The ring he sent

With her heart she tucked away

And the kid that no one wanted

He had something more to say

Come Dance with Me and be my world

Fall in love and you will see

There’ s really something more to me

Don’t listen to them or what they say

Have some faith we’ll make it through

I’m gonna spend my life with you…….

    During an English assignment this past year in which we had to examine  love stories, I realized I was sitting  right on top of a really poignant  story,  and I was determined   to turn it into a song as a tribute to two of the most important people in my life.    Dance With Me was inspired by my grandparents and like any good love story, the knight in shining armor comes to the rescue, only it was my grandma who rode in on her white horse so to speak.   It’s a story that’s been told over and over in our family with its roots dating back to 1941 when my grandpa was a little boy and lost his mother tragically in her 8^th month of pregnancy.  He was just 5 years old, when he and his 7 siblings were signed over as wards of the state by a father who didn’t want them.

    My grandpa spent the next 13 years, separated from his family and living among strangers while being bounced from home to home.  It was a time of uncertainty and his childhood was lonely and   bleak. He was used for labor, food was sparse, beatings were frequent,   and love was non-existent.  When he landed at a farm down the road from my grandma in the early 50’s, he discovered what he had been missing, and the two young teens fell head over heels in love…despite their vast differences.

     A few years later,  while  she graduated valedictorian of her class,  he took a job at a chicken factory to scrape enough money together to buy her a hope chest for her graduation gift.   Shortly after, when he joined the air force, the two agreed to date others only to discover they couldn’t live without one another, and he sent her a diamond. Uncertain what their future would bring, she tucked the ring away in her hope chest and kept it a secret for many months. When he finally came home…..she was wearing the ring.  The rest is history.

  Theirs is    a story of faith, hope, and devotion as they moved through a life time full of celebrations, trials, tribulations, and illness, and   allowed their love to conquer as they have continued to remain deeply faithful and committed to each other, and to our family.  They have just celebrated their 74^th birthdays and I’m so grateful for all that they are.  For a boy who never knew any love and for a girl who had only love to give,   Dance With Me is written for them, about them, and where it all began…their high school prom.  The hope chest is still at the foot of her bed.

The season is upon us now  

A time for gifts and giving

And as the year draws to a close

I think about my living

The Christmas time when I was young

The magic and the wonder………

Finals are over, my Christmas gigs have ended,  and  it’s time to kick back with my family and enjoy the holiday.

Our holidays are steeped  with tradition, and Christmas has  always been a magical time filled with wonder,  for as far back as I can remember.

In our house, Christmas begins the day after Thanksgiving.  This  is the day we head out in search of finding a perfect  giant blue spruce. The day is cleared of all other obligations because  it usually takes us all day to walk through acres and acres  of trees at the farm,   and  to  finally agree on one that we all like.

 My youngest brother Devin,  chopped it down this year since  he has  developed this insane fondness for chopping wood.    It takes all of us  to hoist it up  in this  extra large  stand (custom built by my dad).    It’s bolted to a 3ft square of plywood to give it extra stability , and  then wired to the wall.   Some   branches are  trimmed and then others are wired into empty spaces, and it becomes transformed into  the perfect tree.     Everyone who catches a glimpse of it , remarks “Wow- where did you get such  a nice shaped tree”  LOL.  If they only knew.

 Santa Claus has been making his annual appearance in our family for the past 75 years or so,   bringing bundles of gifts wrapped in sheets each Christmas Eve.    We are true believers and  learning the family  secret of Santa is  almost like a right of passage that   comes in time as we get older.  If clothes could talk, we’d be in real in trouble  That familiar red suit  has a lot of history tucked inside and a lot of stories to tell.

  When my mom was small, my great grandpa who passed away when I was 3 months old, was Santa.   On Christmas Eve, he would put on the suit and make his way to every house in the  family.   No-one ever caught on that it was   the parents who read the letters to Santa, and put those special gifts in the white sheet bundles, tied with red satin ribbons for Santa to bring.

