Welcome

Welcome to issue number 2 of The Voice. The Isle of Hope tour is now in its second month, and Ellie Porter is in her second year. We hope you enjoy this issue, and we're always open to suggestions and reader input. If you'd like us to include your original work (articles, reviews, graphics, etc.) send them to us at rich@lisakellyfan.com.

Our featured article this month is a real treat for Lisa fans. Read about Johnny O, and listen to his full hour interview with Lisa below.

We have a new Q&A with Lisa, new Adventures of Celtic Chicken, new articles and poetry, and a few chuckles. Enjoy yourself, and let us know if you have any suggestions or questions.

I just wanted to write to thank you all so much for the fabulous, thoughtful gifts that were presented to me in the Chicago Theatre. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement!!! I was completely speechless, which is rare for me. I couldn't quite believe how much effort and thought went in to them. I look forward to using my lovely voucher when I return to Dublin and the kids and Scott will treasure their gifts forever. Thank you so much. It was so wonderful to see you all there and great to finally meet many of you. Special word of thanks to Rich, who organised the evening with the help of all our extremely loyal fans.

Thank you again

Wishing you all good health and happiness

A 1993 graduate of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, John started at WZBG in 1998. He got his start learning how to "run the board" for pre-recorded programs and was trained to be a fill-in on-air talent for the "Amy Taylor's Afternoon Drive Show". From there he went on to become a fill-in on-air talent for Dale Jones' "Morning Live" show.

After a while, John approached the station managers with an idea for a one-hour long radio program dedicated to all the great community theatre in and around Litchfield County. They were intrigued by the idea, and after a trial show was recorded, Backstage made it's official debut on May 9, 2002 and has been on the air ever since!

In the seven years Backstage has been entertaining listeners, John has interviewed hundreds of actors, directors, choreographers, and music directors including some of the fastest rising stars on Broadway as well as veterans of the Great White Way. Along with interviews, John informs listeners of upcoming shows and auditions in the area, gives away tickets to many shows and plays a full range of Broadway show tunes, everything from Annie to Zorba!

So tune into Backstage, every Saturday morning from 9 to 10 am on the station that's the showcase for the arts in Litchfield County, FM 97.3 WZBG!

