Liz Melendez Band

Liz Melendez Band - Sweet Southern Soul - 2005 - King Mojo

Getting burnt out from listening to the blues is easy. And, after retreating to that cave for so long, a musical detour is needed. Once achieved, the listener's perspective is fresher. Fitting when listening to Sweet Southern Soul from the Liz Melendez Band. This Atlanta native's musical formula is a conjuration of the classic 70's rock era. The roots are from the past only with a different tree. If you came of age during the 70's, then you can grasp this concept. Liz has the blues chops to work in studio and live settings. Melendez can brew a cauldron of riff rock that salutes its forefathers. Title track "Sweet Southern Soul" is classic FM radio and opens the floodgates for 70's styled rockers and ballads. Tracing her New Mexican heritage gives "Justice County" an autobiographical flavor while planting the seeds of a newer kind of southern rock. Hard riffage isn't everything. Liz can handle many forks in the road. Her electric trio can embrace ballads like "Drink From My Cup" and kiss gospel comfortably in the guitar/keyboard driven "Third Degree". The tribal rhythmic beat of "Battle Cry" is the
closest thing to feeling a Native America at war. The only blues to be found is in "Do My Thing." Reconnecting with the past can be a good thing. Sweet Southern Soul is the mirror of a
looking glass from a bygone era where music triumphed over image and was not eaten by corporate machines. Liz Melendez uses these songs to tell stories and not be showpieces for over-the-top guitar playing. Once you have this sustenance, the circle is complete. © Gary Weeks - Southwest Blues CD Review - May 2005

Liz Melendez has been referred to as "the female Stevie Ray Vaughan". Most guitarists will never achieve that level of greatness, but is great to have ambition, and Albuquerquean, Liz Melendez has plenty of that. She, herself has said "It is my goal to become one of the most successful woman performers in the business." Her vocal and guitar skills are, without doubt good enough to send this great blues lady a long way. Liz penned all the songs on "Sweet Southern Soul", and it really is a quality album, and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Do Liz Melendez and yourself a favour and promote this lady. Try and listen to Liz's "Mercy" album, and you can buy her terrific "Liz Melendez LIVE" album through http://www.lizmelendezband.com/STORE.htm

TRACKS

Sweet Southern Soul
No More Love
Drink from My Cup
Again and Again
Caza De El Niño
Justice County
Do My Thing
Sacrifice
Third Degree
Battle Cry (Rhythm of Suffering)

All songs composed by Liz Melendez

MUSICIANS

Liz Melendez (Guitar, Vocals)
Jimmy Byrd (Guitar Solo on "Do My Thing"
Lex Luther (Bass)
Joey Huffman (Keyboards)
Joanie Ferguson (Percussion), (Drums)
Diane Durrett (Vocals Background)

REVIEWS

Liz's previous CD, Mercy, was reviewed in issue 6, here we have her new one and how she has grown - the sound is fuller and the voice stronger! This is one fine album, if you like the rocky side then here is a lady for you. The title track is catchy and the voice soulful. No More Love has a building intro to power level and lift off! Like warming up your car then taking off on a hard drive. Drink From My Cup is Liz in ballad form, neat organ here and electro acoustic plays neatly, Caza De El Nino is a short instrumental, Justice County lifts to an emotional climax then fades, Do My Thing has a good groove, Battle Cry Rhythm has an interesting start and climactic tribal sense about it, eerie but hooks you in. What a great album! © BLUES MATTERS MAGAZINE - UK

I have a friend who once told a young Alison Krauss that she was a terrific fiddle player. And then, for some reason, he added, "I mean, for a girl..." Alison walked away in disgust and my friend felt really, really stupid. He meant it as a compliment, but it came out all wrong. The fact is, string-instrument virtuosity is still a primarily male trait; women, by nature or nurture or just plain old male chauvinism, whether in bluegrass or blues, tend to get confined to rhythm playing. Liz Melendez, an Atlanta-based blues singer and guitarist, probably hears things like that all the time. Because while her throaty vocals and sharp, moody songwriting would be enough to distinguish her, she really can play the hell out of an electric guitar. Even more than her few female blues-guitar peers, Melendez combines grinding passion with fiery precision. The most obvious influence on her playing is Stevie Ray Vaughn, and it's a mantle she carries ably (she also carries off some muy convincing Santana-flavored Latin playing). She and her band treated Knoxvillians to a reportedly storming show on New Year's Eve at Sassy Ann's, and now she's back for a double header. From 5-8 p.m., Melendez is the feature of the week at the Knoxville Museum of Art's "Alive After Five" series. Then, from 9 p.m.-1 a.m., she'll be back at Sassy Ann's. Catch her at one or both stops. She rocks and swaggers and moans and sizzles as well as any current blues player-of any gender. MetroPulse-Knoxville, TN Review © Jesse Fox Mayshark