  As  my great grandpa got older, he   retired his position to my grandpa, who in turn retired the position to my second cousin,  who then  retired the position to my uncle.  It was my uncle Glenn  who made the rounds to our house when my brothers and I were small.   Only one year when I was 10 ,  my uncle Ricky stood in   because  I was getting too nosey and remarked that Santa laughed just like Uncle Glenn.    He was so afraid we would recognize him that he wore the wig backwards and it completely covered his face. My mom and my grandpa laughed so hard there were tears streaming down their faces. 

 Three years ago, the beautiful suit made it’s way to my oldest brother Ian .  So at the moment,   I live with Santa Claus, and some day the suit will be passed to me  when Ian has a family.

   December 1^st was letter writing day in our house, and the letters were mailed off to the North Pole as soon as we finished.

One year my mom cried when my older brother was 7 , and wrote all he wanted for Christmas was Peace on Earth. She secretly tucked that letter away and we found it a few years ago and had a good laugh. He was always the rule follower and I was the one who worked  hard to have some self-control. 

  One year, I ripped the entire front off my advent calendar and stuffed  all the chocolates in  my mouth at one time,    and then  I had to watch while  my brothers  ate a chocolate every day for the rest of Christmas .

  No matter what great things we did during the month, it was  always the  day before Christmas Eve that was my favorite. My mom would start baking which lasted right until Christmas Day. She would  fill our house with great smelling food  and  make all our favorites, and she always let us help no matter what a nuisance we were.  

 When Christmas Eve arrived,  we could hardly contain our excitement .  The table was filled with great food, and my grandparents would arrive bringing gifts .  We were dressed in matching outfits (my moms crazy idea), and we were kept busy while one of them snuck out with the hidden bundles  for Santa. 

The familiar knock on the door and the sound of  ringing jingle bells still makes me hold my breath after all these years.  My brothers would quietly grin and thank him, but I was always the one who kept him talking and wouldn’t let him go.  I wanted to know where his sleigh was parked, if the reindeer were hungry, what they ate, if I could feel his beard, how the weather was , what the landing was like, etc. Lol.  He’d be trying to make this quick get away and I was folllowing him out the front door firing questions at him.      

One year he forgot his bells on the front step (I must have asked too many questions) and we held it for him until the following Christmas.    True believers, that’s what we were.   When the other kids at school laughed at us for believing, it didn’t matter. Too us,  he was as real as he could possibly be , and he walked through our door every Christmas Eve bringing 3 big bundles of toys from our lists. 

After all these years, I finally realize how selfless it was for our parents to allow the man in the red suit to take credit for most  of our greatest gifts, and I suppose that’s the real secret.

Once again , it’s Christmas Eve…and I’m feeling the old familiar excitement…even though it’s been 3 years since my youngest brother learned the secret.   My mom has been cooking since yesterday afternoon  and  our house is filled with the familiar smells of  pumpkin and spices ,  sweet potato cake, caramel gingerbread, and  home made candy .    The suit has been ironed and pressed, and    I’m hoping he has an easy landing.  

   Enjoy the magic and wonder of the Season.  Merry Christmas!

My New Car

Dreaming……..

Come Sail Away- Graduation- June 7, 2009

I’m sailing away,
Set an open course for the virgin sea,
‘Cause I’ve got to be free,
Free to face the life that’s ahead of me

On board, I’m the captain,

so climb aboard,
We’ll search for tomorrow on every shore,
And I’ll try, Oh Lord I’ll try, to carry on

I look to the sea,

Reflections in the waves spark my memory

Some happy, some sad

I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had

We lived happily forever, so the story goes,
But somehow we missed out on the pot of gold
But we’ll try best that we can to carry on

A gathering of angels appeared above my head,
They sang to me this song of hope and this is what they said,

They said come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me lads,
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me,
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me baby,
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me

I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise,
We climbed aboard their starship, we headed for the skies

Singing come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me lads
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away,

 come sail away with me……….  I love that song.  It was written by Dennis DeYoung….lead singer for Styx.  I wish I wrote it and then again, I wish I was the lead singer for Styx.  Ha ha.  I  was surprised and honored to be invited to sing at my HS graduation back in June and there couldn’t have been a better song.  It speaks for itself..and  it was a perfect way to end that chapter of my life.

