Brian Lisik
Encyclopedia
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, USA-based writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, singer, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, and former frontman of late '90s pop-punk band The Giants of Science.
Lisik is also an award-winning reporter and columnist for the Cleveland-based Sun Newspapers chain. In 2005 his work received a Hooper Award for General Excellence in series writing from the Ohio Newspapers Association, and he was recognized in 2004 by the Suburban Newspapers of America for column writing. Lisik's work has also appeared in the Cleveland Scene, the Cleveland Free Times, Spin, Death & Taxes, tab, and scoremusicmagazine.com.
Lisik's debut full-length solo CD, Baggage, was released on Cherokee Queen Records in July 2004. The CD was produced by Eddie Tomecko (Bone Thugs and Harmony;Don Dixon) and mastered by Bernie Grundman alumnus Erik Wolf (Delbert McClinton; John Prine
John Prine
John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
;En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
). Baggage garnered much favorable press and yielded the moderate hits "Still Think I'm Breathing" and the politically charged post-9/11 song "Heaven Daddy." The Cleveland Free Times said Baggage "mixes the raw power of The Replacements with the twang of Uncle Tupelo." Exoduster.com simply called the CD "a unique treasure."
In 2004 and 2005, Lisik and his band toured extensively, sharing stages with acts such as Jesse Malin
Jesse Malin
Jesse Malin is a rock musician. He has played with Heart Attack and D Generation. He is currently a solo recording artist.-Biography:...
,Tim Easton, and Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
. In 2005, Lisik had a cameo role in the film Circle Track Summer
Circle Track Summer
Circle Track Summer is a 2005 film about auto racing. It was directed by independent film maker Steve Pallotta and featured an appearance by Brian Lisik. Tom Erickson of WNIR also stars in the movie....
from Fools Gold Entertainment and began work on the follow-up to Baggage, produced by Todd Tobias
Todd Tobias
Todd Tobias is a record producer and musician/ multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with Robert Pollard and his band Guided by Voices. Other projects include Circus Devils, Clouds Forming Crowns, the Sleeptalkers, The Library is on Fire, the Celebrity Pilots, Kramies, Brian Lisik, Slark...
(Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...
; Clouds Forming Crowns; Robert Pollard
Robert Pollard
Robert Pollard is an American rock musician and singer-songwriter who is the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices, who disbanded in 2004, only to reform in 2010...
; The Celebrity Pilots). The new album, Happiness Is Boring, was released in July 2006.
Lisik toured behind Happiness for the next two years, while beginning work on its yet-to-be-titled follow-up, due out in 2009. The disc is expected to be accompanied by a long-awaited career-spanning documentary entitled On the Wrong Side Of The Canal. Lisik is also at work on several writing projects, including an on-the-road memoir (All The Revolutionaries Are Dead) recounting portions of the Happiness tour, and a collection of previously published columns and essays, tentatively entitled Don't Shoot Me Till Wednesday.
Selected discography
- Hang Ups and All (1998)- with The Giants of Science
- A Minor Disturbance (2001) -with The Giants of Science
- Baggage (2004)
- Happiness Is Boring (2006)