Lisa Bodnar and Whistlegrass

"Such a fine disc!" Mike Naydock of Cellarful of Noise - Cellarful of Noise - October 20, 2023

Allentown singer-songwriter Lisa Bodnar talks with WDIY's Carlos Benjamin about her new album coming out on October 28th, 40 Years in the Desert; her band Whistlegrass' new album being released in the spring of 2023; her upcoming performance at a Civic Theatre of Allentown benefit concert; and more.

Lisa Bodnar and Whistlegrass will be performing at Civic's Summer Sights and Sounds concert on Saturday, July 30th. The show will be a benefit for Civic, which is a nonprofit community theatre producing an arthouse film series, education programs, and theatre productions in Allentown's West End Theatre District.

In addition to Bodnar and Whistlegrass, Lehigh Valley singer-songwriter Steve Brosky will be performing at the Summer Sights and Sounds show. The event will also feature the “Artists Stroll” with visual artists displaying their work in the theatre.

More information about the Summer Sights and Sounds concert is available at Civic's website.

(Original air-date: 7/27/2022) - WDIY

6. The up-and-comers showcase. One of this year’s newcomers is Martins Creek vocalist/keyboardist Lisa Bodnar, a versatile rocker who once wrote a song about bubblewrapping her heart.

7. New venues and programs every year. Bodnar will help launch Lyrikplatz, a showcase for singer-songwriters who play acoustic instruments. It’s part of “The Art of Musik” theme, which features workshops with Christian McBride, the killer jazz bassist, and the Dixie Hummingbirds, the revolutionary gospel quartet. - The Morning Call

Singer/songwriter Lisa Bodnar of Martins Creek has a new CD full of poetry and imagery, but the title, “Come Hell or High Water,” refers to the devastation she, like others who live along the Delaware River, experienced in the last three years. Her home and rehearsal space were hit three times with flood waters and hurricane winds. She uses the themes of loss and rebirth to inform her songwriting. “Protect Your Children,” “Sad Song” and the title track show the mental space she inhabits. There is sadness but a fierce determination to overcome. There are also some religious overtones — “Original Sin,” “Prayer” — indicating that perhaps Bodnar had some conversations with her creator. Her sound has been characterized as everything from folk to indie to pop to country to adult rock. She plays piano, collaborator Dann Araque adds guitars, and guest artists join in. There is a choir on the title track and an appearance by brassmen Mark Pender and Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg, members of the house band on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” on “Baby It’s You.” Tiokasin Ghost Horse, a Lakota flute-maker, improvises a solo on “Prayer.”

Bodnar’s voice is the star. She croons passionately, calling to mind Sheryl Crow, Jewel and Sarah McLaughlin. She has been through a lot, but when Bodnar sings “I’m gonna stand my ground/I won’t let them keep me down,” only a fool wouldn’t believe her.

Performance: 10 a.m. Saturday, to kick of the 2007 Walk To D’Feet ALS Walk, Promendade Shops at Saucon Valley, Center Valley.

Josh Berk - The Morning Call

LISA BODNAR

Music: Funky rock, jazzy pop

Performing: with her quartet, around 11 p.m. Saturday, Pearly Baker’s Ale House, 11 Centre Square, Easton. The Villas open around 9:45 p.m. 610-253-9949, www.pearlybakers.com

On the Net: www.lisabodnar.com

Lisa Bodnar has two musical sanctuaries. One is her home by the Delaware River, where she wrote a song about protecting her heart with bubble wrap. The other is her car, where she wrote a song about karma while watching the Hale-Bopp comet.
“Haley’s Reign” and “Bubble Wrap” appear on Bodnar’s first full-length recording, “Maybe I Did.” The Whitehall native sings with a caressing ache and a yearning itch about the road to restfulness. Producer/multi-instrumentalist Brett Kull, lead guitarist for Echolyn, the ambitious progressive rockers, surrounds her with canyons of raking guitars and nudging keyboards. The last track, “Fuel Called Love,” which Bodnar wrote for a wedding, begins as an acoustic prayer for global unity, disappears for 12 seconds, then blossoms into an astral soundscape.

Bodnar credits Kull for giving her music a steady “path.” She paid for his studio time track by track with money from her job as a hard-traveling seller of high-speed Internet connections. Her investment is paying dividends, for “Maybe I Did” has been sampled by 27 radio stations. WXPN in Philadelphia has named her artist of the day three times.
Bodnar road-tests originals and covers (Sting’s “Consider Me Gone”) in her year-old band. The group is booked for an August date at a Connecticut arts festival that regularly attracts 60,000. Perhaps Bodnar will write a song about her role as musical chauffeur.

