|
|
Lisa Gay was born in Los Angeles, California on March 21, l957 to a
musical family.
Lisa's musical interests began at Coliseum Street Elementary School
where she played cello, the ukulele, and sang in the school chorus.
At
Audubon Junior High School she sang first soprano in the choir and
continued her singing at Hamilton High School in Madrigals.
While attending Pitzer College, Lisa majored in Education and had the
opportunity to sing in the Claremont College Choir.
During her brief
stay at Pitzer in l975 she decided to pursue a singing career.
Her amateur experiences (1975-1978) include working in the black circuit
clubs of Los Angeles, performing as a soloist and in groups. From this
experience she was hired as a studio background singer, her first
session being with bassist Chuck Rainey and the late keyboardist Richard
Tee.
Within a few months she became a background singer for Letta Mbula
( A & M Records).
After touring with Letta, Lisa returned to the L.A. circuit clubs and
continued as a soloist and backup vocalist.
In May of l978, Lisa went on tour with Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis,
Jr. and remained with them until June 1981.
Lisa's interest in music never waned; however, Lisa developed in the
retail industry.
|
| Lisa was in management at Robinsons, Nordstrom and
Macy's, where she also coordinated and performed in various special
events.
After being in retail management for fifteen years Lisa decided it was
time to reenter the musical field, full time, once again. In June 1996 Lisa executive produced her own demo with
Tony
Drake and Mark Cargill as producers.
Given the costs of recording and marketing Lisa continued in the retail
world through October of l996 and while at Macy's (downtown Los Angeles
store) Lisa Gay & Thrill performed at the popular "Downtown
Mid-Day at Macy's" in June l998, and returned for an encore
performance in November l998, sponsored by Macy's and K-BIG 104 Radio,
Los Angeles.
As the recording project was close to completion, Lisa left Macy's
to join Tommy Hilfiger (Beverly Hills) which allowed her to
explore even more opportunities with the group doing "live"
performances. In November of 2000, with the release of "Watch What
Happens", the "Lisa Gay and Thrill" showcase was held at Santa
Monica's DC3 for invited guest.
It became their farewell performance in Los
Angeles, as the group left to tour on the Carnival Cruise Lines Ship,
"Ecstasy" (Miami/Key West/Bahamas/Cozumel. Since their
return, Lisa has delivered the group into many successful venues
and keeps her vision devoted to her music and the continued
success of "Lisa Gay and Thrill". Whether it's Classic,
Soul, Pop, Jazz, Adult Contemporary, Country Western, Broadway
Show Tunes, or her own compositions, Lisa's smooth, sweet, sexy
yet powerful tones and riffs showcase a style which captures
audiences everywhere she performs along with the incredible
"Gentlemen of Thrill" musicians.
Lisa's Recording Projects:
Paul Humphrey, Richard Tee, Chuck
Rainey, "The Chuck Rainey Coalition", James Gadson, Don Lewis, Gail
Deadrick, Stu Gardner, Joe Cocker, Rodney Friend, Scott Cannady,
Kevin Brandon, Brenda Lee Ager, Patricia Henley, Bob Henley, Eric
Ajaye, and Mikal R. Majeed, Leanard Jackson, and "Thrill".
Lisa's Television Credits:
"The Gong Show" (1976), "The Tonight
Show with Johnny Carson" (1978), "The Mike Douglas Show" (1979),
"Jesse Jackson Push Convention New Orleans Show" (1980)
Lisa's Live Performance Venues:
Los Angeles Black Circuit Clubs
(1975-78), Ebony Awards Party (1975),Operation Breadbasket with
Richard Tee (1976) Songwriter's Awards (1977), The Mill (1977)
Baltimore, Maryland with Letta Mbula as background singer (A& M
Records/Herb Alpert Producer/opening act for Minnie Ripperton),
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Las Vegas, Atlantic City, U.S.,
Philippines, Bermuda (as Lead Background Singer 1978-1981)
Robinson's Special Events (1982-1984), Nordstrom Special Events
(1985-1989), Macy's/Federated (1990-1996, and Macy's Mid-Day
Downtown June/November 1998) with "Thrill". Spotlight
performance with Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. Royal Caribbean's
"Sovereign of the Seas" (1997), AFTRA's "Singers in the Spotlight"
(Planet Hollywood, Beverly Hills-1999). Performances as "Lisa Gay
and Thrill", Lunaria (1999), Gardenia Room Hollywood (regular
appearances since November 2000), Knitting Factory Hollywood,
(December 2001, March/June 2002 with upcoming appearances scheduled
in 2003), National Minority Aids Convention (NMAC) Congressional
Reception, Anaheim, California (September 2002), Los Angeles Links
Society (December 2002).
Lisa's Affiliations: AFTRA
-American Federation of Television and Recording Artists (member
since 1978) / BMI-Songwriter "Believe In Love", "Day By Day" with
Rodney Friend, "Land of Me and You", "Feevah" with Larry Washington
(Co-Producer). |
