Lisa Robbin Young

This was the finale from our show this month. Needless to say, this was one of those "dream come true" moments for me. When I first started writing this song a couple of years ago, it begged to be played with a band. The Damn Whippersnappers do not disappoint, and Kris' solo is just the soulful kind of melody the song needed.

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I heard a whisper on the wind

and an echo in my heart trying to tell me to begin.

I knew the words, held deep inside,

but the spirit wouldn't flow

and no matter how I tried

to fill the void of distant spaces

with the workings machinating in my  mind,

to find true love in vacant faces,

it was you. You were with me all the time.

And you will never know what love can do.

My wounds are deep, I can't deny.

And the salty rivers flow down my face 'til they run dry.

I ran away, in shame and pride,

but the echo in my heart keeps telling me to try.

And once again your love is calling with the words so gentle and so clear

I'd give my heart, I know I'm falling into faith.

I just want to have you near.

And you will never know what love can do.

Once again your love is calling with the words so gentle and so clear

I'd give my life, I know I'm falling into faith.

I just want to have you near.

Consecrated deep inside, emancipated, satisfied.

And you will never know what love can do.

(Lyrics copyright 2012 Lisa Robbin Young. All Rights Reserved.)

WhatLoveCanDo

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LisaRobbinYoung.com // Photoshop Me. Original Tune. #300songs

Saturday, May 17, 2014, will be the day I count as the day my dream began anew. My whole life I wanted to be on a stage and perform for an international audience. Well, the first installment of the Front Row Sessions played host to people in London, Canada, and all over the US.

It's the first time in my life I've had the honor of playing my own original music with a live band. And WHAT a band! The Damn Whippersnappers are simply a fabulous bunch of boys - and fun, too. This monologue and song opened the show and set the tone for what I believe (from all the comments on social media) was a powerful and fun afternoon for everyone watching. This was also the debut performance for my new song, "Photoshop Me" - a song about self acceptance and being proud of who you are (the song starts around the 6:40 mark).

This afternoon wouldn't have happened without this awesome band I call The Damn Whippersnappers:

Piano: Desmond Sheppard

Bass: Owen Ananich

Drums: Joe Neminski

Guitar: Kris Kress

It also wouldn't have happened without the gracious support from the folks at Gigee.com and my behind-the-scenes team of Tanya Brayer and Jen Harris. They kept the broadcast working like a charm and the chat room hopping.

And lastly, this dream come true wouldn't have had any meaning without an audience. My fans all over the world are the biggest reason I put this show together. THANK YOU for being so awesome and supportive!

 

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PerfectlyMe

Cain't Say No. Rodgers & Hammerstein Cover.

Happy Mother's Day! Today, I'mma be chillaxin' with my fam, opening gifts and posting the pics on facebook.

This coming weekend, I'll be doing my first live "solo" performance in about 10 years. I've been in a lot of shows since I got married and had another kid, but I wasn't really the "star" of any of those shows. This weekend, that changes.

On Saturday May 17, I'll be hosting the first in a series of livestream concerts with my band "The Damn Whippersnappers" (get tickets here). They are so named because they're all about half my age, and I could almost be their mom. But don't be fooled, these guys are phenomenal talents. The video below is only after about 15 minutes of rehearsing "I Cain't Say No" from The Rodgers & Hammerstein cowboy classic, "Oklahoma!". You'll notice that Des, our piano player, isn't even using music.

 

This was our first rehearsal. These guys are THAT good - and we didn't even have our drummer, Joe, with us! This song - and others like it - are just the tip of the iceberg.

This show is about more than music...

While I'm thrilled to be singing some of my favorite tunes - in my own style - I'm more excited that this show isn't just about great music. It's about inspiring people to own their dreams. In addition to the fantastic music, I'll be sharing some personal stories that I've never shared publicly before about my journey to own my dreams and be myself without apologies.

These are stories and songs that I hope will inspire you to step confidently into your great gifts and share them with your world.

I told a friend recently that God doesn't place a whisper in your heart to watch it fade. God's whispers are incessant, relentless, and they never go away. They keep tapping on your shoulder, reminding  you of their presence every time you sit watching someone else doing what you believe is meant for you.
[Tweet "God's whispers in your heart are incessant, relentless, & never go away: http://bit.ly/1ohpEOx"]
Every time you look at where you are versus where you want to be and feel that twinge of desire - THAT is the God whisper. That's a glimpse at your calling. Whims come and go. Passing fancies are just that - like "Hammer pants" or "Dwayne Wayne glasses" - they come and go with the seasons of your life.
Your calling endures.
That's what this is for me: a calling to inspire you to own your dreams. I do that through stories (many ripped from the pages of my own life) and music that lift you higher. I guess you could call this my one-woman show (with four incredibly talented guys along for the ride!), but it's more than that, too.

