About Us

A lifelong artist, writer, guitarist, and singer, Lisa Barca [BAR-kah] is based in Phoenix, AZ and is the frontwoman for Mermaid Riot, which is releasing a new album in August 2025 called "BLUE VIOLENT MYSTERY." The album includes SHINY NEW / NEVER RELEASED SONGS plus remixes (and remasters) of singles Lisa released between 2023 and 2024. Lisa's songs combine driving guitars with a voice that shifts seamlessly from an intimate whisper to a no-holds-barred power belt and back again. Channeling her eclectic power through Mermaid Riot, she writes and performs heavy, melodic indie rock with infectious hooks delivered with the raw energy and immediacy of punk. Her deceptively deep lyrics explore existential themes of identity and rebellion with unflinching honesty, displaying a poeticism that transcends the status quo. 

Lisa began her songwriting journey in New Haven, CT, exploring themes of alienation with "upbeat punk songs satirizing narcissistic guys." She sang and slung her guitar  on sidewalks, subways, and clubs and waxed lyrical in art salons and coffeeshops. Relocating to Phoenix, Barca founded a punk-protest band (Scarlet Rescue) inspired by The Dead Kennedys and Sleater-Kinney. The pandemic led her to shift towards a more pop-oriented sound with a 90s radio-rock vibe, influenced by numerous rockers and bands including Veruca Salt. Her current style is described as heavy, melodic indie rock with radio-friendly pop hooks and a punk edge.  Barca's lyrics give shape and outlet to emotions, finding moments of transcendence amidst the uncertainties and pain of life. She describes her approach as "brutally frank" while also sometimes sarcastic, despairing, philosophical, and empowering. 

In addition to her musical endeavors, Lisa is a yoga instructor and a professor of English and Humanities, holding a PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures. She is also an advocate for animal rights who has used her music to support animal sanctuaries. 

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The rock journalist 

Todd 'ToddStar' Jolicoeur interviewed Barca on 20 February 2024 and wrote the following:

A Dirty Dozen with LISA BARCA – February 2024

https://100percentrock.com/2024/02/a-dirty-dozen-with-lisa-barca-february-2024/

...  the single “Party Day.” It has a heavy, moody atmosphere with ethereal harmonies and a hard-hitting, catchy chorus. Different from the three singles I released before that (“Clean and Clear,” “Into the Ground,” and “Beauty and Brains”), it draws directly on experiences of trauma, including family trauma. Almost everyone has some of that, but it is not often dealt with in music. Even though the lyrics aren’t super specific, and people can map their own stories onto it, it requires being very vulnerable to write and release a song like that. There are a lot of vocal nuances and complex arrangements, so someone could listen to it again and again and still notice subtleties that they previously missed. One of the biggest gems in my opinion is the guitar solo. My producer and collaborator Kolby Peoples plays it and it has this delightfully dizzying feeling of controlled chaos—manic but structured, intentional but unpredictable. ...

2. What got you into music...?

When I was a teenager and in college for a while, I would start just singing to myself, just spontaneously walking around. People would keep telling me I had a great and unique voice. It was kind of a surprise, really, as had never really sung and definitely hadn’t taken lessons. It just came out. I had taken some guitar lessons as a kid, so I was able to play songs. I was really into the Grateful Dead, and a lot of their songs have really interesting chord progressions. I had a book of their songs and would just play all the time. Once I started writing my own songs, from a more personal and female-empowered perspective, I knew that this was a passion that I wanted to pursue.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Too many to name! Some that really catapulted me were Juliana Hatfield’s album Become What You Are, Veruca Salt’s American Thighs, and Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville. Those years, ’93-’94, were some of the best ever for music in my opinion. When I saw Letters to Cleo live at TT the Bears, a small club in Cambridge, MA, I was sold for life.

...

6. ...

Currently we’ve been describing my music as melodic indie rock with infectious pop hooks delivered with the raw energy and immediacy of punk, often incorporating sophisticated arrangements and layers of vocal harmonies. We also talk about the lyrics being deceptively deep and exhibiting a poeticism that transcends the status quo. I don’t think any comparisons have been made that made me cringe per se – one that I thought was very complimentary was Heart (I mean, Ann Wilson’s virtuosos voice?! That was a flattering one), and I think someone brough up the Ramones, which does not bother me of course but I’m not sure quite fits, lol. I’ve also been compared to Sleater-Kinney, I guess because of the more power-oriented and defiant female vocals, but I think the stuff I’m doing right now is more pop-punk and structured and less abrasive than theirs is (although I like abrasive, don’t get me wrong!), among other differences. The opposite is true of comparisons I’ve gotten to Avril Lavigne and Paramore—that music is more pop and straightforward and less edgy than mine. I do accurately get compared to Veruca Salt. That one seems the most accurate.

...

8. When was the last time you were starstruck...?

The occasion that first comes to mind is seeing Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at a club here in Phoenix. He is such a consummate and true artist—utterly original and with so much integrity and depth to his songs, and he’s an energetic and captivating performer. And the band is just phenomenal. Ted even played a couple of songs solo on piano which was a surprise. It was Halloween and they all came out in costumes for the second set. A memorable time for sure and lots of insights for me on what makes a rock show great.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician has to be the creative process of writing. There’s a certain bliss that comes from being deeply immersed in composing a new song and, if it comes out well, playing it for the first time is a high like nothing else. Kind of like falling in love but better because the song isn’t going anywhere or arguing with you or anything like that, haha! Second to writing would have to be a good performance where the crowd is truly engaged, and you can build off their energy.  It brings everyone into connection in a way that few other things can. ...

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I’d like to be asked how it is being a woman in rock music—still a predominantly male field—and the qualities you need to develop as a female to roll with all these guys. Now, the guys I work with all treat me respectfully (otherwise they’d be out), but it is also like entering a certain gender universe and staying in your confidence and power center. I love talking about that topic and I hope to inspire more women to be rock musicians. I can’t think of a question I’m tired of answering at the moment. If I don’t know what to say, I’ll just say “come back to me on that” or something like that or steer the discussion in a bit of a different direction.

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12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Elvis Costello’s My Aim is True. It’s a phenomenal record, with every song exhibiting exquisite songcraft, interesting and singable lyrics, and well-placed and fun backup vocals. When I listen to it, I sing along with or make up my own backing vocal parts, so it’d be a trip to go back to 1977 and sing on the record.