Geoff Gehman - The Morning Call

''Come Hell or High Water'' is the title of singer-songwriter Lisa Bodnar's second CD and she has had plenty of both in the last few years. Her riverside house in Forks Township flooded three times, causing her to lose nearly all her possessions and putting a halt to her burgeoning musical career.

''Water put me through a lot and helped me create a lot,'' she says. The cover of the new CD shows the photogenic Bodnar holding a vase of water with her eyes closed, as if she is contemplating its mystery.

''Come Hell or High Water'' largely relates the ups and downs of Bodnar's recent life. Tracks range from ''You Stayed,'' a tribute to her partner and guitarist Dann Araque, to the reflective ''Fear'' and ''Sad Song.'' Whether reflecting on good or bad times, Bodnar sings with an undefeated strength of spirit in a voice that soars with hope and passion.
The recording features New York City session musicians, members of Bodnar's band, and even a choir on the title cut. It was produced by Dan Grigsby, whose credits include working with Keith Richards and Sting.

Bodnar performs solo, accompanying herself on piano, or backed by a band, up to seven pieces, as she was on Saturday at her CD release party at Connexions Gallery in Easton. For her show July 29 at Phillipsburg's Old Towne Festival, she will have five musicians that will give her an ''alt-country'' sound.

Dave Howell - The Morning Call

Review of Tin Angel Performance

“The Whitehall native transformed tunes from her first CD, the recently released “Maybe I Did” into percolating suites. “Bubble Wrap” blossomed from a dodging defense against bad love into Arabic hypnotism. Bodnar’s voice was as mercurial as the arrangements.”
Geoff Gehman - Allentown Morning Call

Such a superb disc; it is outstanding in so many ways. But what really impressed me is Lisa's ability to bring out the subtle nuances of a melody and lyric. That's the mark of a really good singer/song writer... thats Lisa Bodnar."

Mike Nadock
Host, Cellarfull of Noise
WKAB 103.5, Berwick, PA
- WKAB 103.5

“Have any of you heard of Lisa Bodnar? Well you will soon. She has a new album entitled Maybe I Did that is filled with musical gems. The CD includes the song, “Undone” that is a real smash and other tracks that are amazing include “Maybe I Did” taken from the albums title and “Bubble Wrap” just to name a few.”

Glenn Rossney
New Music Weekly
Inside Album Mix
- New Music Weekly

Lisa Bodnar's 'Maybe I Did' an enthralling listen

e-mail at Uricheck@aol.com.

Mark Uricheck
NEPAtoday.com Music Contributor

NORTHEASTERN, Pa. - "I channel John Lennon and other cosmic beings that want justice to be served and love to rule..." - Lisa Bodnar on her music, and her philosophy on life.

From the first few strums of the guitar on the CD's opening title track, it's apparent that there's something powerful about her music. No, Lisa Bodnar is not your typical coffeehouse type singer/songwriter.

The Easton native's latest CD, Maybe I Did, may bear the hallmarks of your typical folksy troubadours - i.e. soul-bearing vocals interspersed with delicate acoustic guitar and piano. But what separates Bodnar from most in this genre - the stunning simplicity and accessibility of her songs. A complete lack of pretense in Lisa's music invites the listener to share in the universal emotions of her lyrics.

Maybe I Did is one of those CD's where you know there's something special about it upon first listen. Lisa' voice is graceful, commanding the melody of each song. Her vocals are captivating, painting a landscape for the listener in each song. Repeated listening will only enhance the beauty, reflections, and dreams that her music contains. Comparisons? Maybe some Sarah McLaughlin, maybe a little Jewel. Passing similarities aside, there is no doubt that Lisa Bodnar is out to forge her own distinctive sound.

While the songwriting is superb, the production on this CD is pristine. Crisp, punchy, and all around sonically appealing, perhaps the best compliment that can be given to the audio quality is that the disc should be listened to with headphones. Aided by producer Brett Kull, who also played numerous instruments on the CD, Maybe I Did is an independent CD that can rival anything the major labels spent millions on.

