LIZA COLBY SOUND
Bio
Experience The Liza Colby Sound come alive: A lithe, caramel-toned female vocalist prowls the stage clad only in a paper-thin leopard-print leotard. She possesses Tina Turner-like stems, a mass of golden curls, and writhes and undulates with the homewrecking grace of Iggy Pop. When she opens her mouth, she sings with a butter and whiskey tonality. To her side, a hotshot guitarist peels forth fleet-fingered solos with just the right amount of textured lysergic abstraction. To the left, the bassist, lost in curtains of hair, lays down burly hypnotic blues riffs while the drummer pounds out grooves with thunderous dexterity.
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The air wafting from the stage is pheromonal—sex, danger, and a psychedelic sonic swirl ooze from the bandstand. We have liftoff. Welcome aboard a night with The Liza Colby Sound as the New York-based quartet goes interstellar. These days the band is on twin new missions, blowing minds nationally and internationally with a packed calendar of tour dates, and warping brains with a new strain of heavy, freak-out rock. Jump on the rocket ship live, or trip out on a dose of LCS at home with the band’s full-length debut, Object To Impossible Destination, out spring 2019.
The Liza Colby Sound is Liza Colby vocals, seduction, shamanistic powers; Jay Shepard, guitar; Alec Morton, bass; and Charly Roth, drums. This year has been a milestone for the band as they’ve voyaged throughout the U.S., Japan, and Europe, playing packed and sold-out shows along the way. Previously, the band has issued three well-received EPs.
The Liza Colby Sound features seasoned musicians welding decades of experience with resumes that include working with Ozzy Osbourne, Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter, Raging Slab, Suzanne Vega, Garland Jeffreys, Lenny Kaye, Jim Carroll Band, the Del Fuegos (featuring Dan Zanes), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Ozzy Osbourne, Jeff Beck), Corey Glover (Living Colour), Earl Slick, The Paley Brothers, Enrique Iglesias, Denis Leary, and Joey Ramone, among other well-known names.
Object To Impossible Destination finds The Liza Colby Sound on a fresh odyssey. It’s the band’s first release with soulfully virtuosic guitarist Jay Shepard who brings burly Black Sabbath sturdy riffs, quicksilver solos, and a fresh atmospheric effects-laden approach to the band. The album also captures the band at the height of its powers, piping hot after miles and miles of global touring. And Object To Impossible Destination finds this four-headed monster embracing the broad palette of artistic choices afforded by the studio. LCS’s inaugural long player is an album-oriented experience with a rich tapestry of musical layers that rewards with repeated listens.
This 8-song collection distills down the essence of LCS. Here, the hooks are sharp, and the ensemble playing is spacious and vibey. These attributes are finely displayed on “Shake You” and “Eye On You.” “Shake You” epitomizes the lost art of folding swaggering blues-rock riffs into pop concision. “Eye On You” traverses a thick viscous stoner haze, and proto-metal riffage.
Naugahyde boogie thrills abide on “Cool Hand” which recalls the “light and shade” dynamics of Led Zeppelin and the sophisticated melodicism of Cream’s Jack Bruce. Musos will delight in the challenging time signature of “Young Girl,” though you don’t need a Berklee degree to shake your ass to this jam. Imagine the Delta blues transported to a 1970s Fillmore West night, and then beamed to 2019.
There are many destinations up next for The Liza Colby Sound in 2019, including Stateside and European touring. Like the album’s curious title—a tip of the hat to a sleight of hand trick where an object in one space reappears inexplicably in another distant location— LCS will be spreading its psych-rock magic globally.