Described as
“red – hot, blues rock,” the Laurie
Morvan Band bridges the gap between the two styles following
in the footsteps of blues/rock innovators Bonnie Raitt
and Stevie Ray Vaughan. As a female player, Laurie has
done her share of trailblazing, particularly in her early
days - in the mid ‘80s. “Back then, there
was a lot more discrimination towards female guitarists,”
says Laurie. “Sometimes, I couldn’t even get
an audition.”
Rather than wait for
permission to play, Laurie started her own band, formerly
known as “Backroad Shack.” In doing so, she
was able to find musicians who shared her passion for
blues and rock and wanted to take the same path, stylistically.
The band was formed in
1993 and includes the ‘groove – meister’
of the band, bass player Pat Morvan on six - string fretted
and fretless basses; Carolyn Kelley on keyboards and flute;
Lisa (Grubbs) Morvan on keyboards, violin, and percussion; drummer
Angie Tabor; and with Laurie, Carolyn, and Lisa providing
three-part harmonies, an important part of their sound,
overseen by sound team, Nick Holt and Nancy Allen. “Our
band has withstood the test of time because of everyone’s
lack of ego,” notes Laurie. “We get along
like a family because we’re friends and enjoy our
music together.”
During their first ten
years, “Backroad Shack” built a loyal following
of fans and scored a prized appearance on Channel 7, Eyewitness
News during the morning broadcast. Their first release,
“Out of the Woods,” led to shows at Southland
blues clubs: Blue Café, the Coachhouse, and Martini
Blues, and appearances at Concerts in the Park.
However, the name of
the band was always a problem, says Laurie, “People
had trouble saying “Backroad Shack.” At the
advice of some music industry people, they changed the
band’s name to: “Laurie Morvan Band”
in 2004, with the release of their second CD, “Find
My Way Home.”
The self produced, independent release featured eight
original blues titles and three blues covers of: Willie
Dixon’s “Let Me Love You Baby,” Stevie
Ray Vaughan/Doyle Bramhall’s “Tightrope,”
and Tom Hambridge’s “Rock Me Right.”
It received a positive response on the airwaves leading
Laurie to initiate the band’s first tour to the
Midwest.
“The purpose of
the tour was mainly to introduce my band’s music
to my family and friends. I wanted them to see my band
and to know what is so important to me; what my passion
is all about.”
In addition to their
tour, the band launched their CD, worldwide, via internet
radio station, RadioDirectX.com. This introduced their
music to DJs, globally, generating airplay in the Netherlands,
France, Germany and Norway. With their website: www.lauriemorvan.com,
the band now reaches a worldwide audience while keeping
their marketing costs down.
In addition to playing
at area clubs, the Laurie Morvan Band has performed with
The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Eric Sardinas, Corey Stevens,
Walter Trout, and on May 20th, they’ll appear at
Blue Café as an opening act for guitarist Debbie
Davies.
Presently, the band is
recording their third CD, due out this summer, with Grammy-award
winning engineer Erik Zobler and producer John Vestman
(of Vestman Mastering). Laurie says this CD will be “bluesier”
than the others (while still bridging the blues/rock gap)
drawing from 18, new songs she’s written.
While she doesn’t
like to dwell on the differences between the sexes, Laurie
notes, “It may be that women [players] always have
to prove themselves, but I also think people are more
open to that now. The younger generation has grown up
with women doing whatever they want to do, so they aren’t
so quick to dismiss.
“I also think you
can’t let those kind of things stop you; you have
to do your thing. We [women players] come in and we have
to be proud of ourselves. [Personally] I like to let my
guitar do the talking.”
The lead, rhythm, and
acoustic guitarist adds, “I like to let people hand
me a guitar and then I play. I’m the kind of person
who says, ‘Judge me by my deeds.’”
