East Village’s Liza Colby wows crowd
with wild sound
BY BOB KRASNER
Three quarters of the Liza Colby
Sound have gotten halfway
through their opening number
when the lead singer, in a leopard
print bikini and stiletto heels, explodes
onto the stage at Lola (formerly
Coney Island Baby).
Part Janis Joplin and part Iggy Pop,
with a bit of Sheena of the Jungle
and a stripper thrown in, Liza belts
out the lines from an old Humble
Pie tune, “I’m ready for you, I hope
you’re ready for me!” Before the set of
mostly original songs is over, she said,
the audience comes to understand
why she has been described as “Tina
Turner backed by Led Zeppelin.”
An longtime East Village resident,
Colby has been writing songs since
she was 15. Born into a musical family
in Connecticut, her parents surrounded
her with music but didn’t push her
into it. Her dad, Grammy winning
pianist and composer John Colby and
her mom, R+B singer Bev Rohlehr,
understood when their daughter
dropped out of college to pursue her
dreams. Her mom said, “If you can’t
live without it, pursue it.”
After a brief stint as a waitress
in Rhode Island, Liza Colby was
offered an apartment in n Harlem
and she jumped at it. A series of
odd jobs — hawking salon services
sermarketing,
in the street, telemarketing,
bartender, receptionist, catering —
gradually began to turn into gigs as
a backup singer, including miscellaneous
ng miscellas
nrique Igle-
recording sessions and tours
with Denis Leary and Enrique Iglesias.
She found an
apartment downtown
and some occasional
solo gigs,
accompany ing
herself on piano
and singing her
own music — a
bit, this reporter
suggested, like
Carole King.
“Oh no!” she
exclaimed. “I
was nowhere
near the level
of Carole
King!”
Nevertheless,
her music came
to the attention attent
of guitarist Adam
Roth, who of
offered to put together a
band around
her. Featuring Roth and
his brother Charly C
(on drums) and
Alec Morton
(bass), “The Liza Colby
Sound ” (the
name was Charly’s idea,
Liza said) became be
a vehicle 10 years
ago for Liza to t
express herself.
Sadly, Ada
Adam passed away in 2015
to cancer. H
He has been replaced by
Jay Shepard.
“We’re a classic,c
four-piece rock
band,” Liza
Colby said. “I love the
process of rec
recording, but our live performance
formance t
ther h ears
is the meat and potatoes of
what we do.”
Her com
commitment to her stage
show, wheth
whether in a small bar or a
huge festival,festiva
is apparent every moment
ment sh
that she is in the spotlight.
“I love pe
performing, being in front
of people,”
she said. “Singing feels
like a super
superpower to me. It’s the
highest privilege privil
to sing my songs to
people around aroun
the world … The performance
formance has
sion ba
has been a natural progression
as the band forced me to find my
place onsta
onstage.”
One of of
the more obvious aspects
pects tant se
of
her stagecraft is the blatant
sexuality of her wardrobe
and onstage o
style.
“
It’s empowering for
L-R Jay Shepard, Liza Colby, Charly Roth, Alec Morton
me,” she explained. “I’m young, I’ve
got a body and I like to use it. You
can tell how real a person is by their
body language. When I’m singing my
songs, I want people to know it’s real.
My body is an expression as well as
my voice — it’s a whole package.”
Colby loves hearing how her show
has affected her audience. “If I can
make someone feel something, I’ve
done my job,” she said.
“Besides,” she added, “rock-androll
and sexuality have been intertwined
since the beginning.”
Poppler makes “Shitty T-Shirts”
with a Sharpie which are sold at Liza’s
shows.
Colby credits a number of things for
her success as an artist, including her
parents, who gave her a “really openminded
upbringing.” She “thrives on
the NYC energy” and notes that the
band is a group of “unbelievable musicians
who are completely steadfast
in what they do.”
Then there is her own nature. “I’m
just a seeker as an artist and a person,”
she said. “You have to keep
moving – stagnation is like death. I
want to be in situations where I am
constantly expanding myself.”
After a three week residency at
Lola, 169 Avenue A, the Liza Colby
Sound takes off for Europe. Tour
dates and more info at thelizacolbysound.
com.
24 September 26, 2019 TVG Schneps Media