I had a great summer.  I finally bought a car.   All that saving and riding the bus when all my friends were driving cars finally paid off.   It didn’t feel so good at the time, but now it feels great knowing I worked for it and paid for it myself, and it’s really mine.    Now if I can just afford gas..I’ll be golden. Lol

We slept out  in the back field all summer in a ginormous canvas hunting tent, our grandparents  surprised us with a couple of years ago. It’s pretty cool that at 73 years old….they still enjoy the great outdoors.  We had our last big campout, Columbus Day weekend, and it was a bone chilling 30 degrees when we woke up that morning. There’s nothing quite  like  waking up to  breakfast outside….. hot coffee brewing, eggs, homefries, bacon ….…and a layer of frost covering everything. Lol.  It gave us one last time to sit around the fire and recount   memories of another summer gone by.    

Musically speaking-   I’ve been  very lucky to stay busy,   and grateful  to all those willing to hire a    small town dreamer to  share some music. Playing  out at different venues has forced me to learn different genre’s of music…and I have a whole new collection of songs that I continue to add to weekly. I learned one thing…the audience likes change.  Same old, same old gets old.  

I’m also writing and writing…and writing .   I suppose I’m  a  bit of a backwards writer…I hear the music in my head and then once I have the music written..I put lyrics to it. Maybe it’s because music has always been more important to me than words, and it’s the music that makes a connection to words for me.   I think this last song that I’ve written might be something good. I haven’t put it up on the site yet because I know it can be better.   Now and then   when I ‘m playing out, someone will request an original and….everyone seem to like this one.  Anyway, it’s called Summer Smile and it’s about a girl I see every summer and I never have the nerve to ask her name….so her smile has become her trademark for me.

I’ve been learning more on the recording end…and the more I learn….the less satisfied I am with the projects I’ve already completed.  That’s the story of my life.  I’m constantly working to be better…to sound better, to   write a better song,  to play better,  to have stronger vocals,  and that’s why…  I have no life. Lol.     Someday I hope it pays off.   Kind of like riding the bus and waiting for the car.

One of the hardest things I’ve had to do is give up my acceptance to  Berklee.  The price tag was just too high.  But I’m still gonna shoot for that  in a couple of years…or maybe NYU.  I know in my heart that I belong out  there where the music is.

  On the other hand, I really like Westfield State and I’ve met some really good people there..some very talented people. I play Sax in three ensembles and it‘s a lot of work and constant practice.    Next semester I’ve decided to go out on a limb and take musical theatre.  I have limited acting experience so this probably won’t be pretty. There are some advantages about staying in a local college for me.   I  get to commute and eat home cooking,   work the local circuit, and  play piano and sing until the early morning hours  up here  on the side of our mountain without bothering anyone.  Well on second thought….

   On Halloween,  I walked down to the main road in my gorilla suit to hand out candy … and when I pulled off my mask to take a breath… one of the neighbors yelled over.. “Hey ..aren’t  you the singer?”.  When I nodded … she said “Wow..you play late.  We like to sit on the back stoop and listen for you”.  “I’m sor”…. I  began.. and   she grabbed me and had her husband snap a picture. Lol.  I’m sure if I ever get famous that ape picture will surface  in the National Enquirer under some crazy caption like “Singer leads double life as an Ape”. At least she wasn’t complaining.

Well..that’s about all the catching up I can do.    Check out my events page when you’re looking for a night of music.      I’d like to thank all my friends for dropping in to see me when I’m playing locally.  It’s  good to see the audience grow and it’s always great to see some familiar faces in the crowd.

Christmas is coming and I’ve got a full load.  Stop in ..say hello..sing a song or just…Come Sail Away With Me.

Little darling.  It’s been a long cold lonely winter; Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here.  Here comes the sun  doo da doo doo, here comes the sun and I say “it’s alright”.

