Meredith Blis

Meredith Blis
REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

"Let It Rain"
**Nominated for 3 New Mexico Music Awards
Best Pop CD, Best Song, Best Arrangement
**Finalist February 2008 Song of the Year Competition
Song: “Let It Rain”
“Meredith Blis follows her intriguing debut record with an equally deft new album. She’s a stunning singer and her songs resonate…” -collected sounds

"Purple Kind of Blue" (debut album)
Winner Best Pop CD New Mexico Music Awards
Nominee Best Vocal Performance New Mexico Music Awards

Honorable Mention Peace Driven Songs Competition
Song: “Legacy”
Two-Time Winner “Rock Solid Pressure” Song Competition

Winner March 2008 LAMN Jam (Los Angeles Music Network)
Hosted by NARIP (National Association Recording Industry Professionals)

Airplay:
KTao Solar 101.9, Ear to the Ground @UNM Albuquerque NM, Radio Crystal Blue, Harris Radio, Women of Substance Radio, Survivor Radio Café, Rock Solid Pressure, LeHigh University, Sonwriters Network /Live 365

Touring:
New York City Including: The Bitter End, The Cutting Room, CBGB Gallery,
New Mexico, Colorado, New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado

“A Purple Kind of Blue” Review Highlights

Lightword Publishing
“Rapturous piano accompanied by sensual penetrating vocals with meaning, propels this hypnotic artist to the top rung of the innovative and entertaining musical ladder.

Meredith’s songwriting ability marries intimate sounds, with professional accompaniment, to her fervent piano and powerful vocals – producing songs that will never grow old.”

The Daily Vault
“Is this album a testament to Meredith Blis's skills or those of a fine producer? One could make the case for both. The sound of the album complements Blis as a musician, because this is music that sounds just right for someone like her. However, do not be fooled. Meredith Blis has talent, which no amount of high-class production can take away.

Meredith Blis can set a mood. The opening and title track is a mid-tempo ballad, which sets the tone for what is to come. To be honest, except for the female vocals, I could hear McCartney recording something like this. "Mighty Aphrodite" in turn brought images of Elton John to mind, in a good way. The strings featured on the latter are gorgeous, matching the powerful vocal from Blis.”

- Awards / Review Highlights

Meredith Blis follows her intriguing debut record with an equally deft new album. She’s a stunning singer and her songs resonate.
Fade to Dust reflects on the transient nature of life and name checks Bettie Page and Marilyn. Her piano playing really stands out here.
The Birds and the Bees (sexual assault in the U.S) tackles that precise issue with Blis calmly recanting the amount of people who are assaulted each day during the chorus. Part of her albums proceeds go to RAINN (rape, abuse, incest national network).
Sing a Love Song is softer and engagingly tells of loving oneself to a nice backing. Blis’ vocal is just lovely.
Subterranean Lovesick Daughter humorously tackles a feeling of loneliness and is another example of Blis’ great singing.
Her new album is just splendid.


COLLECTED SOUNDS MARCH5, 2009
ANNA MARIA STJARNELL

- Collected Sounds

A Purple Kind of Blue
Presentation:
Rapturous piano accompanied by sensual penetrating vocals with meaning, propels this hypnotic artist to the top rung of the innovative and entertaining musical ladder. Meredith studied music at the Juilliard School in Manhattan. She performs live at prestigious venues in New York City, teaches piano and music/movement.

Noteworthy:
Meredith’s songwriting ability marries intimate sounds, with professional accompaniment, to her fervent piano and powerful vocals – producing songs that will never grow old. The melodic pop style is reminiscent of Paula Cole and Tori Amos. In her own words...”where music meets emotion and mermaids rule the ocean.”

-lightword publishing company
- Lightword Publishing Company

COLLECTED SOUNDS - a guide to women in music
a Review by Anna Maria Stjärnell

Meredith Blis is a talented singer and pianist and this is her debut. She has an appealingly bluesy slant to her music.

“Smile my Blues Away” has some fun lyrics and a cool melody.

“I’d be a witch of Eastwick
With long platinum hair
Cast any spell
With just a wink and a stare”

she sings.

“Mighty Aphrodite” is a sweet song that asks the goddess of love for advice.

“Mermaid Girl” is transcendently beautiful with its longing to escape the mundane world. Blis plays her piano wonderfully and the cello compliments it well.

“Breakdown” is a lovely song, Blis singing sweetly to a fluid melody. The use of strings is well thought out.

It’s a good debut.

Posted on March 6, 2006

http://www.collectedsounds.com/cdreviews/purplekind.html
- Anna Maria Stjärnell

Daily Vault

A Purple Kind Of Blue

Meredith Blis

Purple Sky Records, 2005

REVIEW BY: Jeff Clutterbuck

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/18/2005

We've all had the long day. It doesn't matter what your occupation is or how much you get paid. Every now and then (some would argue every day) we need to get home, sit in a comfy chair, and just relax. Students in college can feel the same way, and that's how I found myself listening to Meredith Blis on A Purple Kind Of Blue. And damn, it felt good.

