OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE: Riley displays vocal, musical talent

Mar. 16—Pharmacy tech Lisa Riley is always up to a challenge, even in music or entertainment.

Riley said she has been into music since she was in the womb.

"My mother used to sing to me when she was pregnant with me," Riley said. "With my mother, it was all classical, popular songs at the time, Big Band music, I love Big Band music. Dad listened to a lot of KVOO, a lot of country. My sisters listened to a lot of Beatles and Elton John. I have quite an eclectic appreciation of music. It's been beneficial. Because my likes are so spread out over everywhere, I can appreciate all kinds of music."

She said she likes some of the music her daughter likes.

Riley said she took up violin at age 10.

"It's one of the hardest instruments to play, same level as French horn," she said. "It requires posture, all body. When you start playing, going to sound like cats dying."

She continued to sing and play violin through high school and into college. She played in the Northeastern State University symphony and was able to tour England with the group in 1988.

Being in both symphony and choir helped in one occasion.

"We did Mozart's 'Requiem' full orchestra, full choir." Riley said. "I knew the music from both ends. The sopranos were supposed to come in and they didn't. I came in, sitting in the first violin section and I started singing to get the sopranos to come in."

She continues to sing with OkiePella. She also kept playing violin, providing music for some Muskogee Little Theatre productions.

"The most fun was 'Addams Family,'" she said. "I broke so many hairs off my bow, I need to have it repaired."

Riley even enjoys mentally challenging TV shows. Her favorite is "Supernatural," about brothers who hunt demons, vampires, werewolves and other monsters.

"It's very supernatural, there are lots of things involved," she said. "Their fan base is rabid. One of my big dreams is to go to a Comic-Con where some of the actors are there."

Singing a cappella is a challenge

Lisa Riley loves the challenge of singing a cappella.

"You have to be somebody who keeps pitch in your head well," she said. "And you also have to be a person who can blend your voice into where you don't stand out."

There's no instrument to back up the voices.

"You have to be the music as well as be the lyrics," she said. "So, a lot of times you won't be singing words. You are humming or oohing or making some sort of background to support the singers."

Singing with no instrument also requires a lot of breath support, Riley said.

"Like my mother always said 'singing is 99% physical and 1% mental,'" she said. "Your body is more involved than you think it is because it is all about the breath, all about how you stand, about how you push that breath out of your body."

Violin also presents obstacles

Riley also loves the challenge of the violin.

"It's definitely a skill and it's definitely something you have to love," she said. "The violin has so many personalities. It can be sad. It can be happy. It can be playful. It can even be impish. It can be a fiddle if you play it that way."

The performer makes the difference between a violin and a fiddle, Riley said.

"I'm strictly a classical violinist," she said. "I've never been very good at ad libbing, and you've got to be an ad libber to play the fiddle."

Riley said her favorite violin personality is when it's playful or impish.

"I like the songs where you're moving quickly and it's very bright, and it's very cheerful," she said.

One of her favorite pieces is Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King," which gets faster and wilder with each repetition.

"You just get going," Riley said. "I like Vivaldi, I like things that are moving, things that keep the audience focused. I think sometimes, it gets too legato. You have to wake someone up. A lot of the slower movements are gorgeous."

Favorite show has unlimited schedule

How much does Riley love the show "Supernatural?"

"If you walk into the house any time of day, there's usually 'Supernatural' streaming on TV," she said.

A living room corner is piled with show memorabilia, including photos, mugs and a replica of a "blade" the brothers used.

"All these boxes have 'Supernatural' stuff in them," Riley said. "Some of the stuff is still in the boxes that aren't even unpacked."

She said a friend made cups for her.

"One has my name on it and says 'Rule number one, Never take a joint from a guy name Don, Rule number two, No Dogs in the car,' " Riley said. "That's a Dean quote."

Riley said it helps that "the two main characters are quite attractive men."

Another plus is that it draws the viewer in, she said.

"They're always pulling out little snippets of information that make you go 'Oh,'" she said. "You know you're invested in a show when one of the characters dies and you ugly cry."

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"Born, bred and raised here. My parents were born, bred and raised here as well, Lyle and Shirley Bibb. Probably what keeps me here is family, pretty much."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"Honor Heights. I love the Azalea Festival, Garden of Lights. I'm kind of a nature nerd, so I appreciate how hard Muskogee Parks and Rec takes care of our parks. If you want to escape and get away to where it's quiet, go to one of the parks."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"If people would stop griping about it. There are pockets of things that are ick, but there are pockets of things that are ick in every town. What would make Muskogee better is for them to focus on things for people to do with families. The churches do a lot of family things, but there needs to be more in town geared for families, things in town geared for young people, something for people in their late teens or early 20s."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"My parents were a big influence on me. My mother was a pretty well-known musician in town. I really appreciate my OkiePella director, Mike Dunn, because all of our concerts are geared toward helping somebody, whether it's the food pantry or the Martin Luther King Center. We did one for the Barracks. I admire Mike for his commitment toward helping the community. That, and he makes me work my butt off."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"Getting to sing at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and I got to meet the Swon Brothers. I sang with Barbara McAlister. The a cappella group I was in at the time, Muskogee A Cappella, we were her back up.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

I'm kind of boring when it comes to spare time stuff. We do make a lot of Hobby Lobby trips. I hang out with my daughter, she's kind of my best friend."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"A big town that has a lot of potential, if someone will just look in the right place."