Marissa Levy is someone you should know.
With a big voice, a talent for witty lyrics and the ability to write a damn catchy melody, she is so much more than just a small girl with a big guitar. Her latest EP, 63 Songs About Joe is a pop-rock spectacle that takes a mature leap from her earlier works. Produced by Mike Viola (The Candy Butchers, The Major Labels, Walk Hard, Get Him To The Greek) and engineered by the Ducky Carlisle (Ice Station Zebra, Medford Massachusetts) 63 Songs About Joe draws on such varied influences as The Beatles, Prince, Harry Nilsson and The Beach Boys.
Born in Bethesda, Maryland, Marissa ran away to New York because, well, that’s what all good suburban girls do. While studying music at NYU, she taught herself how to play guitar and started writing songs as an outlet for her frustrations that was cheaper than therapy. Armed with a 1963 Favia classical guitar, Marissa hit the West Village open mic scene and honed her thoughtful, emotional and relatable style. In 2002, she recorded her first record, the folksy LookMaNoHands with David Perlick Molinari. Within a few years, Marissa let out her inner rocker, with her more energetic and aggressive second album Charmed & Dangerous, recorded with David Perlick Molinari and Mike Skinner. Filled with sing-along anthems and contagious melodies, Charmed & Dangerous takes audience on the semi-autobiographical ride of 20-something New York wild child and her seductive love affair with the big city – having fun, raising hell and stumbling though the potentially dangerous consequences of those actions.
Even with her absorbing, reflective songs, Marissa never lets you forget that performing music is fun and seeing her live is a rare treat. Fanboys, family and followers alike (she’s got a biting Twitter feed) alternate between laughing along as she sometimes forgets chords or her own lyrics and falling in love with her deeply personal yet universally relatable stories. Thank goodness therapy in New York is so damn expensive.
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