Lisa's March 2009 Q&A
• From Katia (in Belgium): I'm in a choir for couple years now and still not found a balance in my voice. Any tips are welcome. Have fun with the tour!
• Lisa: Hi Katia - I don't know how old you are but I found personally that my voice didn't fully develop until I was about 25. And it constantly changes as I get older. The more you sing, the more you learn about your voice and its capabilities
• From Mel: With all the travel to various countries or cities with CW, is there any place that someday you and Scott would like to either revisit or visit for the first time, with the kids when they are older?
• Lisa: Yes - LAS VEGAS!!!!!. I spent some time in Vegas with Riverdance and didn't fully take advantage of my free time! I have seen so much of the States and the kids have too. Over Christmas we brought the children to Australia for the first time. They're half Australian so it was great for them to see. We all loved it. The weather was amazing as it's their summer time!. I haven't spent any time in London and there are lots of cities in Ireland that I haven't seen either so when my touring is over, I'm going to make a huge effort to travel around Ireland and England!
• From Jim (Zankoku): With your growing family and being on the road (or plane as the case may be) how do you manage your own quarters and that of your fellow cast members? Will you be getting your own tour bus or does your family hopscotch from one venue to another (or maybe every other?)
• Lisa: No we all travel together. Always have done. The girls and the company have always been really supportive of me and my family and they always help out whenever they can. The boys are very good and thankfully like routine and going to bed early so they are usually tucked up in their beds before the show starts!
• From Kevin: With all the traveling you've done you've seen a lot of the U.S. and have sung in many different arenas. I was wondering what have been some of your favorite venues to perform in and some of your favorite spots here in the U.S.
• Lisa: From my Riverdance days, I have always loved the famous Fox Theatres and the amphitheatre in Wolf Trap so it was wonderful to revisit them with Celtic Woman. With Celtic Woman we have played some fantastic venues like Radio City in New York, the Greek Theatre in LA, Carnegie Hall, Boston Opera House and of course the wonderful Red Rocks. Coming from a theatre background, I adore the old theatres, but it's incredible to perform somewhere like Red Rocks. But to be honest a venue is only as good as its audience!!!!! And we've been lucky to have such wonderful audiences.
• From Jacklyn (Snookie): Lisa, I know you've done a great bit of touring, and I know you have very fond memories of those times. I was wondering, which memory sticks out the most?
• Lisa: We've had some amazing times touring but the fond memories are always of the fans we meet along the way. We're blessed to have such dedicated fans and followers.
• From Jacklyn (Snookie): Okay, here's another one! Hehe.....*grins* How would you compare The Call and The Sky, the Dawn, and the Sun? Do you prefer a certain one in particular? (I must ask that, even though I know you love all the songs you sing!)
• Lisa: Well we haven't yet performed The Call in a show setting so it's hard to compare!. You'll have to ask me again after the next tour!
• From Jeff (JRRacing64): Hi Lisa! I have a question for you. I remember a while ago reading about how you and your family enjoy cars. I was just curious if you followed auto racing and if so what is your favorite kind of racing?
• Lisa: Hey Jeff, yeah, I'm car mad but don't follow Formula 1 though. I would know the drivers and who they drive for but that's as far as it goes. When I'm in the states though, my eldest son Cian, makes me watch NASCAR and his favourite is Dale Earnhardt Jr.!! We visited the Dale Earnhardt Foundation when we were in North Carolina and I think it was the highlight of the tour for Cian!
• From Mike (Cash): At times you hit and hold a note for a while and at the same time maintain quality and power, like at the end of the Voice "I am the VVVVOOOIIICCCEEE!" What is the official musical name for such a hit-n-hold?
• Lisa: I have no idea if there is an official musical name for it but now I'm curious so I'll try to find out.
• From Mike (Cash): How long can you actually hold on to such a note?
• Lisa: For me personally it depends on what note it is. The last note in The Voice suits my range perfectly so it's not a huge effort to hold it for any length of time. To be honest though, it's all practice and technique and technique only comes from practice.
• From Mike (Cash): Have you ever timed it?
• Lisa: Ha! No I haven't but I might!!
• From Mike (Cash): Of course maybe it's better that you don't, as maybe one can suffer an injury.
• Lisa: HA SO TRUE!!!!
• From Mike (Cash): Is there some type of limit vocalists put on such a note, like maybe 8 beats, to be safe and avoid a strained voice?
• Lisa: I don't think so. I can only speak personally and as I said previously it just depends where the note site within my range.
• From Mike (Cash): How hard is it to learn songs? For me, sometimes I learn the lyrics without even thinking about it. I just listen to the song and it's like, downloaded somehow! Sort of like some of the previous questions from your previous Q&A about songs that get stuck in your head and won't leave. But then I can't learn lyrics from some other songs. It's like my brain won't work (ok insert your jokes now here lol) But have you ever had trouble learning lyrics? How do you overcome that? Just repeated practice?
• Lisa: I've always been very lucky in that i can pick lyrics up very easily and learn things by ear. If I sat down to learn lyrics by looking at them I would never be able to learn them. It's funny though because my dad can never remember lyrics but would never forget a tune and my mum would always know the lyrics so I must have picked up a happy medium there!
• From Corinna (Coco84): Hi Lisa, my name is coco. Thank you for sharing your talent and your time with us! Have you ever had doubts in your talents and if so, how did you get over it?
• Lisa: Hi Coco, yes of course I've had doubts. I always loved singing and was very lucky that my parents always encouraged (and paid for) singing and drama lessons but I never for one moment dreamed that I would be able to turn my favourite hobby in to my dream job. And 10 years on I still suffer with nerves and have niggles and doubts but then you realise that you just have to get on with it.
• From Jacklyn (Snookie): Lisa, have you ever run into any fans at Starbucks?
• Lisa: I have bumped in to a few fans in Starbucks. Not surprising really because I'm always there.
• From Mike (Cash): Your blog mentions preparing for the new tour. So how long does it take to prepare?
• Lisa: It usually takes a week or two's rehearsals. This time we rehearsed for a week in Dublin and 4 days in Evansville but that's just the staging end of it.
• From Mike (Cash): Do you receive your solo parts ahead of time to learn, so that when you do meet up with others you really only need to work on the pieces with other members, learning the 'moves', positions on stage, etc?
• Lisa: David usually sends the music parts about a month of two before the show begins. We each learn them individually and then practice them on site when the sound guys and band are there. To be honest, we're all used to receiving music two days before a gig and then turning up and doing a show, so it's quite nice to get pieces early for Celtic Woman so that you can relax in to them and make them your own.
• From Mike (Cash): What will Saturday's Powerball (big lottery) numbers be? *wink*
• Lisa: I wish I knew!!!!!
• From Joan: I know that you have performed in musicals in the past such as Grease and West Side Story. If you had an opportunity, what musical would you like to perform in and why?
• Lisa: I would love to play Evita!!!! And I'd love to go back and do Chess again. I loved that musical. It's probably my favourite!
• From John (Starman): On tour, I envision occasions when cast and crew might break out in song on the bus during the long rides between stops. Does this ever happen? Can you give us an example?
• Lisa: Ah, I hate to shatter your illusions, but we never break in to song on our bus unless we're joking about!!! Our bus is quite quiet to be honest. It has to be with 4 kids on board. However, when the kids are not there, it's usually a movie bus or crossword bus!!!!
• From Rosie: When you see a play or other live performance, do you look at it with a technical eye, or do you just immerse yourself in it like a non performer does? Do you get caught up in the story?
• Lisa: To be honest, I don't really look with a technical eye. I'm all about the acting and the singing. Unless the production is really really bad, I wouldn't really notice. I would probably immerse myself. Having said that, it's long time since I was in a theatre observing. I have to do that soon!!!!
• From Rosie: You said you loved "Wicked." Did you know what is was about before you saw it? Did you read the book before or after you saw it?
• Lisa: No I haven't read the book. I bought it for Helen, but I never read it myself. I need to have a lot of time to sit down to read and as you can imagine on the road with the kids, that never happens!!!. I don't know if it would be my kind of book. If I read I really like a good thriller. My taste in books and my taste in theatre would be totally different.

