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Lisa Moscatiello
Artist Bio
Born April 5, 1966, in Arlington, VA

Lisa Moscatiello's first solo album, Innocent When You Dream, is a menagerie of rock, acoustic, pop, blues and Celtic ballads. The longevity of Lisa's musical success is ensured by her award-winning vocals and ability to perform in a wide range of musical styles.

Moscatiello has won over twenty Wammies (Washington Area Music Awards) and headlined at major festivals across the nation including the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Old Songs Festival in New York, and the Mariposa Folk Festival in Toronto. She also won a grant last year for vocal performance from the Maryland State Arts Council and her debut album recently won Contemporary Folk Album of the Year from the Washington Area Music Association. Spending her entire childhood in Arlington, VA, Lisa's musical career began at the early age of sixteen. It was then, in 1982 that Moscatiello became lead vocalist for the Washington, DC, Irish music trio Ceoltoiri. After attending four years at Yale, in which she explored the words of jazz and pop, Lisa then became lead singer for the Celtic folk-rock band, The New St. George. The band recorded one album with Folk Era Records, entitled High Tea, and toured consistently for six years before calling it quits. Between music groups, Moscatiello found solace in being a librarian for the Arlington Public Library and at the library at Yale.

Deciding that a solo career would give her a chance to appeal to a wider audience and explore different genres, Lisa released Innocent When You Dream a year after The New St. George break-up. The album, produced and recorded in Fairfax, VA, by Marco Delmar at Delmar Recording Arts studio, was originally released on Moscatiello's Happy Cactus label in 1995. Lisa's debut album continued to receive a considerable amount of air play and press attention and in June, 1998, Innocent When You Dream was subsequently taken over by Folk Era / Wind River Records. The formal re-release street date for the album was June 9, 1998. In support of her album Moscatiello continues to tour nationally, occasionally opening for well-known artists such as Tom Paxton, while maintaining a strong following in the northeastern United States. Her latest tour began in Pennsylvania on July 18, in Kennett Square and throughout the next few months Moscatiello is scheduled to play at least three clubs a week. One of the more interesting dates Lisa will play this year is the Avalon Folk Festival in Paw Paw, WV, which is a "clothing optional" event.

"One of the best voices in the business."
-- Gene Shay, WHYY Philadelphia

Lisa chose the songs for Innocent When You Dream based on material she had an emotional attachment to. Because heartache and love are the two emotions that have had the greatest effect on her life in a personal sense, the conviction behind Lisa's music reaches out to the soul's of her listeners. With an emotional connection to the songs performed on this album and her impeccable voice, Moscatiello gives empathy to our struggles. She shares the same philosophy that her producer Marco Delmar believes in, "If you don't make someone feel something after listening to your music, there is no point in doing it. Even if every note is perfect, the sound can still be flat."

The lead track on this album, "Innocent When You Dream," was originally written in the early 1980's by Tom Waits. Moscatiello then arranged this song in 1995, to embody a light-hearted sensation similar to that of musical theater. Guest artists on Innocent When You Dream include, but are not limited to, Sue Richards (Celtic harp), Bruce Molsky (fiddle), Rico Petruccelli (electric bass), Billy McComiskey (button accordion), Dave Chappell (electric guitar), Robin Bullock (acoustic guitar, cittern) and Tamer Eid (drums). Lisa enjoyed playing a hand-built Taylor guitar, as well as a more obscure guitar named Simon & Patrick, made by Canadian luthiers.

During the recording process, every effort was made to ensure that an arrangement, voice, or instrument did not overpower the original intent of the song. With Moscatiello's debut album, the goal in the studio was to lean on the side of understatement. One of Lisa's favorite songs on the album is the eighth track entitled, "If He Were You." It was written by a very talented college friend of Moscatiello's and is slightly more challenging for both the singer and listener. The song calls for jazz vocals and an appreciation of diminished chords and dissonant tones. "If He Were You" is yet another song in which Lisa holds her own in a genre not usually explored by "acoustic" musicians.

When Lisa is not in the studio recording, her life is spent traveling from one tour engagement to the next. Her current mode of transportation is a 1990 Honda Civic which is frequently in and out of repair. Moscatiello continues to tour because she believes that being on the road challenges her to become a better guitar player and arranger. One of the reasons she feels this way is attributed to the fact that she is usually on stage alone, therefore leaving no back-up musicians to fill musical spaces.

Innocent When You Dream is an album of polished vocals, artistic integrity, and varied content. Lisa Moscatiello's music defies genre categorization while at the same time providing a focal center of passion and human awareness. It is an unusual medley of traditional and contemporary elements that tell a story while reaching for unanswered questions and hidden emotions.

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