Nothing like a good old  Beatles tune to sum it up; there have been so many changes this winter.  It’s been a season of growth , opportunity and learning, and I’ve realized that though I’ve been performing more than half of my life…the journey  is really just beginning. 

 It was great to  get together and reminisce   with  my old singing friends Sam, Meg, and Traci. It seems like only yesterday we spent endless rehearsals together, laughing, joking, and doing what we do best..singing.    It felt good to sing one last time before Meg left for Broadway.  May we all find the strength to follow our dreams,  and never forget where they started.

In March, Traci and I played at the Community Ball to benefit the Domestic Violence Task Force in my hometown. It was a good benefit, good food, and  we had a great time providing dinner music,  but I’d like to thank EMOTION  for inviting me up to play pop star for a few minutes.  It was  so good to feel young , and I only broke a small bone in my leg when I jumped off the stage. lol…just kidding.

On a personal note..I’m glad to say my Grandpa finally recovered from his broken leg, and finally decided to get his butt out of bed (3 long months) and do some serious fishing with us.  There’s nothing quite like reeling in a big trout !  I would know that… because , so far this season I’ve only reeled in some bass and perch!

Besides fishing..I’ve been staying fairly busy on the music scene. I was lucky to have a unique opportunity to be a  guest performer on The Joey Reynolds show out in NYC this April,  thanks to my good friends Linc & Janice Griffiths, who continue to provide me with   many  opportunities and connections.  It was a great experience and  it provided me exposure to over 4 million listeners on over 200 radio broadcasts. Also…a special thank you to Joey Reynolds, Myra Chanin, their guests, and the tech crew for making me feel so welcome and plugging my music and website. 

 Speaking of the website…I would  like to say thank you to Brian Zaik .  This website has been instrumental in driving business for me, even though I’m still trying to work out some of the kinks.  I’m happy to announce that I’ll be providing some vocal and piano lessons this summer as requested.

Before this winter, I had only written one  song back in 2007…A Thousand Times A Day.  After I received some negative comments about the song as well as my writing abilities,   I tucked it away, and never wrote again… accepting  that it  probably just wasn’t my thing.  A couple of days before I  was ready to leave  for Debbie Gibsons camp, she sent  an email telling everyone to bring a portfolio of original songs.   I was embarrassed  as I arrived with my one lone song ; all the others vocalists had huge books, and folders.   I reluctantly volunteered my song  so Debbie could help me fix it, and was completely surprised when she told me she loved it just the way it was ..and she wouldn’t touch it.  She worked with me all week, and she helped me realize that  I can write lyrics and music .  It’s amazing how a few words of  encouragement can  carry us into territory we thought we had no business in.  I’ve written several songs this winter, and have a few more almost ready to go… Thanks  to Debbie & Tim at Electric Youth.

I  finally found some time  this winter and built a home studio in a spare room in my house .   I’ve been teaching myself to record using a pro-tools program I bought last summer from a teacher at singing camp.   (thanks Mr.Gomes..I’m enjoying it despite all the  looks I got for buying MORE equipment..lol).   Everyday is a learning experience for me  and I imagine there will never be an end .  I will always strive to be better..perfection .  I’ve recorded all the songs on this website except  for the Christmas tunes.  The music is all me ..overlaying instruments on the keyboard.  The vocals and harmonies are all mine too except on Come Sail Away..I used Traci Mnich for that high harmony   (thanks Mark for sharing some tricks).  I love the freedom  to experiment and try different things with my vocals as well as  with  song choices and genre’s of music.  It is definitely helping me grow as a musician as well as a vocalist.

 I learned not to worry about who thinks I’m musically obsessed; oh that’s right …I never worried about that. Lol.  I am who I am, and I am intensely compulsively musically obsessed (thank you God and thank you Grandpa for blessing me with such gifts). My obsession has led me to a decision  to major in music, and I’ve been accepted into the 3 colleges I applied to, as well as their music programs   (thank you Mrs. H for all your great notes over the years,  and Luke for always encouraging me and believing in me..and thank you Mr. Falcetti for your heartfelt advice.) I realize there is no way, that I can devote myself to another job when this intense  musical passion won’t let go of me.

