Music from the Universe

Last month I was strolling through Berkeley and saw a post card on the ground. displayed was a photo of two women, one with a guitar, in front of a body of water. I picked it up and read that they were musicians, due to have a show at a local venue in the near future. There was an instant connection between what that card represented and me, and I felt an insatiable urge to find out more about these artists.

Once home, I looked up their web site and read about them. I couldn’t listen to their music or view their videos, but knew that they were somehow different and unique. I emailed Melissa, the producer of my “Music on the water” concert series, and asked her to book the act as soon as possible. She replied asking about the type of music they played, and I told her I had no idea, and it didn’t matter. I was being filled with an energy I hadn’t felt in months, and it spoke louder than anything else in my world.

The duo was called Lisa and Erika, which translated to the talent of Lisa Ferraro and Erika Luckett, and Erika’s fancy guitar work. Here is my initial contact with them via email:

Dear Lisa and Erica,

I don’t know why I am contacting you without knowing anything about you or hearing your music, but sometimes that’s the way the universe works. I have a new concert venue aboard my yacht in Emeryville, California, and feel the need to ask you if you would like to do a show here. Barkissimo is an intimate setting with amazing views and ambiance, and if you haven’t done a house concert in a while, this is the place you’d love to reconnect to that intimacy once again.

Glancing at your schedule, I see that you are in town on the 5th of August for a show at the Freight, then from the 28th through the end of September are on the road. I don’t know if you live here, but if there is a way you two can make time to play here either in August or October, or any time in between, I’d be honored to have you do a show.

We seat about fifty here on the yacht, which would come to between $xxx and xxx for the show. Not what you’re used to, I imagine, but better than being locked out of your car in a thunderstorm. If you are in the Berkeley area, I’d be honored to show you the yacht so you can feel the magical setting for yourselves. You can check out the links to what I am doing here at my blog site:   http://barkissimo.com/blogissimo/

We finally agreed on a show on Barkissimo on October 23rd (Mark your calendars!), and by that time I’d only heard three chords of a song of theirs over the telephone, thanks to Melissa holding her phone to a computer speaker. I felt an amazing connection and energy from our interaction, and was looking forward to seeing them at a show they were doing in town on August 5th.

So last night Melissa and I went to the show to experience Lisa and Erika. What I saw was amazing; what I felt was indescribable. They have world-class talent, for sure, and deserve to be filling large venues throughout the world on that merit alone, but what left their voices and guitar magic in the dust were the lyrics, the passion, the love, and the spiritual connection that bonded everyone in the auditorium together as they gave out the energy of the Universe that evening.

I was awed by what I felt. Their songs of love were by far and away the most powerful, profound, and passionate of my entire life. No music has ever touched me that way. In the venue, I prayed for everyone else to disappear so that I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable letting my feelings out. I could feel Melissa continually looking over to me, watching my face for my reaction to the music, but it was too intense, and I didn’t want anyone to disturb the spell, so I wore a mask and suffered for my restraint.

What danced inside me was the gamut of human and spiritual emotion. I cried and sang and laughed with the sun. I soared throughout the Universe on an astral voyage of love and bliss. These two artists had found the secret connection between music and the soul, God, or the energy that binds everything, whatever you choose to call it. My spirit was continually caressed as they sang, and I then clearly understood the mystical connection between the found postcard and my subsequent actions which led me to that moment.

Lisa and Erika label their music as “Sonic nourishment”, which is true, yet terribly inadequate to my senses. They are so much more than any label could possibly capture. If you possess an open heart, you will be transformed by this awesome music. My feeble attempt to capture their essence are but the pathetic musings of a fool. I can not recommend then strongly enough. And if you listen, they will change your life.

I’ll enclose a video, but it doesn’t convey anything of the magic we all felt that night. That said, I want to invite you to come and expreience this connection with the Universe they share with us.