By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Lady sings the blues

The last words of the last track and the title cut to Lady Blue’s new album, “The Meaning of Grace” reveals a lot about the band’s lead singer Tina Haase Findlay.

“Amazing grace, it sounds so sweet, lifts me back up on my feet I’m sick and tired of my wicked ways, it’s time for me to give myself grace.”

Written after a tear-filled conversation with her husband-guitarist Brandon Findlay, “The Meaning of Grace” sums up the “hard knocks and sweet victories” of 41-year-old Haase Findlay, who considered quitting the music business. It marks a musical homecoming of sorts, too, for the longtime Des Moines singer who made a name for herself in gospel, jazz, R&B and rock, but has found redemption in the blues. It also reveals her unwavering faith. Grace, as Findlay Haase sings, “means that even though you made a mess, you will still grow… that you receive a chance to choose what you believe… that you will rise above the ocean of petty lies.”

“This project chronicles the last five years of my life,” Haase Findlay tells Cityview. “I’ve gone through incredible turmoil, the kind of self-destruction where I didn’t care about music anymore.”

Part of that turmoil was Haase Findlay leaving First Federated Church in Des Moines, where she served as worship director and coordinated all the musical activities of the church, including the choir. Religion is a big part of Haase Findlay’s life. Church is where she got her start performing at the age of 3.

“It was a painful, heartbreaking end,” she says. “When something like that falls apart, something I thought I was born to do, it’s like a marriage ending. But I wouldn’t trade what I’ve learned and gained from that experience.”

The 15 original songs on “The Meaning of Grace” reflect the kind of worldly wisdom you’d expect from a blues singer — a label Haase Findlay fully embraces though many still know her as a jazz vocalist.

“I feel like at my age it’s nice to be rooted in a genre like the blues that is embracing of women at a certain age,” she says. “There’s a lot of latitude there and we exceed even that because we take the blues and add some sophistication and spirituality to it. But the blues makes room for latitude. It’s the music of the people.

“Sometimes when I’m at a jazz show I can see the audience get lost because the music gets too complex and the gears shift where it’s more about the musician than the listener. With the blues it’s about the people and the struggle. I never feel like I’m a spectator at the show — I’m a participant. It always gets to my heart.”

Haase Findlay says “The Meaning of Grace” was an organic process for Lady Blue, which includes her husband, guitarist Ben Williams, bassist Todd Stevens and drummer Randy Ramakers. They recruited a handful of guest musicians to sit in, too, including Nathan Peeples, David Larson, J.B. Williams, Joe Koelling [owner of SR Audio] and Haase Findlay’s daughter, Dove Haase.

“We decided to make a project that pleased us rather than compromise for commerce sake,” Haase Findlay says.

Though the album is rooted in the blues, it includes gospel, funk and rock. The mix reflects Haase Findlay’s musical diversity, her willingness to be part of a true ensemble effort [Lady Blue formed in 2005] and the blues’ all-encompassing nature.

“We defied category and embraced a diversity of styles because that’s who I am,” Haase Findlay says. “This project is the culmination of my journey, but it’s much more about the passion of Brandon than Tina. He has pulled me back into singing. It’s such a fulfilling thing to have him by my side and to have such close friends in the band. It’s like a little family and our passion for a higher purpose and greater good.”

Brandon Findlay, 26, concurs.

“We wanted to make a diverse statement,” he says. “It’s a celebration of everything I’ve listened to and played. It was a huge reckoning and awakening of my own insights and skills that were hard won. It means more than words can say. I’m proud of it.”

For Haase Findlay, the greater good includes getting back on the musical horse in a big way. Not only is “The Meaning of Grace” her first release in a few years, she plans to tour regionally to support it. Additionally, the album was recorded at Kaleidoscope Sonic Lab in Urbandale [formerly SR Audio], a studio in which she and her husband are among a handful of investors and managers. The Lab is a new three-way venture that includes the recording studio, Kaleidoscope Consulting Group and Kaleidoscope Artist Management with the development of a new label called KaleidoSong Records forthcoming. For Haase Findlay, it’s one of many hats she wears in order to survive as a professional musician in Des Moines.

“It’s a labor-intensive, time-intensive thing,” she says. “But even the best musicians in our city are attached to a gravy train of some kind.

“Kaleidoscope is about the big idea, the big concept. It’s the beauty of many different colors coming together, much like the way I’ve approached my life and career. We’re going to welcome musicians of all genres. We’re going to be the flag wavers for diversity and paradox.”

Such grace, Haase Findlay contends, couldn’t be obtained had she not experienced life’s highs and lows. It’s a lesson she wants fans to remember each time they listen to her new album.

“I want people to know that no matter what they go through in life there’s a big pot of grace at the end of the rainbow if they choose to latch on to it,” she says. “You don’t have to be overwhelmed. You can overcome. You’re capable of triumph even when it’s most dark.”

Scene notes

“Hurricane on the Bayou,” a story about post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans as told by four musicians, plays the IMAX Theater at the Science Center through March. Narrated by Meryl Streep, it includes music by Tab Benoit and Marva Wright. Call 274-4629 or visit www.sciowa.org. … The Iowa State Center reports its Stephens Program Fund/AIOFA (Ames International Orchestra Festival Association) annual fundraising campaign netted a record total of $108,000 for its 2006-2007 season. Private support plays a major role in financing the series since ticket sales cover only 65 percent of the expenses to present Season at Stephens. Speaking of which, Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” — sung in Italian with English subtitles and live orchestra — plays Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Stephens Auditorium. Tickets are $10-$44.50. … Terry Cole has been elected president of the Central Iowa Blues Society. … Finally, if the folks at the Iowa State Fair are looking for a soundtrack for their annual mullet contest, we recommend “Mullets Rock! Too!: Mullets in Love.” The third in a series of compilations inspired by the movie “Joe Dirt,” “Mullets Rock! Too!” includes beaver paddle tracks by hairball acts like Blue Oyster Cult, REO Speedwagon, Night Ranger, Kansas and Eddie Money. CV

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