February 2010
The Beautiful and Benevolent Basia Lyjak
Off stage Basia Lyjak is breezy and downright neighborly. Place her under some florescent lights and hand her a mic, well, that's a whole different story. When performing, it's almost like Lyjak morphs into a new woman. She's demanding, powerful and intense. Oh, and she doesn't seem to have a problem getting the crowd on their feet. She's often been compared to performers like No Doubt's lead singer, Gwen Stefani, or even pop princess Madonna. But although she displays the same type of dominance while under the limelight, her music and voice echoes late 80's and early 90's glam rockers like Heart and Pat Benatar. She's feisty, fashionable, and no quitter.
"I've always had this inside of me. It just comes natural. It's who I am. When I let 'er rip, I let 'er rip. Yeah, I've had some training. Yeah, I am concerned about my voice," she explains. "But I'm a rock n' roll singer, so the way I see it is to give it all you got."
The first generation Polish-Canadian says she has never feared the spotlight; shyness to Lyjak is like oil to water. She says she even remembers a time when her stage was her parents' veranda, belting out tunes to anyone who passed by. The fierce singer began her career at the age of four, and today, over two decades later, Lyjak has released four widely received self-funded projects including her Writing on the Wall EP and singles "Don't Talk," "What it Feels Like," and "Never Wanted Anything."
Don't be fooled. Even though Lyjak has financed many of her own ventures, she has managed to trigger a massive following over the web. Well aware of her supportive fan-base, she has done nothing but capitalized on it (in a good way, that is). Using her internet popularity, Lyjak, along with a few of her musical peers, recently visited Toronto's Mod Club stage to rock out, and to raise money for Haiti relief.
"It's exciting. A lot of people in the entertainment world are taking a stand and using their voices. That's what we have our voices for...to bring people together, to have the community come together, [and to] understand what it means to raise awareness." she says.
Lyjak has also been keeping busy by donating her voice to a number of side projects. One in particular is a track written about the Canadian troops. Don't expect it to be typical Basia though, she says. Expect it to be totally outside of the box. "It is going to be released very soon. The recording is done and there is a supposed video in the works right now," she says. "It's called 'Waiting' and it's about a woman and her family waiting for her husband to come home from war. This song is actually a true song. It is written about a real person, a real family, and I wanted to be a part of it."