ALBUM NOTES

Her guitar playing has been compared to everyone from Carlos Santana to Stevie Ray Vaughan and her voice has been compared to everyone from Bonnie Raitt to Janis Joplin. Considered by many to be one of the top lead guitarists in the country, Liz Melendez is quickly becoming one of the most exciting new artists on the musical horizon. To her fans and professionals in the industry, she is a rare talent: a prolific songwriter, powerful vocalist, and super dynamic performer. Melendez has garnered a sizeable following touring the southeast and beyond. She has headlined major festivals such as Riverbend Music Festival's Bessie Smith Strut in Chattanooga (the only female headliner in Riverbend history besides Koko Taylor), and co-headlined major festivals such as the Cape Fear Blues Festival in Wilmington, N.C. and the Blues 2003 Festival in New York and been invited to open for artists like the Nappy Roots. She has performed on stage with such notables as Bob Margolin, Henry Butler, Francine Reed, E.G. Kight,Hubert Sumlin, Chris Duarte and Candye Kane. Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Liz was taught and heavily influenced by her father Dan Melendez. She began playing guitar at 5 with her father teaching her rock and roll and blues standards. "He taught me the fundamentals and what it meant to be a good musician." That combined with the unconditional support of her mother she says. "I can honestly say that everything I know and everything I've become I owe to being blessed with great parents." "She rocks and swaggers and moans and sizzles as well as any current player-of any gender. " - Jesse Fox Mayshark, MetroPulse, Knoxville, TN. Sweet Southern Soul, the new 10-song, all-original release from Atlanta blues rocker, Liz Melendez, interlaces her southwestern roots, her southern rock influences, and the great blues infused album rock of the 1970s that inspired her to pick up the guitar all tightly wrapped in an edgy and contemporary package. In contrast to her first release Mercy, which was a great showcase for her song writing and guitar chops, Sweet Southern Soul focuses more on using songs to tell a story. The cover inscription reads, "Estas Canciones Son La Historia de Mi Vida. (These songs are the story of my life)." Songs such as Justice County are inspired by her New Mexico outlaw heritage (her great great grandfather was a member of Billy the Kid's gang and fought in the legendary Lincoln County wars) written in true southern rock, outlaw anthem style while tracks like Battle Cry (The Rhythm of Suffering) infuse the pueblo indian drumming she heard as a child with the modern electric blues she loves today. More edgy tracks like No More Love and the title track Sweet Southern Soul will take listeners back to the time before lip-synch tracks and drum machines, when great blues rock powerhouse groups ruled the earth, while fan favorites like the delicate Drink from My Cup, the upbeat Again and Again, and the gospel juiced Third Degree round out the album making it a must have for LMB fans and rock and roll music lovers alike. © http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lizmelendez2#

