Over a 35-year career, Liz Lottmann’s
brassy, sassy, high-energy blues performances have earned her
the respect of musicians and audiences alike. She has stormed
her way though the blues and jazz clubs of the U.S., Europe,
Japan, South and Central America and Canada. While touring with
her own bands, she also frequently sang with Donn McMinn’s
Memphis Blues Review, whose players included Jeff Davis and
Billy Earheart of Amazing Rhythm Aces, and Willie Hall of The
Blues Brothers. She has shared the stage and jammed with
artists such as Taj Mahal, the
Nighthawks, ZZ Top, Stevie
Ray Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie,
George Benson, and Spyro
Gyra. Liz is proud to be born-and-raised in Northeast
Arkansas. While still in high school there, she began composing
and performing her own special brand of "barbed-wire"
folk. She was a solo artist at Memphis coffeehouses and soon
attracted the attention of Judd Phillips, who produced an album
of her original songs at Sun Studios in midtown Memphis. When
Jerry Lee Lewis heard her album,
he encouraged her to reach out toward the blues. At that time,
Furry Lewis, the legendary "country
bluesman," was working the Memphis area, and each time
they’d run into each other, Liz pestered him to show her
a few licks on guitar. Furry’s brief lessons allowed her
to glimpse the backbone of the blues, and she’s never lost
sight of it.
The players in her newest band, Lectric
Liz and LiveWire, are David Johnson on guitar and vocals,
Al Halpin on guitar, Mark Kelly on drums, and James (JP) Petty
on bass.
David Johnson (guitar/vocals)
honed his chops in Arkansas’ early rock & roll days,
playing with all the seminal players in the northeast area,
including the boys of Black Oak Arkansas.
His musical travels took him to Texas where he settled in for
awhile to share venues and jam with the likes of Kim
Wilson, Jimmy Vaughn, Luanne
Barton, Billy Gibbons, Stevie
Ray Vaughn, Edgar Winter,
and Roy Head. David can pull out
hundreds of guitar sounds and licks, many of which highlight
the unique arrangements that Lectric Liz and LiveWire are known
for. He’s also leader of the Big Harry
Band and owns Big Harry’s Music Store in Fayetteville,
Arkansas.
Al Halpin (guitar) came to Arkansas
by way of New York, where he played a lot of the same clubs
that Liz had toured through. His guitar sound is reminiscent
of the Chicago/New York brand of blues. He also plays in the
Big Harry Band.
Mark Kelly (drums) has played
drums and percussion with many bands in Northwest Arkansas through
the years, one of his favorites being Mo’
Brothers. He brings rhythmic sophistication to Lectric
Liz and LiveWire’s arrangements, helping them occasionally
cross over to the jazzier feels.
James (J.P.) Petty (bass) is
a recent import from Texas. He and David played together in
blues bands throughout Texas, and have been songwriting partners
for many years. JP has been playing in Houston for about a hundred
years, hooking up with all the "big guys" there.
