LES LOKEY
Burned Up & Shining
Firefly Records

By G-Man

Currently touring the West Coast with guitar maestro Mike Keneally of
Beer For Dolphins, this Wisconsin singer/songwriter has created a
masterwork of modern folk-rock. With vocals easily zooming from a
whisper to a scream, she paints striking word pictures in songs that
would be called tone-poems if they weren't so full of energy and
tuneful inventiveness.
Some will see her vast musical canvas (her album
has wonderful touches of ska, goth, pop, rock, cool jazz and more) as
stylistic inconsistency, but for most of us, it is a cool way to take
you on a glorious melodic journey. Lokey is an original and a huge
talent, beautifully served by her excellent producer/bassist
Joe Puerta  (Ambrosia). Don't miss this one.

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CONCERT REVIEW:

BEER FOR DOLPHINS
and
LES LOKEY
at The Key Club

By G-Man



   Mike Keneally can play anything on electric guitar. Anything.
Intricate jazz fusion. Power chord rock. Screaming fuzztone
instrumentals. Delicate finger-picked twang. Pop chording.
He gleefully mixes up weird stuff, pretty tunes and wild excursions.
The thing is, he often does it all in the same song. It's exhilarating, but it probably prevents him from ever getting any airplay. Musicians love it,
but the public can be pretty prickly about demanding a stylistic focus.
And as for his singing, well, let's just say he's an acquired taste and
get back to the guitar work, which is astonishing in its fluidity and
soaring in its majesty. He's so good, you can't help wondering what he
would sound like if forced into a pop-rock or folk-rock setting. Which
leads us to Les Lokey, a lovely young lady who writes songs whose
lyrics are close to poetry and whose melodies are haunting -- yet her
presentation is so assured and compelling that her act takes on a rock
and roll feel.
Her lead guitarist for the night? Mike Keneally. Coupled
with Lokey's high-energy stage presence, this was wonderful enough,
but former Ambrosia bassist Joe Puerta joined in and things got very
powerful, indeed. Keneally, Lokey and Puerta made the most of the
sparkling Key Club sound system and the night was magical.

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When Les Is More

Concert Review: Les Lokey at San Juan Capistrano, CA, April 1, 1999.
By Robert Mercer

A breath of fresh air (rare in Southern California and in the world of music)
blew into San Juan Capistrano and the Coach House on Thursday night, a
talented whirlwind named Les Lokey in her first West Coast appearance. In
this case Les is definitely more and anything but low key. She turned in a
tight, energetic 45 minute set covering a wide range of emotions and musical
styles. With her dark hair pinned back and stylishly askew, she took the
stage in a black dress with matching boots, tights, and Takamine guitar.
Joining her was Joe Puerta (Ambrosia, Bruce Hornsby) on bass and backing
vocals, Mike Keneally  (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai) on guitar, Marc Ziegenhagen on
keyboards, and Jason Harrison Smith on drums (both from Keneally's group
“Beer for Dolphins”). And though she was virtually unknown to much of the
crowd, she quickly won them over with songs from her second CD: “Burned Up &
Shining.”

Lokey opened up with a forceful rendition of “Right Now” and literally
bounced into the ska-influenced “Landmine”- an ode to the great state of
being dysfunctional. Next  came the title track with its vivid poetic
imagery.  Also included in the set were two very commercial (in the best
sense of the word) tunes: “Being Simple” and “Lullaby for Love” (even though
she swore she’d “never write a love song, but here goes...”) Both allowed
Lokey to demonstrate her softer, more vulnerable side as she moved gracefully
with the music. Among the highlights of the rest of the show were “Angels’
Envy” with a manic guitar solo by Mike Keneally on his bright green Fender,
the rocking “Dangerous World,” and “Good Day” which featured the magic
fingers of Joe Puerta. She ended her set with an emotional version of the
John Lennon song “Mother.” It captivated the audience with its pain and
melancholy.

Les Lokey will draw the inevitable comparisons to other singer-songwriters,
but she has the potential to carve her own niche in the music industry. Her
talent is obvious and genuine. Like an actress, she convincingly adapts her
mood to her material. Her stage demeanor is variably shy, funny, bold, or
enigmatic. She can be a rocker, a coffeehouse poet, a folk singer, and
everything in between.

Born in Texas and most recently calling Wisconsin her home, Lokey has lived
is such diverse places as Santa Fe, Northern Africa, and San Francisco, to
name but a few. It was in Wisconsin that she won the 1997 WAMI award for Best
New Artist and met Joe Puerta, who both produced and played (guitar, bass,
synthesizer) on “Burned Up & Shining.” Signed to Puerta’s Firefly Records,
her career is certainly in good hands.

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Les Lokey's talent is not low-key
By Dave Tianen
Journal Sentinel pop music critic

April 30, 1999

"Burned Up and Shining" should be a good test of the major labels collective immunity to talent. "Burned Up and Shining" is the newest recorded venture from Milwaukee blues-folkie-rocker-critic-painter-troubadour is overdrawn our-gypsy Les Lokey. Like Lokey herself, "Burned Up and Shining" is about as easy to put in a box as Golden State politics. Divergent elements tangle often within the same song. The title track is intense narration over a bedrock that's part cool jazz, part "Riders On the Storm." "Landmine" is part Mavericks borderlands raveup and part Cyndi Lauper girl sass. It's an album of remarkable range, varied intelligence and constant surprise.

Lokey uses words well and with refreshing imagination. "Angel's Envy" explores the notion that the angels in their heavenly tranquility may jealously regard the turbulent passion of earthly existence:

Do angelhearts ever resent;

Their chastity or hold contempt;

Exchanging lust for firmament;

And vows to all of earth transcend;

This what costly sacrifice;

Bloodheat for eternal life.

