Lisa Marie Presley Talks Music and Family History Before Natick Show
Posted by Scott Kearnan  
January 10, 2014

If he was trying to make his mark in the music world today, would Elvis Presley have needed American Idol?

"I would hope not! But it does kind of seem like we're heading that way in the world today," answers the legend's only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, when I ask her about the current state of the music industry — where success increasingly seems reserved for stars with the biggest media blitz and strongest PR team, not the most talent. 

Four years ago Presley relocated to rural England, and says that country's curiosity and respect for history — including musical heritage — was part of its appeal. "I don't know if people really know where anything started anymore, or how it began, unless it's on American Idol," she says. "Which is not to discredit American Idol. It is what it is. But it's funny to me that sometimes other countries really appreciate what we've exported more than we do."

And in fact, though she's direct descendant of the King of Rock and American music royalty, it took that move to England to inspire 2012's Storm and Grace, the Memphis-born crooner's most Southern, roots-y, downright swampy album yet. She kicks off this year's supporting tour tonight at 9 p.m. at the Verve Crowne Plaza in Natick. (tickets are $20 or $150 for a meet-and-greet, available here.)

"I just wanted the freedom to get away from everything and do what I want to do, be who I want to be. It led me back to this," says Lisa Marie Presley of the eight-month trip during which she wrote the album, her third and most lauded. "I just allowed what I was feeling to happen, and it came naturally. It wasn't manipulated to be roots-y in some contrived way."

Eschewing the post-millennium power pop-rock of her two previous records, Storm and Grace is a slow burn: an organic, haunting stomp through a bayou thick with rumination on love, loss, (cautious) hope and disenchantment. Her evocative, textured voice spins out self-written songs that are autobiographical or about those closest to her. "Close to the Edge" is about someone in self-destruction mode, "How Do You Fly This Plane?" offers solace to a friend who lost a child, and though she won't discuss her history with Scientology or her rumored split from it, she will offer that the lyrics to the song "So Long" are "pretty self-explanatory":

This here is a city without lights
Those are all the people without eyes
Churches, they don’t have a soul
Soup for sale without a bowl
Religion so corrupt and running lives
Farewell, fair weathered friends
I can’t say I’ll miss you in the end

On the other hand, writing the album in England did make Presley miss the country-tinged music that is at her core, and that she was surrounded by as a little girl growing up at Graceland. "For some strange reason I started to appreciate it even more being far away from it," says Presley, who recalls listening to her first 45s on a small blue record player in her bedroom. (When she wasn't having late night chats with dad.) "The English are very traditional and love their history. But they love our history too and sometimes I think they even know a little more about it than we do. They appreciate what we've exported. Look at a band like Led Zeppelin: they were hugely influenced by country music and the blues."

Though she delved deep into Americana sounds for Storm and Grace, there's one thing Presley didn't consider: what her dad would think of her music. "I can't think about it. I go into songwriter mode, and I have to stop thinking about every other thing in the world," says Presley. "I can't go there, or anywhere else. There are too many ways my thoughts could go."

One place she does still go is her former childhood home. She says she visits Graceland three or four times a year, turning the country's other famous white house back into home, sweet home. "In a world where everything gets knocked down or changed, I'm very lucky to be able to have this place that is always the same that I can go to. Most people don't have that."

And though history and roots are important to Presley, she's also welcoming change. I find that out as I ask her about New Year's resolutions; she has too many to pick.

"I'm a little overwhelmed, I have so many changes I want to make," she laughs. "I need to map it out and get back to you. Or maybe just hit Control-Alt-Delete."



source: http://www.boston.com

By Nancy Olesin
Daily News staff 
Posted Jan. 11, 2014 @ 6:53 pm
Jan 11, 2014 at 10:10 PM 

NATICK - Lisa Marie Presley pushed aside the sticks and stones of critics Friday night, solidly rocking The Verve at the Natick Crowne Plaza with her five-member band and a talent all her own.

Wailing away on a pair of drums with felt mallets at times, the daughter of the king of rock 'n’ roll revealed an edgy, haunting blues sound to which she adds a touch of the Go-Go’s. 

She was confident in her singing and has formed a tight-knit musical family that includes her husband, guitarist and musical director Michael Lockwood; keyboardist/vocalist and former Bigelf member Damon Fox; drummer John Sands; Jamison Hollister on mandolin/pedal steel; and Luis Maldonado on electric bass/vocals.

During the 75-minute set Presley featured mostly songs from her latest album, "Storm & Grace," a solid endeavor produced by T Bone Burnett, including memorable renditions of "Over Me," "So Long," and "Sticks and Stones." Keyboardist Fox, and Lockwood with his colorful series of Gretsch hollow-body guitars, juiced things up just enough without stealing the show from its star.

Some in the crowd may have come to the show expecting something else, but showed an appreciation for Presley’s songwriting, musicianship, deep sultry voice and willingness to open herself up and connect with the audience with comments between songs. Presley’s uncomplicated style was enhanced by the band’s richly layered accompaniment.

This was a return trip to Natick for Presley - she played at The Center for Arts in Natick Nov. 23 – but for many this concert was their first time seeing Presley in person. Fans included five local women – all who claim the middle name Marie - Susan Marie Barry of Somerville, Lisa Marie Ricciardi of Stoneham, Susan Marie MacKenzie of Wilmington, Jane Marie Brunet of Cambridge and Patricia Marie Foscarota of Somerville. They said they’d previously traveled as a group to Memphis to hear Presley play, and that they hoped to snag Presley after the concert for a group photo.

Framingham resident Mark Diamond, who got as close to the crush near the intimate stage as he could, said, "I love her music -- and I loved her dad." Christian Darcy, also of Framingham, said this was his first time seeing Presley in concert and he was impressed she sounded very much like her recordings. "I like her edgy sound," he added.

Sisters Kathy Mofrield and Nancy Mangion, both of Bedford, said they’d seen Presley on TV shows like "Letterman" and had listened to her CDs, but were excited to have the chance to see her in person.

Looking slim and healthy, the 45-year-old Presley wore her brunette hair long and slightly teased on top, and was dressed in a black blazer and red shirt over slim dark pants, accenting her outfit with a simple silver cuff. Lockwood and Fox added a Dickensian Steampunk vibe to the group with top hats while Hollister wore a black bowler. Lockwood, who also wore a red foxtail and had a snake-head guitar strap, is a Tom Petty lookalike with his blond hair, and indeed the encore was a cover of Petty’s "I Need to Know." It seems to be a tradition of hers to often end her shows with a Petty song.

During the show, Presley told the audience she had just flown in from England where she now lives and spent a joyful Christmas under one roof with her husband and all four of her children, 5-year-old fraternal twin girls Harper and Finley, and 21-year-old Benjamin Keough and 24-year old daughter Riley Keough. 

She called Lockwood "the best father and stepfather in the world" and that her children are "the only people in the world who can make me both laugh and cry hysterically.

"Hinting at past personal difficulties, Presley said she’d written several of her songs when "I was a mess." Later, she told the audience, "this [music] is what keeps me sane. This and my kids and my husband and you guys."

source: http://www.milforddailynews.com