To me, this is the definition of chill music. Soothing, gentle piano, and some stirring but not over the top vocals. Every track on A Purple Kind Of Blue has these qualities in some degree, and that made for some pleasant listening.

Meredith Blis can set a mood. The opening and title track is a mid-tempo ballad which sets the tone for what is to come. To be honest, except for the female vocals, I could hear McCartney recording something like this. "Mighty Aphrodite" in turn brought images of Elton John to mind, in a good way. The strings featured on the latter are gorgeous, matching the powerful vocal from Blis.

"Mermaid Girl" has to be influenced by Broadway; it has that certain sound to it. It's theatrical to some extent, has somewhat cheesy lyrics, and a knockout chorus. Whoever sang with Blis on this track did quite well -- I loved Bliss's deeper vocals combined with the falsetto vocals from the backup singer.

Not surprisingly, the blues make an appearance on "Two Way Street," but this time it was the backing track that caught my attention. Guitar licks simmer underneath the track, injecting those shots of blues that I love so dearly.

At 37 minutes, A Purple Kind of Blue is not a monster to get through. However, I feel that the best tracks were all up front,. "Fairy Dust" is an attempt to be somewhat avant-garde, or at least out of sync with the rest of the album's sound, but this attempt to be different is not needed.
The final track, "Untitled Love Song," steals too much from earlier tracks, though the cello overdub was a nice touch.

Is this album a testament to Meredith Blis's skills or those of a fine producer? One could make the case for both. The sound of the album complements Blis as a musician, because this is music that sounds just right for someone like her. However, do not be fooled. Meredith Blis has talent, which no amount of high-class production can take away.

Rating: B+


http://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=3132
- Jeff Clutterbuck

Aural Fixxx Magazine Published 2/06

1. How long has your involvement been with the NY music scene?
I have lived in nyc for nearly 10 years! And after proofreading… I realized that all the clubs where I started are now something else!

My level of involvement has varied during this time
When I graduated College, my first job was tape librarian at the now defunct recording studio, The Hit Factory. I spent many hours filing and labeling session tape reels (those were the days when they still recorded to tape!) in the basement of the studio – it was like a dungeon!
From there I moved on to wonderful mastering facility called Absolute Audio. My job there entailed client relations, scheduling, and you know, answering phones!
Then I went back to school (more on that below) and little by little began playing music in nyc. The first place I sang was The St. Marks Bar. Used to be on 8th st & first ave (if you’ve ever seen the rolling stones video, ‘waiting for a friend’, that’s the place!) it’s now called Tribe
I would sneak in on Sat nights and sing a few standards or rock tunes with the house band The Big City Medicine Show. It was fun, but I was very nervous! Then a good friend who ran a lot of blues jams in nyc taught me a couple blues tunes and a little bit about blues music. I would follow him to jams, feeling safe cause he would back me up on guitar!
During this time, I was developing my piano skills and a repertoire of original music. Well, one night at a jam, the place was called Hell’s Kitchen Bar - it’s now called _______________ , the bartender asked me if I had my own band. I didn’t, but said that I could put one together and that was my first gig with original music. Just me and a Yamaha keyboard that took 3 pple to carry it up the stairs of my walk up! Then I began going to singer/songwriter open mics, performing my original music and booking shows.
As for my ‘day job’ as a talent buyer
I approached Michael (owner / manager) of Kavehaz with the idea of hosting an open mic at his club. The venue was very appealing to me b/c at the time they had a nice baby grand piano and I was looking for an excuse to try and establish a weekly show. He was not interested in an open mic, but countered my offer with the concept of booking a vocalist showcase at the venue. At that time kavehaz really only featured instrumental jazz. He handed me a crate of CD’s and I was off
That was nearly 4 years ago! And we have since expanded the showcase from 1 to 2 evenings a week.
Also, in 2004 – I was looking for more work and I approached the alphabet lounge to book a showcase night.
I guess the indie music scene and I have been dating for nearly 6 years!
And there’s no ring yet…..