At 36, Les Lokey has been all over the place and perhaps "Burned Up and Shining" merely reflects the nomadic mind of a woman who's lived in Africa, Texas, Washington D.C., Mexico, Madison, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and now Milwaukee.

"My mom was from a small town in Texas and she was into experience," Lokey says. "I got to see a lot of different cultures: Europe and Africa and Egypt. It just really expanded my experiences and gave me something to write about."

Originally a product of Mercedes, Texas, Lokey grew up under the spell of her Gulf port neighbor, Janis Joplin.

She credits a Bonnie Raitt concert at age 12 with turning her into a musician, but her tally of influences is not the typical girl-with-acoustic-guitar list of sensitive flowers. The acts that young Les grew up with include Pink Floyd, Etta James, Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin, Nazareth, Bessie Smith, The Pretenders and Black Sabbath.

The last few years have been an odd oasis of stability in Lokey's life. She's been living on Milwaukee's east side for two years and eating "the same food in the same restaurant four or five nights a week."

Although she's only playing a couple times a month (lately, she's busy painting fish murals at Crabby Al's Seafood Shack), Lokey has made substantial headway. She garnered a 1997 WAMI for Best New Artist and a WAMI showcase brought her to the attention of producer/bassist Joe Puerta. That bit of serendipity led to her being the first act signed to the Firefly Records label started by Puerta and John Young. Puerta also manned the boards for "Burned Up and Shining," giving what was really a budget enterprise a full, high-gloss feel.

"It really is a basement tape," says Lokey. "That's pure Joe Puerta. It's all Joe. He could hear the same landscape. The great thing is that it sounds like we were all in there playing it and we never even saw each other."

The plan is to shop the disc to the majors, a prospect that has Lokey excited despite an early bad experience with Capitol Records, who offered her a record deal and then yanked it.

"My heart was broken. For a year and a half, I didn't play. I wouldn't even go to open mikes," says the self-described "sensitive, tender pit bull."

"Burned Up and Shining" can be purchased at Atomic Records and the Sonic Boom.

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Les Lokey

-Dave Luhrssen

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The Gospel According To Les

Burned Up & Shining (Firefly) 6-6-1999
By Rex Stocklin

The Kid's Still Got It! Joe, that is...

He is the whole package now. Singer, Musician, Songwriter....Producer.

Of course, I'm talking Les Lokey.

You know?...it's THAT good. It is refreshing to hear a decent
singer-songwriter that steers clear of the banality of Celine Dion and
Madonna types, yet has profound things to say without resorting to the
angst-ridden aegis of a Lilith Fair mantel (ala Morrisette, Amos,
Etheridge) which is so sonically wearing that it has ceased to be
alternative, but become the very establishment that it rails against.

I like the various textures and arrangements going on here. I'm sure that
Mr. Ambrosia had something to do with that influence. From the first
listens I can hear passion, delight, anger, goofiness, sweetness, wonder,
sensuality, sobriety, wit & cynicism all interwoven into a mesmerizing
eclectic pastiche (I haven't felt this way about a female solo artist since
Joan Osborne's "Relish" and Deborah Holland's "Freudian Slip" came out some
5 years ago). This is NOT a small garden-variety debut, Joe should be
proud!. And, as I suspected: a wide range of vocal influences, Les' range
is uncanny!

Favorite moments at first blush:

 - Dick Dale-esque surf counterpoint with shredded guitar on "Dangerous World".
 - gothy organ-guitar synergy on "Unusual".
 - subtle as well as the obvious harmonica on "Angels Envy".
 - Robocop's muted sultry trumpet on "Burned Up And Shining".
 - the Tin Drummy intro to "Right Now".
 - child-parent tandem on "Mother".
 - a more interesting treatment "Being Simple" than Heiskell's.
 - subtle vocal touches throughout the recording.
 - a lush, dreamy production without being overproduced. Kudos!
 - favorite Les lyrics: "Burned Up And Shining", "Dangerous World"

Joe did the engineering too. Fabulous sound.

Go then, hie thee to http://www.ambrosiaweb.com/fireflyrecords/order.htm
anon. Buy it, you'll like it.

YOU HAVE 10 SECONDS TO COMPLY!!!

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THE BEAT

by Seth Rogovoy-6-13-99

Les Lokey: Anything but

There's a miniature rock festival this Sunday, June 13, at the National Music Foundation's Center Theater, featuring '70s pop-rockers Ambrosia and former Saturday Night Live bandleader G.E. Smith, fronting his new blues band. While those familiar names should be enough to attract at least a small crowd curious to see what these long-forgotten acts are up to, the ringer in the lineup might well be up-and-coming folk-rocker Les Lokey.

On the basis of a couple of CD singles that made their way across this desk a few months ago, Lokey appeared to be another Ani DiFranco wannabe. But on the basis of her brand new CD, "Burned Up and Shining" (Firefly), which just arrived last week - Lokey is showing a whole lot more depth, breadth and originality. From the wacky, Cyndi Lauper-inspired ska of "Landmine" to the rave-inducing, hip-hop groove of "Angels' Envy" to the jazzy, Patti Smith-influenced recitation of the title track to the full-bore, Patti Smith-meets-Chrissie Hynde punk-rock of "Dangerous World," Lokey draws from a diverse emotional and musical palette. Produced by Ambrosia's Joe Puerta, it's a recording that slowly gets under your skin and stays there.

As for Ambrosia, you remember them from such radio hits as the blue-eyed soul gem, "Biggest Part of Me," and the Kurt Vonnegut-inspired progressive-rocker, "Nice, Nice, Very Nice." Sunday's show starts at 6 -- also on the bill are local alternative-rockers N.U.D.E. Tickets are $18.50; call 662-2323 for more information.

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