This year was just as incredible, and a large part of that was due to Lisa. ForumFest/Kellibration was overwhelming. I have a feeling I sat through that whole meal with my mouth agape! To have Nicky and Roisin show up to Kellibration was a most fantastic surprise…and Orlagh's phone call just topped off that experience beautifully!

Then, we were all sitting in the exquisite Chicago Theatre and eagerly anticipating the lights dimming. Because I had gone to the show the Friday before in St Paul I was aware of the set list. Even so, every single time the lights dim and Mairead's silhouette becomes visible I get goose bumps!!

I really missed Lisa during the last tour (though I suppose she did have a fairly decent excuse!). When the ladies line up behind Mairead at the opening of the show, I get a little extra flutter of the heart because Lisa is back. Lisa's music means so much to so many…it just feels right to have her on stage again.

The show itself is incredible…absolutely incredible. With no thought to order (because I have one of the Collector's Items programs in which the songs are listed in alphabetical order!) I have a few thoughts on Lisa's songs.

Fields of Gold is stunning. The images on the screen behind Lisa, the words she is singing, her very cute Irish accent when she says "barley"… I don't quite have the words for it, but watching her perform this song, it's as if Lisa is the song. She so masterfully communicates the melody and verses that it is difficult to tell where artist ends and song begins.

Her other solo songs held over from A New Journey feel like old friends. You can never, ever hear enough of The Blessing and The Voice. A special treat for me in Chicago was to watch David at the piano with Lisa singing The Blessing. This song is incredible no matter what, but it has a bit of extra added magic with David behind the piano.

With Kellibration, the show, meeting David after the show (!), my fun wasn't over yet! I felt like this entire day was experienced in a state of shock for me. There was still a much-anticipated Meet and Greet to attend…and I knew LISA would be there!

Rewind a couple of years to February 2007. Like many of you, I was channel surfing and crossed PBS. I was immediately struck by such a sense of peace when I saw Lisa come down the stage to begin Caledonia. I literally had to sit down on the couch for fear I would fall. I had never witnessed someone with the kind of talent that could touch my heart so deeply through a television screen. Lisa has a way of communicating with her audience that is commanding, comforting, and encompassing all at the same time. And, two years later, I was moments away from meeting her!!!

