Celtic Harpist finds inspiration at City of Hope

By Eugene Park
Correspondent

For Celtic harpist Lisa Lynne, life is one huge celebration.

"There are so many festivals I go to that my life is like one big festival," said the Los Angeles-born harpist.

Born Lisa Lynne Franco, the modest harpist has sold more than 500,000 albums produced straight from her home studio. She's now promoting "Hopes & Dreams," her solo release inspired by the workshops and concerts she holds for patients at City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment center in Duarte.

"It was interesting for this album because I was behind schedule," Lynne said. "I turn in one record a year to the company, and suddenly I was under the gun because I was so involved with City of Hope." Lynne said that she ended up writing the album in the halls of City of Hope. "I just sat there with my little note pad, took it home and eventually put together as an album." Lynne said. "I see kids, I see people who just got out of chemotherapy, come out of their rooms and listen. The interaction with them inspired this new music."

Between the annual albums she puts out, she is constantly touring the country. " I cross the country back and forth every week like it's nothing," she said, "and I've been touring this way for the last nine years."

Before the endless gigs a fairs and festivals, Lynne had to sneak her way into Renaissance fairs to play improvised tunes on the mandolin. It was there she first saw and played the harp. "I just saw the harp and I was stunned," Lynne said. I sat down and played and felt like I was doing it my whole life. It just came together naturally, so I had to have one. Of course, I was broke so it took me a year to get one."

Lynne's background as a hard rock bass player, and listening to lots of Pink Floyd, was an influence on her melodies. She applies the power and bottom of the bass to her harp playing. "Even though I'm into a gentler sound now, I have a way of putting together chords that is almost the way a rock song is put together," Lynne said. "Except instead of using distorted guitar sound, I'm using beautiful instruments."

Lynne said that her hard rock connection is probably why her music impacts young people. "I use similar chords to rock songs, and those chords resonate with younger people and they'll be using my music as their own chill out music," she said.

Lynne has decided to use her music for healing purposes, starting her Harps for Hearts organization, which brings harps and harp players to hospitals and health centers. "It started with the tragedy in Columbine," Lynne said. "I ended up hooking up with one of the families of the injured, and we got her a harp and she started to play."

Lynne then visited her grandmother's rest home to perform and she said they all "lit up" as she performed and taught the harp to her audience. "Even a person with no musical background can make something pretty right away," Lynne said. "I just realized how empowering it is to put a harp in people's hands, and it was born from the Columbine tradgedy."

Lynne said that there are too many fond memories to recall with her experience at City of Hope. "There's never a day that's not poignant there, " Lynne said. "Its just so large, it puts everything in perspective. Everything I struggle with in the regular music industry totally disappears."

Lynne said that there are politics of dealing with record labels that frustrate her, particularly her distaste with being classifies as New Age music. But she finds solace in her fans, making herself accessible with her e-mail address displayed on her official Web site and in her albums. "I always write back even if it takes a month for me to do so." said Lynne, who usually responds to e-mails on her laptop during her travels. "I love my guestbook online too. Whenever I get frustrated with technical things in the record business, I just peek into my guestbook and I have a good day again.