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VENTS Magazine recently had the wonderful opportunity to interview spirited musical duo Rich Wyman & Lisa Needham about their brand new “Memories Of You” music video. Read the interview below!
Tell us about each of your journeys in the music industry and how did you come together to form this collaboration?
LISA: I grew up doing theater and was always a singer, but acting was always a stronger passion. I was always of the mindset that singing was something I could fall back on if the acting thing didn’t pan out, so when I went to college (Emerson College, Boston, MA), my goal was to major in acting and have a minor in singing. Because there wasn’t a singing minor, my counselor thought that being a musical theater major would fulfill my goals, thus leading me to getting my BFA in Musical Theater/Acting. I definitely did not want to be a musical theater major and yearned to learn more about the technique of serious acting. So, upon graduation, I moved to NYC to study method acting. While living in NYC, I worked at a health club teaching aerobics and yoga, and at night, I worked as a singing waitress at Mrs. J’s Sacred Cow restaurant on the upper west side of Manhattan. This was where I put all my musical theater training to practice, belting out popular show tunes from all the popular musicals that were playing in the city at the time and singing requested favorite jazz torch songs along with throwing in some 80’s rock when the owner left for the evening. Being a singing waitress became my main source of income to support the high cost of living in Manhattan while continuing my intense acting studies.
RICH: I began playing classical violin and piano when I was 5 years old. I began writing music when I was 8 and played my first nightclub when I was 14. I studied piano and composition at NYU and The Manhattan School Of Music. I worked in New York recording studios and played my original music with my band while bike messengering during the day. When I met Eddie Van Halen in Park City, Utah, while playing at Utah ski resorts, Eddie became a fan. We spent four years collaborating on recording my songs at Van Halen’s 5150 studio in Los Angeles. Those recordings broke in Europe, and I signed a record contract in The Netherlands. I had two Top 100 songs and played hundreds of shows in Europe, and I have shared the stage with Alanis Morisette, Air Supply, and the Gipsy Kings as well as playing in Las Vegas and on cruise ships.
TOGETHER: We never met musically. It was at a party in New York City, and we saw each other across the room and have been together ever since. (Rich actually wrote a song called “Saw an Angel” about their meeting for the first time at this party in 1987). We moved into a small apartment together in Hell’s Kitchen where we sang together every day — Rich working on new compositions and Lisa putting background vocals to all of his music. Already having his own 10-piece original band and playing the club circuit in NYC, Rich decided to add Lisa to the band as a background singer. Since then, Lisa has been featured on six of Rich’s albums. In 2018, we became empty-nesters, and the time was right to fully collaborate as a duo. We started writing music together, and in 2018, we recorded our debut album, The Fearlessness,as PARK88 and toured the USA and Canada with Grammy winners the Gipsy Kings. Then, we played at The Sundance Film Festival’s prestigious ASCAP Music Cafe. Now, we write, record, and perform as Rich Wyman & Lisa Needham and have a back catalog of new music written during COVID that we are now releasing to rave reviews. 2023 will see the release of new Rich & Lisa songs, videos, albums, and shows.
What skills do each of you bring to the duo and what makes you both such a great team?
RICH: With powerful piano chops that evoke the intensity compared with Billy Joel and Ray Charles, and a gritty hurricane-of-a-voice like John Hiatt, I consider myself an outstanding technical musician and songwriter who performs with a level of passion seldom seen. Pounding the keys while using every note to my advantage, I most definitely give the piano its proper rock & roll due. My music has topped international charts and has won 10 ASCAP awards. I am also an accomplished producer.
LISA: I developed my 3-octave range amidst the training ground of New York City nightclubs and cabarets. My versatile and electrifying vocal style is soulful and emotive, evoking a rich, powerful, and weighty quality reminiscent of Annie Lenox and Paula Cole. My ability to switch between different parts of my range with relative ease and skill offers up the warm and more feminine colored tones of my vocal spectrum comparable to KD Lang and Joni Mitchell. My voice is also replete with a ‘40s-style jazz sensibility that owns the stage with unique improvisational style & phrasing.
