News from KJPR Publicity & Artist Relations For Release November 2008 Contact Karen Johnson Singer/ Songwriter/ Guitarist LORIJO MANLEY Brings “Driving By Midnight” Tour to First-Ever CA Gigs CHECK OUT LORIJO MANLEY’S UNIQUE “ALTERNATIVE BLUES” JAN 9th & 31th ‘09 AT COLOMBO’S LANDMARK MUSIC CLUB/ RESTAURANT IN EAGLE ROCK/ METRO LOS ANGELES Righteous “Busker” Spawns Impressive Music Company of Her Own Making; The Ultimate “Indie” Story (Los Angeles) -- On July 13, Lorijo performed a special concert in Los Angeles, celebrating Blues-maven DJ Ann the Raven’s birthday. The response was overwhelming, and Lorijo has been asked to return to Colombo’s/ Eagle Rock (Los Angeles), for upcoming gigs, Jan 9th and 31st (Feb. and beyond, TBA). While in Southern CA, Lorijo will also perform in Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, San Diego, Tujunga, and Glendale/ Eagle Rock, traveling down from Berkeley, Gilroy and Santa Clara. Colombo’s is gearing up for Lorijo’s live-from-New-York “Alternative Blues,” a genre Lorijo deeply enjoys, pumping the funk out of her original tunes and handling some fine covers with soulful originality. But, she’s not limited. Folk, Americana, AAA, acoustic… she does it all. (Most performances are solo, but she also records, produces and performs with a band of East Coast stalwarts.) As a business executive, a crowning achievement is her establishment of Muddy Pause Music, handling CD distribution, publishing, promotion, booking, merchandising and tour management -- on the road, Lorijo travels in her “majikal mystery van” (Lorijo’s homey tour bus). You can’t miss her on the ‘net. If you’d like to add her two CD’s, AIRPLANE and NAKED, to your collection, it’s an easy jump to CD Baby (and other outlets) online. Lorijo’s also made a great success of her association with Sonicbids. But, everything you need to know is right there at www.lorijomanley.com, a comprehensive web site designed and implemented by the musician herself. Lorijo’s AIRPLANE CD (2007, Muddy Pause Music) achieved its title by way of her roots. “I'm always reaching for higher and higher altitudes,” she proclaims. One of her most popular set-list numbers is AIRPLANE’S “Driving by Midnight” which has the feeling of triumph that is a lot like Lorijo. (“Something lives in the dreaming/ Which I will never lose...”) Hence the tour title. Lorijo’s songs are jettisoned by her unequivocal status as a premier American guitarist. NY’s OutWords magazine started that buzz: "She makes magic through her music... channeling Jimi Hendrix through her fingers... spectacular." When asked about the recurrent Hendrix comparisons, she gives a humble shrug and says, “It’s the kinetic relationship we share with the guitar in live performance.“ The tradition of artistic integrity flowed through Lorijo’s energetic family, with strong artistic influence from her Grandparents and her Mom. “They gave me my creative props, fueling my imagination at every turn,” Lorijo emphasizes. And, she wasn’t the only artist nurtured in that household. When Alex Haley transplanted from New York City, and needed a place to stay in upstate New York, it was Lorijo’s family who opened their home. As a result, “Roots” was written in a comfortable setting. On “Too Late, Angel,” a la Carole King’s cathartic “It’s Too Late,” she employs a Yamaha plug-in, recalling, “The second guitar I laid down was a Gibson Les Paul electric.” The cut is soulful, vocals reflecting controlled emotion. Propelled by a truckin’ guitar/harmonica combo (Lorijo/Sal Carolei), she gets due respect from a swampy rhythm section on “Past Dues.” Her guitar work takes it to the greats. “I’m playing a Fender strat on this strut. It makes men cower and women sport wicked grins,” she laughs. The genesis of this song comes from flipping a car and walking away with just a little blood on her hands. With a wink, she adds, “It's also about the music industry.” Lorijo wrote several songs for her Grandfather, including “Seven Sea Ships.” She says, “I wrote it years ago and thought it was corny. When he passed, I put it on the set list. The response was incredible, so I kept it in rotation. Playing this song is an experience of transcendence. I call these ‘velvet scenes.’” She plays a Yamaha classical acoustic-electric. Like Richie Havens, with whom she has shared the stage, a “sound of freedom” emanates from Lorijo’s guitar. But, hers is a younger, alternative style -- folk, funk and alternative-blues roots intact. Lorijo produced NAKED, and co-produced AIRPLANE with bassist Darrell Briscoe, founder of New York’s Two Galleries recording studio, with credits including Ari Hest, Paul McCartney, KRS-One and MTV. Lorijo’s “Driving By Midnight Concert Tour” wound northeast for the Summer, with stops in FL (a month of smokin’ performances at Blue Heaven, Key West’s home for live music and exotic food, where Ernest Hemingway once hung out), VA, MD, NJ, PA, MA, returning to her home state, New York, for the State Fair and Clinton Fest, among club gigs. Then, on to Boston, Provincetown (to packed, SRO crowds), Chicago (where Lorijo’s had a fan base for a decade, as she does in NY and FL). When she got her start as a fervent, young musician, she tried “busking” in the NYC subways, from which word of her talent spread like wildfire. When she returns to the East Coast in ‘09, Lorijo will tape “Women On Air,” the weekly NPR program of host Laney Goodman’s acclaimed “Women in Music” series, presenting eclectic artists, on the internet, and nationwide. FEEDBACK: Lorijo’s TV and radio credits are numerous, including WBAI in NYC and WGN in Chicago. Richard Lynch of Chicago’s WNUR: “(She’ll) blow you away with her humanistic funk rock style;” Chicago’s “happenings” magazine, Subnation, says, “Something about her brings to mind a female Lenny Kravitz;” Windy City Times remarks, “Manley is concerned with broad human values…. she praises those who have fought for causes (and) urges her audience to take stock of their personal values…” Even the Key West Citizen picked up on the now-familiar chatter that, when Ms. Manley hits that certain, kinetic groove, she might as well be channeling the likes of Jimi Hendrix. At this point, she “owns” Manhattan’s abundant, alternative club scene. Conceivably, time might allow an occasional nostalgic show in the psychedelic subways. After all… Lorijo is devoted to “free-roaming” in her “markets.” KJPR Publicity & Artist Relations Karen Johnson www.lorijomanley.com