Ms.Maxine is a sultry songstress known for her dynamic range while passionately strumming an acoustic guitar & entertaining the crowd with inspired musings & tales of tantalizing travels. She is the creative force fronting “One Wish” a cocktail of stellar players from Victoria & Vancouver, BC. Her original music has a distinctive flavour of its own, yet heartfelt & thoughtfully crafted bluesy rock with pop sensibilities comes to mind, offering a rich feast of freedom from the chaos of daily living. If you like smoky vocals, sexy, syncopated rhythms, seductive samples & solid solos, you might just fall in love. Ms.Maxine’s voice has often been likened to Stevie Nicks, Joan Armatrading & Grace Slick.

In the past 5 years, Ms.Maxine has honed her skills as a singer-songwriter as well as a unique style of rhythm guitar & left-handed /right ring finger piano playing! Considering her right hand is paralyzed, she reveals anything is possible with a strong will to work hard towards one’s goals in the face of adversity. With a growing number of original songs, she charms & captivates audiences with her striking stage presence, endearing sense of humour & solid musicianship.

In August 2012, Ms.Maxine brought her tunes to Ed Johnson & they began the process of recording live off the floor together with stellar musicians from Vancouver, BC. Her ambitious 10 song debut is a result of a collaborative, organic, creative process between like-minded souls. Featured on GRATiTUDE, Ms.Maxine's debut are Ed Johnson (Edroom Studios, BrickHouse, Cozy Bones) producer, engineer, percussion & rhythm guitar, Devin Eeg ( OneWish) lead guitar, Darryl Havers (BrickHouse, SV & the Killer B's) piano, Rhodes keyboard, organ & seductive samples, Ray Keesh ( BrickHouse) bass guitar, Tim Porter (BrickHouse) lead & rhythm guitar, Oldrich “Oz” Zitek (BrickHouse) tenor saxophone, Lisa Maxine Kjernisted, (Ms. Maxine) producer, lead vocals, harmonies & rhythm guitar, mastered by Tony Chamberlist of Brownbag Music.

Rooted in the genres of blues, rock & pop, GRATiTUDE reveals diverse songwriting skills saturated with universal themes of love, angst & social issues we can all relate to. Recording live off the floor allowed for unpretentious, honest interpretations of Ms. Maxine’s songwriting as well as creative ‘in the moment’ genius to surface. GRATiTUDE offers something for everyone & is the result of years of personal & social exploration as Ms. Maxine honoured her muse along a journey with many hills & valleys. GRATiTUDE is her first LOVE & was released digitally on this site & Bandcamp on the Summer Solstice, June 21st, 2014. She hopes you enjoy it as much as she did in its creation!

Please contact Ms.Maxine anytime for more information. Feel free to stream her music on this site or sign up to the mailing list for current happenings. She looks forward to hearing from you!