Lisa Koch: News

Well, it's Aug. 1, and raining in Seattle. Hell I don't care--it's been absolutely lovely for the past few weeks.

Spent 2.5 weeks in France last month (Olivia cruise, Provence-Burgundy riverboat). Big fun. My partner Lynn traveled with me the 1st week, and we celebrated her birthday, the big 5-Oh. Yummy food, great company (our good pal Roxanna Ward was entertaining on the trip, as well). We met some wonderful new friends-- 2 Brazilian women who we absolutely fell in love with. Lucia Verissimo and Renata Arruda. Lucia is an actress, and Renata is a singer/songwriter-- both reeeeeeally famous in Brazil. They were certainly slumming with us, but we had a marvelous week, laughed until we cried! Lynn flew home at the end of week one, and my mom Nancy joined us for the cruise week 2. We had a swell time, although she may have shared a few too many embarrassing stories about her daughter... hey, can't win 'em all. I adore my mom, and it's great that we can travel together and get some mother-daughter time. (My dad Frank was back in Seattle, visiting his granddaughter and keeping Lynn in line...)

While we were in Paris, we visited 27 rue de Fleurus (Gertrude and Alice's old apartment)-- pretty cool, got pix. Speaking of 27-- my play "27 rue de Fleurus" got picked up by Samuel French, so I've got a publishing deal! Whoo hoo! Maybe it'll pay more than my $22.00 BMI royalties... ha.

Lynn and I are getting hitched next week in Seattle-- I'm starting to get a little nervous. I'll give you the whole poop when it's all over. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the rain, and the sun when it comes back...

It was quite the experience opening my Off-Broadway show in NYC. "27 rue de Fleurus" opened March 6, 2008 and will run through April 13. My collaborator, Ted Sod wrote the book and co-wrote the lyrics-- I composed the music. The show is about the life and times of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, told from Alice's point of view. I flew out in late Jan for week one of musical rehearsals, and met our musical director, John Bell (who totally rocks)-- also met our lovely cast, all talented vets-- lots of Broadway credits, and the nicest 5 women I could hope to work with. I came back for tech rehearsals at the end of Feb, and with a little muscle, the show was up and running! It's a lovely show, and I'm proud to be a part of the process-- I have certainly learned a lot! Thanks to everybody for all your hard work, whew!

Hey everybody-- it's 2008, whoa! Had a fabulous year, and I'm looking forward to a great '08. We just closed our Dos Fallopia Xmas show ("Ham for the Holidays: Swine, Woman, and Song!") and had a wonderful December, 27 shows and lots of laughs with cast and crew. I spent the holidays with family and friends, and I'm thankful for all the love and laughter and for every moment of my life... I'm a lucky woman.

Today I'm stretched on the couch in my bathrobe, enjoying some much needed down time. Pass me a bon-bon...

Happy New Year to all, see you somewhere in '08!

Luff,
Lisa

Hi all,
Gee, I guess I should journal more often, my birthday was loooong ago! I've been busy this year, and all is well. Had a reading of a new play I've co-written in NYC in Feb, and it went well-- the show ("27, Rue de Fleurus") will be produced in NY this coming Mar/Apr '08... watch for details on my website. I took a couple of great Olivia trips-- Amsterdam in April (took my mom, that was a hoot!) and Greece in June. I opened for my friend Barbara Higbie at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley (live CD), and had fun in July with my pals Dana Goldberg, Julie Goldman, and Erin Foley in Albuquerque (SW Funnyfest). Peggy Platt and I (Dos Fallopia) spent 6 weeks in Indianapolis this summer, and we had a great run of our show "Desperate Spuddwives" at the Phoenix Theatre there. Now we're hard at work on our Xmas show, "Ham for the Holidays: Swine, Women and Song!", which will run the month of Dec in Seattle. I have a few more Olivia trips this year (Tahiti, Mexican Riviera, Vallarta Palace), so I'm a busy chick. Life is good! Hope you all had a marvelous summer! That's all for now-- Lisa

Okay, I'm officially 50 now-- so far, so good. Had a grand birthday celebration at the Triple Door in Seattle on Jan 31. My actual b-day is Feb 4, but close enough. It was a combo CD release/birthday bash, and good GAWD, did we have fun! I had a kick ass band-- my good friend Barbara Higbie on piano/fiddle; Chuck Deardorf on bass; Mark Ivester on drums; Rod Cook on guitar; my brother David and Jen Todd on backup vocals--- AND, a host of friends who showed up and jammed! The lovely Mel Watson (Fruit) sat in on trumpet/sax, my old pal Laura Love came up and played a tune, the wondrous Cris Williamson came up and sang a tune with me--- and my amazing friend Roxanna Ward flew up to join us with her stellar piano chops and twisted humor! It was quite a night, and a perfect way to usher in 50-- whoo hoo! Thanks to all for sharing the night with me, it was truly spectacular...

Hey everybody--- happy holidays to all. I'm in snowy Santa Fe, NM right now, playing 3 private parties at the new Rainbow Vision Complex. Many thanks to Francis and Michael for booking me for not 1, but 3 parties-- whew! Santa Fe is gorgeous, but I am hoping the snow holds off long enough for me to fly back home to Seattle. I visited my new friends Dana and Deanna today in Albuquerque. Dana (Goldberg) is a VERY funny comedian chick, and we just met at the Olivia Columbus Isle Resort in early Dec. The cast of loonies on that trip was stellar-- Kate Clinton (such smart, smart comedy- she's a genius), Julie Goldman (flat-out brilliant), Dana Goldberg (very funny fresh stuff), Jennie McNulty (great Iraq material, she kicked ass), Karen Williams (absolutely hilarious- she brings down the house every time), and me (I play guitar). We laughed until we peed our pants. My God, what funny women! Kate, Julie, Julie's friend Rachel and my partner Lynn spent hours in the pool, working on their synchronized swimming routines. I gave them a 9.5... anyway, a gorgeous, relaxing week in the Bahamas, and many wonderful connections were made. And... I saw a 10 ft hammerhead shark when I was scuba diving- whoo hoo!

Have a great Christmas, and here's to a fabulous new year. I am so very grateful for my family, friends, and all of you. Many, many thanks!

I'm proud to announce the release of my 4th solo CD, "Tall Cool Drink." I recorded it in Aug '06 at David Lange Studios, and the musicians and I had a blast bringing this puppy to life! Barbara Higbie flew in to work her magic on piano and fiddle, and I had a fine group of wackos in the studio-- my brother David (vocals), Jen Todd (vocals), Mark Ivester (drums, percussion), Clipper Anderson (bass), Rod Cook (guitar), David Lange (piano, accordian) and Jay Thomas (trumpet, tenor sax). The CD is a real nice mixture of original tunes and covers, with a couple of comedy tunes thrown in for good measure. Anyway, I'm SOOOO happy it's finally available-- give it a listen!

Hey everybody, Lisa here. My new website is finally up and running. I don't know what the heck I'm doing, so I've got my fingers crossed that everything works. If you have any trouble, shoot me an email, and I'll get right on it. Whew!