2. Tell about musical background, Julliard, etc...
I grew up in a musical family. My father was a record executive for Arista for nearly 25 years. So I was surrounded by top 40 for most of my formative years. We used to listen to records and try to guess which track would be the first single and what would hit #1 on the charts. I also loved the Sunday count-down with KC Casin.
My grandmother went to Juilliard probably when they still used quills, just kidding! and majored in voice and piano. However, I grew up in NJ and she lived in California so we never really made music together, although I think that something was transferred in my genes….
My first instrument was the saxophone. I started in the 5th grade and played for over 10 years. I also touched upon piano for a few years, but,
sometime during grade school my main creative interest became dancing. I studied jazz, ballet and modern and by high school my focus was to become a professional modern dancer. I was interested in singing as well and began studying voice a bit during high school.
I attended Sarah Lawrence College for my BA and my original Major was Modern Dance. Long story short is that 2 knee surgeries, a year in a conservatory for Musical Theater plus a lot of acting and Shakespeare I reached a crossroad. It was my senior year of college and I began to write music and play piano again.
I listened to a lot of Sarah Mclachlan and discovered Tori Amos
If ‘fumbling towards ecstasy’ had been a vinyl record, I would have worn it out!! I remember a pivotal moment, I was reading the credits ( I love reading CD inserts) and I saw that Sarah really had done it all
Written, sung, played instruments etc… if she could, well, couldn’t I do that too?
Now, I had graduated with a lovely BA but not a lot of conservatory training for music!
I took some classes at the New School for songwriting and another that was my first introduction to the techniques of jazz and blues singing.
I was privately studying piano and voice, but really wanted to learn more. So I looked into different continuing Ed programs for music around the city….
That brought me to Juilliard… When I first walked in for an interview and told the professor that I was a songwriter, he essentially looked at me and told me I was in the wrong place! It was like Flashdance.
After hearing my tale of woe that I was making music without the proper knowledge of what I was writing he agreed to take a look at some of the pieces that I had written for solo piano. Then, he admitted me into his composition 1 class with the promise that I also needed to study some classical music history. That led to 4 years of theory at Juilliard, which was one of the most favorite things I have ever done.
Besides hike the Grand Canyon! Then I reached another decision-point about whether to pursue a composition degree or the life of a rock star…. Ha! I can write @ 80, but it would be difficult to haunt the clubs age that age, so now I am writing songs… and it would be a dream to pursue a masters or PHD later in my life. I was able to use some of what I learned in a tangible fashion on my last CD. There is a full string arrangement on the track, ‘breakdown’
Writing and recording that was a highlight of making this CD.



3. describe style of music
My elevator speech says….
Piano-Driven melodic pop
My website says MEREDITHBLIS.COM where music meets emotion and mermaids rule the ocean
My bio says
Take some fiery vocals, pour honey and vinegar on the words and add some dynamic, intricate, passionate piano.

4. describe musical projects, solo act and blues bands.
Right now I have 2 bands
After my first solo faure with my original music I began to focus on that. I would go to blues jams and sit in, but never really pursued it as much as my pop princess music. Then blues sort of faded for me…
Especially when I returned to the studio to record my last record.
Then I had the feeling to play it again, I picked up again with Jams around town and just for fun I put together a blues band for a show hoping to get a regular gig. Well, we were so loud that the place was almost shut down!! That was the birth of Meredith Blis and The Sugar Daddies: Blues, Soul and Rock’n’Roll!
My other project is simply the meredith blis band and is primarily original music with a few fun covers here and there….
The band is comprised of Mary Noecker on Bass, Melvin Greenwich on Cello, Christian Finger on drums, Eliano Braz on Violin and Helena Lilijeblad on back up vocals. We have also taken to calling ourselves Meredith Blis and her Little String Affair. I am blessed to have such a great band to play my music with and I am thrilled with this combination of instruments.
5. do you prefer solo as to performing with band and why?
Gosh, it’s like do you prefer skinny-dipping to skiiing? (love them both, but
just 2 completely different things!!
I like having the movement of the band behind me, it increases the intensity and drive of the music and gives it more fullness. Audiences really respond the sound we have and the feel of a more ‘rockin’ band
Playing solo is such a fun treat. It gives a lot of freedom within the form to pause, vary tempos, and incorporate spur of the moment changes.
I like moments of just being me up there, but it is a lot fun to share the stage and make more noise with a band
6. any CD's released?
I have 2
An EP called fearless with 4 tracks released in 2003
My debut full-length was released in February of 2005
It’s called ‘a purple kind of blue’
Both available at CDbaby.com
7. New years music goals? TOUR SELL WRITE SING GROW!

In the summer of 2005, I started my own record label called purple sky records.
We are so grassroots, we are nearly below ground – but it has been a wonderful experience to learn so much about the business side and do it myself. Except on the days where the computer takes precendence to the piano .
I saw the reality of being an indie and decided to use it to my advantage.
Gathering my courage and the $98 for a DBA license…. I ran an ad in Craigs list and hired some interns.
One has stuck and now works with me part-time – His name is leigh ackerman and he is a gem!
Our current focus is press, radio and we are beginning to plan a regional tour for 2006.

Other interests include that I am currently pursuing a teacher training program for Kundalini Yoga.
- Kathy Fleischmann