Rich brings his virtuoso piano skills, raspy voice, intense stage presence, and award winning songwriting. I have an amazing ability to sing harmonies and add a delightful sense of humor to performances. When singing together, “you can hear their souls intertwined,” as Rich’s mom put it. Our voices blend like fire and ice with Rich’s raspy voice and my angelic voice. When writing songs, we compliment each other, with the lyrics I write and Rich’s music and lyrics. Our musical styles do differ with Rich being more of a rocker. I am more of a torch sonstress. Together, we combine like Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to create a deep musical well to draw from.
How do you think your sound has evolved over time? What are some of your most memorable moments working together?
RICH: Working with Eddie Van Halen, my music evolved with Eddie’s coaching to become more streamlined. He would tell me, “This is great, but it’s three songs in one. Let’s focus on one of these ideas and take the other two and turn them into two different songs.” He also taught me how to trim the fat off songs in the studio so songs got tighter. Eddie’s instruction is still evident in how we write today. Working in the studio with Eddie Van Halen was an unforgettable experience.
LISA: Rich was a solo artist for decades before collaborating with me. I had been writing poetry and stories for some time, and one of my poems seemed more like song lyrics than a poem. I reworked it to have verses and a chorus and approached Rich in 2017, asking him to put music to it. He asked me to put the lyrics on the piano and began to improvise while reading my words. Rich came up with a groove that worked beautifully, and from there, a songwriting team was created. Since then, I have gone back to many of my poems and stories and turned them into songs, something I never knew I was good at until the union was created. That first song was called “Behind My Disguise” and is on our first album, The Fearlessness.
TOGETHER: After touring with the Gipsy Kings in the USA and Canada at some of the most iconic theaters in the world, including the Beacon Theater on Broadway in New York and Ravinia in Chicago, and attending the New Orleans Jazz festival, we have been soaking in international rhythms. It’s pouring out into our music causing more of a retro, groove rhythm and melodic sound. The music is rockin’, soulful, and catchy. Opening shows for Kenny Loggins at Red Butte Gardens and Alanis Morisette at the Salt Lake Olympics were amazing, memorable shows too!
What is “Memories of You” about? What personal experiences shaped this track?
LISA: This song is about being away from someone you love, remembering the good times you’ve had. Being apart while Rich is on tour and the longing to be together again helped shape this track.
How was the experience of shooting the “Memories of You” music video? What was it like driving around in the 1962 Lincoln Continental?
LISA: Our video director, Bryce Johnson, is very easy to work with. He is fun and spontaneous. He is also a musician, so along with having a good eye, he has a good ear. We met with Bryce and brainstormed ideas about shooting us at the piano in our living room. Then we had an idea to shoot in a tunnel nearby that has beautiful murals painted on the walls. Then we had an idea to use the graphic designs for the single artwork that I had come up with that featured a vintage car, and we decided that the “golden shot” for the video had to be based around the car. We were all excited about this and on a very tight schedule. Luckily, we found the 1962 convertible Lincoln Continental at a “coffee and cars” event that weekend and the owner just happened to be a friend. He graciously offered us the use of his car for the shoot and we were “off to the races” (no pun intended).
RICH: Driving the Lincoln was a dream. It floats more than drives. It is soft and luxurious. It still has an incredible feel. The engine and radiator are all original 1962, so we had to be careful about the engine overheating. We had to shoot early in the morning while it was still cool out. As the day went on and the shoot went longer, it started to get warm and we were worried the engine would overheat and the car would die, so we had to act quickly. I babied the car and never drove too fast. The car owner commented that I was the only person he has ever let drive his car. He also commented that I drove the car with love, and he really appreciated that.
Follow Rich Wyman & Lisa Needham:
https://www.richandlisamusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/richandlisamusic
https://twitter.com/RichLisaMusic
http://instagram.com/richandlisamusic
http://tiktok.com/@park88music
