Holiday

LIZ VICE REIMAGINES HOLIDAY CLASSICS ON A SOULFUL HOLIDAY WITH LIZ VICE

“Chance the Rapper and Kanye West may use gospel elements to give their music a reverent lilt, but the genre hasn’t had many crossover evangelists since Kirk Franklin’s hip-hop bombast brought it to the pop charts in the 1990s. Enter Ms. Vice, whose version of gospel is more rootsy than radio. She has a rich voice that fits easily into her groovy yet understated arrangements; the result recalls the gentle revival of artists like Leon Bridges. “ - The New York Times

“Liz Vice walks the stony road to redemption, delivering tunes that celebrate the victory over the illusions that hold us down while acknowledging the heavyweight of self-doubt and missed opportunities for loving others that we bear.” - No Depression

“Liz Vice is unpretentious and uncomplicated on Save Me, a gospel album that aims straight for the spirit. Vice’s faith-based music, influenced by legends Mavis Staples and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, is lifting.”  - Bitch Magazine

“The mindfulness she brings to the stories she tells on Save Me proves essential, and powerful.” - NPR

“No matter what listeners’ relationship with faith, religion, or belief might be, Vice’s message is as old as time – and more necessary than ever.”  - The Buegrass Situation

Gospel Chart-Topper Liz Vice has released  A Soulful Holiday with Liz Vice out today on Oro Music .  Vice  not only performed on but handled the arrangements and co-produced the EP alongside Niji Adeleye who is currently on tour with Harry Styles’ playing keys in his band. The three-song EP features an all-star group of musicians that includes Leonn Meade on Drums (Richard Ashcroft, Tom Jones), Curtis Cumberbatch on Guitars (Ed Sheeran, Little Mix, Michelle Williams, Emma Bunton, Rebecca Ferguson, Eric Benét ), Arran Powell on Bass (Emeli Sandé). Liz's soulful take on these arrangements and performance breathes a new funk-filled life into these holiday classics. “You know, I told myself that I wouldn’t put out a Christmas EP,” says Vice.” But this team was an absolute dream. The cream de la cream. The cream of the crop. Nothing beats making music with your friend and then listening to the final project over and over and over again.  Super thankful it all came together. Everyone did an amazing job.”

This EP follows Vice’s reinterpretation of the Woody Guthrie classic This Land is Your Land released earlier this year. NPR’s Folk Alley commented“ Vice’s minor chord version rings with a spaciousness that opens it poignantly into a lament: a lament for the unjust killings of black men and women and indigenous peoples by police brutality and unjust systemic racism.” 

Vice who is originally from Portland, spent time living in New York and has now settled in Los Angeles is somewhat of an accidental artist. At age 19, Liz was put on hemodialysis due to failing health. Her life was saved by a kidney transplant she received in 2005. After college, Liz set out to pursue a career in film production, but when she joined up with a new church and began to sing with a worship team on Sundays, everything changed. She got the call, a call she knows was from God to share the gift of her voice with anyone who would listen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                In college, Liz set out to pursue a career in film production, but when she joined up with a new church and began to sing with a worship team on Sundays, everything changed. She got the call, a call she knows was from God to share the gift of her voice with anyone who would listen. 

Liz Vice’s sound is a fusion of Gospel and R&B, with dynamic and soulful vocals, and lyrics, deeply rooted in spirituality, that give her work a  timeless feel. Her last full-length album, Save Me,  debuted in the top 25 on the Billboard Gospel charts, was featured in NPR’s  First Listen program, received praise from the New York Times, No Depression, American Songwriter, The Bluegrass Situation, Bitch Magazine and more.  Vice’s music and live performances have put her on the map as an artist to watch. She has shared the stage with artists such as Lake Street Dive, Rodriguez, Joss Stone, The Wood Brothers, Lecrae, Blind Boys of Alabama and performed at Mavis Staples’ 80th Birthday at the Apollo alongside Mike Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger sharing the stage with such artist as  David Byrne, Norah Jones, Jon Batiste, Warren Haynes and more. 

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LETTS TO CLEO ANNOUNCE THEIR 'OK CHRISTMAS' EP OUT NOV. 15

LETTERS TO CLEO ANNOUNCE THEIR OK CHRISTMAS EP OUT NOVEMBER 15TH

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Letters to Cleo are ushering in fall leading into the Holiday season with the announcement of their Holiday EP Ok Christmas out November 15th and available for vinyl pre-order HERE

Ok Christmas  includes three covers of Holiday classics and cult favorites made famous by the Kinks ("Father Christmas"), Elvis ("If I Get Home On Christmas Day") and the Dogmatics (“X Mas Time - Sure Don’t Feel Like It”) and one original, “Miss You This Christmas.”  The band made a unanimous decision to take a subtle yet powerful stand against gun violence with this EP release changing the “machine gun” lyrics in "Father Christmas” to “Can you meltdown all the machine guns / so kids are safe on the streets." “The lyric change in Father Christmas was initially brought up by Greg, after the mass shooting in El Paso,”  says Kay Hanley. “ I decided to turn to Twitter to ask the Kinks if they had any suggestions, which encouraged fans to chime in with ideas of their own. One twitter follower, Eric Reiberg (@Eric_time) came up with the idea that I ultimately used to construct the new lyric.”

“Song selection for Ok Christmas was an interesting experience,” says Michael Eisenstein. “We knew we were going to try to write an original, but we wanted to agree on 3-4 covers as well. Before we even decided to make a Holiday EP, our manager Michael Creamer suggested we do a single of The Dogmatics’ ‘X-mas Time.’ He was more or less like, ‘it mentions Filene’s Basement and Kenmore Square, you gotta do it!’ It’s a gift to our Boston fans. The Kinks “Father Christmas” which has been covered many times but remains largely unknown was on all of our lists from thes start.  Greg found Elvis Presley’s “If I Get Home On Christmas Day” and no one was too crazy about it as first. Then he made an acoustic demo of his arrangement idea and we all got it. Stacy laid down the drum track in one take. “

Letters to Cleo formed in 1990 in Boston, lead by guitarist Greg Mckenna and singer Kay Hanley. The band came onto the national spotlight with the release of their first hit single "Here & Now,” released by Giant Records (a subsidiary of Warner Brothers Records). The song reached No. 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Singles chart. The band’s music could be heard on many of the top TV shows and films throughout the 1990’s, including the cult classic 10 Things I Hate About You, where the band contributed 4 songs to the soundtrack and were featured in the film.  The band played their last show in 2000 and each of the members went on to have successful careers working in different areas of music from the production, writing, performance, musical directing etc. 

The band reunited in 2016 to put out new music for the first time in 17 years, an EP called Back to Nebraska that was met with wildly positive reviews from fans and media alike. Since then the band has been touring regularly every fall right before Thanksgiving, ending the tour in their home town of Boston. In addition to Back to Nebraska, new music came last fall when Letters to Cleo released their first three albums Aurora Gory Alice, Wholesale Meats and Fish and Go! on vinyl for the very first time through a limited edition pressing. Copies of all three albums along with the vinyl version of Back to Nebraska are available on LettersToCleo.net 

Letters to Cleo will be playing songs from the EP on the road this fall closing the year with their annual homecoming shows in Boston at the Paradise Rock Club.

TOUR DATES

11/16  The Hi Hat - Los Angeles, CA

11/19  Union Stage  - Washington, DC **

11/ 21 The Met - Pawtucket, RI  **

11/22 Paradise Rock Club  - Boston, MA **

11/23 Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA **

** Supported by Speedy Oritz

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