DREAMING PAYS OFF FOR MUSICIAN LIZ LARIN
C&G NEWSPAPERS
November 16th, 2005WEST BLOOMFIELD, ROCHESTER, BIRMINGHAM, WARREN
Liz Larin, of Birmingham, will celebrate the release of her new CD, “Wake Up, Start Dreaming,” with a concert Nov. 19th at Royal Oak’s Memphis Smoke.
By K. Michelle Moran Arts and Entertainment
She’s traveled the globe and recorded abroad, but for Birmingham singer/songwriter Liz Larin, there’s no place like home.
The former Atlantic Records artist will issue her latest CD, “Wake Up, Start Dreaming,” during a release party Nov. 19 at Memphis Smoke in Royal Oak. Although she records for her own label now, she’s enjoying some of the biggest triumphs of her career – made sweeter still by the fact that it’s on her own terms.
Since returning to Michigan several years ago, Larin has started from own record label – Bloomfield Hills based Bona Dea Music – and has been invited to pen songs for national artists.
“I’m just really excited that I can combine being here and being successful in the music business,” Larin said. “That’s been something that I set out to do, and now it’s happening.”
Although Larin couldn’t elaborate at press time, she said she’s been writing and producing songs for national artists.
Music has been in Larin’s blood since she was a kid, and she fondly remembers listening for her grandmother’s Blue Note jazz records. By the time she was 15, the self-taught pianist and guitarist was giving lessons at a local record store. By 16, she was performing in rock bands and living on her own because her parents opposed her music career.
While forming the band Rebel Heels (formerly Press) with Michael King and Danny Cox, Larin landed a national label deal, toured extensively and released a solo album when Rebel Heels dissolved. But she grew disillusioned by life in Los Angeles and after eight years, she moved back to Michigan in 1998.
Since then, she’s recorded three solo CD’s and won shelves worth of statuettes, including 10 Detroit Music Awards for her last album, the acclaimed “The Story of O-Miz.”
These honors gave Larin the confidence to be even more experimental on “Wake Up, Start Dreaming” which showcases her powerhouse voice as she makes her way through a set of everything from dance tunes and edgy rockers to introspective ballads.
“This is absolutely coming form my heart and my experiences,” Larin said of her songs.
Roscoe, who co-produced “Wake Up, Start Dreaming,” and “Story,” called Larin and artist with “an original voice” who “does what she wants and does it well.”
“I always things she has good ideas, and she takes chances,” he said.
Live and in the CD, Larin’s backed by top-notch local musicians: guitarists Roscoe and Robert Tye, bassists James Simonson and John Dunn, and drummers Todd Glass and Dave Taylor. Larin herself plays keyboards, mandolin and guitars – and will be giving away a signed red Fender Stratocaster in March to one lucky listener; entry forms are enclosed in the new CD.
Larin and her band hope to tour soon, but she’s looking especially forward to the CD release party, since it will give her and the other musicians a chance to mingle with fans.
“Memphis Smoke is a friendly place… I just wanted to make it really easy for everybody to be there and to meet each other, too, because that’s really fun,” she said.
Liz Larin’s CD release party will take place at 10 p.m. Nov. 19 at Memphis Smoke, 100 S. Main in downtown Royal Oak, (248) 543-4300. For more information, visit www.lizlarin.com.
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