It's going to be a LOT of fun.

The Damn Whippersnappers The Damn Whippersnappers left to right: Des, Kris, Joe, Owen.

The Damn Whippersnappers are incredibly talented and dish it out as well as they take it. We have a blast playing together, and they're going to knock your socks off when you hear them play in a performance setting. Heck, they blow me away in rehearsal!

Make dreams come true...

The Damn Whippersnappers have never played to a national (or global) audience before. They all have musical aspirations, and this project is an important opportunity for them to bring their very best to the world. I'm humbled, honored, and amazed at the musical gifts they bring to each rehearsal.

More than that, though, I'm impressed by their level of commitment and professionalism - that's only rivaled by their ability to have fun. We've had some fun outtakes where music just spontaneously shows up - like our "Jazzthoven" moment, or the rehearsal where Michael Jackson's "Thriller" made an impromptu appearance. They are SO much fun to work with, and the best gift I can give them is a huge audience.

A huge audience would be awesome for me, too! This show is truly a dream come true for me. I've always wanted to play tunes I love - and a couple of original tunes I wrote - with a band of my own. To have an audience that hears these songs, these stories, and leaves the show inspired, changed, and better off because of it.

My biggest dream is to help you live yours.

If you're worried about the time, grab a VIP seat and you'll get recorded highlights from the show, so you'll have the best bits to enjoy for years to come. We're hoping to do more shows this summer, and ultimately record the best songs for posterity.  In less than a week, it'll be all over, you'll miss out on a huge dose of inspiration and you'll probably kick yourself for years to come.

Save yourself the bruises and get your ticket to the show. And if you're local, we've got house seats, too... but not for long!

groundfloor"Dirt and dust - that's where it all begins.  Digging in. Digging in.

You've got to lay a strong foundation before you make it to the ground floor."

- from "The Ground Floor" by Lisa Robbin Young

 

I'm writing lyrics again. It's been about (more…)

goalthermometer2013 started with the best of intentions. My goal is to record 300 songs before the year ends, and I'm well over 10% of the way there.

And yet...

It feels like this hugely daunting task right now. Like I'll never make it.

I know I'm in the thick of it. I know the year's only just begun. I also thought I'd be farther along by this time.

I mean heck, it's almost the end of the first quarter. By my math, that's 75 songs that need to be in the can by the end of the month.

I'm about half way there.

Zoinks.

I was reading Josh Pais' blog. He was recently in a car accident, and (more…)

You can see all the songs I've been working on for my #300songs project here. I've got a goal of 200 subscribers to my YouTube channel by the end of March. Can you help? Subscribe and help spread the word!

This week, I spent a lot of time rehearsing songs from the 1980's. This one is STILL a popular tune at my local karaoke hangouts. I secretly think we're all still trying to re-live the 80's.

'

BlackVelvet

This week marks the last video of the month, and since this is the month of love songs, I figured I'd end on a psychotic note - hee hee.

"Every Breath You Take" was penned by Sting in less than an hour, and the rest of The Police then added their own unique touches to make this one of the most popular songs when it was released in 1983. The original music video even won awards (unlike this one).

Oh, and yes, I really did ask my son to pelt me with snowballs for this video. Enjoy!

This week's song is a cover of a classic by The Beatles. "All You Need Is Love" was written to be a mantra-style piece - sort of like musical brainwashing. You hear the refrain over and over, with a march-style feel that gives it an almost militaristic, "drilling it into your head" sensation. I've yet to meet anyone that sings the refrain that stops after singing it once time through. It's THAT effective.

The curious thing about this piece is that it was written in mixed meter - 7/8 and 4/4 time. It makes the verses feel very conversational, but it's a bee-otch to count, because it always feels like you're on an off beat (or slightly off kilter). That off-kilter feeling seems to represent how discombobulated the world is - until you get to the "march" section where the mantra begins (and everything's in an easy to count, straightforward 4/4 rhythm). I think that's part of why it was written that way (from a music theorist's standpoint), but I couldn't find any research to confirm my theory.

So I took the original and modified it slightly - I took out the entire 7/8 feel and made it all a plain 4/4, and gave it a contemporary groove that gives you a little bit of an off-kilter feeling, but in a much more satisfying/sexy way. The march style instrumentation was replaced with a vocal harmonizing that keeps the traditional "bum-bada-da-daaah" feel after each chant of the mantra, but without the march-style feeling.

Yep, I know. That's a lot of musical theory-speak in what seems like a simple cover tune, but since this is the FIRST video this year where I actually wrote the arrangement, I wanted to 'splain myself a little - especially since purists will probably hate the fact that I "desecrated" a Beatles tune in the first place. Overall, it's a much "sexier" tune this way - even if the lyrics seem a little redundant in places. 🙂