This was a unique Meet and Greet in a number of ways, not the least of which was the beautiful venue. The M&G itself took place in a second floor "hallway" (for lack of a better term). They set up a table, and we lined up in eager anticipation. The wait for the girls, Lisa and Mairead, took a little longer than normal. We soon realized why. When they came in to the area, they had changed from their second act gowns into these shimmering, beautiful gowns. Is there anything that these two could wear that wouldn't look wonderful? I think not.

A huge portion of us at this event had never met Lisa before. And many of us had waited for this day for a very long time. It seems to me that this tour has Lisa doing many more Meet and Greets than prior tours; many of us can tell you that until recently she's been a tad elusive!

When I first began doing M&Gs, it was Lisa and Orlagh that I really had things I had to communicate. I wanted to tell everyone "thank you" and how much I thought of their talent. But Lisa and Orlagh's talent really just reached out and grabbed my heart. Thankfully, I had several chances to tell these things to Orlagh. So much so, that I was always thinking Orlagh would somehow be there when I met Lisa. I was comforted by this thought, as I knew I would be nervous and I thought with Orlagh there, things would be easier to say. It wasn't exactly to be that way…sort of ;o)

First in line, as is normal, was Rachel. I consider her to be every bit as much a part of the experience as the soloists. In St Paul we gave her the Movie Night Project collected from members of Orlagh's Forum. This project was very well received by Chloe, Mairead, and Rachel at the St Paul M&G. When we returned home, we discovered we accidentally left out four DVDs, so those came with us to Chicago. I handed these to Rachel who excitedly said, "More chick flicks!!!" She said their bus is now the envy of all other buses when someone comes looking to borrow a DVD. This did my heart good, as a lot of folks contributed to this.

Next was Mairead. She and I had had a bit of an exchange in St Paul where she really wanted to know how I was doing with my health. Tonight, with an impish grin, she greeted me with, "And how are you tonight?" I, of course, was fantastic! Mairead and Rachel helped calm my nerves a bit before meeting Lisa. I've heard it told that it's impossible to be nervous around Lisa. I'm here to tell you one thing: that person lied. LOL

The time was here. Lisa was sitting in front of me, and I couldn't remember how to speak. Lisa went to shake my hand and said, "Hello, I'm Lisa." All I could think of to reply was a banal, "I know who YOU are." Sheez. Lisa tried again, "What is your name?" I thought for a moment…Oh yes! I know this answer! "My name is Kelli." Lisa became pensive and asked, "Are you Orlagh's friend Kelli?" Upon hearing her name, I relaxed. God Bless you, Orlagh, you helped me meet Lisa and you weren't even in America at the time! I smiled at Lisa and said, "Yes." Lisa's eye contact became even more direct and she said, "I have a message for you." She then proceeded to thank me on behalf of Lynn for a gift I sent her for Christmas in 2007. Lisa commented that Lynn really appreciated my gift and it must have made quite an impression. NOW, I was finally at ease! I asked her to sign a couple of things for Rich's auctions and a couple of things for myself. For the Rich auction items, she looked up and asked, "These will be auctioned for Rich?" When I confirmed that, she offered to have the rest of the girls sign them that night and have Rachel return them to me the next day. No prodding on my part, this was something she wanted to do. How special is that?

As each forum member passed through the line, we congregated at the other hallway. Security, completely doing their job, politely "encouraged" us to move on. Rachel saw this and said, "No, not them…they can stay." Following the meet and greet, non-forum members left, and we gathered around Rich as he presented Lisa with her gifts from the Celtic Woman Forum. The gifts were for Ellie, Lisa, Scott, and their sons. I think Rich should fill everyone in on this aspect, as he had a ringside seat to all of the Ooo's and Aaah's. It's VERY safe to say though, that Lisa seemed very happy with our gifts.

I want to extend thanks to a few people. Rich, this was your labor of love from the get-go. I have a tiny idea of the work that went into it, and it was truly monumental. Thank you for working so each of us could have a small part in telling Lisa and her family how special she is.

Mairead, you are SUCH a supportive friend. I'm amazed you let go of the Lisa Bear! You are a joy, and I'm so glad I've gotten to know you a bit at these Meet and Greets recently. You make me smile!