Published on:
September 15th, 2017
Remembering a one-of-a-kind woman this morning-- rest in peace, Lissa Driscoll.
Lissa was a longtime performer at various spots throughout the French Quarter and befriended and influenced many musicians in New Orleans. She first came to New Orleans to see her heroine, Blue Lu Barker, and became a street performer fixture for years, playing with dozens, if not hundreds, of different musicians throughout her time here. Lissa loved to play and did not prioritize making money from her music. She will be greatly missed.
A celebration of her life will be happening Monday, September 18 at Rare Form (437 Esplanade), 1pm-till.
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While my Mary is walking the
While my Mary is walking the dogs in "the old, pre-Katrina" Armstrong Park, she and Lissa stop to talk. You know, the bad old days at the park. One of the usual riff raff approaches and pulls down his pants.
Exposing is intended to cause victims to sulk away and struggle with their degradations and emotional scars. Not with Lissa around. Not with these two French Quarter regulars. Lissa and Mary point and laugh hysterically as they belittle his suddenly very exposed and rapidly shrinking unit. They make so many "small" jokes at his expense that this time, the women "victims" are dishing the degradations and emotional scars to the male exposer. This time, he sulks away while the girls continue their conversation.
Lissa concludes this video saying that the quest for money, reverence and technical precision is a mask for creating soulless music. Music stripped of meaning. In contrast, she says she only sings about things she has deeply experienced. Lissa lived a life of much deeper experiences that her audiences (and many musicians) and these experiences made her music unique. As with the "exposer in the park," she mocked musical pretension and it too slunked away in her presence.