I discovered I love NYC and all it has to offer.  Each time I go back, I feel it calling me. I learned that stretching my wings and growing up comes with a price, and that new doors are constantly opening even when the old mysteriously lock. I’ve found that  most people are exactly who we think they are, and we just have to accept that.  I’m grateful to have  the stability of a good family who will always be my island and who will always stand behind me and be  supportive in all that  I do.  I’ve learned that success …according to Linc ……will come if you continue to look forward, think positive, have a vision, stop dwelling on things that can’t be changed,  reach out to  every opportunity big or small,  have faith and most of all NEVER give up.  (thank you for your wisdom and your energy Linc. I will never forget you running around the block in NYC at 1am-lol)

I’ve  found tons of angels out there, and I want to thank every single one of them for touching my life in some way.  To all of you who visit my website  and feel compelled  to drop me a line-many thanks.. and keep your emails  coming.  I enjoy hearing your comments. 

Finally… I’ll be turning 18 in a few days, and with graduation around the corner, more changes will be coming.  There’s a big world out there waiting for me. I hope I can do it justice.

I was inspired to write “Angels Among Us” when I received a generous Christmas gift from two people I hardly knew.
I met Lincoln & Janice Griffiths back in September when I was performing out at the Eastern States Exposition. They were in the audience several times that week and purchased a copy of my first CD that I recorded in 2006. Later they emailed that they had found a music camp for me out in NYC and sent this message….”We want nothing more than to provide a worthwhile experience, and a possible connection to a hard working and deserving young man. Please accept our gift, it will make our Christmas complete”.
Since then, they have promoted my music and hand delivered CD’s all over the states, and provided endless opportunities and connections for me, simply because they believe I have something to offer the world and they want to help me achieve my dreams.
They’ve become close friends, and a great sounding board for me…celebrating my accomplishments and offering words of wisdom. They’ve made me realize how many great people have been in my life giving endless faith and support to a small town dreamer. Many thanks to my family and friends, and to Linc & Janice…You are the Angels Among Us.

Noah Lis with good friend Traci Mnich and Debbie Gibson

Christmas was a blur this year, as I had a full season of gigs, and then headed out to Deborah Gibson’s Electric Youth Performing Arts Camp in NYC the next morning. It proved to be a really great  well rounded learning experience and I  honestly came home a different person.

We had instruction from 9:30am- 6pm daily and I was in my element in this high energy work environment.   It was great to meet so many other enthusiastic people; the teachers were all professional instructors who had flown in from LA to work with us. They were a positive bunch who encouraged us to work together and build off of each others ideas. The students came from all over the states, including one girl from Canada, and the majority was interested in being Broadway performers.

We had classes which included dance, music theory, song writing, acting, etc. and they also brought in several speakers and other professionals  to work with us. I had a vocal lesson with Madonna’s coach. She listened to us sing and taught us some individual techniques to make our vocals stronger . She had only positive things to say about my pipes! We performed for some Broadway actors who came in and worked with us. We learned about licensing songs from an ASCAP representative, and we concentrated on songwriting skills. We danced and I will admit..I’m lacking in dance instruction, though I had good intentions.  At least, I didn’t injure  myself or anyone in the class with my klutzy dance moves.

I spent a good chunk of my time songwriting with Deborah Gibson and a teacher named Tim Kobza from LA. I enjoyed working with both of them, and we had a lot of fun.  Deborah proved to be a real star, performing with a smile on her face despite having come down with a terrible flu. She is definitely one of the most genuine and positive people I’ve ever worked with, and I learned a lot from her.

I pulled out a song that I had written two years ago, and surprisingly they  loved it, and asked me to perform it more than a few times.  They also encouraged me to sing my original for the end showcase when the industry people were invited to “look us over”. Two  Broadway actors wrote a script around my song, and it worked out well. I wrote a few more songs during the week, as well as the music for another girl who wrote  some heartfelt lyrics about war.  Camp ended with open mic and lots of goodbyes, and photos.   Back to my world.

I am hopeful that good things are coming..I’m ready to fly.