Lisa Taylor

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Official Biography

Lisa Taylor was raised just outside of Washington, D.C. and bottle fed on the music of the seventies –Carole King, B.J. Thomas, Rare Earth, Three Dog Night, The Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Supremes, Aretha, Donna Summer - and all of the show tunes from the 40’s through the 70’s. She was the youngest of three born to musically gifted parents. Her father was a Navy percussionist, dance band drummer and acoustic guitarist and her mother was a stunning vocalist and organist.  Lisa played guitar, clarinet and demonstrated near perfect pitch as well as song crafting before the age of ten.

By the age of 14 she had taught herself set drums so she could join her sister’s rock and roll band. Lisa and her sister Dana formed several bands, the most notable of which was “Sister”- a rock and roll- big- hair- band.  Lisa’s formidable drumming and distinct vocal harmonies made “Sister” one of the most sought after female rock and roll bands of the Mid-Atlantic Area from the early 80s  into the mid 90s.

While earning her master's degree in Social Work Lisa received several Mid Atlantic Songwriter Awards.  In 1995, while in the midst of recording her first solo album, Lisa was honored as a finalist in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition. Her album “Sibling Rivalry”, co-produced with Matt Holsen at ESM Studios 1996, received considerable critical acclaim and seven Washington Area Music Association nominations. It is currently in its third pressing. Ever fond of drums and percussion, Lisa joined a short tour with her sister’s Jazz Orchestra in France and continued to work with a variety of local songwriters, performers and bands earning her the 1997 Rock/Pop Instrumentalist of the Year award from the Washington Area Music Association.

 In 1998, Lisa and her husband had their first daughter Halle. Lisa continued to engage in music through studio sessions with an ever growing list of local and semi-national artists. These vocal and percussion contributions have been aired on episodes of “The Osborne’s” “Felicity”, “Starting Over”  and  MTV’s “The Newlyweds” and on films such as Serving Sara, Backflash, Devious Beings, Eve’s Christmas and A Boyfriend for Christmas.

Partial List of Venues Lisa Taylor has performed at:

Avalon Theatre
Celebrate Fairfax
Country Roads Folk Festival
Franklin Barns

Frederick Festival of the Arts
Folkal Point
The Folk Club
Focus Concert Series
Jammin’ Java
Kerrville NewFolk Stage
Mountville Folk Festival
Shenandoah Coffee House Series
Takoma Park Folk Festival
Washington Folk Festival
World Folk Music Association


Available as: Solo acoustic – Duo – Full Band

Unofficial Bio:

Lisa Taylor aka Lisa Connor- was born as "a  pleasant surprise” to her parents Bill and Harlene Connor who were simply trying to spice up their marriage and didn’t know that you could - in-fact get pregnant while watching the Smothers Brothers. Their intoxicated delivery room doctor pronounced Lisa “hic--girl” then dropped her from a character building height of four feet -3 inches, onto the hospital floor.

She was raised with her brother and sister and schooled in the PG County Maryland public school system where she learned important skills such as "how to jack or be jacked for lunch money", "how to start a fight without touching someone", "the gentle art of giving and receiving nerbies", "the real deal on titty twisters" and "why a first grader shouldn’t be mouthy while wearing a tube top."Lisa eventually obtained her own guitar as well as a tape recorder and co-wrote and recorded her first song; “Dead Pumpkin Song” at the age of 6. 

She was raised on the music of the seventies – her father was a swarthy dance band drummer and acoustic guitarist and mother was a stunning vocalist and organist. Both of her parents were incredibly gifted musically and would involve Lisa and her siblings in various musical adventures-sometimes forceably, sometimes requiring matching outfits.

Much of Lisa’s early musical training came from watching atop the stairs as her father and his 12 piece Big Band practiced and played well into the night. Ah, those dreamy late nights- with Benny Goodman, -Stan Kenton, - Buddy Rich and doh, stair, stair, stair, stair...-

But, with the help of her ever encouraging parents, she taught herself guitar, clarinet, sanskrit and some basic magic tricks and began performing for family, friends and neighbors. By 11 years old she was thrown into the world of Mr. Weinberg’s summer band. It was in summer band that Lisa learned the spit and grit of the music business by successfully holding third chair clarinet, summer band – Taney B. Junior High  – To this day, the word “sectional” makes Lisa visibly shake.

At 12, with her father -remarried, Lisa moved to Virginia and began what can only be termed – “the Brady Bunch Years on Acid ”,  Ever the survivor, Lisa sought creative escape by singing back-up and learning how to play rock drums with her talented sister Dana. By the age of 14, Lisa had learned how to hotwire the family station wagon, play “Wipeout” and skillfully sneak out with her sister to play all the bars and Honky Tonks they could.... so, maybe you want to know more?