she was in front of the microphone.
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| Liza Light at Bar Lubitsch |
I'll be honest, my assumption was that her sound would be in the punk rock genre. Assumptions are meant to be proven wrong. The set had a funk-jazz feel throughout. Now it is possible that she toned down the music for the night due to the venue sound system limitations. Her bandmate of the night, Ryan Clure, fronted his own band right afterwards, XNK. He mentioned that they were taking down the volume due to such constraints. Perhaps she was under similar restraints.
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| Liza Light at Bar Lubitsch |
Her unreleased song "2 a.m." had her working some Jimi Hendrix magic on the guitar. There was some speedy finger movement that either struck down on the strings or glided up and down the strings. It was a funk inspired tune that had one wanting to do some head shakes and dance moves.
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| Liza Light at Bar Lubitsch |
Towards the end of the set while playing another unreleased song, which I believe was "White Ghost," she swung toward jazz with the use of the tremolo arm to create distortions. The lyrics were sung with a touch of a beat poet.
Her song "Sunflowers" was sung in Ukrainian. The song has folk elements that I suspect takes inspiration from Ukrainian traditional music. Her bio mentions that she was "born and raised" in Kyiv. Her jazz skills came from the fact that she graduated from the Glier Jazz College in Kyiv. She moved to the Los Angeles at the age of 18 and has been making her mark in the music scene ever since.
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| Liza Light at Bar Lubitsch |
What's a song to listen to? Take a listen to "To the Dream." It highlights her guitar playing in a funky-cool jazz vibe way. There's also the occasional trumpet blast to give the song a punch. Her Instagram post has the following to say about the song, "It’s about reminding yourself that no matter how tough things might get sometimes, keep pushing and believing - and you will be rewarded."
The dream
I'll take a handful of hopes
And place it under my heart
I'm not afraid anymore
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