Lisa Hammer of The Bronx on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Lisa Hammer. Check out our conversation below.

Lisa, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity is number one with me. I’ve worked with intelligent, energetic people, but if there’s no integrity, then I usually walk away. Your reputation can be marred in an instant if you behave in an unethical way, and reputation is everything. My team is incredible, and I have been very lucky to find artists with talent, drive, and honesty. There is NO reason to have a toxic environment; we are so lucky to be making art, and we should protect and cherish it.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Lisa Hammer, and I’m a filmmaker and musician. I’ve been making experimental cult films since the 90s, but I guess I’m best recognized as the voice of Triana Orpheus on the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros. My film “Empire of Ache” was recently honored with a screening at the MoMA and Nighthawk Cinemas, in the film series “Future of Film is Female” and in Heidi Honeycutt’s book “I Spit on Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Movies”. It was also acquired by the Getty Museum’s Feminist Film Collection, curated by Miranda July.

In the 90s, I created a DIY cable-access show with Dame Darcy, guest-starring Courtney Love, Tiny Tim, and Thurston Moore, now a number one series on Nighflight Plus. In the naughties, I started a new show, “The POX Show,” and had guest stars: H. Jon Benjamin (Archer, Jon Benjamin Has a Van), Jonathan Katz (Dr. Katz), and Arden Myrin (Orange Is the New Black, Inside Amy Schumer). Clayne Crawford (Jericho, Swimfan), Jimmy Duval (Donnie Darko, SLC Punk!), Russell Sams (The Rules of Attraction), Eve Plumb (The Brady Bunch), Allen Lewis Rickman (Boardwalk Empire, A Serious Man), Yelena Shmulenson (Boardwalk Empire, A Serious Man, OITNB), Lucien Greaves (The Satanic Temple) and Steve Severin (Siouxsie and the Banshees). “The POX Show” was recently acquired by The Satanic Temple TV streaming platform.

Currently, I work with my husband, Levi Wilson, on an original dark-comedy hitman series, We are both cinematographers/actors and I’m a co-creator of James Merendino’s “Great Kills” (On Roku, Tubi, Fawesome and Amazon), I’m producer and editor for Levi’s “Luke and Emma and a Gas station on Franklin Avenue”, acquired by AMC+, (now being developed as a feature fim) I’m an executive producer of “Montauk”, starring Molly Ringwald, assistant editor for “Out of Order” starring Brendan Routh and Brooke Shields, a producer on “Suh Buh Duh”, starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Eric Roberts, I have some award-winning screenplays in festivals now, including “Ghostapus”, and I’m directing my own female-body-horror film “Under the Midnight Sun” starring Kevin Corrigan, Ruben Rabasa and Eve Plumb.

As a singer/composer, I have been in several Goth and shoegaze bands since the 80s, and was lucky to perform at places like CBGB, The Limelight, and The Ritz. My soundtracks are being used in films, videos, audiobooks, video games, and live performances worldwide. The label “The Circle Music” has been re-releasing all of my early albums, starting with “Requiem in White”, and also my solo album, “Dakini”, with much more to come.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I was always a quirky, bossy little girl. But one moment sticks out for me. I was born and lived in Salem, Mass, and coincidentally lived right next door to the famous “witch” Laurie Cabot. It was the 1970s, and she would walk around town wearing her signature black dress and cape, with a broomstick and spiked black hair. One day, my parents and I were walking home. I was dragging a rubber lamb toy on wheels, and as we walked past Laurie, she stopped, staring at me for a long time. She said, “I love your lamb toy,” and expressed a few words of admiration about how special a little girl I was. She kept staring at me for a very long time. I felt infused with her magical power from that moment on! I’m sure she was the reason I went full Goth/Wiccan.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Empathy. I got cancer from 9/11 back in 2016. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I found the strength I never knew I had. My husband, family, and true friends gathered around me and made me feel SO loved. The fires of pain and fear, and the feeling of love and care from my extended family, definitely forged me into a less selfish person. I found new wells inside me of empathy and compassion, and have resolved to live ethically and work in a non-toxic way with like-minded people, cherishing the time we have together.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, depending on my mood, I’m either a shy, ice-queen, ethereal singer or an absurdist filmmaker with a very dark sense of humor. It can be confusing to music fans to see me as anything but the ethereal princess, but I assure you, both sides of me live harmoniously together. The trauma and darkness that inform my operatic stage persona are the same trauma and darkness that express themselves through my dark-comedy films. Humor often springs from pain, and whether I’m in an Ophelia mood or a David Lynch mood, they are both always in me at all times.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace after a long day making films or music, curling up on the couch with my husband Levi and our cat, Anastasia Romeownov, usually watching “I Think You Should Leave” for the 50th time (and quoting it) and enjoying either ice cream or homemade popcorn Levi has made with duck fat.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
LiAnn Grahm, Taslimir, Levi Wilson, New Faces New Voices festival

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