A Woman of Two Passions:
Music and Polarity Therapy
A Conversation with Lisa Nemzo
During the 80’s, I bartended at a rock club called the Blue Lagune Saloon in Marina del Rey, California. I saw a lot of great bands during my time there, the Plimsouls, Etta James, The Moore Brothers (Joe Cocker’s backup band during the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour), Billy and the Beaters, The Bus Boys; Kathy Valentine of the Go Goes celebrated her 21st birthday there to a virtual who’s who of the 80’s rock and roll elite. Yet one young lady stood out to me back then among all of these 80’s pop rockers and hard rocking’ and r&b bands. I’m talking about Lisa Nemzo. Today, on Tales of the Road Warriors!
Lisa Nemzo. She did this acoustic guitar solo during a song called Try and Run, in which she used harmonics to create an exciting instrumental break before going back into the final chorus. I was serving drinks to a thirsty audience; business as usual when she broke into that amazing solo. I stopped waiting on customers and just watched with my note open like everybody else who became an instant fan that night .
Harmonics are created by lightly touching the string and then pulling away as you pluck or strum. A lot of us use them as an accent, but I had never seen anyone take it and run with it like that before. So, that became her signature.
She has toured Europe and the U.S. in several incarnations. Read her bio here to get an idea of the full scope of this talented lady.
In her other life, Lisa works as a healer in Polarity Therapy and works to raise money for the American Polarity Therapy Association. She is also an activist and works with war veterans to make sure they are not forgotten and receive the benefits and treatment they truly deserve. Some folks talk about it. Lisa Nemzo is a doer.
Some of the things we talked about include:
Visiting the east coast.
The Weather – East Coast vs West Coast
Body surfing the Atlantic Ocean in Cape May
Boogie boarding in the Pacific Ocean
Lisa Nemzo’s dad’s secret musical life (What?!)
Lisa’s actress/singer mom/
Lisa’s first school play
Musical instruments in the family… piano, trumpet, coronet, baritone horn, clarinet, ukulele and guitar
Going to L.A. after college to pursue a jazz career, but ending up in a session with Mike Botts from Bread and starting songwriting career
Touring for ten years with no product (no album, no cassette, no cd… nothin’).
Harmonics. Getting schooled by Tom Rush and developing the Lisa Nemazo signature sound
A mentor teaches Lisa to survive as a female musical artist in a man’s world
Touring and or opening for Hall and Oates, David Crosby, BB King, David Lindley, Tim Weisberg and many others
Links and Resources
Strangers In Paradise
Listen On Youtube
SONGS
Try and Run
Harmonics
“When it Comes to Love” Track 5 on UNLOCK MY HEART
(Lisa Nemzo Webisode #3)
Change of Tide Around 1985)
Arlington (and related links)
https://www.facebook.com/ArlingtonThe…
https://twitter.com/ArlingtonFilm
http://www.operationwarriorwellness.org/
One Kind Word
New song…
“Wish I Had a Country to Go Home To”
Mentions:
Gina Kronstadt, violinist
Bruce Michael Miller worked – with from 1985 and 2009
American Polarity Therapy Association
John Chitty
Current projects:
Lisa is looking for people to work with her on a video for One Kind Word
During the late seventies, while I was working as a singing waiter in Los Angeles and cutting my own teeth as a performer, I was missing a phenomenon in my own home town of Philadelphia… a guy by the name of Kenn Kweder. While I was bartending, bussing, waiting, and singing Beatles songs tableside to my customers, Kenn Kweder and the Secret Kids was taking Philly by storm on every stage in town.