It would be wrong to give the impression that Maybe I Did is an acoustic CD: it's not. While acoustic tones dominate the disc, there are a host of interesting musical elements going on here. On the title track, there happens to be some all out electric guitar squalor on the outro. Lisa's piano dominates tracks like Stars and Surrender. There's also a hint of country twang on Undone. Organ and Wurlitzer provides a foundation on songs like the beautiful Sunflower. The CD's vitality is pumped up with tools like drum loops and rhythmic grooves - mix that with the emotional base of Lisa's songs and you've got a formula for a satisfying listening experience.

How to categorize Lisa Bodnar's music? Is it folk? Is it alt-country? Well, pop would seem to work well, as the music encompasses a mixture of elements. It's pop, but not in a derogatory sense of being overproduced fluff. Quite the contrary. This music is pop, as in the sense of being easily accessible to fans of many types of music. It's provocative, thoughtful stuff, but melodic and intriguing enough to catch the ears of diverse musical tastes.

Lisa Bodnar's music is the kind you get wrapped up in, the kind that sweeps you away. It's got an atmosphere to it. Maybe I Did is the kind of CD perfect for a quiet evening alone with a significant other. Put this disc in and as Billy Joel once said, you can Forget about life for awhile. In addition to the CD's 11 tracks, current pressings of Maybe I Did include two bonus tracks: live versions of Sunflower and a track called Forgive Me. For more info on Lisa Bodnar and to order Maybe I Did visit online at www.lisabodnar.com. - NEPAtoday.com

What a sweet voice we have here. With such delicious singing Lisa Bodnar (http://www.lisabodnar.com) could be singing about a natural disaster, and we'd still be swooning at her feet. Actually, she does (the title track seems to be her response to Hurricane Katrina's devastation) and we do.

The sunny, jangling "Everything Under the Sun" already positions Bodnar as a well-tuned folkie, a cross between Suzanne Vega and Sheryl Crow but without the introverted depression of the former and the shallowness of the latter. "Everything Under the Sun" is about finding love after heartbreak. "The colors exploding/The details so clear," Bodnar sings, her voice brimming with newly found passion and a reinvigorated spirit. It's light and charming, pretty much capturing the flavor of the whole album. "Violins" begins more slowly then picks up speed as the intensity of Bodnar's feelings heighten. The music follows the lead of Bodnar's state of mind and not vice versa. When a feeling is awakened in her, such as on "What I Wanted," the beat follows suit.

At times, like on "What I Wanted" and "Myloverlookslikejesusandithinkivejustbeensaved," Bodnar leans toward rootsy Americana; on others, such as "Protect Your Children," Bodnar engages in straightforward adult rock. Both approaches are done well. You'll hear no complaints from this end.

The title cut is particularly powerful. "I'm gonna stand my ground/I won't let them keep me down," Bodnar cries in a song that is both a statement about Hurricane Katrina and the undying will within us all.
author: Adam Harrington
- Whisperin and Hollerin UK - http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=5007

Come Hell or High Water is not only a wonderful listen, but nice to look at as well. The paintings that grace the booklet and CD are dreamy and evocative, images of romance and transcendence throughout music amidst a chaotic, violent world. And certainly the blonde-haired Lisa Bodnar is fetching to the eyes, too. It’s rare to see an Americana disc that is so pleasing in its appearance.

However, what’s beneath the surface? Luckily for us Come Hell or High Water is a captivating, emotionally involving set of songs of love and loss. The subject matter is nothing new, but music is supposed to be universal; let’s keep the android experiments to the likes of Radiohead. Bodnar writes unpretentious pop songs with roots-rock, folk, and country seasonings.

Bodnar’s fragile, bittersweet vocals recall Sarah McLachlan at times, especially on the title track. But Bodnar’s music is blocks away from McLachlan’s alternative foundations. “You Stayed” reminds me of Lisa Loeb with its chilled-out acoustic guitars and plaintive yearning while “Myloverlookslikejesusandithinkivejustbeensaved” crosses the boundary between country and even Gospel, oddly enough.

Explore posts in the same categories: Kyrby Raine, The Kiosk (Pop/General Music), Music
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Kyrby Raine, The Kiosk (Pop/General Music), Music. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
- Shotgun Reviews - http://www.shotgunreviews.com/2007/09/18/lisa-bodnar-come-hell-or-high-water/

Feeding Time which is track #3 from the recently released Lisa Bodnar and Whistlegrass 40 Years in the Desert album received Darryl Sterdan's spooky pumpkin designation. - Tinnitist