BIO

The name Liz Melendez is becoming synonymous with great guitar across the globe. While her lead and rhythm guitar prowess alone puts her far ahead of her contemporaries, the strength of her vocal ability and her skills as a songwriter make Liz a genuinely unique and powerful artist. Her dynamic live performances thrill audiences as she effortlessly demonstrates her versatility, often paying homage to her influences as a highlight to her own clearly defined lead guitar and vocal style. After arriving on the music scene as a solo artist a few years ago, Liz has established herself as one of the most exciting and promising new artists on the music horizon. Born and raised in the South Valley of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Liz moved to Atlanta in the late 1990s to continue her burgeoning music career as a formidable guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and performer. While she prides herself on the strengths of her lead and rhythm guitar proficiency in almost any genre, she is most often compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan and she does a full Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute show about every 2 months to pay homage to the man who changed modern blues guitar forever. As an independent recording and performing artist she has proven to be a passionate and driven individual; writing, arranging and producing her own releases and is an uncompromising advocate for her artistic creations and performing career. With three CD releases now to her credit, Liz's talent as a songwriter has not gone unnoticed. Both CDs have been praised for the quality and substance of the guitar work and songwriting and nearly every track on Mercy and Sweet Southern Soul quickly became fan favorites receiving accolades in publications worldwide and receiving airplay on several radio stations across the globe. Known far and wide as an intensely dynamic performer, Melendez has garnered a sizable following touring the southeast and beyond. She has headlined major festivals such as Riverbend Music Festival's Bessie Smith Strut in Chattanooga (the only female headliner in Riverbend history besides Koko Taylor), and co-headlined major festivals such as the Cape Fear Blues Festival in Wilmington, N.C. and the Blues 2003 Festival in New York and been invited to open for artists like the Nappy Roots. She has performed on stage with such notables as Bob Margolin, Henry Butler, Francine Reed, Hubert Sumlin, E.G. Kight, Chris Duarte and Candye Kane.

The 70s at 120 Decibels

Growing up, Liz was taught and heavily influenced by her father Dan Melendez, who, she admits proudly in the liner notes of her most recent CD, "lovingly blasted at deafening volume the great album rock and blues of the 70s during her tender formative years." Liz dedicates all of her musical pursuits to her dad who passed away shortly after the release of Liz's first CD Mercy in 2001. At age 5, she heard the guitar intro to Freddie King's I Wonder Why and her fascination with the electric guitar began. Her father started teaching her rock and roll and blues standards like Johnny B. Goode and Hideaway and challenged her early on to learn Bill Doggett's Honky Tonk. While much of what he taught her seemed to make no sense, he assured her as if he could see into her future, "This will all mean something very important to you someday." And he was right. By the time Liz had discovered the rockin' Brit-blues of Led Zeppelin, the harder rock of bands like Black Sabbath, the out-of-body Latin rock of Santana, and the life-changing Texas shredding of then new-comer Stevie Ray Vaughan, she found that learning their songs came very naturally as her father had equipped her with the tools she needed to tackle just about any style of music. Much of the earliest techniques and guitar fundamentals Liz learned from her father can still be heard in her music to this day. "Probably more important to me than the guitar methods themselves," she emphasizes, "my father taught me the fundamentals of what it meant to be a great musician. He was an exceedingly intellectual man and he drove home his philosophy that becoming a great rhythm guitarist was an essential part of being a great lead guitarist and that the importance of learning to be a good support player as part of an ensemble was paramount in my pursuit of becoming a great musician." Her father's support and wisdom are the basis for much of Liz's conviction. "He always told me 'Liz, never be afraid to get on stage with anyone. Don't ever be intimidated. You can hang with anybody out there.' He was always saying things like that." she remembers. "One afternoon he was listening to me practice in the next room. I don't remember what I was playing, but it was probably loud and wild. After a minute he came in and said matter-of-factly, 'Liz, you are going to be one of the best guitar players on the planet someday.' It was a very powerful thing to say not because I think I am one of the best or that I think I will be one of the best but because when he said it I knew I didn't have to be it, I just had to believe it." Liz says the guidance and support of her father combined with the unconditional support of her mother has been the key. "My mother has to be the hippest and most enlightened, intelligent and tolerant person I know. She put up with all my early band practices, endured some of the loudest music known to man, and my late-night tests of the Ampeg V4's maximum volume. She has always supported and encouraged my music and is always the voice of reason when things go topsy-turvy on me in my music business endeavors. I could not have survived the challenging life of a music artist without her support and counsel. I can honestly say that everything I know and everything I've become I owe to being blessed with great parents." http://www.lizmelendezband.com/BIO.htm

Offstage

While she focuses much of her time on her musical pursuits, Liz has vastly varying talents and interests. She is an accomplished writer and graphic artist, designing her own web site, CD covers, logos and promotional materials as well as designing web sites and CD covers for only her closest musical friends such as Atlanta folk legend Caroline Aiken and blues diva Diane Durrett. Liz is also an avid golfer whose game, while impressive, is perpetually in varying states of struggle. © http://www.lizmelendezband.com/BIO.htm