Lisa Matassa

Lisa Matassa is an American country singer and singer-songwriter. In the 1980s she had two pop hits reach the top ten on the Dance Music Charts, including 1987's "I've Got the Hots for You" and 1988's "Rock Me Baby",[1][2] both credited to Lysa Lynn. She released a debut country EP on March 31, 2011 titled Me Time.[3]

Lisa Matassa
Matassa in 2011
Background information
Also known asLysa Lynn
OriginLong Island, New York, U.S.
GenresCountry, rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1987–1988
2010–present
LabelsCPR Music Group
It Is What It Is Records
Emergency Records
Websitewww.LisaMatassa.com

Early life

Lisa Matassa was born and initially raised on Long Island, New York.[1] She comes from a musical family; her mother[4] used to sing in a doo-wop group, and her grandmother was an opera singer.[5] As a child she often listened to artists such as Loretta Lynn and Elvis Presley.[5] When Matassa was seven years old her family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they remained for eight years.[5] Matassa began studying opera with an alumna of the Metropolitan Opera[2] when she was about nine, continuing until age 14, when she branched into pop and rock.[5] Her family moved back to Franklin Square, New York when she was in tenth grade.[5]

Career

Early career

In 1987, recently out of high school,[1] Matassa was overheard by a dance producer while she was performing with a local Long Island band named Recovery.[2] She promptly signed a recording contract with the independent label Emergency Records under the stage name Lysa Lynn.[6] The label specialized in producing dance-pop, such as recording artist Shannon's dance anthem "Let the Music Play."

Matassa recorded two hit singles,[7] 1987's "I've Got the Hots for You" and 1988's "Rock Me Baby", both of which gained national and international airplay and reached the top ten on the Dance Music Charts.[1][2] She performed numerous shows alongside artists such as Taylor Dayne, Brenda K. Starr, Judy Torres, and TKA among others. Her song "Stay With Me Tonight" was in the 1988 Carrie Fisher movie She's Back.[8]

Matassa soon gained an inclination to record songs she had written herself, with a more rock edge, but Emergency Records dissolved several months after the release of her last single.[2]

In 1992, Matassa married and settled down to raise a family in Plainview, Long Island.[2] She continued to perform in Long Island and Manhattan clubs,[6] and also did commercial voice-over work. During this time of focusing on her family life, Matassa also was the band leader of a successful club band for 20 years.[2]

Production

In 2010, Matassa headed to Nashville to write and record Me Time, a new EP of country music.[2][6] Other participants in the album's creation were Bobby Graziose, producer Joey Sykes[9] and songwriting collaborations with country music writer Don Rollins, songwriter Jody Gray,[5] and producer Tony Bruno.[2] The EP is a stylistic blend of Southern Rock, New Country, and Pop.[2]

Release

The EP was released on It Is What It Is Records[4] on March 31, 2011.[3] Nine North Records from Nashville has handled a portion of the promotion.[9] The release concert took place on March 31, with her supporting band consisting of Tony Bruno, Greg Smith, Jules Radino, Joey Sykes, Colin Smith, Mike Dimeo, Bobby Guy Graziose, and Simi Stone.[4]

Matassa has been a Featured Artist on ReverbNation.com, after ReverbNation co-founder Lou Plaia read her story in the Plainview Old Bethpage Herald.

Her music has received airplay on WJVC 96.1 FM, Long Island's local country station.[4] She has been interviewed on Fox News in California and New York, 1010 WINS, and a number of other radio stations.[3] Matassa performed the national anthem and was the opening act for Freedomfest 2011 on July 2, 2011, the first country music festival to be held at Ducks Stadium on Long Island.[10] "Me Time", the title track from her EP, has been formally added into rotations on more than a dozen radio station play lists. In Spring of 2011 Matassa embarked on a north east radio promotion tour and will follow it up with a national radio promotion tour through summer of 2011.[6]

In 2016, Matassa released "Make America Great Again".

Style

Matassa has dubbed her style of music "Long Island Country",[11] which she describes as a combination of New York rock and roll mixed with new country. On March 31, 2011, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano awarded Matassa a citation as Long Island's first country music recording artist, and the pioneer of the genre Long Island Country genre.[12] Beyond traditional country influences she has stated she is influenced by musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Elvis, The Beatles, Heart, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.[1]

Personal life

Matassa continues to live in Plainview, Long Island with her husband. In addition to volunteering at her local church, she volunteers and supports the Last Hope Animal Shelter, the Breath Believe Foundation for cystic fibrosis, and the Sidewalk Angels Foundation, a non-profit that helps fund research for autism.[6][13]

Discography

Singles
  • "I've Got the Hots for You" (1987)
  • "Rock Me Baby" (1988)
  • "Me Time" (2011)
  • "The Christmas Song" (2011)
  • "Wouldn't You Like to Know" (2012)
  • "Somebody's Baby" (2012)
  • "I Won't Ask" (2013)
  • "Make America Great Again" (2016)

Studio albums
  • Me Time EP (2011)
  • Sunrise Highway LP (2012)
  • Somebody's Baby EP (2012)
  • Why I'm Here – Legendary Duets (2015)

Music videos
Year Video Director
2011 "I Don't Feel Anything"[14] LMA Productions
"The Christmas Song"[15] Traci Goudie
2012 "Me Time"[16]
"Wouldn't You Like to Know"[17]
"I Will Always Love You"[18]
"Somebody's Baby"[19]
2013 "I Won't Ask"[20]

References
  1. "Biography". LisaMatassa.com. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  2. "Suburban Mom Introduces "Long Island Country Rock"". American Homes. January 25, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  3. ""Long Island Country" Artist Lisa Matassa to Perform Live on WKMK Thunder 106.3 FM's Live Drive-Time Broadcast". Ramberg Media. February 22, 2011. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  4. Gellender, Karen (April 8, 2011). "Plainview Singer Lisa Matassa Performs at Me Time Release Party". Anton News. Archived from the original on April 11, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  5. DuRussel, Mick (March 24, 2011). "Interview: Long Island's Own Country Star Lisa Matassa!". SpotOnLI. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  6. McNamara, Brittney (June 2011). "Lisa Matassa: Long Island's country star". Blast Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  7. Gellender, Karen (January 7, 2011). "Plainview Mom Launches 'Long Island Country Rock' Sound With New Album". Plainview Herald. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  8. "She's Back Soundtrack". IMDb. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  9. "Lisa Matassa – Me Time". MusicRow. May 31, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  10. "Lisa Matassa to Open Freedom Fest". PR.com. June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  11. Journey, J.R. (May 10, 2011). "Weekly Country Songs Roundup: May 10, 2011". American Noise. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  12. "Release Party". LisaMatassa.com. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  13. "Country Singing Star Lisa Matassa Teams Up with Autism Foundation". Swanky Celebs. May 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  14. "I Don't Feel Anything". YouTube. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  15. "CMT : Videos : Lisa Matassa : The Christmas Song". Country Music Television. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  16. "CMT : Videos : Lisa Matassa : Me Time". Country Music Television. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  17. "CMT : Videos : Lisa Matassa : Wouldn't You Like to Know". Country Music Television. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  18. "CMT : Videos : Lisa Matassa : I Will Always Love You". Country Music Television. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  19. "Somebody's Baby". YouTube. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  20. "CMT : Videos : Lisa Matassa : I Won't Ask". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
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