Folkish Rock n' Roll with Violin, Viola and Cello by classically trained musicians? Elisa Lovelie & The Device create an entirely unique hypnotic elixir of styles from bluesy to swinging, with orchestral string arrangements and Latin flavored percussion with a heavy helping of vintage rock and roll, Elisa adds her dynamo presence with her powerful vocals.
With a flair for theatrics, often performing in long sultry gowns and corsets, she has a passion for bringing the past into the present, and the future back to the past.
“We like to call it Gothic Cabaret.” She says, “I try to make the shows a happening, each one becomes a singular event-and I love the synergy I have with my audiences because of that ephemerality, both with fans who know my music and those who come fresh to the experience. I feel most alive onstage when I’m sharing every facet of my musical self, and the band is so much a part of that journey, we all bring the best out of each other. I feel like that’s what it means to be a musician in the 21st century.”
Brooklyn native Elisa Lovelie has been performing since 2008 with her trusty acoustic guitar and beloved Les Paul. Elisa began singing at age 5, and hasn't stopped since. After four years of classical opera training, seven years of intense musical theater coaching and most recently, five years of hard rock performance with The Gowanus Music Club, Miss Lovelie has become a seasoned professional, having played at some of the top clubs in Brooklyn. She began playing guitar at age 16, along with intermittent piano playing and composed over 30 original songs since.
Track List: 1. I Don't Need You
2. Black and Blue
3. Fire and Icicles
4. When The Tide Goes Down
5. Try
6. Make Up Your Mind
7.Bad Boy Blues
Elisa Lovelie Vox & Guitar
Blake Allen Violin & Viola
Brian Sanders Cello
Nick Throop Guitar
Ben Chuchinsky Guitar
Joe Tucker Drums
Matthew Webber Bass (Electric & Stand Up)
Formed over the course of 2012, Elisa’s band, The Device, is fascinating in that each of her six male band members is, like her, classically trained. 6’7” Viola player Blake Allen, has been in Elisa’s musical circle since the summer of 2011, while cellist Brian Sander’s was previously a part of Emanuel & The Fear. The three began cultivating an otherworldly orchestral sound, then decided to expand the evolving vibe and amp up with the addition of virtuosic rock guitarists Nick Throop and Benjamin Chuchinsky.
Rounding out the group are electric and standup bassist Matthew Webber and Joe Tucker, a classical percussion student at Queens College that Elisa calls..
“the perfect rhythmic glue, who brought the band all together.” She adds, “He’s just as comfortable chunking out a rock-pop beat as he is drumming up some Arabic percussion for me to belly dance to during the shows.”At 16, Elisa wrote her first song, the sultry Latin flavored “Make Up Your Mind,” and soon after, the fist-pumping female powered rock-anthem “I Don’t Need You” which are both on the EP.
In addition to “Make Up Your Mind,” which she wrote about the indecision of a boyfriend who taught her how to salsa dance, Undertow features songs that bring out multiple facets of the singer’s ever-expanding musical personality. The raw, rumbling “Bad Boy Blues” is her “swampy, sexy, blues loving self,” while “Fire & Icicles,” her personal favorite, sparkles as a classically influenced pop-rock power-ballad that builds to an explosive conclusion. Another highlight is the dreamy, exotic opener “When The Tide Goes Down,” which was inspired by a vivid dream that the singer had about a girl who sleepwalks into the ocean. Penned by Kathy & Elisa, and brought to life by Middle Eastern flavored guitar lines and mysteriously moody string parts that recur throughout the EP, “When the Tide Goes Down” flexes Elisa’s lyrical muscles, which will only get stronger with age.
